Flight Safety

The neutering of Chicago O’Hare, once not only the busiest airport in the world, but also the baddest, is nearly complete: The 2015 version of ORD has three control towers, half a dozen east/west parallel runways … and no character whatsoever. While a couple of the old diagonal runways escaped the bulldozers, they might as […]

With sunny skies and calm winds, it’s a surprise to reach cruise altitude and find a bumpy ride. Though computer modeling is beginning to overcome many limitations in turbulence prediction, the products aren’t always accurate and don’t convey the nature of the problem. So, it’s pretty important for pilots to be well versed in what […]

NASA, which posts want ads when it needs more astronauts, will accept applications in a few weeks for new candidates. The agency will open up the submission process on the federal job-application website between Dec. 14 through mid-February. Among the base qualifications are a degree in engineering, math, biology or physical science, and at least […]

A Russian aviation panel this week said it’s suspending certification of Boeing 737s operated by the country’s airlines due to safety concerns.In a vaguely wordeddeclaration to the FAA and Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, the Interstate Aviation Committee said it wants official notice “supporting their safe operation” related to “urgent improvements of Boeing-737 aircraft rudder […]

A loss of oil pressure and what appears to be a high-speed descent prompted the pilot of a Cirrus SR22T to deploy the BRS airframe parachute over Fayetteville, Arkansas, Tuesday, where it struck a pickup truck as it landed alongside a busy street. Much of the descent under canopy was caught on cellphone and dashcam […]

The U.S. and the U.K. now appear to agree that a bomb brought down Metrojet 9268. Numerous reports quoting unnamed sources say the bomb theory is now front and center. The U.K. banned flights to the Sinai area on Wednesday. There has been no official judgment on the theory by any of the many bodies […]

Until there’s a more detailed analysis of the voice and flight data recorders from Metrojet Flight 9268, conflicting media reports of possible causes of the jet’s crashin Egypt on Saturday are bound to continue. Meanwhile,U.K. authorities have halted flights from a popular resort area in the region, fueling fears it was a terrorist attack.A government […]

So there you are, flying along, proverbially fat, dumb and happy. Suddenly a cacophony of unusual sounds and vibration, accompanied by a pungent smell that pierces the cockpit, and the windshield is sprayed with oil. Some emergencies are clear cut like this—others more subtle. Some are caused by outside events such as a mechanical engine […]

A prototype AgustaWestland AW609 tiltrotor that was part of the company’s test program crashed in Italy on Friday morning, killing both test pilots on board. Some press reports say there may have been an in-flight fire prior to the crash, but authorities have not confirmed any details. The aircraft had been built by Bell in […]

The IMC Club, which has grown to about 130 chapters with nearly 3,000 members, now has completed its acquisition by EAA, Radek Wyrzykowski, founder and president of the club, told AVweb on Monday. “All IMC Club members will automatically become EAA members,” effective immediately, he said. Going forward, all members of the IMC Club can […]