Flight Safety

A SCAT Airlines Boeing 737-300 burst into flames Tuesday when an oxygen cylinder exploded at Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan. Passengers had already disembarked and the airliner was waiting for its next flight, so no one was on board when the fire began, the Daily Mail reported. Dramatic video of the fire shows flames erupting from […]

As a long-time IA and A & P mechanic and pilot I look at airplanes with a somewhat different eye than pilots. My purpose, whether it’s actually inspecting an aircraft, flying one or writing about my experiences, is safety. Most certificated aircraft owners should know what the meaning of airworthy is and that there are […]

Sleep apnea is an ongoing issue for the pilot population, with the FAA requiring medical examiners to check all pilots for symptoms, but a new device that promises to simplify the treatment could help some of those pilots who are afflicted. The small device, about a cubic inch in size, plugs directly into the user’s […]

A while back, a controller at RDU International spoke in a robotic Cylon voice, using all official phraseology including “tree” and “fife” for “3” and “5.” We though he was trying to show everyone up and be a model of correctness. One night, I was practicing instrument approaches with a safety pilot, and that controller […]

Still the only production four-seat or side-by-side, conventional gear airplanes being built in the U.S., Maules have been attracting owners who march to a slightly different beat for over 50 years. In general, the Maule airplanes are easy and forgiving to fly when in the air, yet not so much on the ground—the runway loss […]

Honda Aircraft has confirmed the first type conforming HondaJet flight test aircraft left the runway at Tulsa International Airport Thursday after blowing a tire.NewsOn6 reportedthat witnesses said a tire blew and that the aircraft ended up on the grass beside a main runway. The aircraft was identified as N-420HJ, the first aircraft to fly (Dec. […]

Airline cockpit systems can’t be safely rendered tamper-proof to prevent crews from sabotaging flights, the FAA told the National Transportation Safety Board in a letter obtained by Bloomberg News. The recent Germanwings crash in Europe, found to have been premeditated by the co-pilot, and the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines MH370 last year has prompted a […]

As summer arrives and the days get longer, pilots may let their guard down when it comes to weather. Icing and large hail may certainly be less of a factor during the balmy dog days, but the June, 1999 American MD-80 runway excursion and the Delta L-1011 crash in August 1985 are some of the […]

Four students are at the Glasair factory in Arlington, Washington, this week helping to build a Sportsman, as their reward for winning the third GAMA/Build A Plane Design Challenge. The Chef Homeschoolers team from Cuba City, Wisconsin, won the trip in a nationwide competition that aims to develop their skills in science, math, engineering and […]

If ever we need a king in this country and someone put me in charge, somewhere on my to-do list would be getting rid of FAR 91.119. OK, so I wouldn’t eliminate it, but I’d amend it so that people would just worry about it less. I’ve been in more discussions than I care to […]