Flight Safety

Charles Welden grew up in Alabama watching a seaplane come and go off of Lake Martin and thinking it was the coolest thing he’d ever seen. He learned to fly and eventually bought a Cessna 150/150 so he could figure out flying seaplanes himself. In one of those moments that occasionally happens in aviation, he […]

Divers have recovered the flight data recorder of the Boeing Max 8 that crashed in Indonesia last week, and investigators say it shows the airplane had indicated inaccurate airspeed readings for three days before the crash, The New York Times has reported. CNN said Indonesian officials are working with Boeing and safety experts to further […]

Aireon’s real-time, space-based global flight tracking is now up and running, the company announced on Monday, providing the first tracking system to cover the entire world, even polar regions and oceans. The system uses FlightAware’s intuitive technology interface and an aircraft’s ADS-B system to provide trackers with flight data—including origin, destination, flight plan and ETA. […]

The Wall Street Journal says (subscription required) retired Delta Air Lines VP and former line pilot Steve Dickson is the new favorite to become the next FAA administrator. The Journal says Dan Elwell, who has been the acting administrator since January, “quietly pulled out of the running” because it didn’t seem likely he would be […]

One person died but two others were uninjured in a midair collision between a Piper Cheyenne and another unidentified aircraft near Canada’s capital city of Ottawa on Sunday. The Cheyenne pilot reported the touch to ATC and did not declare an emergency. “Somebody hit the bottom side of my aircraft,” the unidentified pilot told the […]

Canadian prosecutors want the book thrown at a Quebec pilot whose beef against a utility company turned into what some suggested was an act of domestic terrorism using an Aerocruiser homebuilt, a kit aircraft he designed. Government lawyers have asked for the full 10-year maximum sentence on “mischief” charges against Normand Dub, who came close […]

The Italian company Vulcanair is touring with the V1.0, a four-place single they hope to market to the training segment. It’s more than $100,000 cheaper that a Cessna Skyhawk and that might make it attractive to schools. In this video, AVweb’s Paul Bertorelli takes an in-depth look at the V1.0. CORRECTION: The Skyhawk wingspan is […]

Fixed-wing pilots start learning stall recognition and avoidance during pre-solo training. The private and sport pilot checkrides require recovering from developed stalls with minimal loss of altitude, and stall and spin awareness are (or at least should be) refreshed during flight reviews for the duration of one’s flying career. But unintended stalls still put dozens […]

Many VFR, and inexperienced IFR, pilots mistakenly believe that an instrument rating allows you to launch into “weather.” After all, instrument pilots have been trained to fly on the gages, so making the decision to fly into the clouds shouldn’t be difficult. Veteran IFR pilots understand the complexity of the go/no-go decision. There are weather […]

The FAA has issued a notice removing several regulatory restrictions identified as major contributors to increasingly long wait times for pilot practical exams. FAA Notice N 8900.485 (PDF) gives designated pilot examiners (DPEs) the ability to conduct up to three tests and an unlimited number of retests per day and lets flight instructor applicants schedule […]