General and Business Aviation Call to Action: Avoid Complacency
Reminder: Avoid Complacency by Following Pre-flight Checklists Did you know that maintenance-related problems are one of the deadliest causes of accidents in general aviation? Contributing to this is a pilot’s failure to identify maintenance discrepancies because of a lack of knowledge, complacency with checklists, or improper techniques used during the preflight of the aircraft. Advanced preflight is a practice that helps aircraft owners and pilots become more aware of all the safety-related data pertaining to their aircraft. In addition to using the preflight checklist, it focuses on being more cognizant of who maintains your aircraft and how to apply a
General and Business Aviation Call to Action: Airport Familiarization
Reminder: Familiarization with your Destination Airport is Important The FAA and the aviation community are committed to pursuing a goal of zero serious close calls and improving situational awareness in the airport surface environment. Be sure to utilize all the tools available and get acquainted with your destination airport before you takeoff. Arrival Alert Notices To manage wrong surface events where an aircraft lines up to or lands on the incorrect runway, taxiway, or airport, the FAA released Arrival Alert Notices (AAN) at airports with a history of misalignment risk. AANs are graphics visually depicting the approach to
Worn Fuel Primer Pumps Lead to Loss of Engine Events on General Aviation Aircraft
The FAA is investigating a report of a worn fuel primer pump that may be installed in general aviation aircraft following a non-fatal accident on a Champion 7EC Traveler. During the initial takeoff climb, the pilot noticed a significant decrease in the engine rpm and lost full engine power shortly after. It was determined that the fuel primer pump in the accident was worn and unable to lock properly causing an overly rich fuel mixture. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing and the fuselage. FAA's Operational Safety Branch recently issued an Airworthiness Concern Sheet to highlight this
Consumption of renewable diesel continues general growth trend on the U.S. West Coast
Renewable diesel is increasingly replacing petroleum diesel on the U.S. West Coast, where state-level policies are attracting new production capacity and shipments to the region. The fuel continues to mostly be consumed in California but is also making up a substantial share of Oregon's and Washington's smaller distillate pools, according to quarterly data published by California, Oregon, and Washington.
April 24 – The FAA encourages general aviation pilots to learn how to meet the BasicMed requirements
General aviation pilots can now prepare to fly under BasicMed without holding a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) medical certificate as long as they meet certain requirements. They can fly under BasicMed beginning on May 1, the effective date of the January 10 final rule. It offers pilots an alternative to the FAA’s medical qualification process for third class medical certificates, while keeping general aviation pilots safe and flying affordable. General aviation pilots may take advantage of the regulatory relief in the BasicMed rule or opt to continue to use their FAA medical certificate. Under BasicMed, a pilot will be
FAA General Aviation Safety Outreach Initiative
The FAA is embarking on an FAA General Aviation (GA) Safety Outreach Initiative. It is intended to increase the GA community's awareness of safety management practices that could elevate the industry’s overall safety performance. The primary goals of the FAA GA Safety Outreach Initiative include: Increase the GA community’s awareness of the Safety Attributes and the benefits of applying them Increase participation in the Safety Management System Voluntary Program (SMSVP) Reaching these goals will result in a desired outcome of a lower accident and incident rate in the GA community. The following link leads to the FAA General Aviation Safety