It has been said that the only voluntary act in aviation is the decision to take-off.  Every action after take-off involves the skillful management of risk, the enjoyment of flight and a continuous stream of decisions that result in a safe landing.

In 1974, NASA created the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) to allow aviation professionals to share experiences in a frank, non-punitive manner. The ASRS structure allows pilots and other aviation professionals to file an anonymous report of an incident, error or occurrence that the contributor feels might be of value to others.  These reports are gathered, analyzed and data based by NASA experts and made available to all interested parties as a tool for creating pro-active aviation safety programs.  Additionally, NASA distributes an electronic publication, CALLBACK, which contains selected, de-identified, reports on a free subscription basis.  In Flight USA is proud to reprint selected reports, exerted from CALLBACK, for our readers to read, study, occasional laugh at and always, learn from.  Visit http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/ to learn how you can participate in the ASRS program.

Preventable Fuel Management Errors: Fuel Exhaustion

Miscalculation: Determining fuel remaining based on assumed fuel burned figures and on gauges that are assumed to be correct is a dangerous gamble. This Piper Navajo pilot learned that physical verification of the fuel onboard is the best way to prevent miscalculations.