Risk Management

The FAA says cooperation, not regulation, is the answer to quelling complaints about helicopter operations throughout the Los Angeles basin. The agency released a report that rejected proposals to channel helicopter traffic into defined routes to address noise and the perception of dangerous operations. There are dozens of helicopter tour operators and news outlets whose […]

Investigators in Afghanistan have discovered evidence that may support the widely held theory that shifting cargo caused the crash of a National Air Cargo Boeing 747-400 in late April near the airfield at Bagram. The New York Times reported Monday that the heavy military vehicles hit the back of the aircraft so hard on takeoff […]

Some tangled parachute lines, a seriously aft C of G and some kind of air turbulence ganged up on a Maverick flying car to send it spiraling into a schoolyard in western Canada in early May. Canada’s Transportation Safety Board turned over the investigation to the manufacturer of the aircraft, ITEC, to come up with […]

The British Airways Airbus A319 that suffered an engine fire and lost cowlings off both engines on departure from Heathrow took off with its engine cowls unlatched, according to an early report. An Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report discussed by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said the right engine’s cowl door departed the aircraft, but […]

Eleven aviation advocacy groups Wednesday cosigned a letter to the House Appropriations Committee seeking financial support for the FAA contract tower program through 2014. Signatories included AOPA’s Craig Fuller, NBAA’s Ed Bolen, and leading members of the National Air Transport Association, Air Carrier Association of America, Regional Airline Association and others. Currently 251 airports participate […]

DGCA, the regulating authority for Indian aviation, has drafted strict rules under which airline pilots may be allowed to nap while on the flight deck. Pilots unions had sought changes to flight duty time limitations to combat fatigue associated with flight duty time limitation provisions. DGCA would allow controlled rest only under certain conditions and […]

In an open letter to the general aviation community sent just before the Memorial Day weekend, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta asked each pilot to “make sure you’re ready — really ready — to fly.” The letter (PDF) noted that GA accident rates have remained “stubbornly flat” in recent years and asked everyone in the GA […]

A Brazilian air force Boeing 707 went off the runway on its takeoff roll at Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Haiti Sunday but none of the 121 people onboard was injured. One of the engines reportedly caught fire and the aircraft left the runway. The aircraft was totaled. Details are sketchy but the airport was […]

A Piper PA-34 Seneca being flown for Angel Flight Northeast crashed in Garoga, N.Y., killing at least two of the occupants and likely the third. The aircraft took off from Hanscom Field in Bedford, Mass., bound for Rome, N.Y., and crashed about 60 miles from its destination. Witnesses reported seeing the aircraft, minus a wing, […]

Cirrus says it has made pilot safety its new top priority with a program designed to ensure the pilots of its aircraft know how, and perhaps more importantly when, to use the built-in safety features, including the parachute. In announcing Cirrus Approach, CEO Dale Klapmeier said the Cirrus safety record is “on par” with other […]