September 17, 2015 is the magical day. Applying cold temperature corrections to certain instrument approaches goes from being recommended to being mandatory. Pilots without temperature compensating aircraft must calculate and make a manual cold temperature altitude correction for cold temperature restricted airports to the designated segment(s) of the approach using...

The book Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior reminds me of the writing style of Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner in their books Freakonomics, Surperfreakonomics, and Think Like a Freak. Similar to Levitt and Dubner, Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman use behavioral economics as a lens to explain what...

The book The Glass Cage: Automation and Us by Nicholas Carr goes beyond the scope of aviation and reviews automation in cars, manufacturing, and the medical field. The book provided a good review of general automation philosophy principles along with some operational takeaways that can immediately be implemented in the...

My previous flying job was at a large fractional operator. When flying with a large pilot group, you will come across pilots with varied backgrounds, different personalities, and quirks. One of those interesting quirks I found was those pilots that want to spend more time in the bar than the...

We are not all in the habit of using transponders on the ground since we do not want to “set off” a TCAS TA or RA for a landing aircraft; however, TCAS units inhibit TCAS TAs and RAs when we are within 500 (+/- 100) feet of the ground. Our...

Here is a sample of so-called Safety Performance Goals that show up in the plain brown wrapper that we get from the doc store.  As most of us are buying from the same three or four document providers, we see the same ones often: Encouraging all employees to participate by...

When we layer on a non-precision approach coupled to our FMS ability to VNAV down a VDP from the FAF to the runway, the plot really thickens.  If you have been flying lots of VNAV VDPs down to near the pavement without any problem, you are definitely in the danger...

  Third and last on our list, Cabin crew safety training has been rolled into IS-BAO 5.3.1 to provide the same emergency procedures and equipment training to anybody who has duties on the airplane (“all aircraft crewmembers”). The separate section on cabin crew safety training, with its list of specific...

  If a crewmember who is required to take a test or a flight check under this part, completes the test or flight check in the calendar month before or after the calendar month in which it is required, that crewmember is considered to have completed the test or check...

  The two most frequently cited sources are AC 90-108, Use of Suitable Area Navigation (RNAV) Systems on Conventional Routes and Procedures, and the AIM, in Paragraph 1-2-3. As the current AIM language is basically a repeat of portions of AC 90-108, let’s focus on the AC. As it turns...

  This year and every year, IS-BAO registered operators need to review, interpret, document, and then implement the changes that are applicable to their operation. As an example, Advanced Aircrew Academy has completed the review and assessment for applicability of the entirety of the 2015 revisions for a client. This...

After seeing an advertisement by Aviation Supplies & Academics (ASA) for the book Pilots In Command: Your Best Trip, Every Trip I preordered a copy weeks before the release. The description of the book was it offered “solid advice from real pilot to student and professional aviators alike about how to...

  OK, but what’s the cost of NOT going around? What is the damage to your and your company’s reputation when you go sliding off the end into the EMAS with the buckets fully deployed? When was the last time you heard about a plane on social media doing a...

  The crew was able to get one engine restarted at 10,000 feet and landed safety in Sarasota, FL. The incident was a wakeup call to prepare for what I previously thought was an impossibility. In Captain Dave Montgomery’s book Blue Water Ditching: Training Professional Crewmembers for the Unthinkable Disaster, he...

One change to discuss with your Part 142 training provider is incorporating hands-on training on use of the oxygen mask, mask settings, communicating with masks donned, and venting of smoke goggles. From a policy perspective, a review of your smoke, fire, or fumes checklists and SOP guidance is recommended. The...

Relatively new regulations require aircraft operating in designated classes of airspace (about anywhere a transponder is required) to be equipped with ADS-B Out beginning January 1, 2020. The FAA has issued a new Advisory Circular (AC), 90-114A to facilitate operations, including general operating procedures and performance and training requirements, when...

When required to make this altitude correction, pilots must also inform ATC so that the controller can ensure appropriate vertical separation is applied between known traffic. Be sure to announce where and how much you will be applying the correction factor. These corrections should not be applied while being radar...

  Quest Diagnostics, a large independent testing lab, reported that in 2013, after 10 years of decline, drug test positivity is on the rise fueled primarily from the use of marijuana and amphetamines. Even though the aviation workforce has a very low positive drug and alcohol test rate compared to...

Given the FAA’s stated exercise of its legislative authority, OSHA historically has not attempted to enforce the provisions of the OSH Act with respect to flight deck crew on an aircraft in operation. Where the FAA has not preempted OSHA from enforcing its standards and regulations, OSHA generally has exercised...

  Since Dr. Reason has been researching and publishing for the better part of 40 years, I recommend this book, “A Life in Error,” as the first book of his that you read. The book does not go into the level of detail to learn the intricacies of each of...

TO: Manager of External Change Your Operation FROM: AAA SUBJECT: Upcoming Airspace and IFR Procedural Changes The rolling stone that constitutes NextGen is picking up additional momentum following the North Texas airspace redo in November. We would have expected a pause to regroup and refresh, but this performer is going...

Data Comm is an important component of the total NextGen system. Elements of it have been in live operational trials at Memphis and Newark since 2011, with the general rollout commencing in June, 2015 at SLC, IAH, and HOU. Another 56 airports are planned to be online by the end...

Here is AAA’s thinking on just this one revision item: Fatigue Risk Management Program Affected Sections: 4 – Organization and Personnel Requirements, 6 – Flight Operations, Appendix B – Implementation Guidance. Section 4.8 has been added to the Standard and to the Protocols, and Recommended Practices have been added to...

This particular conundrum has compliance consequences for you Part 135 and 121 operators out there, but the lines are open and opinions welcome from anyone who wants to chime in. Here is the set up: The Instrument Procedures Handbook (IPH), in Chapter 1, Departure Procedures, states the following: The FAA...

When I downloaded the AC, the first thing I noticed was it did not grow in length. Identical to the original publication, AC 91-79A is still 39 pages long. My assumption based on the same page count was the changes were going to be minimal. A closer attention to detail...