Risk Management

The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way. – Bertrand Russell That which is legal is not always safe, and that which is safe is not always legal. – John Deakin These two quotes are most appropriate when talking about traffic pattern entries. What IS […]

Were flying along blissfully the smooth night flight conditions and the panorama of lights below. The engine is purring, and, for once, we have caught a tailwind. We think this is why we became pilots and then we proudly wonder out loud what the groundbound populace below is doing on such a pleasant evening when […]

By the time a person finishes training for a pilot certificate, he or she has gotten a good introduction to a small corner of the FARs, has probably learned nothing about whats involved in buying or owning an airplane and had an immersion in aviation Old Wives Tales (OWT) regarding legal obligations and potential liabilities […]

Letter of the Week:Adjusting GA I find it very interesting that AOPA is planning to refurbish three Cessna 152s looking for a price point of $85,000. Also, the comments about the 1,320-pound gross weight limit for LSA being a problem in the U.S. for flight schools. Both of these concerns lead me to believe, as […]

After several years of tweaking training programs, Cirrus reports that the fatal accident rate for its aircraft has dropped dramatically in the past couple of years and is now measurably below the fatal accident rate for GA as a whole. At the Aero show in Friedrichshafen, Germany, the companys Travis Klumb told assembled journalists that […]

I still have my airplane today. Im very lucky. After the most recent annual inspection was completed, my aircrafts induction system caught fire. I found I was woefully unprepared for such an event. If I was unprepared, you probably are, too. Thankfully, no real damage was done. But this event highlighted for me some of […]

The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 shifted hundreds of miles northeast on Friday because of new radar data, and U.S. officials said the FBI had found nothing of interest in its much-awaited review of the pilot’s flight simulator and other computer files taken from his home. Australian authorities leading the multinational hunt moved their […]

For most of us tooling around the airstrip and to the occasional pancake breakfast, the size of our fuel tanks doesnt matter. But when youre planning a longer flight, your aircrafts range becomes a consideration. Put another way, if you want to travel more than 500 nm, tank-size matters, and not all of us are […]

During March, the NTSB will offer two courses related to accident investigation and one on accident response and victim family support at its training center in Auburn, Va. The Aircraft Accident Investigation course will run from March 31 through April 11 and is designed to provide participants with a comprehensive overview of the procedures and […]

Before Civil Air Patrol’s Command Council convenes in Washington, D.C., this week for its annual winter meeting, it will gather on Capitol Hill for Legislative Day on Feb. 27 to brief Congress on the U.S. Air Force auxiliary’s primary missions of emergency services, aerospace education and cadet programs. Legislative Day will also feature induction of […]