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.

NTSB Cites Poor Decision-Making In Challenger Accident

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is citing a series of poor decisions in the cockpit as the probable cause of the fatal crash of a Bombardier Challenger 605 business jet in 2021. According to the Board’s final report (below), the crew lost control of the aircraft while conducting a circling approach at California’s Truckee-Tahoe […]

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787 Captain Collapses Mid-Flight, Dies Later

A LATAM Airlines flight from Miami to Santiago was diverted to Panama on Sunday after the captain died after becoming ill in a bathroom. Capt. Ivan Andaur collapsed about 40 minutes into the flight. There were two other pilots on the Boeing 787 and they took over. A nurse and two doctors who were passengers […]

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eVTOL Maker Celebrates MOSAIC Inclusion

Coming changes to Light Sport rules are expected to bring a boon to the still-nascent eVTOL industry, according to manufacturer Doroni Aerospace. In a news release this week the company says the new Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC) initiative will include eVTOLs and allow them to be developed under the more permissive and less […]

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Maintenance, Paperwork And Checkrides

When you present yourself to a designated pilot examiner (DPE) or an FAA employee for a checkride to add a new certificate or rating, both you and the aircraft are subject to closer inspection than you may be accustomed. Pilots aren’t expected to know the dry torque specification for an engine’s cylinder studs, but they […]

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General Aviation Accident Bulletin, August 14, 2023

AVweb’s General Aviation Accident Bulletin is taken from the pages of our sister publication, Aviation Safety magazine. All the reports listed here are preliminary and include only initial factual findings about crashes. You can learn more about the final probable cause on the NTSB’s website at www.ntsb.gov. Final reports appear about a year after the […]

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Citation Overflies 737 On Runway At San Diego

The FAA is investigating a runway incursion at San Diego Airport involving a Citation that overflew a Southwest aircraft just after noon on Friday. The FAA says the Citation was cleared to land after the 737 had moved onto the runway to line up and wait. Reuters said the Citation cleared the Southwest plane by […]

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Vertical VX4 eVTOL Suffers Incident During Flight Testing

Vertical Aerospace has reported that its VX4 electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft prototype was involved in an incident during flight testing on Wednesday. The extent of the damage to the prototype, which was piloted remotely, has not been disclosed. The incident occurred at Vertical’s flight test center at Cotswold Airport (GBA) in the […]

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Fatal Ferry Flight Attempted Despite Known Defects

Despite a major fuel leak, a history of defects with the aircraft and the refusal by three other pilots to fly the aircraft, the owner of a Piper Navajo elected to attempt a ferry flight and died in a crash a few seconds after takeoff. The NTSB’s preliminary report on the crash at Kearney, Missouri, […]

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FAA Extends Slot Waivers To Combat New York Controller Shortage

A continuing controller shortage at the New York TRACON has prompted the FAA to extend its relaxation of slot use requirements at the three main New York airports to Oct. 28, 2023. The agency announced the extension in a news release on Wednesday and it will allow airlines to reduce flight frequency without risking the […]

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Accident Probe: ‘Recently Purchased’

Outside of large training organizations or fleet operations, there is little standardization of equipment, systems or procedures within general aviation. Toss in a few years among different owners and identical airplanes that rolled off an assembly line together 10 or 20 years earlier will vary wildly in their equipment, maintenance history and wear and tear. […]

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