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Are We Established?
When the approach controller issues a clearance, “maintain 3,000 feet until established,” what does it mean to be established? The specific meaning of this phrase is a bit more involved than a short definition, and it is critically relevant in avoiding Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) accidents. Maintain the last altitude assigned by ATC until…
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Re-Thinking Risk Assessment
The best tool available for pilots to quantify overall flight risk is the form found in the FAA’s Personal and Weather Risk Assessment Guide. However, that form is more than 10 years old and needs many improvements. It is based on the “PAVE” method or checklist, and enables a pilot to assign a predetermined point…
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CFIT Training Aid
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) prevention is one of the main topics of Single-pilot Resource Management (SRM). As a pilot, I do want to avoid flying into terrain! I also enjoy studying any aspect of aviation. Sometimes this means tracking down an obscure publication, and I do enjoy that challenge as well. I found several…
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St. Ignace Fatal Flight of Amazon.com Exec
Last month, the NTSB published a factual report on the St. Ignace, Michigan accident of 2011 that killed an Amazon.com executive. Here exists an opportunity to analyze the available information in great detail and to try to answer more questions about what happened.