Did you hear the story of the pilot who crashed seven times in seven days? How does something like this even happen — and what lessons can we learn from this experience?
About William E. Dubois
Questions from the Cockpit: Color me confused
Sammi, a student pilot in Arizona, writes: Next door to my flight school is a ritzy FBO (where I score my morning coffee) that has one of those electric maps in the lobby with colored lights that show the flight conditions across the nation – green for VFR, blue for MVFR, red for IFR, and magenta for LIFR. So cool and so beautiful! But…also so confusing. Uncle Google gave me the ceilings and vis’es for the various flight conditions, but I can’t seem to find them in the regs. What’s the story here?
Human Factors: Written vs. unwritten rules
Who has the right-of-way when several planes are approaching a runway. And should you give priority to another pilot just because they ask for it?
Questions from the Cockpit: Should there be a biennial driving review?
My mother, a student pilot, asked: What do you think of requiring drivers to get a biennial driving review?
Human Factors: A distant fallout
After a two-year investigation by the NTSB, investigators still don’t really know what caused a July 2021 crash in Alaska that killed two pilots. Still, is there anything we can learn from this crash?
Questions from the Cockpit: Burning off the fog
Denise, working on her private ticket in California, writes: Help me out! I’m getting ready to take my written, and I keep mixing up my fog types. Is there any clever way to sort them out?
Human Factors: Sometimes it’s the little things
Post-maintenance is the time to preflight like your life depends on it — because it does as shown in this accident where a veteran pilot is killed in a crash when the trim tabs on his Piper PA-31 are installed incorrectly after the plane’s annual.
Questions from the Cockpit: Buckle up, baby!
Gracie, a private pilot in Montana, writes: I took a flight with a fellow pilot the other day, and he took the time to give me the flight attendant speech. It got me wondering, why the stupid seat belt speech? I mean, I know it’s the law, but — really? — who doesn’t know how to unbuckle a seat belt?
Human Factors: Not your average VFR into IMC
A mother and son die in a tragic accident caused by VFR into IMC. The NTSB investigation reveal he’s a student pilot facing pressure to complete the flight to see his father in the hospital. What can we learn from this accident?