Flight Safety

One man’s dogma is another man’s entertainment. Which is another way of saying as a sometime editorial arsonist, I will happily stand by and watch pilots vigorously argue about truths none of us hold to be self-evident. And what better way to be entertained than discussing pattern entries. I’m disappointed to admit I didn’t start […]

Heard at JFK one summer day after a very long ground roll and subsequent lift off by a British Airways 747. Tower: “Speedbird XXX noise violation.” Speedbird XXX:”Send it to the ()(*&^% Queen.” Real story. Dan Jenkins

Regional airlines say the FAA is vastly understating the cost of a proposed AD that will require them to replace 10,482 passenger seats in various small airliners. The FAA said the AD will only cost the airlines a total of $900,000 because it is only tallying the labor cost of removing the Slim and Slimplus […]

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly says he “might” ban laptops in the passenger cabins of all international flights to and from the U.S. In an interview Sunday he said airliners with lots of Americans aboard are a prime target for terrorists and the ban wouldn’t be a response to a specific threat, but a general […]

There are three ways to arrive at an airport when operating under IFR: a standard instrument approach procedure (IAP), a visual approach and a contact approach. A great way to bring hangar flying to a screeching halt is to ask about a contact approach. A lot of IFR pilots know that it is some sort […]

As sure as winter turns to spring, the ATC privatization idea has resurfaced and just as surely as summer is coming, so too are the alphabets protesting it. We’ve already hashed out ad nauseam why turning over air traffic to a private entity is a bad idea, but this season’s regurgitation has a new twist: […]

Budget details released by the White House on Tuesday show an apparent commitment by the Trump administration to privatize the air traffic control system, according to NBAA. “The president’s budget takes the public’s elected representatives out of the equation and leaves it to a private board to ensure the public’s interest is being well served,” […]

A recent federal court decision (PDF) that the FAA has no authority to require drone users to register is not sitting well with many aviators. Helicopter Association International issued a statement (PDF) this week saying it “strongly disagrees” with the ruling, adding that helicopter pilots “are deeply concerned about our ability to fly safely in […]

I suppose it was just a matter of time before Dunning-Kruger popped up in an aviation reference and let me proudly say one of our aviation publications made the pioneering leap. The recent reference was a throwaway in an article about accidents used to explain why some pilots take on more weather than they can […]

Heard recently one morning on JFK tower frequency. JetBlue: Tower, is our speed compatible with the aircraft ahead of us? Tower: As long as you don’t go to warp factor 6, you should be fine. Marty Twersky