Sleeping pilots and other flight safety concerns highlighted in new TV documentary
‘Omerta above the clouds’ is a documentary exposing flight safety concerns amongst pilots and cabin crew working for European airlines. The documentary released by Dutch broadcast organisation BNNVARA, paints a disturbing picture of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and its political overseer, the EU Commission, accusing them of failing to address safety concerns due to being unduly influenced by economic pressures from...
CAA electronic carbon monoxide trial findings
The UK CAA has completed a 12-month trial on the use of electronic carbon monoxide detectors in general aviation (GA) aircraft and has recently published its findings. The CAA reports that feedback gained from the 12-month trial, combined with a review of CAA mandatory occurrence reporting (MOR) data, suggests the risk of CO exposure remains a persistent background threat throughout the year and is somewhat elevated during cold...
City Airport Manchester pioneers FID system
Manchester Barton Aerodrome in Greater Manchester has become the first airfield in the UK to gain approval from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for a new low cost safety system which provides real-time information to air traffic staff, working in the UK’s oldest operational control tower. The system, known as a Flight Information Display (FID), looks similar in appearance to a radar screen used at large airports, but uses a low...
DA42 engine failure during take-off demo
Diamond Aircraft demonstrate a engine failure after take-off (EFATO) in its multi engine DA42NG aircraft. The single engine flight characteristics were conducted with cutting the engine at various heights, starting from 50ft down to rotation. A successful land-back was demonstrated in all instances, with a subsequent demonstration of a safe continued flight after an engine failure at 50ft. All engine failures had docile handling...
Swansea Airport loses license amid safety concerns
The CAA has halted Swansea Airport (EGFH)’s operating licence citing a “systematic failure of safety management”. Following an unannounced audit in which “a series of safety concerns” were found, the aerodrome’s status as a licensed facility was revoked on 15 February. A spokesperson for the CAA told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the provisional license suspension was the result of ineffective safety management,...
