Touch & Go

There probably isn’t an airport in the world that didn’t get a visit or a phone call from its local newspaper or television station in the wake of the crash of an SR20 in New York City on Oct. 11. The crash killed Yankee relief pitcher Cory Lidle, 34, and Tyler Stanger, 26, a flight […]

All the usual suspects have responded to the crash of Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle’s Cirrus into a New York apartment building, Oct. 11. Politicians, newspaper reporters and editors, and television talking heads jumped right in with their standard anti-aviation paranoia. A notable exception was New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is a pilot. Bloomberg, who […]

Do you believe me when I write that among the top publications I receive, the Federal Air Surgeon’s Medical Bulletin is not one of those that regularly receive high priority? Believe me, I don’t read this 12-page quarterly bulletin on an even irregular basis. However, the other day I saw a copy at the office […]

“Another five minutes and I am going to shut us down!” my copilot declared in frustration as we sat at the hold short line of Alpha Nine, waiting our turn to take off from King County International/Boeing Field (BFI). It was a late afternoon in August. We had the windows and the vents open and […]

The next time you hear someone disparage aviation, point out that everyone depends on it. Don’t believe that? Think about it. The food we eat now comes from all over the world. Delicate fruits and vegetables don’t arrive by slow boat; they are flown in, fresh daily, from places such as Chile, the Netherlands, Israel, […]

One of our most avidly read features is Accident Reports. To put these together for every issue, reporter Meg Godlewski combs the National Transportation Safety Board’s database, choosing a wide variety of accidents to spotlight. We don’t do this to highlight bad news. In fact, we look at these reports as cautionary tales, presenting them […]

I just finished reading a magazine article that left me both surprised and thrilled. Published in Fast Company magazine, this article explains how cities around the world – especially in China, India, Thailand, Hong Kong and South Korea – are not only building massive new airports, but they are surrounding the airports with commercial and […]

I knew something was wrong when I had several cell phone messages from one of my flying club’s assistant chief instructors. A cargo plane had gone down and two of our coworkers who recently had gone to work for that company were not answering their cell phones. She asked me to use my reporter resources […]

You may remember reading Jack London’s short story, “To Build a Fire,” in which a would-be Alaska gold rush prospector dies when he can’t build a fire to stay warm. He ignored the advice of the more experienced and set out ill prepared for the trail. It can be seen as a cautionary tale for […]