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American also suggests that Airbus knew before the accident about the rudder peculiarities and failed to let the airline or government agencies know about it. “Unfortunately, this accident never should have happened and could have been prevented if Airbus had disclosed to American, the FAA, or the [National Transportation] Safety Board what it knew about […]

The foundation of American’s claims is a phenomenon called aircraft pilot coupling, which is “an unwanted, unexpected and abnormal interaction between the airplane and pilot causing the motion of the aircraft to be out of sync with the pilot’s control inputs.” The airline cites a study done for the NTSB by Dr. Ronald Hess, of […]

Public Filings Point Fingers… The NTSB last Thursday issued its most recent investigation update as it works toward its final determination (expected this summer) of cause in the vertical-fin-and engines-shedding crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in Belle Harbor, N.Y., on Nov. 12, 2001. And the high-stakes process of assessing blame for the event — […]

Most of the research into aging and accident rates has focused on professional pilots, driven by the debate over the Age-60 Rule, which requires retirement at that age for airline pilots, regardless of physical condition or mental ability. The scant research that has been done on private pilots (or holders of third-class medicals) has been […]

The FAA in the past has dismissed studies of automobile statistics as irrelevant to aviation safety. “Automobile drivers are allowed to drive with a variety of mental and physical conditions that would be disqualifying for pilots,” the FAA said in a June 2003 report from the Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI) in Oklahoma City. “Pilots are […]

An Age-Old Aviation Question… By 2030 one in five Americans will be age 60 or older … a statistic likely to be reflected in the pool of general aviation pilots. A study released last month by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found a link between aging and safety, concluding that drivers over age 65 […]

Brazoria County Judge John Willy said Sunday’s incident will trigger a reassessment of security measures at the airport. “We’re going to review that and decide whether we do need more,” he said. The county already is adding new gates and perimeter fencing, but while the construction work is in progress the gates were left unsecured. […]

Thief Crashes In Stolen Cessna 172… A Cessna 172 was stolen from its hangar about 6:30 a.m. Sunday at Brazoria County Airport, near Houston, Texas. More than a dozen hangars were broken into and at least one other airplane was taxied onto the field and abandoned. The thief finally settled into a 172 with the […]

The FAA said its goal is to identify regulations that impose undue regulatory burden; are no longer necessary; or overlay, duplicate, or conflict with other federal regulations. The FAA will review the issues addressed by commentators and will publish a summary that indicates, where appropriate, how it will adjust its regulatory priorities. Comments will be […]

The FAA is well aware that its mounds of regulations can accumulate over time into something of a twisted morass. So it is asking for input from the aviation community for help in deciding where it should amend, remove or simplify its regs. “Getting public comments is a necessary element of our effort to make […]