Flight Safety

The FAA will hold a public hearing on its proposed Part 23 revisions today and tomorrow in College Park, Georgia. On the eve of the event, a coalition of general aviation groups sent a letter (PDF) to the FAA urging them to work swiftly and implement the revised rule by the end of this year. […]

The National Association of Flight Instructors announced on Monday thatthe group’s founder, Jack Jay Eggspuehler, died on April 30. He was 86 years old. Eggspuehler was a flight instructor and professor of aviation at The Ohio State University from 1958 to 1980. In 1967, he led a small group of aviation professionals to create NAFI, […]

Recently, on flight following above Santa Barbara on a beautifully clear afternoon, approach was uncomfortably quiet. After several minutes of silence I called: Mooney 1234:“Approach, Mooney 1234. Is there anybody there to talk to?” Approach:“Mooney 1234, say request.” Mooney 1234:“Just checking to see if it really is this quiet.” Approach:“Yes, it really is.” [Pause.] Approach:“Mooney […]

The U.K. government is downplaying a widely circulated reportthat a British Airways A320 collided with a drone last month. Shortly after the incident hit the headlines, Robert Goodwill said the object hit by the aircraft might have been a plastic bag. Later in the month transport department officials told members of Parliament that that the […]

If the increasingly strident messages from the FAA about ADS-B equipage have you feeling the slightest pangs of guilt that you haven’t written the check yet, take heart. The agency doesn’t seem to be in too much of a hurry to get its own aircraft in compliance and it’s shopping around. As every aircraft owner […]

Dave strolls into the FBO carrying a travel bag and a pizza box. I let out a sigh. “Well, look who showed up. Dave, you’re 45 minutes late.” “Well, I needed gas, and there was a pizza place next door and, well, that smell hit me. I got some for everybody.” “We’re already late and […]

Aviation authorities have grounded Airbus EC225 Super Puma helicopters after the crash of a Canadian aircraft off the coast of Norway Friday. The helicopter, operated by CHC Helicopter, went down a few hundred yards from shore near Bergen. All 11 passengers and two crew died. Witnesses told various news sources that they saw rotor blades […]

The U.S. Air Force is complaining about showboating Russian fighter pilots who have done barrel rolls over its pricey reconnaissance planes twice in the last couple of weeks. The most recent incident was Friday when an SU-27 flew within 25 feet of an RC-135 sensor platform and turned inverted over the top of the converted […]

Gyroplane pilot Paul Salmon’s flight this week from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to Longview, Texas, and back will win a new distance record for his aircraft class. Salmon completed the closed-circuit flight Thursday in his Magni M22 Voyager, making 770 nautical miles in 10 hours and 37 minutes nonstop. The National Aeronautic Association, the sanctioning body […]

Last week, a drone reportedly hit an Airbus A320 on approach to London’s Heathrow Airport, but so far, there have been no officially confirmed drone strikes involving U.S. aircraft. However, witnesses have told AVweb that a drone did hit a hot-air balloon in flight, during a festival in Vermont in July 2014, causing damage to […]