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The scenario exists in many iterations; the outcome boils down to only a few: Mix high ambient temperatures and high humidity and this morning’s more-than-ample, piece-o-cake runway morphs into this afternoon’s high-risk proposition.

The FAA, in a move that would not have been surprising in late 2001 but which is somewhat mystifying in the present, recently issued a [temporary] moratorium on the use of Non-Citizen Trusts to enable FAA registration of aircraft. Ostensibly, the administration apparently believes that terrorists, or supporters of terrorists could (or do?) use Non-Citizen Trusts to register and then have direct access to aircraft that travel, essentially unfettered, in U.S. airspace.

A friend’s recent tangle with a vehicle brought home to him the realization that bad things don’t always happen only to other people. Bad things and bad situations sometimes land foursquare at our feet with no consideration for our schedules, our demands or our stations in life.

Admittedly, selling the idea of a back-up system for our highly vaunted Global Positioning System lacks much in the way of ‘sex appeal’ – or, apparently, anything in the way of urgency. Putting it mildly, the idea faces significant challenges.

Spring started on Saturday, March 20; Summer arrives in Solstice style on Monday, this June 21. My usual reminder to beware of Storm Season tends to come with the first letter of the season’s name: if we’re in a season that starts with an “S”, it’s Storm Season. Spring and/or Summer = Storm Season. It’s that simple.

Generally, accidents are not the result of any one single event, but the product of several. My view is that every flight must pass through several gates in sequential order for the accident to happen — the final gate being the pilot. Logically, pilots have the final opportunity to prevent an accident.

A jet touches down fast and long on the rain-soaked runway, sadly leaving too little pavement ahead to safely stop the plane…
Another jet on a daylight arrival descends below the clouds at a comfortable altitude, but in the transition from Instrument to Visual Meteorological Conditions the crew misjudges their distance from the rain-wetted runway, touching down short…

The story of the two Northwest pilots over-flying their destination by 150 miles towards the end of 2009 resonated within the aviation community and with the non-aviating public, alike.
Beyond the late night talk show jokes and the regulatory ramifications of the pilots’ flight-deck activities, the event raised other issues about the flight safety risks of distractions on the cockpit.

The inimitable Australian feminist writer, Ms. Germaine Greer once claimed: "…Security is when everything is settled. When nothing can happen to you…" She also wrote that "...There is no such thing as security. There never has been…"

Aprominent aviation-training company promotes its services with a slogan about the well-trained pilot being the best safety system available. Despite the plethora of tools available in and out of the cockpit, there’s a true nugget of wisdom in that approach. But to take the illustration further, sometimes the best tool is an overly prepared pilot – one who recognizes that hidden, offthe- wall, unusual and unexpected threats can sometimes reach up and bite us on the empennage.