Some people warm up their cars before taking to the road but others don’t. Some use electric turning signals, some use hand signals, and others don’t. There is a lot of variation in how people begin their drives with some using a more thoughtful, experienced approach and others just taking their chances. In aviation, with …
With all of the safety advances in equipment and in pilot training, the vast majority of airplane problems are surmountable, and even if an airplane makes its way to the ground against the will of the pilot, in the majority of cases things come out acceptable and nobody dies. As a matter of fact, after …
Pilots are taught that they must check out an airplane with great care before taking to the air with the machine. This process is called a preflight. But what goes on during a preflight. Does a pilot walk-up and kick the tires and peer into a gas tank to make sure there’s enough then start …
Whether you’re sitting in an airport restaurant gazing out at the runway or maybe standing at a small airport with your nose poked through the chain-link fence watching airplane landings and take offs, it’s always thrilling to see an air machine connect with or depart from the pavement. There’s just something special about seeing thousands …
Let’s begin with this: Airplane accidents and incidents, whether in a relatively small plane like a four-seater or in giant airliners, are incredibly-rare events and, despite the common fiction, people do not typically die in airplane accidents. According to the National Transportation Safety Board’s latest, 2015 Civil Aviation Accident Statistics (the latest combined data available), …