Monthly Archives: April 2009
According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) official, the new helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) rulemaking will cover different areas such as safety devices, procedures and infrastructure, and pilot training. These new rules are reportedly in response to the increase in fatal medivac helicopter accidents over the last two years that killed a total of 35 people. By requiring the usage of certain technologies, the proposed rules hope to prevent HEMS accidents. One new requirement for HEMS helicopters will be … Read more…
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is reportedly planning to propose new rules governing the operation of medical helicopters. The new rules are reportedly aimed at improving flight safety and are a formal departure from the previous voluntary safety regime. This action comes reportedly in response to the deaths of 35 people killed in medical helicopter crashes in the last two years. According to reports, the FAA will begin the rulemaking process later this year. They would be subject to a … Read more…
On Saturday, a twin-engine Cessna 421 crashed into a Florida home, killing the pilot. The pilot, 80-year-old Cecil A. Murray, was reportedly taking his last flight in the plane to Fernandina Beach for its planned sale. According to Robert A. Gretz, a Senior Air Traffic Safety Investigator, the pilot radioed that he was having trouble. Permission was reportedly granted to land on any runway at the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport but before Murray could land; his plane fell from what … Read more…
On Saturday, a pilot and his passenger reportedly died when their 1946 Ercoupe 415-C airplane crashed into a cornfield and caught fire in Sandwich, Illinois. According to reports, the pilot, Randy Hougham, 53, restored the vintage plane and has been flying it since 2006. His passenger, Lauren Hamilton, 22, was reportedly a graduate of Bradley University and a resident of Peoria Illinois. Earlier in the day Hougham reportedly took Hamilton’s father and grandfather for a ride in the plane and … Read more…
Monday night another commercial plane reportedly made an emergency landing in response to a bird strike. None of the 133 passengers reportedly were injured when the Allegiant Air plane struck a bald eagle just after taking off from Orlando’s Sanford International Airport. According to reports, the aircraft was not disabled from the strike but landed as a precautionary measure. The passengers and crew resumed their flight on another plane four hours later. Florida is home to one of the largest … Read more…
As the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) preliminary report released last week on the March 22 crash of a Pilatus PC-12/45 in Butte, Montana, still fails to shed any light on the cause of that crash that took 14 lives, United Press International (UPI) released a story that says, “General aviation still deadliest in U.S.” In a story released April 3, UPI stated that “general aviation remains the deadliest form of air travel in the United States,” according to statistics … Read more…
United Airlines flight 923 reportedly made an emergency landing yesterday at the Bangor Maine International Airport. The flight was traveling from London to Washington, D.C. with 178 passengers and 11 crew members when it began to experience mechanical difficulties. According to reports, pilots of the Boeing 767 noticed smoke in the cockpit and subsequently lost power in one of the plane’s two engines. The flight landed without incident and passengers were soon boarded on another flight that continued to Dulles … Read more…
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has announced that it will hold hearings in Washington, D.C., in May on the Buffalo plane crash that tragically took 50 lives in February. Three days of hearings in mid-May will be held where experts and aviation authorities will be called to testify on the possible causes of the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407. The hearings can be monitored live on the NTSB’s website: www.NTSB.gov
