I Learned About Flying From That

A low time instrument pilot launches into IMC with a gradually failing vacuum pump and learns a lesson about proficiency and instrument cross-checking. The wisdom to invite another pilot along as a second set of eyes in the cockpit likely changed the outcome of this lesson.

British pilot Mark Brooke has flown many different airplanes, from light singles and 727s for DHL to the Dassault Falcon 7X and even a Bucker Jungmeister. Hear how he handled a maintenance faux pas in a Beech Baron and his own faux pas on a downwind landing in a Tiger Moth.

Turbulence and windshear drove CFII Anna Serbinenko and her students to attempt a difficult diversion. Then, a search and rescue crew runs into trouble when they decide to push for their home airport following a hydraulic failure.

With a failing engine and unforgiving terrain all around, flight instructor Mark Henshall had a decision to make about whether or not to turn back to the runway. Also, picking up a mayday from a fellow pilot comes to a difficult end only to be followed by a surprising revelation.

Finding the right teacher can be complicated, but when a flight instructor falls asleep on a student’s first-ever lesson it raises red flags. Also, low visibility and a failure to communicate lead to a head-to-head close call in the pattern.

A pilot faces an instrument failure in the clouds and recalls how a decision to head home in the dark—despite having never flown at night—led to a harrowing experience in the pattern.

Experienced pilot Al Hewitt was proficient, current, and ready to go for a short IFR trip he’d made many times before, but when he broke out of the clouds on a familiar approach nothing was as expected.

Wanting to build flight time and under pressure from another pilot, a young aviator decided to take a jump plane up for one last flight in spite of dangerously low fuel indications and the approaching sunset.

During a night proficiency flight, a pilot was practicing partial panel IFR when he had an emergency he did not expect.

Pilot Victor Vogel was left with only a flashlight and a pencil following a total electrical system failure in his Beech Sierra—and he was headed straight for the nation's capital region.

Pilot Scott Tomlinson hopped into his RV-6, ready to take his girlfriend on a flying date to Ocracoke Island. But a skipped part of the preflight just about ruined their day together.

An Air Force Warthog pilot suffered an engine failure during a training mission, but was his course of action the right one?

Pilot Charles Turner witnessed an accident and tried to save one of the occupants. It took him 20 years to share the story, and where it led him.

Sometimes we conduct a careful preflight, and we still don’t find everything that might go wrong under the cowl. This Bonanza pilot discovered fuel all over the engine—after returning to the airport.

A pilot practicing aerobatics nearly lost a critical part of the airframe of his project Pitts S-1, a problem that couldn't be found during preflight.

Instructor Josh Harnagel acquired a Beech B36TC Bonanza and was flying on a work trip when the turbocharger failed, leading to an off-airport landing.

Pilot and instructor Doug Rozendaal recounts stories of flying the Douglas DC-3, Beech 18, and Cessna 402 across the upper Midwest for a freight operation—and key lessons on avoiding or mitigating icing encounters..

An expert pilot in the airshow and movie business recalls a shoot in Hawaii when a trio of cables appeared where they had not been before, and almost killed him.

A former flight test pilot for the U.S. Navy had two encounters with icing--in a Piper Seneca and in an Aero Commander--that he'll never forget.

A former Air Force pilot was taught to always follow the procedures—but a foray into weather almost cost him his life as a student.

Helping a cousin get to college orientation turned exciting for pilot Ford von Weise, and the ensuing emergency caused a VIP aircraft to break off its approach.

Pilot Tom Hill heard a loud bang and saw something fly off of the front end of his 1974 Cessna 210, and the closest runway was at one of the busiest airports in the U.S.

Pilot Ryan Worley suffered an electrical system problem in the Cessna 172 he was flying, exacerbated by the fact the ammeter wasn't working to clue him into the issue.

After the photo mission was done, the wake turbulence generated by a PT-19 trainer was enough to upset a Cessna 170, as pilot and photographer Leonardo Correa Luna found out.

John Jordan shares stories from early in his career flying out of California's wine country, in a Warrior and a 172, that illuminate why preflight planning is crucial.

Musician and pilot Christine Mortine was flying a mission for the Recreational Aviation Foundation when she had engine trouble and applied her backcountry training to the resulting off-airport landing.

Al Cerullo transformed his experience flying helicopters in the Vietnam combat zone into a career flying aerial photography for a long list of movies and TV shows in his Eurocopter AS355 Twin Star in New York.

Instructor Matt Keane found himself over the marine layer with a failed engine and an electrical system on the discovery flight he was conducting. Find out how he managed the emergency.

