Flight Safety

I was listening to O’Hare ground one claggy fall night, and several arriving flights were being sent to the penalty box due to delays. One arriving flight protested, saying they were promised their gate would be open. Ground:“Flight 123, proceed to the box.” Flight 123:“But we were promised — !” All of a sudden, several […]

A Long Island pilot had his second off-airport landing in a little more than a week last Friday, landing on the same highway he used in the previous mishap. Frank Fierro, 75, told reporters he thinks a blown fuse was to blame for engine problems encountered about eight minutes after he took off from Lufker […]

In last weeks blog, I was bemoaning the fact that the FAAs avgas replacement effort had entered the dark phase and its now impossible to find out much of anything about whats going on behind closed doors. No one seemed to know anything about a company called Avgas LLC, which is one of five companies […]

A few years back, Jeff Simons passion for flying caused him to look for a way to do his part to energize general aviation-he wanted to help pilots fly more and more often. As he searched, he noted that his friends who were pilots seemed to always be looking for reasons to fly and he […]

A federal court of appeals has ruled that the Federal Aviation Administration’s informal letters and emails ordering some drone users to stop using the devices are not legally binding. In April, a Texas search-and-rescue group asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to set aside an FAA order to stop using remotely […]

Airbus has filed a patent application for a bicycle-style seat that allows passengers to ride their airliners in semi-standing position, allowing more bodies to be shoehorned into its airplanes. Recognizing that modern airline passengers will endure almost any indignity in return for cheap fares, the design calls for seats that look like old-style, wide bicycle […]

The family of an airshow pilot who burned to death in an accident at Travis Air Force Base in California in May is suing the federal government for $20 million claiming the emergency response to the accident resulted in his death. Eddie Andreini was doing an inverted pass down the flightline when his Stearman hit […]

This week, AVwebs review of whats new in aviation revealed new, worldwide coverage of a popular app, an airport advocacy program from a major aviation insurer, a pilot proficiency program at EAA Oshkosh and a new app that finds nearest airports at an unfamiliar destination. Garmin International announced worldwide coverage of the Garmin Pilot application […]

The skies have almost emptied over Ukraine as airlines avoid the country after a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 with 298 people onboard was shot down Thursday. The FAA has banned U.S.-registered aircraft from transiting Ukraine airspace and it appears most of the rest of the world is also staying away. No one survived the destruction […]

With the FAA reportedly scrutinizing apps and websites that have sprung up to match general aviation pilots and potential passengers to fly and split expenses, at least one startup has formally asked that the FAA rule on its legality. According to TechCrunch, AirPooler‘s request will be ruled upon in the next few months. In the […]