Insights and best practices to keep your flying safe — covering risk awareness, operational tips, and decision‑making strategies.
Garmin Autoland completed its first in-service activation after a King Air B200 lost pressurization at 23,000 feet. The pilots remained conscious but let the system fly the approach and landing in IMC with icing — a milestone for autonomous safety tech in GA.
Legal requirements for passenger safety briefings in small aircraft are minimal, and usually framed around seat belts. Regulators like CASA, CAAS and the NZ CAA all push pilots to go further: clear, calm briefings that prepare passengers for normal ops, discomfort, and off-airport contingencies.
A new Safety Science study shows that the real safety margin in cockpit emergencies isn’t just procedures or automation — it’s the pilot’s mindset, technical curiosity, and grit.
AOPA data shows the biggest accident bucket is landing, yet it rarely kills anyone. The real danger: loss of control, low‑level maneuvering, VFR into IMC, fuel mistakes, and mishandled engine failures.
Aviation doesn’t treat safety as “who’s to blame” but as a whole system of people, machines, weather and culture. As a new pilot, you’re already part of that system — and you can quietly redesign it to make every flight more forgiving.
This guide explains why go-arounds go wrong, how to fly them cleanly, and how to train so that choosing to go around becomes the most normal, least dramatic decision you make in the circuit.
