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.
A midair collision at an airshow in Switzerland Sunday killed one of the pilots involved. According to initial news reports two members of the three-ship Formation Grasshoppers team touched during a maneuver and both aircraft crashed. One pilot was reportedly able to parachute from his crippled aircraft. The Grasshoppers fly Ikarus C42 aircraft and do […]
Earlier this month, the NTSB released findings on trends in general aviation accidents. The GA fatal rate, after an all time low of 1.12/100,000 hours in 2013 reversed its trend to 1.4. That’s the highest since 1998. The overall accident rate spiked slightly from 6.26 in 2013 to 6.74 in 2014. But do these numbers […]
At least 11 people are feared dead a Hawker Hunter plowed into multiple cars, including a wedding limousine, on a road adjacent to an airport hosting an airshow in the U.K. Saturday. The pilot, identified as Andy Hill, a British Airways pilot and former RAF Harrier pilot, survived and is in the hospital in serious […]
Government agencies and law enforcement have been quietly testing ways to disable rogue unmanned aerial systems, Reuters reported this week. In efforts to address security concerns that come with commercially available unmanned aircraft, authorities are developing technology to track and disable them. According to Reuters, New York’s police department tested a system over the winter […]
A short circuit was the probable cause of the fire that started in a Boeing 787 parked at London’s Heathrow Airport in July 2013, U.K. investigators said this week. Two exposed wires in the aircraft’s lithium battery-powered ELT touched, starting the fire and causing substantial damage to the 787, the Air Accidents Investigations Branch said […]
A wildfire in Washington state thought to have been started by the crash of a Cessna 182 last week was likely due to other causes, officials said. The Associated Press reported this week that fire investigators are still searching for the cause but no longer believe the blaze was ignited by the crash, which occurred […]
The pilot of the twin-engine Swearingen Merlin III that crashed in April in British Columbia had a blood-alcohol level of 0.24 percent, three times the legal driving limit, a report from the B.C. Coroners Service said. Robert Brandt, 34, and first officer Kevin Wang, 32, died in the crash. Wang did not have drugs or […]
Seven people died in a midair collision of two skydiving aircraft over Slovakia, news agencies in Europe reported Thursday morning. About 35 skydivers were involved in the accident and were apparently training for a weekend airshow. Witnesses said the two aircraft collided at about 4900 feet, possibly while attempting a formation flight for a large […]
The NTSB said Wednesday it has launched its investigation into a possible wind shear encounter by an American Airlines jet, which had a tail strike before executing a go-around in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday. The Airbus 321 was inbound from Atlanta to Charlotte Douglas International Airport about 6:34 p.m. Saturday when it reportedly flew […]
Mooney aficionados tend to be clustered in the end of the gene pool that has “I want a fast airplane” in the DNA. For years, they flocked to the marque that promised and delivered speed while sipping fuel. Starting with the single-seat Mite, they were willing to shoehorn themselves into tiny cabins in return for […]
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