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.
While it might be true that fear is just fear, the kind that comes in knowing youre running out of gas has a particular texture that seems uniquely capable of turning your brain to mush. I know this because like many pilots, Ive had the experience of nearly running an engine on air. I could […]
BAE Systems recently demonstrated a system that provides helicopter pilots with situational awareness of their immediate surroundings while flying in zero visibility conditions. The company seeks to improve statistics that show more combat helicopters have been lost in Afghanistan to low visibility conditions than to enemy fire. The Brownout Landing Aid System Technology (BLAST) mixes […]
The FAA is sending a letter and fact sheet to all U.S. pilots to make them aware of the potentially negative effects that certain types of common over-the-counter and prescription drugs could have on the safety of flight. Specifically, the FAA notes the “sedative effects” caused by “many medications” and the ability of some medications […]
After a missed approach, the fuel condition of a Virgin-operated Boeing 737-800 with 91 aboard forced an emergency landing at a fog-shrouded alternate airport in Australia on June 18 that left the jet with 15 minutes of fuel remaining when it stopped, the ATSB said. According to the ATSB’s preliminary incident report, released Wednesday, the […]
Katrina Bradshaw, executive director of Build A Plane, unveils a new program from the nonprofit group and talks about plans for EAA AirVenture, including a free program for teachers at the show. Bradshaw also explains how teachers anywhere in the U.S. can get their classes involved in building an airplane. Duration: File Size: download here
Healthy GA pilot volunteers are needed this year at AirVenture for computer-administered confidential testing to help the FAA determine when previously injured pilots are safe to return to flying. The FAA requires cognitive screening tests to help determine when a pilot who has suffered a stroke, head, or brain injury can be considered safe to […]
New legislation passed through the House Tuesday (by a 411-0 vote) calling for a restructuring of the FAA’s Part 23 certification requirements for the purpose of expediting approvals for safety improvements. The Small Airplane Revitalization Act aims to remove bureaucratic barriers to evolutionary progress within the industry (for the introduction of new designs and the […]
On a swing through Continental Motors factory in Mobile this week, I spent a couple of hours touring the companys new Zulu Flight Training center in nearby Spanish Fort, Alabama. We first reported on Zulu a year ago and my visit coincided with its one-year anniversary. Zulu, you may recall, juxtaposes an intimate little flight […]
Automation is a routine part of our lives now, dictated by sweeping new technologies and consumer preferences. Arguably, the trend toward automation began in aviation in the 1970s. It has been debated and resisted by many in the aviation community, but the game has recently changed for both the airlines and general aviation. Yet, our […]
Investigators are now looking at the ELT aboard the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 as a possible cause for the fire that heavily damaged the airliner at Heathrow Airport last week. The ELT is located in the area that was scorched by the fire. The ELT has a non-rechargeable lithium manganese battery made by Honeywell. The […]
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