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.

Suit Follows Freak Parachute Accident

The widow of an Iowa man sucked out of a skydive plane when his parachute deployed inside the aircraft is now suing the skydiving company. In a lawsuit filed last week, Cindy Kidrowski alleges the chute Kidrowski was required to wear as a safety precaution ended up killing him and she’s looking for general and […]

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Seven Die In Hanscom Gulfstream Crash (UPDATED)

All seven people aboard a Gulfstream IV were killed Saturday night when the aircraft ran off a runway at Hansom Field in Bedford, Mass., northwest of Boston. The aircraft was en route from Hanscom to Atlantic City, N.J., according to airport authorities. Among the victims was Lewis Katz, 72, who just days ago reached a […]

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I’m Glad I’m Not Flying That

One of the occupational hazards of being a video editor is becoming an inevitable victim of the genius of YouTube code writers. They have absolutely figured out the art of click bait and if youre able to resist falling into the black hole of wasting hours watching pointless videos one day, you wont the next. […]

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Engine Failure Stops CSeries Testing

Bombardier’s CSeries test program has been temporarily halted after an uncontained engine failure in the first flight test aircraft during a ground test. The Transportation Safety Board said ground crew monitoring the aircraft declared an emergency and asked for airport firefighters. Bombardier wouldn’t discuss details but said both the engine and the aircraft were damaged […]

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Oklahoma Moves On Marking Temporary Towers

Oklahoma legislators have passed legislation to help ensure that the sudden appearance of wind evaluation towers doesn’t surprise pilots. The new law will require that any temporary towers put up to measure wind speed be amply marked if they are higher than 50 feet.”It’s really a simple matter: Higher visibility saves lives. This new law […]

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FAA Agreement Clears Route For SpaceShipTwo

Virgin Galactic, the privately funded space company owned by Sir Richard Bransons Virgin Group and Abu Dhabis aabar Investments PJS, and Spaceport America announcedthat they have signed a joint agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration that helps clear the path for commercial flights of SpaceShipTwo. The agreement sets out the parameters for how routine space […]

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CBP Recalibrates

I dont know whether to be shocked, surprised or skeptical of this weeks reports that Customs and Border Protection is re-examining its policies toward stop-and-search of private aircraft. For now, I think Ill go with skeptical. The reasons are several, chief among them being that CBP is a giant, complex and largely opaque bureaucracy of […]

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AVweb Classic – Pelican’s Perch #30: The 45-Degree Zealots

The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way. – Bertrand Russell That which is legal is not always safe, and that which is safe is not always legal. – John Deakin These two quotes are most appropriate when talking about traffic pattern entries. What IS […]

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The Weekender: Grassroots Fly-Ins Predominate

As spring moves towards summer our weekly review of what’s going on in aviation on SocialFlight reveals more and more events, especially pure, grassroots, small airport fly-ins. The first one we ran across, right in the heart of the country, is in Central City, Neb., where there will be a fly-in breakfast and lunch, on […]

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Customs Rethinking General Aviation Intercept Policy

Federal border security agents have sharply reduced intercepts of general aviation aircraft, following complaints by pilots that excessive police action at small airports is restricting the freedom to fly and a meeting with AOPA President Mark Baker according to a report by National Public Radio. An official with U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of […]

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