This element of business has been imprinted in my life from early years.  At my elementary school, teachers would parade the class through the “Crime-mobile”.  My fellow students and I  saw car accidents, gunshot wounds, amputations and overall some considerably macabre images.  Of course, all of this left a lasting impression. From that time forward I have been intrigued to learn how these “bad” things continue to occur and ideally how they can be prevented.

It is obvious that the “human factor” plays a significant role in each of our daily lives.  As an aviation safety professional, my efforts for a long time have been dedicated to providing current and relevant safety information to all that I could.  By doing this, I hoped to  enhance air crews’  ability to complete flights or missions; be it shooting an approach to minimums, trimming a fuel control unit or tugging an aircraft.   Trust me, all who operate aircraft are very important… and the key to aviation industry SAFETY. [continue reading…]

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In February we began a series on the causes of helicopter crashes, so I consider it very timely that Katy Waldman from The Slate Magazine recently contacted me for an article on about the causes of helicopter crashes.

As I discussed with Ms. Waldman, there is no simple answer to why the helicopter accident rate is higher than the commercial fixed-wing accident rate. Helicopters are complex machines with hundreds of moving parts that airplanes don’t have, and they frequently operate in environments that are hazardous. For example, a medical evacuation helicopter rescuing an accident victim at night has likely never been to the location of the victim, will be operating close to the ground and must avoid wires, trees, and even birds, could be presented with a less-than-ideal landing area, and may encounter bad weather—thunderstorms, rain showers, ground fog—en route. [continue reading…]

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Ten Extra Knots and 100 Extra Feet — Always a good thing?

May 3, 2011

On the famous list of “Things That Do You No Good in Aviation” are the following: the airspace above you, and the airspeed you don’t have. There are more of course, but I want to focus on these because, in the past two decades of looking at controlled crashes following engine failures, I have come [...]

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Big Jets Bring Big Runway Issues, Will FAA Make Matters Worse?

April 12, 2011

The FAA’s Annual Runway Safety Report 2009 states: The mission of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Runway Safety is “To improve runway safety in the United States (U.S.) by decreasing the number and severity of surface incidents and runway incursions.” In light of the recent runway incursion at John F. Kennedy International Airport on [...]

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Southwest Airlines Structural Failure Points to Flaws In Commercial Aviation System

April 4, 2011

The key language in the flurry of posts surrounding the Southwest Airlines 737-300 fuselage fatigue on Saturday is what Mike Van de Ven, Southwest’s chief operating officer, said in a statement: “Prior to the event regarding Flight 812, we were in compliance with the FAA-mandated and Boeing-recommended structural inspection requirements for that aircraft. What we saw with [...]

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FAA Launches General Aviation Safety Program

March 28, 2011

FAA safety teams will visit close to 100 GA events beginning April 2, beginning with the annual Sun ‘n Fun gathering in Lakeland, FL., in an effort to engage pilots in safety and awareness programs and discussions with the goal of bringing fatal accident rates for general aviation down another 10 per cent in the [...]

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TSB Cites Several Causes In Cougar Helicopters Flight 491 Crash In Newfoundland

March 6, 2011

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has released its final report on the March 2009 helicopter crash in which 17 people were killed.  The report states a “complex web” of factors combined to cause the tragedy.  The Sikorsky S-92A was transporting workers to the Hibernia and Sea Rose offshore oil rig when the aircraft went [...]

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WHAT TO DO AFTER A HARROWING AIRLINE EXPERIENCE

February 16, 2011

If you have flown commercially at all, you probably have had one of those commercial airline flights which caused you to wonder if you were going to get to the ground safely.  In fact, you might have been scared almost to death. It has happened to me.  I was on a regional propjet out of [...]

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New Safety Regulations Aimed To Keep Sleepy Pilots Out Of The Cockpit, ATA Disagrees

February 14, 2011

According to Senator Charles Schumer of New York, the industry is trying to “water down” the August 2010 safety regulations he sponsored after 50 people lost their lives in the February 2009 crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407. The new regulations include more training for pilots, crew, flight attendants, engineers and dispatchers to be in [...]

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THE CAUSES OF HELICOPTER CRASHES – Part 1

February 3, 2011

The start of this analysis must be the International Helicopter Safety Team (IHST) and its web site. The IHST was created in 2004 by manufacturers, operators, government agencies and NGO’s to slow the increasing rate of helicopter accidents.  The accident rate amont all other aircraft modes was decreasing, and this group set out to find [...]

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