Resulting from trend data and an AAIB recommendation, the CAA is promoting training and pre-flight consideration of partial power loss in aeroplanes and powered sailplanes including TMGs. For example, partial power loss training is included in the latest SFCL SPL TMG extension syllabus. The CAA’s safety promotion contractor, Astral Aviation,…

All glider pilots who fly cross-country should read this news item which includes a link to the UK Airprox Board’s report. On the 8th Apr 2025 at 4nm west of Ely in East Anglia, a JS1 and a KC135 (an airline sized tanker aircraft) that were flying in class G…

A French report following an accident involving a powered aeroplane taking off alongside a winch launch is a reminder of an inherent risk on some airfields and the need for proactive mitigation. You can read the French BEA report in English here. 

Infringements of regulated airspace, e.g. controlled, restricted or prohibited airspace without the authority to do so, are potentially dangerous and disruptive, and ultimately result in the curtailment of the freedoms to fly that all pilots need and enjoy. Similar issues apply where pilots fail to take into consideration notified activity…

To exercise the privileges of their licence, UK private pilots including SPL holders are required to have made a Pilot Medical Declaration (PMD) where permitted or to hold a UK Part-MED certificate. A new safety sense leaflet from the CAA provides a summary of the requirements of these two systems…

The BGA encourages a Just Culture, which encourages free and frank reporting and in turn provides valuable data that helps to identify trends. ‘Just Culture’ is ‘an atmosphere of trust in which people are encouraged (even rewarded) for providing essential safety-related information, but in which they are also clear about…

The Red Arrows schedule of display activity is published within the UK AIP. Additions and other changes to the published schedule appear from time to time. As ever, it is important to check NOTAMs before flight. Pilots taking part in organised events, for example competitions, are reminded that it is…

Clubs and pilots are respectfully reminded of the need for caution when operating in unusually warm weather conditions as expected over some parts of the UK during the next few days. Staying hydrated, screening from direct sunlight, and not overdoing it are important considerations for people. Take-off performance can be…

Skydiving takes place into Drop Zones (DZs), radius 1.5 or 2nm up to FL150, as marked on a chart and listed in the UK AIP. Please note that skydivers usually drop directly upwind of the DZ and routinely descend through cloud. The ANO 240 notes that ‘a person must not…

Flying in a competition this year? Competitions bring together groups of like minded individuals to socialise, learn lots, compete and compare their performances when flying the same cross-country task, and all within a fairly tight set of rules that aim to ensure a level playing field. Competitions are great fun….