Flight Safety

Short-field landings are all about using excellent technique to get your airplane into a tight spot. That same technique, however, can put you in an even tighter spot when it’s time to leave. Most general aviation aircraft land shorter than they leave. This performance disparity can be subtle at sea level, where the two numbers […]

The FAA can’t mandate lower safety criteria for cargo operators than for passenger airlines based solely on cost, representatives for UPS pilots argued in court this week. Lawyers for the Independent Pilots Association told the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., that the FAA’s rule governing flight crew duty and rest requirements, finalized in […]

The FAA today proposed a new rule (see link below for full text) that aims to fundamentally change the way small general aviation airplanes are certified, potentially reducing the time required to bring new technology to the market and also cutting costs. The new rule replaces the current prescriptive design requirements in Part 23 with […]

Regional carrier GoJet Airlines has put its money on the table to attract pilots and mitigate the shortages that are affecting the industry. The airline, which flies 47 CRJ700 and seven CRJ900 as United Express and Delta Connection from Boise to Quebec City, is guaranteeing new first officers at least $2,700 a month and captains […]

The future role of Textron Airland’s Scorpion trainer/light attack jet is in question now that the Air Force is saying the bid requirements for its new jet trainer are firm. A few years ago, Textron, in partnership with Airland Enterprises, secretly developeda small twin-engine military aircraft that has been touted as an affordable front-line attack […]

A father and daughter walked away from a crash in Long Island over the weekend after deploying the parachute in their Cirrus SR22, with a lucky landing caught on video. “The engine died, and I pulled the parachute, and we landed,” pilot Louis Obergh told local reporters. “We got very lucky.” The security-camera video clearly […]

In Monday’s AVweb Flash, we ran an article from the March 2014 issue of Light Plane Maintenance entitled “The Dangers of Jump-Starting.” The article discussed an accident that occurred where the pilot of a Diamond DA-42 with a flat battery jump-started both engines—contrary to the POH. The pilot’s actions started an accident chain that culminated […]

Jet Blue has launched an ab initio training program that it hopes will help to diversify its hiring pool and also give the company control over a pilot’s training from start to finish. The four-year program, which has been in the works since last year, is now accepting online applicants, at a cost of $125,000. […]

Heard over north central Florida: Cirrus 123CD:“Jacksonville Center, Cirrus 123CD. 5,000.” Jacksonville Approach:“Mooney 123CD, altimeter 30.05. Fly heading 220.” [no reply] Jacksonville Approach:“Mooney 123CD, fly heading 220.” Cirrus 123CD:“Sir, was that for 123CD? Because you keep calling us a Mooney, but we are a Cirrus.” Jacksonville Approach:“Well, if you keep calling me ‘Center,’ I’m going […]

Women of Aviation Week will kick off with the arrival of an Air Canada flight at Vancouver International Airport. Onboard the airplane will be an all-female flight crew and they’ll be cleared to land by a female air traffic controller in a media event. That it took a coordinated effort by WOAW, Air Canada and […]