I promise you, Saturday wasn’t the first time a jumbo jet and small plane got into each other’s personal space over SFO.  It’s happened to me, too.

After learning to fly at the nearby San Carlos Airport (SQL), I would make frequent trips through the busy airspace in order to access some of the most supreme sightseeing on the planet.

(A recent SFO Class B transition in a C172)

The Class Bravo transition is the best path home from the Golden Gate Bridge.  Alcatraz.  And anywhere else you’d like to leave your heart.

Over downtown San Francisco, I’d call NorCal approach with my request.  The usual instructions: follow the freeway south to SQL, and remain west of Highway 101 at 2500 feet.

About 3 miles from SFO, they’d switch you to the tower.

The controller would then tell you what to do next: proceed along the freeway, fly over the airport, or push you even farther to the West.  And that’s where my encounter occurred.

Similar to this recent incident, a heavy Boeing came barreling off runway 28L toward Asia and into my path, which by then had been pushed over towards Interstate 280 in San Bruno.

As I watched the jumbo get even bigger, SFO suddenly chimed in: “JAL 152 Heavy, stop your climb, maintain 2000 feet, Cessna crossing right to left 500 feet above you.

The 747  flattened its hump and thundered under our nose, as a big smile crossed my face.  Hey, sometimes the little guys get priority after all.

But now I realize, maybe that wasn’t supposed to happen.  Or perhaps the controller that day caught our conflict just in time to kept us legal.

Either way, if it wasn’t for these startled United Airlines pilots, it would have been just another Saturday in the skies over SFO.

Chris Archer Blogs by Archer bay tour, boeing 777, cessna, class bravo transition, near-miss, San Carlos, sfo

It’s never comforting to hear that a pilot has died during a flight.  Especially when it’s the Captain of a Boeing 777 who holds a First Class medical certificate.

But that’s exactly what happened today during an overseas trip from Brussels to Newark.

He was over the age of 60, a fact sure to stir some fresh debate.

Just 18 months ago, the FAA changed the mandatory retirement age for pilots from 60 to 65.

And while many people supported the move, groups like the Allied Pilots Association maintained that 60 was the magic number to help protect the flying public.

Well, I’d argue the new rule actually worked perfectly today over the North Atlantic.

That’s because the FAA clearly states a pilot over the age of 60 operating as pilot in command during an international flight must be paired with a pilot 60 years old or younger.

That’s exactly why 247 people are now going about their normal lives.  The two copilots onboard landed the plane safely.

And to think: what if the captain was forced to retire last year, and was instead driving on a busy two-lane road when he fell ill?  Or flying his small plane over a big city?

The outcome could have actually been worse.

Chris Archer Blogs by Archer allied pilots association, boeing 777, continental pilot dies, first class medical, mandatory retirement age

Four days after an Air France jetliner plunged into the Atlantic Ocean, the NTSB says it will now help comb for clues in what could become the most complex investigation in aviation history.

But why the wait?

We’re used to hearing how the renowned NTSB ”Go Team” rushes into action on a moment’s notice to the most catastophic airline accidents.

And you would think the world would want America’s top aviation investigators on scene quickly, even with the most detailed clues buried deep underwater.

Just like TWA 800.  Alaska Air 261.  Egypt Air 990.

Well, not so fast.

“Right after the Air France crash, there really was nowhere for the ‘Go Team’ to go,” NTSB spokesperson Peter Knudson tells Archerbravo.com.

“Keep in mind, with TWA 800, the wreckage was in 150 feet of water.  This is in a whole different realm.”

The latest estimates put the black boxes in water almost as deep as Mount Everest is high.  22,000 feet down, and on an ocean floor that may resemble the Grand Canyon.

But there are other things that can stop the Go Team.

While it’s not unprecidented for these high-speed investigators to head for trouble in foreign countries or international waters, the NTSB must first determine how much of a role the U.S. has in each crash.

Was the aircraft registered in the United States?  Was it a Boeing?  Popular on American routes?

It turns out USAir and Northwest are the only American carriers currently flying the European-made Airbus A330.

If it was a 777, I’d guess the Go Team wouldn’t have waited.  Remember that recent British Airways crash on short final?

Oh, and we can’t ignore the territorial, bragging-rights aspect of solving accident investigations.

The BEA is taking the lead on Flight 447.  That’s France’s accident investigation agency, perhaps known most for its handling of the Concorde crash.

It certainly could have called-upon the NTSB sooner.

But as trite as it might sound, do you really think the French would want the Americans stealing the spotlight in the initial hours of such a high-profile, global investigation?

And that’s just fine with the NTSB’s Peter Knudson.

“We stand ready and willing to offer any sort of help in this investigation.”

Chris Archer Blogs by Archer Air France Flight 447, airbus a330, Alaska Air 261, bea investigation, boeing 777, British Airways, concorde crash, Egypt Air 990, northwest airlines, NTSB Go Team, Peter Knudson, TWA 800, usair

Cessna’s foray into the Light Sport Aircraft world isn’t getting off to a good start.

The company’s new Skycatcher has hit dirt again during a test flight, the second such crash for the plane marketed towards student pilots and those looking for a low-cost starter aircraft.

No one yet knows what caused this latest crash, but we do know one thing worked this time: the airframe parachute.  It floated the plane into a field, although obviously not right side-up.

Latest Skycatcher Crash

During the first crash, the test pilot actually had to bail out after getting himself into an unrecoverable spin, and use his backpack parachute when the plane’s didn’t pop.

Cessna quickly enlarged the tail, and didn’t waste any time putting its own spin – pardon the pun – on this latest crash, pointing out that test flights involve extreme maneuvers not used during regular flights.

Fine.  But, an LSA targeted at student pilots needs to be extremely forgiving, inherently stable, and certainly able to recover from a mistake at a safe altitude.  I say something is amiss.

Afterall, we’re not in the dawn of flight.  Haven’t computers solved design flaws of years past?

Take the Boeing 777, for example.  It was designed by digits, and it was absolutely tested to the max, but as far as I know, it never crashed before going into service – and the only accident since had to do with its engines, not some airframe problem.

Has Cessna rushed too quickly into the LSA market?

And it doesn’t help our confidence knowing the Skycatcher will soon be churned-out in China, far from the watchful eyes of the Cessna experts in Kansas.

Nonetheless, my flight school and hundreds of others across the country are now waiting to find out if their first 162s will sprinkle their flightlines this year, as promised.

I’d say break your promise, Cessna, and figure this out before it kills someone.

Chris Archer Uncategorized airframe parachute, boeing 777, Cessna 162, Cessna Skycatcher, china, N162CE, test flight crash, test pilot