Flight instruments are the instruments in the cockpit of an aircraft that provide the pilot with data about the flight situation of that aircraft, such as altitude, airspeed, vertical speed, heading and much more other crucial information in flight. They improve safety by allowing the pilot to fly the aircraft in level flight, and make turns, without a reference outside the aircraft such as the horizon. Visual flight rules (VFR) require an airspeed indicator, an altimeter, and a compass or other suitable magnetic direction indicator. Instrument flight rules (IFR) additionally require a gyroscopic pitch-bank, direction and rate of turn indicator, plus a slip-skid indicator, adjustable altimeter, and a clock. Flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) require radio navigation instruments for precise takeoffs and landings.
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a human-made surface or a natural surface. Runways, taxiways and ramps, are sometimes referred to as "tarmac", though very few runways are built using tarmac. Takeoff and landing areas defined on the surface of water for seaplanes are generally referred to as waterways. Runway lengths are now commonly given in meters worldwide, except in North America where feet are commonly used.
In meteorology, wind speed, or wind flow speed, is a fundamental atmospheric quantity caused by air moving from high to low pressure, usually due to changes in temperature. Wind speed is now commonly measured with an anemometer.
Wind shear, sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and/or direction over a relatively short distance in the atmosphere. Atmospheric wind shear is normally described as either vertical or horizontal wind shear. Vertical wind shear is a change in wind speed or direction with a change in altitude. Horizontal wind shear is a change in wind speed with a change in lateral position for a given altitude.
A heliport, sometimes termed a vertiport, is a small airport suitable for use by helicopters and various types of vertical lift aircraft. Designated heliports typically contain one or more touchdown and liftoff areas and may also have limited facilities such as fuel or hangars. In some larger towns and cities, customs facilities may also be available.
An airfield traffic pattern is a standard path followed by aircraft when taking off or landing while maintaining visual contact with the airfield.
The airspeed indicator (ASI) or airspeed gauge is a flight instrument indicating the airspeed of an aircraft in kilometres per hour (km/h), knots, miles per hour (MPH) and/or metres per second (m/s). The recommendation by ICAO is to use km/h, however knots (kt) is currently the most used unit. The ASI measures the pressure differential between static pressure from the static port, and total pressure from the pitot tube. This difference in pressure is registered with the ASI pointer on the face of the instrument.
The knot is a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour, exactly 1.852 km/h. The ISO standard symbol for the knot is kn. The same symbol is preferred by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), while kt is also common, especially in aviation, where it is the form recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The knot is a non-SI unit. The knot is used in meteorology, and in maritime and air navigation. A vessel travelling at 1 knot along a meridian travels approximately one minute of geographic latitude in one hour.
A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with aprons, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller general aviation airports sometimes use gravel or grass.
METAR is a format for reporting weather information. A METAR weather report is predominantly used by aircraft pilots, and by meteorologists, who use aggregated METAR information to assist in weather forecasting. Today, according to the advancement of technology in civil aviation, the METAR is sent as IWXXM model.
In meteorology and aviation, terminal aerodrome forecast (TAF) is a format for reporting weather forecast information, particularly as it relates to aviation. TAFs are issued at least four times a day, every six hours, for major civil airfields: 0000, 0600, 1200 and 1800 UTC, and generally apply to a 24- or 30-hour period, and an area within approximately five statute miles (8.0 km) from the center of an airport runway complex. TAFs are issued every three hours for military airfields and some civil airfields and cover a period ranging from 3 hours to 30 hours.
A light-sport aircraft (LSA), or light sport aircraft, is a category of small, lightweight aircraft that are simple to fly. LSAs tend to be heavier and more sophisticated than ultralight aircraft, but LSA restrictions on weight and performance separates the category from established GA aircraft. There is no standard worldwide description of an LSA.
American Eagle Flight 4184, officially operating as Simmons Airlines Flight 4184, was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Indianapolis, Indiana, to Chicago, Illinois, United States. On October 31, 1994, the ATR 72 performing this route flew into severe icing conditions, lost control and crashed into a field, killing all 68 people on board in the high-speed impact.
Ultralight aircraft exist outside of the United States. In most countries, ultralights are a class of aircraft. A completely different legal concept is valid within the USA. The FAA makes explicitly clear that ultralight vehicles are not aircraft, are not regulated as aircraft, and are exempt from aircraft rules. Instead, they are treated as powersport items and have to follow their own ruleset, FAR-103, which is the most compact aviation regulation in existence. It can be printed on the front- and backside of a single piece of paper.
The horizontal situation indicator is an aircraft flight instrument normally mounted below the artificial horizon in place of a conventional heading indicator. It combines a heading indicator with a VHF omnidirectional range-instrument landing system (VOR-ILS) display. This reduces pilot workload by lessening the number of elements in the pilot's instrument scan to the six basic flight instruments. Among other advantages, the HSI offers freedom from the confusion of reverse sensing on an instrument landing system localizer back course approach. As long as the needle is set to the localizer front course, the instrument will indicate whether to fly left or right, in either direction of travel.
ADC Airlines Flight 053 (ADK053) was a scheduled passenger flight operated by ADC Airlines from Nigeria's capital of Abuja to Sokoto. On 29 October 2006, the Boeing 737-2B7 crashed onto a corn field shortly after take-off from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, killing 96 out of 105 people on board.
Southwest Airlines Flight 1455 was a scheduled passenger flight from McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas, Nevada, to Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport, Burbank, California, that overran the runway during landing on March 5, 2000. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-3T5, registration N668SW, came to rest on a city street adjacent to a gas station. The National Transportation Safety Board found that the incident was due to the pilots attempting to land with excessive speed. They also found that the air traffic controller placed them in a position from which their only option was a go around. Two of the passengers were seriously injured, and there were many minor injuries. As a result of the incident, the airport installed an Engineered Materials Arrestor System at the east end of the incident runway. The aircraft was written off, making the incident the 10th hull loss of a Boeing 737-300. This was the first major accident in the airline's 29-year history.
PenAir Flight 3296 was a domestic scheduled flight from Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Anchorage, Alaska, to Unalaska Airport on Amaknak Island in the Aleutian Chain of Alaska. On October 17, 2019, the Saab 2000 operating the flight overran the runway after landing at its destination airport. Of the 42 passengers and crew on board, one passenger was fatally injured when a propeller blade penetrated the fuselage, one was seriously injured and ten suffered minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged during the accident and written off.
Ameristar Charters Flight 9363 was a charter flight from Willow Run Airport to Washington Dulles Airport on March 8, 2017, which rejected takeoff and overran the runway. The crash was caused by a jammed elevator, which was damaged by high winds the day before the crash.
Omega Aerial Refueling Services Flight 70 was scheduled to provide aerial refueling to US Navy F/A-18 fighter jets. On May 18, 2011, it crashed on takeoff following engine separation. All 3 crew members on-board survived.
