FAAST Blast — Week of Aug 07 – Aug 13, 2023
Biweekly FAA Safety Briefing News Update
Updated Procedures and Best Practices for Non-towered Airport Flight Ops
The FAA recently published Advisory Circular (AC) 90-66C, Non-Towered Airport Flight Operations, (cancels AC 90-66B CHG 1) to reflect current procedures and best practices at airports without an operating control tower or an airport with a control tower that operates only part-time. This AC specifies the regulatory requirements, recommended operations, and communications procedures for operating at non-towered airports and recommends traffic patterns, communications phraseology, and operational procedures for use by aircraft, lighter-than-air aircraft, gliders, parachutes, rotorcraft, and ultralight vehicles.
The AC stresses safety as the primary objective and provides general operating practices including preflight actions, flying the standard traffic pattern, being alert for other than a left-hand traffic pattern, and self-announcing position and/or intentions. You can review this AC at bit.ly/AC9066C.
New Pilot Minute Video Covers Desert Survival
In the latest episode of the Pilot Minute video series, Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Susan Northrup outlines some important desert survival strategies and provides information on free post-crash training offered by the FAA’s Civil Aerospace Medical Institute. See the video here:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5vHkqHi51DQvRjGJo1SuXyZpKl5HbzOI.
Gravity is Undefeated
Pilots know that a plane's weight plays a crucial role in its performance, but that’s not always apparent to our passengers who might be more accustomed to packing a car until there’s no space left. Instead, pilots must carefully balance passengers, cargo, and fuel to ensure smooth takeoffs and landings. For more on the complexities of this important pre-flight process and how you and your flying companions can shed unnecessary weight for a smooth and safe journey, see the article “Gravity is Undefeated: Why Weight & Balance is Critical to Flight Safety” at https://medium.com/faa/gravity-is-undefeated-997a39d01521 in the July/Aug 2023 issue of FAA Safety Briefing. See our entire flying companion-themed issue at www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-safety-briefing-magazine.
Produced by the FAA Safety Briefing editors, www.faa.gov/newsroom/faa-safety-briefing-magazine
Address questions or comments to: [email protected]
Follow us on Twitter @FAASafetyBrief or https://twitter.com/FAASafetyBrief