Flight Safety

AVweb’s Flight Safety section offers in-depth coverage of aviation safety topics, including accident analyses, risk management strategies, regulatory updates, and pilot training insights. Designed for pilots, instructors, and aviation professionals, this section provides timely information to enhance situational awareness and promote best practices in flight operations.

Wing Loss Possible In RV Crash

A Van’s RV-7 that crashed on New Year’s Day in Northland New Zealand, killing both occupants, has caught the attention of the RV community because of the possibility of structural failure. If the investigation confirms the witness accounts, it will be the second suspected fatal in-flight breakup of an RV-7 this year. A similar aircraft […]

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Friday Foibles: And The Winners (Losers) Are?

With pilot friends like this, who needs Comedy Central? The pilot of an experimental RV-6 in Michigan told a friend to get to the beach and watch for his flyby. As promised the sleek two-seater buzzed at 100 feet, made three passes—one is never enough—pulled up in a steep turn, stalled and hit the water, […]

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Unresponsive Cirrus Missing Over Gulf

The United States Coast Guard and Mexican authorities are searching for a Cirrus SR22 that vanished Wednesday from radar over the Gulf of Mexico northwest of Cancun.The aircraft, N325JK, was registered to Abide Aviation LLC of Edmund, Oklahoma. The missing pilot, reported by family members as Bill Kinsinger of Oklahoma City, departed Wiley Post airport […]

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Shock Cooling: Time To Kill The Myth

Some years ago, I had one of those “what in the world are they thinking?” conversations with a pilot who was towing gliders as a volunteer for the Civil Air Patrol. While he thought it was important to volunteer for a good group, he was ready to quit because of a screwy power reduction procedure […]

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Trump Takes Credit For Airline Safety Record

“Since taking office I have been very strict on Commercial Aviation,” President Trump said in a tweet on Tuesday. “Good news – it was just reported that there were Zero deaths in 2017, the best and safest year on record!” The Hill contacted the president’s press office, asking exactly what steps the president had taken […]

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First Class Graduates From Online A&P Program (Updated)

The first FAA-approved hybrid course for A&P mechanics, offering some of the coursework online, has graduated its first class from Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology in Tulsa, Oklahoma, officials at the school have announced. Fifteen students completed the program, which comprises 13 to 16 months of coursework online and then seven months at the […]

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Mayo Clinic Offers BasicMed Course

The Mayo Clinic is now offering a free online BasicMed course for pilots, the organization has announced. The course consists of six modules, covering medical self-assessments, warning signs of serious medical conditions, effects of prescription and over-the-counter drugs, and more. The course takes about 90 minutes to complete and is followed by an online test. […]

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Short Final

I had just departed a famous airport and proceeded on course. Tower: Cessna XYZ, what is your heading? Cessna XYZ: XYZ heading Southwest. Tower: Cessna XYZ, what is your heading? Cessna XYZ: XYZ heading Southwest. Tower (agitated): Cessna XYZ, I need to know your heading Cessna XYZ: XYZ heading Southwest. Tower (very agitated): Cessna XYZ, […]

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Ten Americans Dead In Costa Rica Crash

A Cessna Caravan carrying ten American passengers and two Costa Rican crew crashed and burned in Costa Rica on New Year’s Eve, killing all on board. The passengers included Bruce and Irene Steinberg, of Scarsdale, New York. The other passengers were not identified but the State Department confirmed they were American. All that remained of […]

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Six Dead In Australia Seaplane Crash

Six people died in the New Year’s Eve crash of a De Havilland Beaver seaplane in Australia. The aircraft, operated by Sydney Seaplanes, was being used to shuttle passengers to a waterside restaurant and crashed on the Hawkesbury River, just north of Sydney, about 3:10 p.m. In addition to the pilot there were reportedly at […]

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