Flight Safety

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.

Air Canada Airbus Landed Short

The Air Canada A320 that crash landed at Halifax’s Stanfield International Airport early Sunday touched down about 1,000 feet before the runway threshold and hit an antenna array before tearing off the gear and sliding to a stop about 1,000 feet down the runway, according to crash investigators. Mike Cunningham, of the Transportation Safety Board, […]

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LSA Earthrounder Killed In Ecuador

A 62-year-old Swiss adventurer who was attempting to fly around the world in an LSA-sized aircraft died Saturday in an accident in Ecuador. Eric Guilloud’s Aerospool WT9 Dynamic aircraft hit a volcano shortly after takeoff from Latacunga airport, south of Quito. Guilloud was trying to fly around the world in a series of sidetracking flights […]

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Tragedy in the Alps vs. Sleep Apnea

In the wake of last week’s troubling indications that a trained First Officer intentionally crashed an Airbus A320 in the French Alps, I couldn’t help but wonder if passengers boarding airliners are suddenly giving the crews the fisheye. Truthfully, I can’t really say I wouldn’t, but I’m no more worried about a repeat of Germanwings […]

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Hand-Propping Demystified

Most casual discussions of hand-propping begin and end with the admonition “Don’t.” That’s not bad advice, except when there’s no other way to start the engine. In fact, hand-propping is a time-honored practice, dating to the beginning of heavier-than-air flight. That it’s still employed says as much about the legacy of aviation as it does […]

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Air Canada Landing Accident

Authorities at Halifax’s Stanfield International Airport reported early Sunday morning that about 20 people were injured when an Air Canada Airbus A320 landed hard and skidded off a snowy runway just after midnight. The injuries weren’t believed to be life-threatening. The flight had departed from Toronto with 133 passengers and five crew aboard, authorities said […]

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Ex-Pilot Sues JetBlue Over Midair Meltdown

A former JetBlue pilot who had a midair meltdown in 2012 that forced the flight to divert has sued the airline for $14.9 million, claiming he should have been grounded, Reuters reported Friday. In the lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court, Clayton Osbon, 52, said his irrational behavior on March 27, 2012, during the New […]

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AOPA Releases Aircraft Transition Course

The AOPA Air Safety Institute released a new online course Friday designed to help pilots transition into unfamiliar aircraft. “Transitioning to Other Airplanes” offers factors to consider when moving up or down in airplane size or complexity, or into one with different avionics. The first ten hours of flight in an unfamiliar airplane pose more […]

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Airliners To Require Two Crew Members In Cockpits

Airlines around the world said Thursday they’ll start requiring two crew members in the cockpit at all times. The change comes after details emerged that the co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525 deliberately locked the captain outside the cockpit and crashed the jet into the French Alps on Tuesday, killing all aboard. Norwegian Air Shuttle announced […]

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Germanwings Co-pilot Concealed Psychiatric Treatment

Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilotfound to have deliberately crashed the Germanwings Airbus 320 into the French Alps this week, was undergoing treatment for depression but concealed his condition from the airline, according to a Wall Street Journal reportFriday that quoted unnamed sources.A search of Lubitz’s Dusseldorf home turned up torn-up medical leave notes excusing him from […]

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