Flight Safety

AVweb’sGeneral Aviation Accident Bulletinis taken from the pages of our sister publication,Aviation Safetymagazine, and is published twice a month. All the reports listed here are preliminary and include only initial factual findings about crashes. You can learn more about the final probable cause in the NTSB’s website atwww.ntsb.gov. Final reports appear about a year after […]

A chartered de Havilland Canada DHC-3T Turbo Otterfloat-equipped airplane crashed in a remote part of Alaska on Tuesday morning, but after a brief search by the U.S. Coast Guard, all 11 people on board were rescued. They were airlifted out by a USCG Jayhawk helicopter. Some were taken to a medical center in Ketchikan, but […]

Virtual reality systems for flight simulation now include “haptic” capabilities, simulating a sense of touch when interacting with the virtual environment. The U.S. company FlyInside partnered with the Go Touch VR startup, based in France, to develop the system for the market, and introduced it last month at a trade show in France. “This haptic […]

Turbofan engines for airplanes should be required to pass tests showing they could keep flying after ingesting a medium-sized bird during climb-out or landing, the FAA said in a proposed rule published on Friday. The proposal is based on a 2015 report following the “Miracle on the Hudson” flight in 2009, when an Airbus A320 […]

We just had our annual summer cookout here at the virtual airport. It was a success—we didn’t run out of brats, burgers or beer and nobody got food poisoning. Ok, we set the success bar low, but there was an excellent turnout and folks seemed to have a good time. Better yet, because the flight […]

The FAA says owners of certain Bonanza models can use an exhaust clamp made for Cessna aircraft as an alternative means of compliance for an AD that has grounded some Bonanzas. According to AOPA, the agency issued the AD requiring replacement of exhaust v-band clamps on A36TC and B36TC Bonanzas after one failed and led […]

A French helicopter pilot who was beaten and then forced at gunpoint to help pluck a convicted bank robber from a maximum security prison said the worst part about the ordeal was watching the vintage helicopter he was flying go up in smoke. Stphane Buy, 65, was working in his hangar when two men approached […]

My friend and fellow blogger Paul Berge revealed what a sheltered life he has led when he confessed in last week’s blog to not knowing the significance of Sidney, New York. At the expense of appearing a boorish know it all—as opposed to just a boor—I can say that I most certainly did know the […]

Atol Avion lost its prototype ATOL 650 amphibious LSA to an accident during a test flight on Tuesday. The two crew members on board were able to escape the wreckage without life-threatening injuries but suffered second- and third-degree burns in the post-crash fire. According to Atol, the fire also completely destroyed the aircraft. The aircraft […]

Mixed News On Refurb Trainers I think the key issue is what you said in your next to last paragraph: The cost of replacement parts is out of control. I can’t speak for Piper, but Cessna parts have skyrocketed in the past 5-6 years, making a full 172 refurb prohibitively expensive. Add to that, the […]