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.

Update: HondaJet Hits Car, Five Dead

Five people died in the collision of a HondaJet with a car in Mesa, Arizona, about 4:40 p.m. on Tuesday. The plane was reportedly taking off from Falcon Field when it overran the runway and crashed into the car on a street bordering the airport. There were five people on the aircraft but it’s not […]

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Russia Accused Of Plotting Sabotage Against U.S.-Bound Aircraft

The Wall Street Journal is reporting Russia was behind a plot to start fires aboard cargo and passenger aircraft heading from Europe to Canada and the U.S. The publication said explosions at DHL hubs in Leipzig, Germany, and Birmingham, U.K., in July were dress rehearsals for the plot, which was apparently aimed at bringing down […]

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Pilot Talking To ATC As Helicopter Hit Tower

The pilot of a Robinson R-44 that hit a radio tower in Houston on Oct. 20 was talking to ATC when it happened according to the NTSB’s preliminary report. The helicopter was on a commercial sightseeing flight when it struck the 1,003-foot tower about 900 feet. All four on the helicopter were killed and the […]

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FAA Says It Will Keep ATC Meteorologists

The FAA says it will keep staff meteorologists at 21 air traffic control centers. A few days after the union representing the weather specialists issued a press release saying the agency planned to get rid of them in favor of automated systems, the agency said it wasn’t so. “The Federal Aviation Administration and the National […]

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FAA Issues New Airworthiness Directive For Lycoming Engines

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an airworthiness directive (AD) on Thursday targeting specific Lycoming engines that are equipped with certain connecting rod assemblies. The AD was issued in response to multiple reports of connecting rod failures that led to serious engine issues and in-flight shutdowns. According to the agency, the AD requires regular oil […]

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Passenger Lands Cessna 150 After Pilot Incapacitation

A woman passenger made a hard landing in a Cessna 150 on Friday evening, Oct. 18, at Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport (KGVL) in Gainesville, Georgia, after the pilot was incapacitated. Sadly, the pilot later died, according to the Aviation Safety Network, though it is unclear whether his death resulted from the hard landing, the medical […]

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Union Says FAA To Drop ATC Center Weather Forecasters

The FAA is eliminating National Weather Service forecasters at all 21 of its Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCC) in favor of an automated system. The alarm was raised by the National Weather Service Employees Organization Monday. The group says forecasters will get their walking papers on April 20. The FAA didn’t confirm the decision […]

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Storm Pushes Paraglider To 24,000 Feet

A Canadian paraglider pilot has a heck of a Himalayan adventure story to tell even though he was unconscious for a lot of it. Ben Lewis, who was five hours into a cross-country flight in the Himalayas in the Indian State of Himachal Pradesh, was sucked up into a storm and spit out at more […]

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Weight Increase Approved For Sonex And Waiex Aircraft

Sonex recently announced an increase in the maximum gross weight for all Sonex and Waiex aircraft equipped with 100-horsepower engines. The approval comes after extensive engineering studies and flight tests, the new limit is now 1,220 pounds, a 70-pound boost from the previous 1,150-pound cap. Mark Schaible, owner and president of Sonex, stated that these […]

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