Flight Safety

For those who haven’t been counting, this concludes my second year of writing for AVweb. No one is more surprised than me. It doesn’t seem that long. I guess it’s true. Time does fly when you’re having fun.And it has been fun. Even more important, at least in my book, it’s been educational. Everyone’s heard […]

Before we get into this month’s column, a little “housekeeping.”I’d like to remind readers that my old email address (jdeakin@avweb.com) is no longer valid, as the new owners have done away with AVweb email for columnists and other staff. My current addresses are my “Old Faithful” for more than 20 years, jdeakin@compuserve.com, and my newer […]

I consider myself very lucky to be able to go into the pilot’s lounge, here at the virtual airport, and talk with or exchange e-mails with some very perceptive, knowledgeable pilots. I deeply appreciate the time they take to educate me so that I can write this column. In the last five months I sent […]

The office of my Flight Surgeon was littered with the usual magazines, health books, drug interaction guides, free pens with medical supply house names on them, and of course, the ubiquitous television in the corner of the room talking about how you should take care of yourself and strive not to smoke, drink, inhale radon […]

We all want to get through training as quickly and efficiently as possible. Yet some student pilots fly through training (no pun intended), and others end up spending a great deal more effort, money, and time to reach the same levels as our peers. What’s the difference? Though frequency of training and personal learning styles […]

On March 29th, 2001, about 1902 Mountain Standard Time (MST) [1], a Gulfstream III, N303GA, operated by Avjet Corporation, crashed into sloping terrain about 2400 feet short of runway 15 at Aspen-Pitkin County Airport Sardy Field (ASE), Aspen, Colorado. The three crewmembers and all 15 passengers were killed, and the airplane was destroyed. The flight […]

On March 29, 2001, about 1902 Mountain Standard Time (MST), a Gulfstream III, N303GA, operated by Avjet Corporation, crashed into sloping terrain about 2400 feet short of Runway 15 at Aspen-Pitkin County Airport Sardy Field (ASE), Aspen, Colo. The three crewmembers and all 15 passengers were killed, and the airplane was destroyed. The flight was […]

Here it is the first day of May. It’s hard to believe it’s here already. The daffodils are done. The azaleas are blooming and it’s time to put the tomato seedlings in the ground. What? You wanted me to write an article about emergencies? You meant “MAYDAY!” huh? It just goes to show you how […]

This article appeared in the October 2002 edition of Aviation Safety and is reprinted here by permission. Recent high-profile incidents involving allegedly drunk airline pilots reporting for duty have renewed the call for more random drug/alcohol testing of flight crews. Public hypersensitivity over anything aviation even led CNN to host an online poll that asked […]

I just had a colonoscopy, my fourth.Folks, if you have read and enjoyed any of my writings, I would beg you to read this column. Even if you haven’t. For some of you, it may the most important column I’ve ever written, or that you’ll ever read.I have a very personal interest in this, for […]