A Beechcraft 1900 on an April 7 ferry flight from Namibia is missing and assumed lost in the South Atlantic Ocean near Sao Tome off the southwest corner of Africa. Neither the pilot, the sole occupant of the aircraft, nor any portions of the airframe have been recovered. Weather at the time of the accident was reported as heavy rain, with lightning and high winds.
Accidents, Safety, Security and Training » Safety
News and information on safety procedures and concerns.
April 22, 2013 - 2:15pm
Pilots who fly through the terminal areas listed below can receive free cockpit traffic and weather information provided the aircraft is equipped with an automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) transmitter/receiver or transceiver and cockpit display for traffic information (CDTI). U.S. cities and airports currently included in the new service are Albany (ALB), Chicago (ORD and MDW), Columbus (CMH), Little Rock (LIT), Lubbock (LBB), Memphis (MEM), Milwaukee (MKE), Nashville (BNA) and Wilmington (ILN).
April 22, 2013 - 2:10pm
An Aeromexico Boeing 767 bound for Mexico City was substantially damaged when it suffered a tailstrike during takeoff from Runway 36L at Spain’s Madrid Barajas Airport on April 16. An Air Europa A330 using the same runway for takeoff about 20 minutes after the Boeing experienced a nosewheel tire blowout after running over a piece of debris from the 767. Both aircraft circled for some time to dump fuel and then returned for uneventful landings at Madrid.
April 19, 2013 - 12:55pm
The Indian Air Force (IAF) recorded its lowest accident rate in 36 years in the year ending March 31. The introduction of upgraded Western aircraft; quality audits of maintenance practices; increased use of simulators; and voluntary reporting of unsafe acts have contributed to the improved record, a senior official said at a recent media briefing.
April 15, 2013 - 1:22pm
A string of poor decisions by the pilot of a Eurocopter AS350 being flown on an emergency medical mission preceded the Aug. 26, 2011, crash of the aircraft, according to the NTSB’s report on the accident. Four people–the pilot, a patient, flight nurse and paramedic–were killed in the accident at 6.41 p.m. in Mosby, Mo. after the commercial pilot first ran the helicopter out of fuel and then failed to establish an autorotation.
April 15, 2013 - 1:10pm
While most aviation safety sources have identified loss of control (LOC) as the leading cause of accidents in the past few years, controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) “is making a strong comeback,” according to Flight Safety Foundation fellow Jim Burin.
April 15, 2013 - 1:05pm
A remotely controlled ATC tower constructed by Saab for Norway’s Avinor air navigation service has passed the site acceptance tests that will eventually allow for a smoother fit into the Sesar air traffic management system, Europe’s version of NextGen, once final testing of the facility’s operations is completed.
April 15, 2013 - 1:00pm
One drawback to traditional round taxiway lights is the difficulty pilots often face in determining the precise location of the edge of the taxiway surface using those lights. The technology behind blue taxiway lighting has changed little over the past 50 years, until a recent test of a new kind of lighting fixture began at Ohio’s Cleveland Hopkins Airport (CLE) in February. This involves the new Pavement Edge Light Safety System (Pelss) from Lumin Aerospace.
April 15, 2013 - 12:55pm
The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) is fighting back against U.S. government cuts slated to slash funding for the Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) program, which trains pilots how to safely carry weapons aboard Part 121 aircraft.
“It is beyond belief that, at the same time the administration’s budget proposal [presented on April 10] recognizes the value of risk-based aviation security, it proposes to eliminate funding for this well established and extremely effective program,” said ALPA president Lee Moak in a statement last week.
April 15, 2013 - 12:50pm
Despite reports that the H7N9 avian flu has been responsible for 10 deaths out of 28 reported cases in China, international medical authorities don’t yet believe the virus is a concern for flight crews or airline passengers traveling to Asia, or at least not enough for the World Health Organization (WHO) to recommend any travel or trade restrictions. All cases have occurred in regions of eastern China–Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, with 13 in Shanghai. None appears to have been transmitted from person-to-person, only to people who have been in contact with infected poultry.