When pilot Jim Desmond thought he was ready to fly a two-thirds-scale homebuilt Mustang in which he had no experience, he set himself up for a serious lesson.

With an F-4 Phantom throttles stuck in full burner—what does a crew do? Pilot Brad Hood tells the story.

A flight taking a day-VFR-only airplane in the darkness led airshow pro Matt Younkin to re-evaluate how he got there, and consider next time to listen to his gut instincts.

Air boss, controller, and private pilot Wayne Boggs took the opportunity to ferry a Piper Arrow across the Caribbean, and ended up in an encounter with instrument conditions, without a rating.

With a career spanning the military, the airlines, and pilot training, Skyborne Airline Academy's Ed Davidson shares key lessons learned in two incidents from his flying experience, including an assist to a light twin ailing over the Caribbean.

Kevin LaRosa, aerial coordinator for "Devotion" and "Top Gun: Maverick," was flying an Airbus AS350 AStar, near Grants Pass, Oregon, and pressed on into deteriorating visibility. LaRosa came to the "commit point" with fuel and got into a tight spot.

U.S. Air Force Capt. Aimee Fieldler took a student up for a training mission just before their check ride—and got caught by rapidly changing weather upon landing back at Annapolis, Maryland.

Pilot Gary Figgins recalls a flight with a colleague flying in the left seat, when the engine in the Cessna 182 they were flying in experienced a total power failure over the hilly terrain of southeastern Missouri.

Pilot Chris McClure made fast work of a fire in a Cessna 150 towplane, including restrictions to visibility inside the airplane.

Pilot Jack Henion thought it was bad enough to have an electrical failure in a Cessna 210 over the mountains, until he learned what it would take to fix it.

What do you do when your emergency isn't covered by the checklist? Texas pilot Stephen Curran found out on two separate occasions about the "diffusion of responsibility."

Airshow performer, instructor, and corporate pilot Ashley Shelton relates two stories of distraction—in her Cub and hew RV-6—that taught her the importance of preflight checklists.

A confluence of conditions put pilot Jim Bonsey behind the power curve in the Piper Cherokee Six he was flying  in Hawaii, and he almost put the Six into the Pacific Ocean as a result.

Episode: From Blue Angel to Top Gun

Frank Weisser, a real Naval Aviator who worked on Top Gun: Maverick, goes behind-the-scenes for a look at the real flying of the F-18 Super Hornet in the movie, as well as his own lessons learned as a Blue Angels pilot.

An instructor tells his own tale of why pilots need to get some experience flying in actual IMC while pursuing an instrument rating.

Fixed-wing pilot Eliot Danner flies with a fellow helicopter pilot on a cross-country flight that turns bumpy—and low on avgas.

World-renowned cellist and pilot Peter Rejto entered an unexpected snowstorm in his Mooney--and was caught by a missed preflight item. He shares the story of the resulting power loss with us.

Pilot Wayne Pinger’s journey to become a pilot took him on a memorable Alaska cross-country—and a crime scene. Learn what lessons he did.

When pilot Paul Entrekin got the chance to fly Jim Bede's BD-5 microjet, he encountered an out-of-balance fuel situation that nearly ended in disaster.

As a young pilot, Andy Gelston ferried a Piper Cub from Virginia to the midwest, and he tried to evade the thunderstorms blocking his way. A grass strip offered a haven--with a few hazards of its own.

A change of audio cues and a busy ATC environment led pilot Bob Jacobs to land gear up in a Mooney. What other factors contributed to the unfortunate landing?

A relatively short runway, high temps, and a hefty passenger load lead to a tight POH situation for pilot Bruce Falstein in California.

An instructor and his commercial student avoid landing on a crowded California street following a loss of power on takeoff because they understood the procedures outlined in the Cessna Cardinal RG's POH. Would you do as well?

Jerry Gregoire, founder of Redbird Flight Simulations, shares a couple of stories from which he learned the value of CRM—one of them involving a close encounter with a bird (that was not red).

When John Hull prepared to make a wintertime departure after defrosting the airplane--a Cessna 421--he neglected to check for ice beyond the wings and horizontal stab, much to his chagrin.

As pilot Brian Lorenz approached 10 hours on a brand-new engine, he looked forward to making a few touch-and-goes. Instead, he lost engine power after takeoff--and survived to tell the tale.

When aerobatic pilot and Reno winner Vicky Benzing took off behind a C-130 Hercules at an air show in California, the heavy turboprop's wake turbulence caught her by surprise--and almost led to an accident very close to the ground.

