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United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Safety Briefing

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Stabilized Approach and Landing

Focusing on establishing and maintaining a stabilized approach and landing is a great way to avoid experiencing a loss of control. A stabilized approach is one in which the pilot establishes and maintains a constant angle glidepath towards a predetermined point on the landing runway. It is based...

Pattern Precision

The FAA, General Aviation Joint Steering Committee (GAJSC), and industry agree that regular, structured, proficiency training is perhaps the most effective means of reducing GA accidents. Because the traffic pattern involves nearly all piloting tasks, it is a logical choice for a proficiency...

Understanding Owner/Mechanic Roles and Responsibilities

Although pilots and aircraft owners rely on mechanics to maintain and inspect their aircraft, the owner or operator is ultimately responsible for airworthiness. Pilots and owners should be proactive in their approach to maintenance, understand airworthiness responsibilities, and know the value...

Service Bulletins and the Aircraft Owner

Manufacturers issue aircraft Service Bulletins to inform owners and operators about critical and useful information on aircraft safety, maintenance, or product improvement. Compliance with Service Bulletins may or may not be mandatory, but you should never ignore them when it comes to safety....

Safety Wire

Failure to properly secure aircraft components can compromise powerplant and control system operation, leading to system and component failures. Properly secure aircraft components with safety wire, ensure that hardware locking mechanisms are properly installed on your aircraft, and check them...

Smart Cockpit Technology

The GAJSC has determined that “smart cockpit technology” in the form of automated checklists for normal and emergency operations, predictive aircraft performance, and performance monitoring, might reduce the number of system/component failure general aviation accidents.

Maintenance Placards

The General Aviation Joint Steering Committee (GAJSC) has identified a number of fatal general aviation accidents that were caused by attempting flight in aircraft that were undergoing maintenance and not yet returned to service. This safety enhancement suggests adopting lock out/tag out...

Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC)

The General Aviation Joint Steering Committee (GAJSC) identifies electronic engine control (EEC), which ranges from electronic ignition through full authority digital engine control (FADEC), as a safety enhancement to GA aircraft. These systems can decrease pilot workload and provide engine...

General Aviation Survival

Many general aviation (GA) accidents are survivable if you have the right equipment and employ the right techniques. For example in Alaska, adding seatbelts — especially four- or five-point seatbelts — and helmets could save 60 percent of the lives involved in an aircraft accident. Are you...