Flight Safety

Driggs, Idaho, is in southeastern part of the state,northwest of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and on the opposite side of the majestic Teton range.The short, scenic Teton Pass provides easy highway travel between Driggs and Jackson (mostof the year, at least), and many find Driggs an attractive alternative to the congestionand high prices that have characterized […]

In-Flight Fire And Impact With TerrainValuJet Airlines, Flight 592, DC-9-32Everglades, Near Miami, Florida HISTORY OF THE FLIGHT: On May 11, 1996, at 1413:42 eastern daylight time, aDouglas DC-9 32 crashed into the Everglades about 10 minutes after takeoff from MiamiInternational Airport (MIA), Miami, Florida. airplane, registration number N904VJ, wasbeing operated by ValuJet Airlines, Inc., as […]

The Rocky Mountains of central Colorado have been greatlyaffected by the fast-growing popularity of skiing. It wasn’t long ago that the smallColorado mountain community of Aspen came to realize this in a big way. Every year,thousands of enthusiasts flocked to their town to ski their “hills,” many ofthem arriving by air. The amenities of Aspen […]

In 1997, the National Transportation Safety Board asked major participants in the investigation to submit their findings and recommendations. The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), The Boeing Company, and US Airways all submitted lengthy reports, the full text of which are available here. We were fascinated by the diversity of findings among these three parties, […]

91.527 Operating in icing conditions.    (a) No pilot may takeoff an airplane that has –       (1) Frost, snow, or ice adhering to any propeller, windshield, or powerplant installation or to an airspeed, altimeter, rate of climb, or flight attitude instrument system;       (3) Any frost adhering to the wings or stabilizing or control surfaces, unless that […]

NOTE: This narrative was compiled from interviews with the pilot, Jim Hawley, and one passenger who played a key role in the incident, Jens Lundy. All times are local; Loreto, Mexico is one hour ahead of Phoenix, Arizona. It was supposed to be just a fun father and son weekend, fishing off the coast of […]

 Some pilots who hear the term “humanfactors” dismiss whatever comes afterward because they think it is all a bunch ofpsycho-babble. But if you take the time to think about aviation accidents it doesn’t takelong to realize that every one of them has some form of human input — whether the resultof actions by the pilot, […]

The following NASA memorandum illustrates that no matter the size of the aircraft — Cessna 152 or Shuttle — or how much training a crew receives, it’s fundamentals like instrument cross-check and airspeed control that count. We’ve de-identified the folks involved, and we’ve attempted to decode all the arcane acronyms unique to the shuttle program […]

In-Flight Loss of Control (The Jessica Dubroff Flight) Cessna 177B Cheyenne, Wyoming HISTORY OF THE FLIGHT: On April 11, 1996, at about 0824 mountain daylighttime, a privately-owned Cessna 177B collided with terrain after a lossof control following takeoff from runway 30 et the Cheyenne Airport, Cheyenne,Wyoming. The pilot in command, pilot trainee, and rear seat […]

Aircraft cruising at FL370 with L-NAV, V-NAV, the center autopilot and both flight directors engaged. Heading is 189 degrees. 2125:40 First Officer: Well let’s see, we got a hundred and thirty sixmiles to the VOR, and thirty two thousand feet to lose, and slow down to boot sowe might as well get started. 2125:49 Captain: […]