Flight Safety

At least two snowy owls were shot and killed by airport employees in New York last week, after owls reportedly struck five airplanes in the New York/New Jersey region. News of the killings brought swift protests from local birdwatchers. The New York agency that manages the airports now says they will instead work with the […]

Instrument pilots take far more checkrides than their more visuallyoriented counterparts. In addition to the initial rating check, you occasionally face an instrument competency ride when you are more than six months out of currency. Most times when you add a rating, like a multiengine ticket, youll be expected to show off your gauge gazing […]

“Education of the many would have far greater public health impact than regulation of the few,” the Civil Aviation Medical Association, which represents FAA aviation medical examiners, said in a recent letter to the FAA, regarding its proposed sleep-apnea policy. The letter (PDF), posted online Tuesday by EAA, objects to the FAA’s proposal that AMEs […]

After an Air Wisconsin pilot was fired from his job and boarded a commercial flight to go home, his former employers alerted the TSA that he might be armed and mentally unstable, launching a legal dispute that made it to the Supreme Court this week. William Hoeper was fired in 2004 after he failed several […]

While on a local flight close to my base airport (KLWB), a landing Gulfstream contacted the tower. The controller in the cab gave the Gulfstream clearance to land, along with a warning that buzzards were circling near the approach end of the runway. “O.K.,” replied the Gulfsteam. “We’ve got the BB gun loaded.” Kyle Jonesvia […]

Letter of the Week:100UL Should Be Cheaper than 100LL Regarding Shell’s announcement that it has created an unleaded 100-octane aviation fuel: Once in production, and without knowing the ingredients, this should actually be lower in cost than 100LL for several reasons, some of which are: Larry Wheelock I’d hoped a 100UL fuel would cost less […]

December marks the first month that a first batch of students will make their way through National Aviation Hall of Fame inductee and aerobatic pilot Sean Tuckers latest project, Every Kid Can Fly, for local at-risk children. The Salinas, Calif., program is associated with Hartnell College and the NASA laboratories based there. It aims to […]

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has approved a bill that would force the FAA to follow the formal rulemaking process in adopting a controversial new sleep apnea detection initiative, It’s the first legislative step to slow down implementation of a policy introduced by Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Fred Tilton in his November newsletter to […]

Helicopter Association International has extended the deadlines on several scholarships for those seeking aviation careers. Applicants now have until midnight, Dec. 31, to compete for 10 scholarships that provide up to $5,000 toward commercial helicopter ratings and maintenance technician certificates, as well as one Michelle North Scholarship that will fund attendance at the safety management […]

While its generally assumed that aircraft certification rules increase safety and reduce accidents, a recently completed research project by an Embry Riddle Aeronautical University professor reveals that for some types of accidents, thats not the case. In fact, the research data suggests that for some segments of general aviation, burdensome certification rules actually decrease safety […]