Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News

Max gives and update on the Learjet crash in Scottsdale and the crash of a Cirrus SR22 in Santa Barbara. He also analyzes the crash of N2UZ, a Bonanza B35B, which suffered an engine failure at 7,500 feet while flying over Virginia. The well-trained pilot attempted to glide to Charlottesville Airport (KCHO) but crashed in a wooded area just beyond a 3,000-foot-long field. ADS-B data shows that the...

Max talks with Connor Hailey from ForeFlight about their new aircraft insurance comparison tool, designed to help aircraft owners evaluate their insurance policies. The tool allows users to upload their current policy, which is analyzed using AI to extract key details. Pilots can verify and adjust their information, including certificates, ratings, and flight hours, which ForeFlight Logbook can au...

Rachael Webster recounts the surreal experience of having her airplane stolen from Palo Alto Airport. Initially mistaking the tampered aircraft for a kind gesture, she later received a call from the club informing her that her Citabria had been stolen and flown toward San Carlos with its transponder off. The aircraft was eventually discovered, nose-down but largely intact, on a beach south of Half...

The NTSB held a press conference to provide preliminary findings from the flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) related to the January 29 midair collision near Reagan National Airport between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and a PSA Airlines CRJ regional jet. The Black Hawk was conducting a checkride with night vision goggles and was following FAA-designated helicopter rou...

Max interviews Jeff Guzzetti, a former NTSB investigator, to discuss the accident investigation process, in relation to the DC midair collision. Jeff explains ICAO Annex 13, the international standard that guides accident investigations worldwide. He details the NTSB's congressional mandate to investigate every civil aviation accident and explains their resource constraints, which often require FA...

Max provides updates on the midair collision over the Potomac River between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and a regional jet, followed by an analysis of the fatal crash of a Learjet 55 in Philadelphia. Regarding the Potomac collision, the episode clarifies earlier reports about the Black Hawk's flight path, noting that it was slightly off its assigned helicopter route but not landing at Reagan...

Max discusses the tragic midair collision at Reagan National Airport between a PSA Airlines CRJ700 regional jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter. The midair crash over the Potomac River was captured by a Kennedy Center webcam. ATC instructed the Army helicopter to follow the airliner to Runway 33, but it did not comply. The helicopter was not transmitting ADS-B Out, though its position was tr...

Note: There is a video version of this episode for Patreon.com supporters at the $20/month level, which also gives you access to over 90 other videos. Max Trescott talks with Patrick Lienhart about FlySto.net, a platform bringing Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) to general aviation (GA). FOQA, widely used by airlines, collects and analyzes flight data to enhance safety by identifying tre...

Max talks with Jim Goldfuss about his journey from a career in logistics and retail to fulfilling his dream of flying professionally with PlaneSense, a fractional aircraft ownership company. Growing up around aviation, Jim earned his private pilot's license in 1989 but paused his flying ambitions due to financial constraints. Decades later, with stable finances and family support, he resumed train...

Max talks with Dr. Mark Alford, who shares his journey transitioning to the Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet. He completed a nine-day type rating course in Knoxville, preparing through extensive study and simulator sessions to master the jet's systems and emergency procedures.   Mark highlights the challenges and rewards of his Supervised Operating Experience (SOE) with Max, which involved 25 hours of mento...

In this Aviation News Talk episode, Max Trescott analyzes the recent crash of Jeju Air Flight 2216, a Boeing 737-800, in South Korea. The aircraft landed gear-up on runway 19 at Muan International Airport, slid down the runway, hit a concrete berm, and burst into flames, leaving only two survivors among the crew. He performed a video analysis of the aircraft's speed along the runway and concluded...

Max talks with Jason Blair, a DPE, about multi-engine ratings and training challenges. Jason explains that most pilots pursue multi-engine ratings as add-ons to their commercial certificates. He advises following an efficient training path: private single-engine, instrument rating, commercial single-engine, and finally, the multi-engine add-on.   Challenges with multi-engine training include mecha...

Max talks with Dr. Catherine Cavagnaro about the value of advanced flight training and aviation experiences. Catherine shares her family tradition of gifting adventures instead of physical items, often involving flights to places like Fredericksburg, Texas, or Ireland, blending fun, learning, and aviation.   They discuss using flight training as a "gift to oneself," encouraging pilots to pursue ne...

