Risk Management

The Federal Aviation Administration is deploying runway safety technology upgrades at 74 air traffic control towers in the U.S., the agency announced Wednesday. The Runway Incursion Device (RID) is designed to assist air traffic controllers by providing real-time alerts when a runway is occupied or closed. With the ability to monitor up to eight runways […]

The Air Charter Association (ACA) is spotlighting the dangers of illegal charter flights through its annual Fly Legal Day initiative taking place on Jan. 21, 2025. ACA says the annual event serves as a reminder of the dangers posed by illegal charter flights and a call to action for stricter vigilance and industry education. This […]

On Tuesday, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that it will begin an audit to assess runway incursion risks at the 45 busiest airports in the U.S. According to Reuters, the audit will evaluate each airport’s risks, identify potential issues with procedures and equipment and make recommendations to improve safety. FAA’s Air Traffic Safety Oversight Service […]

As winter approaches, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued Safety Alert SA-097 reminding pilots about the dangers of flying in icing conditions—namely the adverse effects of airframe and propeller icing on aircraft performance. SA-097 emphasizes that “as little as 1/4-inch of wing-leading edge ice accumulation can increase the stall speed by 25 to […]

Pilot associations are sounding the alarm on Airbus’ proposal to move towards single-pilot operations in the cockpit. In an Aug. 6 letter to Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury, Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) President Capt. Jason Ambrosi urged the manufacturer to reconsider its proposal to reduce cockpit crew from two to one from entering the commercial […]

This week, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a safety alert warning pilots of the dangers posed by dust devils. According to the agency, dust devils have been present in some 170 aviation accidents the NTSB has investigated since 1982. The small, rapidly rotating columns of air are made visible by the dust and […]

The parallel runway configuration—which may have staggered or offset thresholds, as well as intersections with other runways—can allow simultaneous takeoffs and landings under most conditions. Such runway configurations are found at airports in all airspace classes, B through G, and they may include turf surfaces, too. They offer operational flexibility a system of intersecting runways […]

One of general aviation’s most time-honored practices involves two or more pilots being aboard the same airplane at the same time. The purposes vary—from training and proficiency, to boring holes in the sky, to chasing down a $100 hamburger, and everything in between—but it’s not at all rare to find more than one pilot seated […]

One summer, while flying over the largest wilderness in the lower 48 states, I heard a radio call: “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. White Cessna… [broken and inaudible transmission].” I heard just enough to understand something bad was happening, but not where. I repeatedly tried to hail the aircraft to get them to repeat their location, to […]

I received a call from the owner of a turbocharged, high-performance single who lives in the Great Lakes region, well-known for icing conditions in late autumn, winter and early spring. His airplane was equipped with an aftermarket TKS-style ice protection system and was not FAA-approved for flight in known icing (FIKI). The pilot wanted to […]