How do two professional pilots lose control of their flight just nine minutes after takeoff? Among a number of factors, what part did the pilot shortage play in this fatal accident?
Questions from the Cockpit: What’s up with pilots who keep busting TFRs?
Randy, a commercial pilot in Massachusetts, writes: What’s up with these morons who keep busting Presidential TFRs? It seems like I read about this happening way too often. And then it always gets played up in the general media and it makes the rest of us pilots look bad!
Human Factors: Feeling trapped
If you are flying with someone else, allowing yourself to be swayed outside your comfort zone is a trap. That’s the lesson from this 2021 accident that claimed the life of the pilot in the lead airplane.
Questions from the Cockpit: Plane sharing
Mac, a private pilot in California asks: With the cost of airplane rentals so high, do you have any tips on the best way to maximize hours to keep current? Absolutely, says our expert: Plane sharing.
Human Factors: Stoned and stupefied
What can we learn from a fatal accident that involves an uncertificated pilot with methamphetamine and THC in his system? Believe it or not, there is a lesson here for all pilots.
Sock it to me
After reading a magazine article back in 2016 on the risk of “hangar rash” damage to the thin, trailing edges of composite propeller blades, David Ortero decided — “before even closing the magazine” — to buy covers to protect his new Whirlwind GA200L. The only problem was, that in scouring the internet, it appeared that nobody made such a thing. So Ortero simply went to his workshop and made his own.
Questions from the Cockpit: Unthawing TKS
Most of us know TKS is deicing fluid for our airplanes, but do you know where it came from and what TKS stands for?
Human Factors: Saving a buck costs a fortune
A pilot low on fuel passes up three airports to save 20 cents a gallon on avgas. It turns out to be an expensive mistake.
Questions from the Cockpit: Questioning the Final Flag
An anonymous an air race fan asks: As an air racer yourself, do you agree with the decision at the 2023 Reno Air Races to cancel the rest of the races after the tragic crash following the T-6 Gold race?