Risk Management

While the aviation industry in the U.S. is fighting hard to oppose proposals to privatize the air traffic system, Nav Canada, the private not-for-profit company that runs Canada’s ATC, said recently it will refund $60 million in fees to its customers this year. “Higher than expected traffic growth this year has put us in a […]

I’ve not found any published data on the subject, but after years or reading accident reports I’ve formed the opinion that pilots making takeoffs that will be followed by a flight on an IFR flight plan may unconsciously add a little more “I gotta go come hell or high water” attitude than their normal, Type […]

The aviation event that was the eclipse of Aug. 21 appears to have gone off with barely a hitch and so far our inexhaustive search for mayhem has found but one relatively minor incident possibly related to eclipse flights. A 1947 Luscombe Silvaire had some trouble on takeoff from Perryville Municipal Airport in Missouri just […]

British authorities are proposing to regulate the sale of laser pointers to curb attacks on aircraft. The U.K. Department for Business, Energy and Industrial has issued a “call for evidence” into possibly licensing the sale of small lasers. “Used irresponsibly or maliciously, these products can and do wreak havoc and harm others, with potentially catastrophic […]

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

Pilots flying on the days leading up to the coming solar eclipse on Aug. 21 have surely planned already to cope with extra traffic near the path of totality, but they also need to be aware of a nationwide balloon launch that will take place along that path. Teams of students will release about 100 […]

The FAA Wednesday evening proposed an emergency airworthiness directive requiring owners of Lycoming engines to inspect and potentially replace off-spec connecting rod small-end bushings in Lycoming engines overhauled during the 2015 to 2016 time period. The AD codifies the procedures found in Lycoming’s Mandatory Service Bulletin SB 632 released last month. Although Lycoming says at […]

Savvy pilots know how to get the most out of the resources at their command. They demonstrate this by having the airplane and its systems do as much of the effort as possible. In all phases of flight, their knowledge is brought to bear on each task to reduce the workload. This trait helps ensure […]

As expected, Robert Sumwalt has been confirmed as the 14th chair of the National Transportation Safety Board and he brings a wealth of aviation experience to the job. Sumwalt was a pilot for Piedmont Airlines and US Airways for 24 years and his appointment is being met with enthusiasm from aviation groups. “Robert is committed […]

While travelers have complained for years about shrinking space aboard airline flights, the FAA has elected to ignore the problem, saying it has not been shown to affect safety. But a federal court on Friday told the FAA they must “adequately address” issues raised by the advocacy group Flyers’ Rights. The petition said that since […]