Risk Management

Blue Angels Touch During Practice

The show went on in Chicago this weekend after two Blue Angels F-18s touched during a close formation maneuver during practice last Wednesday at their home base in Pensacola, Florida. “The No. 3 canopy made momentary contact with the underside of No. 1’s outer wing during the Diamond 360 maneuver,” Navy spokeswoman Lt. Michelle Tucker said. […]

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After The Prop Stops

One of the oldest jokes in aviation holds that the big fan is there to cool the cockpit: Whenever it stops unexpectedly, the pilot starts to sweat. Every aviator who’s had that experience can probably confirm a significant uptick in pulse and respiration. In the best case, that’s accompanied by a corresponding intensification of focus, […]

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Amazon Formally Applies For Drone Delivery

Amazon has formally applied to begin limited drone delivery of packages in the U.S. and comments are being accepted until Aug. 28. Amazon wants to use drones to deliver packages weighing less than five pounds directly to customers within 30 minutes of its distribution center. The aircraft would fly beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), […]

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Crash Pilot Produced Video Of Rescue

A Minnesota pilot who pulled the parachute on his Cirrus SR22 over a wilderness area of Quebec says he hopes his well-documented account of his experience can help others if they find themselves in similar straits. Matt Letinen, the CEO of a Minnesota mining company, was flying back from a mine his company operates in […]

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Medevac Pilot May Have Been Asleep At Controls

The FAA is investigating whether the pilot of a medevac helicopter fell asleep at the controls while taking a patient to the hospital. In a statement to a Boston television station, the agency confirmed it was looking into an incident June 24 involving the Boston MedFlight flight from Martha’s Vineyard to a Boston hospital. Boston […]

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NTSB Issues Safety Alert On Jet Fuel Contamination

The NTSB has issued a Safety Alert asking jet fuel providers to take measures to prevent fuel contamination by diesel exhaust fluid (DEF). The board warned that the addition of DEF to jet fuel can cause a chemical reaction that forms crystalline deposits in the fuel system, increasing the risk of engine failure due to […]

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Accident Probe: Twin Training

When I first started training to fly multi-engine airplanes, it was solemnly explained to me that there were a few things the CFI and weren’t going to do. Yes, we were going to do stalls, but only from 5000 feet AGL or more. They all would be straight-ahead and power-off to the pre-stall buffet, followed […]

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United Flight Deck Crew Facing Impaired Charges

A United Airlines captain and his first officer are in jail in Scotland awaiting a court appearance Tuesday on charges they planned to fly a Boeing 757 full of passengers to Newark while impaired. The flight deck crew, aged 61 and 45, were intercepted in the airport and prevented from boarding for the scheduled 9 […]

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Flight Recorder Documents Hypoxia-Related Crash

Canadian authorities appear to have a well-documented and recorded case of hypoxia in their investigation of the stall/spin fatal accident involving a Piper Navajo a year ago. On Aug. 1, 2018, an Aries Aviation PA-31, a well-maintained aircraft regularly flown by experienced pilots, inexplicably spun into a 10,000-foot mountain peak while on initial descent to […]

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Losing Orientation

Becoming disoriented in flight is one of the most terrifying experiences pilots can have. In extreme cases, it leads to loss of control, controlled flight into terrain or even an inflight breakup. Less extreme experiences lead to pilot deviation or, more optimally and after the afflicted pilot is safely back on the ground, the expense […]

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