Flight Safety

Operators of about 500 Boeing 737 aircraft would have to replace or upgrade autothrottle computers to comply with a proposed airworthiness directive published by the FAA on Monday. The AD would mandate actions that Boeing already has recommended to operators via service bulletins. The AD was “prompted by reports in which a single, undetected, erroneous […]

We love a pilot who accidentally says over the mic something everyone has thought at one time or another. When arriving at the first stop on our pilots association’s annual poker run, one of our pilots said on the frequency, for all to hear: “Geez. There’s more than one runway here. That makes it kinda […]

A new report released this week by the Government Accountability Office offers a mixed view of whether the much-discussed airline pilot shortage actually exists, but it does confirm that regional airlines are having trouble finding qualified pilots. The GAO report (PDF), which was done at the behest of Congress, found that the projected need for […]

I can rightly-but not necessarily proudly-claim dual citizenship in two Villages of the Damned: journalism and aviation. Journalism, that noble guardian of the public trust and traveler of the moral high road, has been utterly disrupted by the rise of countless internet news services and a young generation that doesnt read. In aviation, an asymptotic […]

In a strongly-wordedposting on its website, the FAA directly addressed what it called misconceptions and misinformation about unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) regulations. It listed seven common myths and set out the underlying facts on each. The myths include that the FAA doesnt control airspace below 400 feet-it is responsible for all U.S. airspace from the […]

During March, the NTSB will offer two courses related to accident investigation and one on accident response and victim family support at its training center in Auburn, Va. The Aircraft Accident Investigation course will run from March 31 through April 11 and is designed to provide participants with a comprehensive overview of the procedures and […]

Before Civil Air Patrol’s Command Council convenes in Washington, D.C., this week for its annual winter meeting, it will gather on Capitol Hill for Legislative Day on Feb. 27 to brief Congress on the U.S. Air Force auxiliary’s primary missions of emergency services, aerospace education and cadet programs. Legislative Day will also feature induction of […]

The FAA today published a notice in theFederal Register of the availability of two new and eight revised consensus standards for certification of certain light sport aircraft and requested comments on the standards. Under light sport rules, ASTM International (formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials) Committee F37 on Light Sport Aircraft […]

Maintaining your IFR currency isnt that hard. Just fly and log in actual or simulated conditions six instrument approaches, holding procedures and tasks and intercepting and tracking electronic courses within the preceding six months, and youre golden. Even if you find yourself slightly out of currency in the 11th month, you can go out with […]

In the first penalty of its kind, federal transportation officials docked Asiana Airlines $500,000 for failing to promptly contact passengers’ families and keep them informed about their loved ones after a deadly crash last year at San Francisco International airport. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the U.S. Department of Transportation said it took the […]