|

FAA Pilot Training

In George’s Point of View

The Federal Aviation Administration’s new pilot training rule has been a long time coming, like the recommendation for simulator training for pilots in using TCAS that dates back to 1993, remedial training from 2005 for pilots with bad track records and training in aerodynamic stall recovery from the Colgan accident, and pilot monitoring. Just read FAA Administrator Michael Huerta’s discussion of the new Pilot training rule.

I look forward to safer skies from the implementation of this additional training. Hopefully operators in foreign countries will follow the FAA’s suit and ramp up their pilot training. It will be interesting to hear what pilots think of the new pilot training rule.

To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.

Similar Posts

  • | |

    Two Dead after Small Plane Crashes in New Mexico

    A small plane crashed near Ohkay Owingeh Airport in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, on March 11th.

    The single-engine Remos GX light sport airplane went down around 50 feet from the outer fence of the airport.

    There were two people aboard the plane, including the pilot Karen Ann Young, 46, and the co-pilot Thomas Spickermann, 47; both of them were killed in the crash.

    The FAA is investigating.

    To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
  • | | | | | | |

    Southwest In the News

    Click to see video
    Southwest just reported that El Paso-Phoenix jet that landed at 9:30 p.m. in Phoenix with one engine did so because of an engine exhaust problem. Good for them for catching it.

    This was certainly less of an issue that the April 1 2011 surprise, the fuselage rupture in the roof of the Southwest Phoenex-Sacramento flight. That fifteen year old plane lost pressure (kind of a given, one would think, with a huge hole in the roof) and had to make an emergency landing in Yuma, 150 miles southwest of Phoenix. There were no injuries except to Southwest’s reputation.

    On April 4, the FAA sent out a letter mandating operators of specific early Boeing 737 models to conduct initial and repetitive electromagnetic inspections for fatigue damage.

    The NTSB is investigating. And all of the onus is not on Southwest–it’s also on Boeing, as they examine that

    Southwest is a busy airline operator. The stats of take offs and landing every 24 hours must be staggering. Their 737s are renowned workhorses that don’t tire, but they have to be taking a beating.

    Let’s not wait for something terrible to happen. Let’s double on maintenance. Let’s do the footwork to prevent another metal fatigue occurrence to happen again, busting a hole in the fuselage at 36,000 feet.

    Audio, Documents Detailing Southwest Emergency Released: MyFoxPHOENIX.com

    To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
  • |

    Press Release – FAA Celebrates Recovery Act Funded Airfield Upgrades at Kentucky’s Georgetown-Scott County Regional Airport

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration celebrated the completion of an airfield upgrade at Georgetown-Scott County Regional Airport in Kentucky, paid for with $3 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds.

    “Airport Recovery Act projects are helping boost local economies all across the country,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “The Recovery Act is helping us keep our runways safe and well maintained.”

    Recovery Act funds provided the full cost of repaving Georgetown-Scott County Regional Airport’s 5,500 foot-long runway. The runway had deteriorated and had not been fully repaved in nearly 17 years. The construction also included the widening of the ends of the parallel taxiway, which will now be able to accommodate larger aircraft turning on and off the runway.

    “General aviation is incredibly important to local communities nationwide and the Recovery Act is funding necessary safety improvements and upgrades that otherwise might not get done,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt.

    Nationwide, $1.3 billion in Recovery Act money has been made available for both airport improvement projects and air traffic control facility and system upgrades. Because of low construction bids for projects, more Recovery Act dollars were available for additional facilities and equipment as well as airport projects. These Recovery Act grants have been distributed to airports that serve commercial passengers, cargo and general aviation.
    ###

    To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
  • |

    Spread Your Wings and Fly Away Safely

    Spread Your Wings and Fly Away SafelyThe FAA Safety Team is out in full force at the “World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration” in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. You can find the FAA Safety Team—also known as the FAASTeam—in the FAA Aviation Safety Center, right next to the FAA control tower.

    At the booth you can learn more about the improvements to the www.FAASafety.gov website, sign up for the WINGS pilot proficiency program, and find out about FAA’s aviation maintenance technician awards program. This is a great opportunity to talk with dedicated safety professionals whose number one job is to make general aviation as safe as possible.

    You can also check out the rest of the FAA Aviation Safety Center and see displays on all things aviation. The safety education forums held at the Safety Center cover such topics as “Aeronautical Decision Making,” “Surface Safety,” and “VFR Charts, Little Known Facts.”

    See you there. For more information on EAA AirVenture, go to www.airventure.org.

    To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
  • |

    Airbus A318-A321 Hydraulic Power System Airworthiness Bulletin


    This Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin advises registered owners and operators, repair stations, and mechanics holding inspection authorizations, of all Airbus Model A318, A319, A320 and A321 series airplanes of an airworthiness concern regarding overheating of the power transfer unit (PTU) of the hydraulic system.

    Hydraulic Power System: Power Transfer Unit
    There have been several reports of loss of a single hydraulic system due to leakage, and subsequent failure of a second hydraulic system from overheating. Airbus determined that overheating of the second hydraulic system is caused when the PTU is not de-activated by the flight crew within two minutes after the fault annunciation (AMBER CAUTION) alert on the electronic centralized aircraft monitoring (ECAM) system. Consequently the airplane is left with only one functional hydraulic system. The subject airplanes require at least one functional hydraulic system for continuous safe flight and landing.
    Read More

    To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.