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.

John King Hits FAA Medical Inflexibility

The FAA is shooting itself in the foot with its inflexible attitude on medical disqualifications according to veteran instructor and aviation industry leader John King. King, who owns King Schools with his wife Martha, told AVweb in apodcast interviewthat he’ll be appealing the loss of his medical to an NTSB administrative law judge at a […]

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AOPA Presses For TFR Relief

AOPA has suggested a way to ease the impact of President Donald Trump’s frequent visits to his Palm Beach resort. AOPA President Mark Baker has written Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly asking that “security screening capabilities and gateway operations” be established at Palm Beach County Park/Lantana Airport to allow relatively normal GA operations […]

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Podcast: John King On FAA Inflexibility

John King, of King Schools, has been without a medical for two years since he had a seizure and he’s now fighting to get it back. Like many other pilots who have appealed disqualifications, he’s finding it a frustrating experience that he says is ultimately hurting the FAA itself. Duration: 8.00 File Size: 6.6 Mb […]

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FAA: Possible Structural Issues In Vintage Cessnas

Cracks near the wing strut attachment were found in several Cessna 207s belonging to a single operator, leading the FAA to request information from owners and operators to determine how many aircraft have similar damage. The cracks could cause wing deformation leading to unflattering changes in flight characteristics, and, although unlikely, could cause wing failure […]

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Alleged Drone Sightings On The Rise

Pilots continue to report increasing numbers of suspected in-flight sightings of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) to air traffic control, says data released Thursday by the FAA. Pilots reported 1,274 sightings of sUAS in areas where those systems are not authorized to operate for the February 2016 through September 2016 reporting period. Those figures are […]

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Flybe Dash-8 Gear Collapses At Schipol

A Flybe Dash-8 suffered a gear collapse Thursday at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport as a major storm battered western Europe. There were no injuries but the airplane is badly damaged. The so-called weather bomb has hit the U.K. and the continent with winds of up to 100 mph and they were reportedly blowing at 30-40 MPH […]

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Vans Aircraft Lawsuit Dismissed

A $35 million lawsuit filed against Van’s Aircraft, characterized by Van’s as an attack on the kitplane industry as a whole, was settled by the parties late last year. In a press release issued Wednesday, Van’s said the case was dismissed, which is accurate, though it omitted the reason for the dismissal. Van’s Aircraft told […]

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Video Of Ford’s Taxiway Landing Emerges

Surveillance video of Harrison Ford’s miscue at John Wayne International Airport in California last week shows the Husky he was flying clear an American Airlines Boeing 737 by about 50 feet. As we reported last week, the celebrity pilot is under investigation by the FAA for landing on a taxiway instead of one of the […]

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Did The Skycatcher Kill LSA?

I mostly fly aircraft certificated under Part 23, but last month, I had five flights in a row in four different light sport aircraft. All this light sport flying got me thinking about an opinion piece I read years ago with the self-explanatory title: “The Skycatcher’s Death Proves the LSA Rule is a Failure.” That […]

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Four Americans Dead In Australian King Air Crash (Updated)

Five occupants of a King Air, including four Americans on a golf holiday, were killed when the aircraft crashed into the roof of a large shopping mall in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday. No one was hurt on the ground, likely because the accident occurred about 9 a.m., just before the mall opened for the day. Most […]

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