February Safety Update: Fatigue, “Duty Time”, and the Long Day Trap February 4, 2026 Flying for Angel Flight West (AFW), or any philanthropic flying, is among the most meaningful work a general aviation pilot can do. Volunteer pilots, Earth Angels and all AFW staff and volunteers bring skill and compassion together in service to others. But these missions also introduce a unique set of risks – many of which are subtle, cumulative, and easy to underestimate. Let us examine those risks under th… Safety Officers Read More »
Advantages of Filing IFR for AFW Missions November 7, 2025 Hello AFW Command Pilots, specifically IFR-rated Command Pilots. OK, so I feel bad for all the VFR-only Angel Flight Command Pilots, as this article doesn’t apply to you (unless it encourages you to get your instrument rating!). I don’t fly nearly as many Angel Flight missions as I’d like to, but most of those flights were VFR flights. However, I have recently filed and flown several IFR Angel Flights, regardless of t… Safety Officers Read More »
August Safety Update: Rethinking the Go-Around August 1, 2025 Go-Arounds: Are they classified as a success or a failure? A sure loss? During this report I wanted to explore with a little more detail the decision making process behind a Go-Around, more so than the execution portion of this maneuver. Go-arounds clearly may be needed in a wide variety of scenarios, including: Unstable approach: Too fast, too high, too low, or misaligned with the runway. Have you c… Safety Officers Read More »
May Safety Update: Safety Stand-Down May 12, 2025 Before touching upon the safety subject, I would like to profoundly thank Josh Olson, our former Executive Director of Angel Flight West. Josh, as you know, has taken a position with AOPA and his leadership and commitment will be dearly missed. Thank you, Josh, for the years of selfless service to so many and our best wishes to all your future endeavors. Concurrently, I would also like to thank Mar… Safety Officers Read More »
February Safety Update: Is It Really a Mission? February 10, 2025 Angel Flight West has the “mission” of arranging transportation for patients and family members who need to travel long distances for care. AFW volunteer Pilots sign up for “missions” to provide flights for these folks. But should we call these volunteer flights “missions”? As a volunteer Pilot and Safety Officer, I get to experience the joy of flying AFW missions and also see feedback from pilots and passengers.… Safety Officers Read More »
November Safety Update: Ground Operations November 5, 2024 Ground Operations In this article we actually won’t get airborne at all. We will discuss Threats, Errors and their mitigation, while we are still on the ground. Specifically, we will cover procedures and processes from prior to engine start, up to our decision-making process during a rejected takeoff while rolling down the runway. If you already have techniques that work for you, that you feel are true, tested and h… Safety Officers Read More »
August Safety Update: What ATC Can Do for You August 5, 2024 My opinion of ATC has matured over my flying experience of over 45 years. Just like every new pilot, I was intimidated by talking on the radio and felt like ATC was the authority which must be obeyed. I’m not sure any instructor in my training taught me about the benefits and limitations of ATC. This Safety Article will provide you with suggestions on how to get the most utility from interacting with ATC. Routine operatio… afw_web_admin Read More »
May Safety Update: Managing Our Flight Path and Distractions May 17, 2024 Approximately, a year and a half ago the FAA issued Advisory Circular (AC) 120-123. It is regarding Flight Path Management (FPM) and it is addressed to Part 121/135 operations and Part 142 Training Centers. I am including a PDF link below, in case you are interested in all 46 pages of it! https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC_120-123.pdf Well, you say, what does that have to do with o… Safety Officers Read More »
January Safety Update – NASA ASRS Program – Aviation Safety Reporting System January 19, 2024 In this edition’s safety report I would like to discuss the NASA ASRS Program – Aviation Safety Reporting System. There is an abundance of information online regarding this program, yet I wanted to touch upon some of the highlights. Most airlines have an in-house safety reporting process. Most often, the in-house reporting program also simultaneously files a NASA ASRS report. I worked very closely w… Safety Officers Read More »
September Safety Update – Threat and Error Management Debriefs October 11, 2023 Pleasant greetings and I hope that this report finds you all safe and well. During my initial introduction, I communicated to you that we all share one common goal: to function in our flying within Safe Operations. That statement serves as a prologue to our safety articles. Thereafter, in our first report (April 2023) we took a deep and detailed dive in the Threat and Error Management model as part of our main the… Safety Officers Read More »
July Safety Update July 25, 2023 Passengers. ATC. Weather. Evil instructors. That little needle that’s pointing somewhere it shouldn’t. Stuff that demands your attention when you’d rather just be pre-flying, flying, or post-flying. We pilots are just humans (Except George. You know who you are), and we’re subject to distractions that interrupt our regular flows, checklists, and processes. Angel Flight pilots in particular are carrying pas… Safety Officers Read More »
April 2023 Safety Report April 12, 2023 Pleasant greetings to all. I feel immensely privileged to be able to address you all and it is a position that I will never take lightly. The process of Threat and Error Management is one of my favorite subjects in Aviation Safety. It is applicable to absolutely every kind of flying and it is indeed filled with jargon and terminology, that while necessary, it may overwhelm the reader and take away from its goal: ens… Safety Officers Read More »
Meet AFW’s New Safety Officers April 12, 2023 Meet Alexios: My name is Alexi Stavropoulos and I am deeply honored to be serving as AFW’s Safety Officer along with Bruce Poulton. I am grateful to own a Cirrus SR22T. Without a doubt, my favorite flying activity in my Cirrus is to fly for AFW when my work schedule and weather permits. Both have been a challenge as of late. Otherwise, I love staying in the pattern, humbling myself! And of course, flying with my family.… Jessica Hayes Read More »
What Can We Learn from Accidents? December 2, 2022 I was about to send out a Safety Newsletter on a different topic, when a recent event changed my mind. On a recent Saturday I had just returned from practicing a number of stalls in our Cessna T206, which I always enjoy doing. I was on the ramp at the Crownair FBO at MYF (Montgomery) talking with the line staff there. Looking north towards the runways, we noticed a Cirrus SR20 flying westbound over Runway 28R. It initially a… Rich Pickett Read More »
Are You Landing for Safety or Comfort? August 7, 2022 As pilots we all strive for passenger accolades after a smooth-as-glass landing, but is it the best landing? I love to do pattern work, even after decades of flying, and working for a smooth landing. While it can be rewarding and offers great training, it does come with some safety issues. While Aircraft Flight Manuals (AFM/POH) for light aircraft don’t make specific… Rich Pickett Read More »