Max talks with Dr. Quay Snyder, an expert in aerospace medicine, about the critical role of sleep and fatigue management, especially in aviation. Dr. Snyder delves into the structure of sleep, emphasizing the importance of REM sleep for emotional recovery and memory consolidation, and deep sleep for physical restoration. He provides practical advice, such as maintaining a cool, dark, and quiet sle...

Max talks with Dr. Catherine Cavagnaro about the dangers of "timid turns" in traffic patterns, where overly shallow bank angles can lead to overshoots and potentially dangerous skidding turns. Catherine recounts a case where a pilot overshot final approach due to excessive speed and timid turns, underscoring how these habits can increase the risk of stall-spin accidents. They explore the physics o...

Max talks about the tragic crash of a Robinson R44 helicopter (N881KE) in Houston on October 20, 2024, which claimed four lives. The accident occurred during an air tour when the helicopter collided with a radio tower at night. While the immediate cause—the helicopter hitting the tower—is clear, the episode delves into the broader contributing factors, offering lessons for all pilots. The tower st...

Max talks about discuss the tragic crash of a Beechcraft B55 Baron, N73WA, that departed from Catalina Island in Southern California on October 8th. The flight, taken in dark night conditions, sadly resulted in the loss of all five onboard, including two Certified Flight Instructors and two student pilots. Somatogravic illusion—an effect where acceleration feels like a climb—likely played a role i...

Max talks first about the fatal crash of N57HP, a HondaJet, which crashed earlier this week during takeoff from Falcon Field in Mesa, AZ. The aircraft reached 133 knots on the runway, well above the rotation speed of 115 knots, before rejecting its takeoff. Max also talked with Rob Mark about a near-miss incident at Chicago O'Hare involving Envoy Flight 3936, an Embraer 170. The incident took plac...

Max talks with Eric Peterson, Director of Santa Clara County Airports, discussed the landmark arrival of G100UL, an unleaded 100-octane aviation gasoline, at Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose, making it the first airport in the U.S. to offer GAMI's G100UL fuel. Santa Clara County, motivated by studies linking lead exposure to nearby airports, decided to phase out leaded fuels in 2022, initially ad...

Max talks about how to respond to system failures, including those not covered in the POH. The process starts with assessing the severity of the failure—whether it's a minor inconvenience or a threat to safety. Pilots should determine if they can substitute other instruments or indicators for the failed system and assess if the issue could lead to cascading failures, such as an engine fire after a...

Max talks with John Kinard of AeroLuxe Aviation, based in Nashville, which operates a fleet of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, including R44 and R22 helicopters. Following Hurricane Helene, the company became involved in relief efforts after seeing the devastation in North Carolina. John contacted the Ashville, NC EOC, and was told that help wasn't needed. Nonetheless, AeroLux decided to fly...

Max talks about the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene, which resulted in at least 200 deaths, mostly in North Carolina, and brought unprecedented rainfall to the Southeast. Towns like Hendersonville and Spruce Pine received over 20 inches of rain, causing widespread flooding and isolating mountain communities. Relief efforts have been extensive, involving the National Guard, Coast Guard, and...

Max discusses the crash of N831AZ, a Cirrus SR22 at Provo, Utah. The aircraft was following a slower light sport aircraft in the traffic pattern for runway 13. The Cirrus pilot was instructed to go around after getting too close to the preceding aircraft. During both traffic patterns, the pilot struggled with airspeed management, flying with a constantly decreasing airspeed instead of maintaining...

Max talks with Nicholas about his recent experience buying a Cirrus SR22 and flying it from California to Missouri. After Nicholas arrived in San Jose, they drove to Santa Maria, where the plane had been relocated for a pre-purchase inspection. Nicholas discussed how he arranged for a local pilot to ferry the plane to the inspection site and his use of the Cirrus Owners Pilots Association (COPA) t...

In this episode of the Aviation News Talk podcast, Max discusses the crash of N629AG, a Piper PA-46-350P Malibu Mirage, which occurred on a visual approach to Anderson, Indiana (KAID) on a Friday morning. The aircraft, arriving too high and fast, attempted a go-around but stalled shortly after, killing the pilot and three passengers. The flight had departed from Fort Dodge, Iowa (KFOD) under IFR,...