374 NTSB Preliminary Report Out for Reagan National Midair Collision over Potomac River
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Release Date: 03/12/2025
391 Should You Learn to Fly in a Bonanza? Max Trescott and Tom Turner Talk Training Options + GA News
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Max Trescott teams up with Tom Turner—executive director of the American Bonanza Society’s Air Safety Foundation—to help listener Marc Brodecki weigh options for earning his private pilot certificate. Marc, a 39-year-old aerospace engineer in Los Angeles with glider experience, is evaluating three flight training options: a nearby tailwheel-focused school (that includes a Stearman), a larger flight school at Torrance using Sling aircraft, or buying and learning in the Beechcraft Bonanza he eventually wants to own. Tom provides extensive guidance on Bonanza ownership. He discusses...
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390 Electric Airplane Test Flight: Max Trescott Reviews the Bristell B23 Energic
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Max Trescott takes listeners inside the cockpit of the future in episode 390, as he shares his firsthand experience flying the fully electric Bristell B23 Energic trainer and talks with executives from H55, the Swiss company behind its electric propulsion system. This in-depth episode explores the technical, operational, and strategic aspects of electric flight training aircraft. The B23 Energic is a joint project between Czech aircraft manufacturer BRM Aero and H55, the latter founded by the team behind the Solar Impulse aircraft that flew around the world on solar power. Max discusses...
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389 Benadryl, Zyrtec, and More: FAA Wait Time Rules for Pilots with Dr. John Trowbridge
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Max Trescott interviews Dr. John Trowbridge, a physician and former senior Aviation Medical Examiner, to tackle a hidden yet critical safety topic: how over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medications contribute to general aviation accidents. Studies have found that up to 40% of fatal accidents involve pilots with impairing substances in their system—ranging from allergy medications to sleep aids to alcohol. The problem? Many of these substances are legal and even commonplace, yet can significantly degrade judgment, memory, attention, and coordination. Dr. Trowbridge emphasizes that...
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388 Fly Farther, Fly Smarter: The Benefits of Getting High
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Max Trescott welcomes aviation columnist, aerobatic instructor, and DPE Dr. Catherine Cavagnaro to explore smarter ways to plan cross-country flights. The conversation is inspired by Catherine’s June 2025 AOPA article titled “The Benefits of Getting High,” which argues that pilots often default to lower cruising altitudes or direct GPS routes without considering efficiency or safety trade-offs.Catherine explains that pilots should dig into their aircraft’s POH (Pilot’s Operating Handbook) to find performance charts that highlight how altitude affects both time and fuel efficiency....
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387 Vectors to Final and glide path behavior on RNAV (GPS) approaches + GA News
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Max talks about common gotchas with RNAV GPS approaches, especially when using vectors to final (VTF). The conversation picks up where Episode 383 left off, with listeners asking how vectors to final (VTF) influences glidepath capture on WAAS approaches. He explains that under normal circumstances—flying the approach via own navigation from an initial approach fix (IAF)—the GPS glidepath doesn’t turn magenta or allow autopilot coupling until the FAF becomes the active waypoint. The magenta color indicates that the GPS receiver has completed a signal quality evaluation, verifying...
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386 When a Door Ajar Becomes a Fatal Distraction: GA Door-Open Accidents and What Pilots Should Do + GA News
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
A cabin door pops open just after takeoff. It’s noisy, surprising—but the aircraft is still flying just fine. So why are general aviation pilots still crashing and dying in these scenarios? In this episode, Max explores the unsettling trend of fatal accidents caused not by mechanical failure, but by how pilots react to in-flight distractions—specifically, an open cabin or baggage door. In just the first five months of 2025, four U.S. GA crashes involved doors opening shortly after takeoff. Three were fatal; the fourth resulted in serious burn injuries. Max walks through each...
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385 N666DS Citation S550 Crash in San Diego – Flying below Minimums
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Max Trescott examines the tragic crash of a Citation S550, N666DS, in San Diego during an attempted RNAV (GPS) 28R approach to Montgomery Field at approximately 3:46 AM. After departing Teterboro, NJ, and making a fuel stop at Wichita's Jabara Field, the pilot continued westbound overnight. After refueling, the flight continued to San Diego, where the Montgomery Field AWOS was inoperative, and weather was marginal. The pilot requested weather at nearby airports. The aircraft correctly crossed the final approach fix PENYY at 2500 feet but then flew below the glide path and failed to...
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384 NTSB News Talk podcast - Unpacking the Fatal Crash of a Citation Jet, N611VG Caused by Cabin Decompression
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Max Trescott and Rob Mark launch the first episode of NTSB News Talk, diving into NTSB agency news, recent accidents and newly published NTSB reports to help pilots better understand accident causes and improve decision-making in the cockpit. Please help us improve the show by . To hear future episodes of NTSB News Talk, Follow or Subscribe to the show in your podcast app. They begin with a surprising administrative shake-up: the unexplained . Rob questions the lack of transparency, pointing out how an independent agency like the NTSB should not be subject to political scapegoating...
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383 Why Your RNAV Glide Path Won’t Capture—and How to Fix It + GA News
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Max tackles a common frustration among pilots: why RNAV (GPS) glide paths sometimes fail to couple with the autopilot. A recent Facebook post from a pilot flying a Cirrus SR22T triggered the discussion, as the poster encountered exactly this problem during an LPV approach, mistakenly attributing it to an expired database. Max explains that the real culprit was a fundamental misunderstanding of RNAV approach procedures. Unlike an ILS glide slope, which is a physical radio beam transmitted from ground equipment, an RNAV glide path is a computed construct generated by the aircraft’s GPS...
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382 Best Garmin G1000, G3000, G5000 and Cirrus Perspective Settings to Fly Safer and Smarter
Aviation News Talk – Pilot Stories, Safety Tips & General Aviation News
Max Trescott shares his top recommended settings for Garmin avionics systems, specifically the G1000, G1000 NXi, G3000, G5000, and the Cirrus Perspective and Perspective+ systems. These configuration tips enhance situational awareness, flight safety, and pilot efficiency—and many also apply to Garmin standalone navigators like the GTN 650 and 750. The episode begins with a critical safety upgrade: switching the Traffic Page vectors from Absolute to Relative. Unlike absolute vectors (which only show heading), relative vectors display a target aircraft’s flight path in relation to your...
info_outlineThe NTSB held a press conference to provide preliminary findings from the flight Max talks about new findings from the NTSB Preliminary Report on the midair collision over the Potomac River involving a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and a PSA Airlines regional jet near Reagan National Airport (DCA). The episode features audio from NTSB Chairman Jennifer Homendy and DOT Secretary Sean Duffy, highlighting the systemic risks in the airspace.
The report reveals a history of frequent near-midair collisions at DCA, with 85 close encounters (under 200 feet vertical, 1,500 feet lateral separation) in the last two and a half years. A key issue is Route 4, where helicopters fly with only 75 feet of separation from aircraft on approach to Runway 33. The NTSB recommends closing Route 4 near DCA and establishing an alternative route.
The episode also discusses systemic normalization of deviance, where repeated near misses led to complacency. DOT plans major air traffic control upgrades, including AI monitoring for collision hotspots.
Max reviews details from the cockpit voice and flight data recorders, noting altitude discrepancies and miscommunications between ATC and the helicopter crew. He urges pilots to report hazards proactively, emphasizing that a culture of safety is critical to preventing future accidents.
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Preliminary NTSB Report on Reagan Midair Collision
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