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.

Skydiving Midair: What a Tale the Video Tells

Last weekends midair collision between two Cessnas carrying skydivers wasnt the first midair caught on camera, but it may be the first impact filmed by a passenger from five feet away. Google gives the accident an entire page of search hits. That film will give the FAA and NTSB plenty to chew on in determining […]

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Where Pilot Training Costs Are Steady And Pay Is Down

Economic conditions in Europe are creating a challenge for some prospective professional pilots as the costs of their training has not declined, but pilot pay in many cases has, according to Bloomberg News. In Germany, pilots paying their own way through training can spend nearly $100,000 on that process, Bloomberg said, while the unemployment rate […]

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Midair Pilot Describes Escape From Burning Plane

Pilot Matt Fandler, who escaped under canopy from an airborne, broken and burning Cessna 182 after a midair with a Cessna 185 prior to a planned formation skydive, has spoken with NBC News in an exclusive interview recorded for Dateline. All 11 participants and one of two aircraft survived the event. Fandler, who flew the […]

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Wolf Aviation Grant Proposals Due

The annual Wolf Aviation Fund grant, provided to individuals and organizations doing great work in general aviation, has announced its final call for applications, accepted this year until Dec. 15. The grant award program has over the years offered financial support to a total of more than 350 programs that meet the funds criteria in […]

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FAA Sets Stage For Drones In Airspace

The FAA Thursday released its UAS Roadmap and Comprehensive Plan to integrate unmanned aerial systems, or UAS (also known as UAVs or drones) in the national airspace. The release addresses current and future policies, regulations, technologies and procedures that will allow operation of unmanned aerial vehicles in the nations airspace with emphasis on extensive integration. […]

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Are You Ready To Copy?

Recently I flew from Northern California to an airport Id never been to in the Los Angeles area. The flight was uneventful until about 35 minutes from the destination when Ireceived an amendment to my clearance. Amendments arent unusual in or around congested Class B airspace, but with modern electronic navigators, dealing with route changes […]

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New iPads Aviation App-Ready

Three of the major players in the tablet navigation business say the new iPad products are fully compatible and are noticeably faster at getting information to the pilot. “ForeFlight Mobile version 5.4.4 (already available for download from the App Store) is fully compatible with the iPad Air,” said ForeFlight CEO Tyson Weihs. “The air screams […]

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Police Suspect Suicide In Fall From Helicopter

A 61-year-old man flying Tuesday as passenger in a Robinson R44 tour helicopter near Newport Beach, Calif., appears to have opened the door and jumped out while roughly 500 feet above the ocean, according to local police. The man was recovered from the water and later pronounced dead at an area hospital. First reports state […]

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FAAs Financial Constraints And Certification Backlog

The FAAs processes combined with financial constraints have created a bottleneck that has held up roughly 1,000 certifications, industry representatives told a House aviation subcommittee last month – and it could get worse, they said. In the past year alone, the certification office lost resources due to the sequester, instituted a hiring freeze, and had […]

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FAA Issues Final Pilot Training Rule

A final rule affecting howairlinepilots are trained went into effect on Tuesday, the FAA announced. The rule, which stems mainly from investigations following the Colgan Air crash in 2009, has long been in the works, and recently was delayed by the federal government’s shutdown over funding disputes. The rule, which the FAA said will cost […]

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