Risk Management

Updated August 24, 2003, with information on new PLBs from Pains Wessex. I was ferrying my antique open-cockpit biplane — a rare Flaglor High Tow — from my home base in Driggs, Idaho (just west of Jackson Hole) to the maintenance shop at Idaho Falls. That’s about 45 nautical miles, which doesn’t sound like much […]

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 […]

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 […]

This article appeared in the January 2002 edition of Aviation Safety and is reprinted here by permission. Aircraft components are tested and retested. Manufacturers are subjected to inspection, airplanes are inspected, mechanics are inspected. The goal: Nothing mechanical should go wrong without plenty of warning.There is one part that bucks that trend. When called on, […]

No doubt about it, pilots are a special breed.And after a day of reading accident reports — which I do without fail at least once a month — I sometimes suffer from the impression that they’re highly motivated, well-trained, steely-eyed idiots. I’ll concede that this is a cynical, over-the-top generalization but when you read about […]

This article appeared in the July 2002 edition of Aviation Safety and is reprinted here by permission. One of the nagging questions that plagues the pilot who doesn’t fly every day is, “Am I really ready for this flight?” The problem is even more serious when contemplating an instrument flight, particularly when the weather is […]

Though it seldom happens, a passed-out pilot may be passengers’ greatest fear. For frequent passengers, just a little training can make for a happy ending, as Ken Ibold and his frequent passenger, Catherine Ibold, wrote recently in Aviation Safety. This article appears in the November 2002 edition of Aviation Safety and is reprinted here by […]

Have you ever given thought to what you would do if you found yourself strapped in upside down in a sinking aircraft? Imagine flying along on a nice warm day, and the next moment, being trapped inside an aircraft with cold water rushing in. It’s very dark, you can’t breathe, and if you’re not prepared, […]

The year was 1992 and my flying life was about to change forever — for the better. It could just as easily have ended. I took my first flying lesson in the fall of 1978. It was a happy diversion from the life of a first-year law student. I was so enthralled that I bought […]