Flight Safety

Our weekly survey of aviation news turned up an announcement of certification of the newest Airbus Helicopter, tighter rules regarding helicopter ambulance operators, an NTSB seminar on loss of control accidents and a new Pilot Welcome Center at Friday Harbor, Washington. Friday Harbor Airport, Washington announced the opening of its new Pilot Welcome Center in […]

We Americans like our stuff. We accumulate it madly and take it with us when we go places. We happily buy and jam our highways with SUVs, minivans and gigantic pickup trucks, each able to comfortably swallow several people and their stuff. Yet, when it comes to airplanes, it’s tough to fulfill the deep-seated desire […]

Southwest Airlines has completed its investigation into an incident in January when a 737 crew landed at the wrong airport, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday. The captain is now back at work and the first officer has chosen to retire, the airline said. Airline spokesperson Brandy King said Southwest is continuing to work with the […]

In the U.S. we know it as Part 23, but the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is concerned with revisions to what the rest of the world knows as CS-23. AVweb’s Paul Bertorelli caught up with Greg Bowles form GAMA at Aero in Friedrichshafen to get the lowdown on changes to the rule and what […]

Police in Springfield, Ohio, said a drone operator who was shooting video of a car crash on Saturday refused to give way to an approaching medical helicopter, and arrested him on a felony charge of obstructing official business. Authorities said firefighters and a sheriff’s deputy both asked Kele Stanley to stop flying the drone because […]

ADS-B is now installed nationwide, the FAA said on Monday, although services won’t be available at all air traffic facilities until 2019. “The installation of this radio network clears the way for air traffic controllers to begin using ADS-B to separate equipped aircraft nationwide,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta in a statement. “It will also […]

Years ago, working in the Delta radio shop, I had a VHF receiver tuned to an ATL tower frequency. Tower had an Eastern DC-9 go around twice. The second time, the DC-9 responded: “We can do this all afternoon if you like, but in a little while we are going to have to land and […]

The European Aviation Safety Agency is moving quickly on aircraft certification reform, and the the FAA is falling behind. AVweb’s Paul Bertorelli spoke with GAMA President Pete Bunce at Aero Friedrichshafen. Duration: 7:13 File Size: 6.0 MB download here

Letter of the Week:Adjusting GA I find it very interesting that AOPA is planning to refurbish three Cessna 152s looking for a price point of $85,000. Also, the comments about the 1,320-pound gross weight limit for LSA being a problem in the U.S. for flight schools. Both of these concerns lead me to believe, as […]

The Balloon Federation of America is rejecting an NTSB recommendation that the FAA assume direct oversight of commercial balloon ride operations. Last week the NTSB recommended the FAA require all fly-for-hire balloon operations be covered by a Letter of Authorization as a means to improve safety. The move was prompted by its investigation of three […]