Articles Tagged with ''aviation safety''

If you’re hoping to use your drone to capture images of Hurricane Michael and its effects, better think twice. Drone owners and operators whose vehicles interfere with emergency response areas in hurricane-hit areas could get hit themselves – with a $20,000 fine.

An airline crew’s failure to pay attention to important pre-flight information was behind a near-miss at San Francisco International Airport on July 7, 2017. That’s the conclusion of a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report on how an Air Canada flight mistakenly lined up with a taxiway instead of the runway it was cleared to land on. Four airplanes were on that taxiway, waiting for clearance to take off.

A pilot who mistaken lined up with a taxiway instead of a runway nearly caused his or her small plane to collide with four passenger jets that were on the taxiway, according to a preliminary report on the incident by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Drones have thoroughly worked their way into a variety of non-business uses, from videotaping weddings to capturing beautiful images of scenic tourist attractions, so it’s likely that they are also finding their way into the nation’s favorite summertime holiday. The Federal Aviation Agency wants drone operators to keep safety in mind.

As the nation’s fleet of small recreational and commercial drones keeps soaring — the government projects nearly 3 million will be in the skies by 2022 — safety concerns are rising even as federal enforcement stalls. The Federal Aviation Administration has collected 6,117 reports of potentially unsafe use of drones from February, 2014 through April of this year, according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office.

Automation which is currently available can help reduce accidents in general aviation (GA), according to the FAA, which is reminding GA pilots that all aircraft flying in designated controlled airspace must be equipped with it by January 1, 2020. Only aircraft that fly within uncontrolled airspace and aircraft without electrical systems, such as balloons and gliders, are exempt.