Flight Safety

There I was, sliding down from my cruising altitude toward my VFR destination, still 30 or so miles out. It had been a smooth ride, and Otto was following a heading and descending at the selected 400 fpm. I had let the power come up during the descent, along with airspeed. The big Continental in […]

A pilot died when his Sonex airplane crashed into the roof of a condo complex near Lawrence Municipal Airport in Massachusetts on Tuesday afternoon. The pilot, identified by local media as Alan Lavender, 73, a sport pilot from nearby Newburyport, had taken off from the airport and was planning to stay in the pattern to […]

The pilot of a drone that hit a building, then fell into a crowd watching a parade and hit a 25-year-old woman, knocking her unconscious, has been sentenced to 30 days in jail by a Seattle municipal court. Paul Skinner, 38, of Washington, who owns an aerial photography company, was convicted of reckless endangerment, which […]

Three people are dead and at least two were injured in a crash that also destroyed two houses in Riverside, California, on Monday. A Cessna 310 took off from Riverside Municipal Airport around 5 p.m. headed for San Jose and crashed about a half mile from the airport. The aircraft reportedly had five occupants, a […]

AVweb’s General Aviation Accident Bulletin is taken from the pages of our sister publication, Aviation Safety magazine 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 web site at www.ntsb.gov. Final […]

While flying from the northeast to south Florida last week it was bumpy at all altitudes and everyone was trying to find a better ride. I overheard this conversation with ATC. United XYZ: Jax Center, were getting a rough ride here at 360. Do you have anything smoother? Jax Center: Yes, I-95 United XYZ (after […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]