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 »
What is Hard IFR? February 20, 2022 Winter is almost over (but not quite) and the weather is changing. Spring is a time of quickly developing weather systems and unpredictable weather. Not that long ago I sat in my house in the Cascade foothills at 1,800 MSL and watched the effects of the portion of the “bomb cyclone” that passed through our region. We didn’t get it as bad as other places like Northern California but I was looking at hig… Kaitlyn McQuown Read More »
What Angel Flight West Passengers Don’t Say September 29, 2021 Understanding Our Passengers Upon finding a pilot for an Angel Flight West (AFW) mission, the AFW staff frequently calls the passenger only to hear. “I never heard from a pilot, so I scraped together money from friends and family to buy a commercial ticket,” or “I started driving yesterday,” or even, “I canceled my appointments.” This type of response is really frustrating, both for staff and pilots. We work hard to… wagadmin Read More »
AFW Safety News: Logging Cross-Country Time July 9, 2021 Logging Cross-Country Time It is probably easier to navigate through the fog without instruments than trying to determine how to log cross-country time. How you classify your flight time as cross-country depends upon the context of its use. As the FAA has written before, there are multiple ways to define the logging of cross-country time. First: The FAA defines cross-country ti… Wendy Weisenberg Read More »
AFW Safety News December 10, 2020 Winter is coming! By Rich Pickett, AFW Safety Officer While it is difficult to realize that winter is coming here in San Diego, I sometimes encounter actual snow or ice on a runway! I thought it might be nice to share some pointers, especially for those pilots who don’t normally operate under these conditions. Having lived and flown in the Rockies, Cascades, and back East, winter flying can be an adventur… Wendy Weisenberg Read More »
Angel Flight West Safety News August 19, 2020 Night Mission Restriction for VFR-only Pilots By AFW Safety Officer Rich Pickett I’ve always enjoyed night flying from my first evening flight 42 years ago as a student pilot to the present. One of the first aspects of night flight my instructor taught me were the additional risks with these flights. The AOPA Air Safety Foundation’s Nall report states the fatal VFR accident rate doubles after nightfal… Wendy Weisenberg Read More »
SAFETY MESSAGE November 15, 2019 By Jim Dell Can you guess what I am writing about this month? Oh no, not the stall again! Yes, you’re right. I didn’t intend to, but a funny thing happened while planning my usual crash and burn presentation for the SoCal Wing Meeting. The night before the meeting, I woke with a start, realizing that this meeting was advertised as a “family day!” Golly, I can’t show crash and burn videos to a bunch of kid… Wendy Weisenberg Read More »
Our Safety Course Receives a Refresh! July 11, 2017 The AOPA Public Benefit Flying Course that we use for orientation has been updated! Newly joined members and seasoned command pilots alike will find important information on safe decision-making, working with passengers, and planning for flights. Now is the perfect time to start your command pilot orientation if you have not yet done so and we encourage you to start as soon as possible! You will be abl… Brooke McDaniel Read More »
