“It’s too much to say I am a national hero, I am absolutely sure that any one of our pilots could have landed the plane and the result would have been the same because we train for situations like this on simulators”, So said Captain Wrona after the wheels-up landing of the LOT Polish Airlines Boeing… Continue reading Landing Gear Problems – Seen from the Cockpit
Tag: CAA
Federal Airways Manual of Operations 1941 – Chapter C, Airway Traffic Control Section
I do not know about you but I love old books. If nothing else, thinking about the many people and many hands that have owned and touched such an old volume feels like a travel back in time. But reading some of them and comparing the style and content to our contemporary reality is also… Continue reading Federal Airways Manual of Operations 1941 – Chapter C, Airway Traffic Control Section
Women in ATC – Echoes from the past
The subject of women in air traffic control is dear to my heart for several reasons one of which is that I did play a small role in setting the scene for girls to be eventually accepted as ATC cadets in Hungary. The real achievement belongs to the ladies themselves who completed the fight but… Continue reading Women in ATC – Echoes from the past
AIXM 5.1 arrives in operational service
You can be excused if the abbreviation AIXM does not ring any bells… I mean, to fly or control aircraft, you do not need to know what AIXM is… just enjoy its benefits. Of course if you are a regular reader of Roger-Wilco, you will have seen our articles on System Wide Information Management and… Continue reading AIXM 5.1 arrives in operational service
CAA Radiotelephony Manual – free download
There are certain books that should not be missing from any pilot’s or controller’s kits. Among these is the UK CAA’s Radiotelephony Manual (CAP 413). Now in its 19th edition, it has numerous additions and clarifications (including the call sign suffix “Super” for the Airbus A380) that we all must be aware of. If you… Continue reading CAA Radiotelephony Manual – free download
U.K. airspace "developments"?
A short article in Aviation Week and Space Technology caught my eye the other day. “Restructuring U.K. Skies” was the title and it announced that the U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was beginning the process of defining airspace out to 2030, with industry-wide dialogue to begin in 2010. I counted the number of times the… Continue reading U.K. airspace "developments"?
Near-miss on demand
In the late 70’s our authority decided to commission a series of training movies for air traffic controllers and engineers. The purpose was to show some of the most commonly occurring errors, give an analysis of the causes and provide some guidance on how to avoid them. I was selected to write the script for… Continue reading Near-miss on demand
Interesting people, unusual flight plans…
Rob Mead – Long-way turn from Yellowstone to Seattle What were you dreaming of becoming when you were a kid? Actually… I did not dream of anything in particular. I put passion into everything I did, wanted to be good in what I did… I always felt that life was going in a good direction… Continue reading Interesting people, unusual flight plans…
Fly on the right – A mid air mitigation
On 29 September 2006, A GOL B737-800 and a private Embraer Legacy business jet collided at FL360 some 200 miles north of Brasilia, over the Amazon Jungle. The Embraer’s left winglet hit the 737’s left wing, and the 737 crashed killing all on board. The Embraer was luckier, and made a successful emergency landing at the Cachimbo air base.