A flight in a Piaggio Avanti takes a dramatic turn for pilot Martin Murat when the windshield in front of him starts to crack. Find out how he and the captain dealt with the impending emergency.

Airshow ace Rob Holland handles a lot of flight regimes that might cause most pilots to panic. What happens when he faces a catastrophic engine failure in his custom aerobatic airplane?

A glider pilot has a lot to consider that’s different from the decision-making involved in flying powered aircraft—but weather always presents a challenge, as pilot Paul Chafe found out.

Sporty's John Zimmerman has been flying airplanes since he was very young. Learning how to make decisions while flying cross-country in a helicopter stretched his way of thinking—and almost landed him in trouble with IFR weather.

Pilot Dan Bass fell prey to an insidious hazard: carbon monoxide poisoning. A series of flights in his Mooney ended in a disastrous manner.

Pilot and author Tucker Axum had not one, but two situations on night flights that highlighted the nearly instrument conditions found over featureless terrain.

Artist and pilot Barry Ross started flying early in life, and it has informed his work, including his illustrations in FLYING. One flight into Portland, Maine, following the lights in, will remain etched in his memory.

When highly experienced pilot Craig O’Mara signed on to help ferry a Bushmaster to New Mexico, he was careful to take advice from an expert—but when it came to actual operational skill, this “expert” came up short.

Ferry pilot Kerry McCauley shares a full range of flying that has taken him to every continent except for Antarctica. When he loses the engine on a Mooney flight, he had a thunderstorm to deal with as well.

Pilots know Michael Goulian for his precision aerobatics and to-the-limits air racing style. But in this episode, Goulian shares the critical lessons he's learned from flying GA that apply to any pilot.

The pilot of a USAF Lockheed Starlifter C-141 knew he had a problem with an automated system and thought the crew could manage it—until they were approaching an island air base, at night, with few options.

A student pilot and his instructor find themselves lined up on a runway at a busy international airport—but ATC doesn’t know they are there. Find out why from pilot Mike Thiergartner in this episode of ILAFFT.

When a passenger experiences a medical emergency during a flight to view the total solar eclipse in Jackson, Wyoming, pilot Paul Tierstein finds he left an important piece of equipment behind.

An instructor takes a student into a grass strip for real-life short-field training—but the grass is still wet, making for a more critical lesson.

As he built up hours towards a flying career, Stan Dunn experienced engine trouble that was hard to quantify—until another unfortunate pilot found Dunn's hunch was correct.

Veteran flight instructor Field Morey relates his experience with a power loss that progressed during an IFR flight with a student, and how it ended for the pilots—and the airplane.

Flying reader and flight instructor Roger Keech was on a medical mission in Mexico—and he found out that using traditional navigation techniques saved the day.

A nighttime check run down to Charlotte turns into a drama for Flying reader Jon Jackson, with a prop failure striking the Beech Baron he was flying—literally.

Careful IFR flight planning requires an alternate in case of worse-than-forecast weather. A new aircraft type triggers a chain of events for pilot Jim Fiorito that nearly dashes those plans.

When pilot Bernhard Wolf—experienced in overwater operations—confronts convective activity over the Pacific, he learns an important lesson about their behavior—and it may not be what you think.

Pilots often fight the spectre of get-home-itis—but it's especially hazardous when coupled with the assumptions made while flying a familiar airplane. FLYING reader Kenneth Wilson shares his own cross-country lesson on this week’s episode.

Dan Richard shared his love of flying with his wife throughout their lives together—but his most precious flight with her came with an unexpected gift. Join host Rob Reider as he talks with Dan about his lessons learned from the perspective of time.

Flying columnist and former pilot examiner/FAA accident investigator Martha Lunken shares her experience regarding fuel exhaustion—and a precautionary landing she made in a Cessna 180 on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Though pilots are supposed to use the common traffic advisory frequency to coordinate with other pilots near an airport, not everyone uses it faithfully, as pilot Chris Watson found out at Mount Pleasant Airport in South Carolina in this episode of I.L.A.F.F.T.

A pilot sets off on a short mission—and realizes that even a quick flight between airports that he knows well can pose risks that need attention and planning.

Following an engine failure in his Cessna 421 in icing conditions, pilot Brett Godfrey faces a turn for the worse—failure of the second engine. Host Rob Redier learns from Godfrey what he would have done differently—and what saved him in the end.

Next up from FLYING, we bring you a new twist on our popular I.L.A.F.F.T. series, in which host Rob Reider interviews those pilots who learned a lesson or two from experience.