A C-54 transport carrying fuel crashed a few minutes after takeoff from Fairbanks, Alaska, on Tuesday. The plane, the military version of the DC-4 airliner, was carrying two crew and both died in the crash. The aircraft was owned by Alaska Air Fuel and crashed into the Tanana River about 10 a.m. Video shows fire erupting on the aircraft before it banked sharply left and descended quickly. “The aircraft slid into a steep hill on the bank of the river where it caught fire. No survivors have been located,” the Alaska Department of Public Safety said in a statement. The post C-54 Fuel Transport Do ..read more

A C-54 transport carrying fuel crashed a few minutes after takeoff from Fairbanks, Alaska, on Tuesday. The plane, the military version of the DC-4 airliner, was carrying two crew and both died in the crash. The aircraft was owned by Alaska Air Fuel and crashed into the Tanana River about 10 a.m. The crew may have attempted an off-airport landing before the aircraft went into a wooded area next to the river. “The aircraft slid into a steep hill on the bank of the river where it caught fire. No survivors have been located,” the Alaska Department of Public Safety said in a statement. The post C-5 ..read more

On April 17, the day before a runway incursion at Reagan National Airport in Washington made headlines, a Swiss Air crew aborted their takeoff at JFK because there were four aircraft crossing the runway from which they’d been cleared to take off. “Swiss 17K Heavy, rejecting takeoff. Traffic on the runway,” the Swiss Air pilot reported to JFK Tower on ATC recordings compiled by VASAviation in the animation above. Another controller on a different frequency cleared the other four aircraft to cross Runway 4L at roughly the same time as the Swiss heavy was starting its roll. The Swiss pilot most l ..read more

On April 17, the day before a runway incursion at Reagan National Airport in Washington made headlines a Swiss Air crew aborted their takeoff at JFK because there were four aircraft crossing the runway from which they’d been cleared to take off. “Swiss 17K Heavy, rejecting takeoff. Traffic on the runway,” the Swiss Air pilot reported to JFK Tower on ATC recordings compiled by VASAviation in the animation above. Another controller on a different frequency cleared the other four aircraft to cross Runway 4L at roughly the same time as the Swiss heavy was starting its roll. The Swiss pilot most li ..read more

The FAA has issued a final rule requiring charter, air tour operators and many manufacturers to develop and maintain safety management systems. The agency said last fall that it would make the requirement and it sent the final rule to the Federal Register on Monday. “Requiring more aviation organizations to implement a proactive approach to managing safety will prevent accidents and save lives,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said in a statement. Airlines have required SMSs since 2018 and the FAA required airports to have them last year. Most other countries have implemented similar rules for ..read more

On Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced its plans to revise air traffic controller rest guidelines, mandating a minimum of 10 hours off between shifts (previously 9 hours) and 12 hours off before midnight shifts.   The change comes in response to a new report released by a panel of safety experts detailing the impact of fatigue on air traffic controllers and safety. FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker formed the panel last year in response to several near misses, which have garnered widespread media attention. Whitaker issued the new rest rules in an April 19 memo to ..read more

On Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced its plans to revise air traffic controller rest guidelines, mandating a minimum of 10 hours off between shifts (previously 9 hours) and 12 hours off before midnight shifts.   The change comes in response to a new report released by a panel of safety experts detailing the impact of fatigue on air traffic controllers and safety. FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker formed the panel last year in response to several near misses which have garnered widespread media attention. Whitaker issued the new rest rules in an April 19 memo to ..read more

The National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB’s) final report cites pilot error as the likely cause of a midair collision that killed three over Watsonville Municipal Airport in August 2022. A Cessna 152 was practicing “touch-and-go” landings at the airport when the pilot of a Cessna 340 announced his intentions for a straight-in approach to land. Both pilots consistently made position reports but didn’t communicate directly until the Cessna 340 was approximately one mile from the airport, by which time the Cessna 152 had already turned onto the base leg of the traffic pattern. According to ..read more

The National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB’s) final report cites pilot error as the likely cause of a midair collision that killed three over Watsonville Municipal Airport in August 2022. A Cessna 152 was practicing “touch-and-go” landings at the airport when the pilot of a Cessna 340 announced his intentions for a straight-in approach to land. Both pilots consistently made position reports but didn’t communicate directly until the Cessna 340 was approximately one mile from the airport, by which time the Cessna 152 had already turned onto the base leg of the traffic pattern. According to ..read more

The FAA is investigating a runway incursion at Washington-Reagan Airport on Thursday in which two airliners were stopped by controllers about 300 feet apart. According to ATC recordings, the Southwest 737 and JetBlue A320 were both following ATC instructions when they came close to meeting at the intersection of a taxiway and runway. The FAA confirmed the Southwest flight had been cleared to cross the runway while the JetBlue flight was “starting its takeoff roll on the same runway.” The Southwest plane was already 65 feet past the hold line on the taxiway. After both aircraft came to a stop u ..read more