The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday turned down a request that it take a look at the safety implications of the shrinking airline seat. In a letter to Paul Hudson from FlyersRights.org, the FAA said it had no reason to believe that smaller seats and larger travelers is an unsafe mix when it comes to emergency evacuations. Flyers Rights had claimed that large passengers would slow evacuations as they try to extricate themselves from the smallest of economy class seats in an emergency. But the FAA challenged the assumption. The time it takes for passengers to get out of their seats is less than the… Read More…

I’m starting a crusade for a more judicious use of the term “pilot error” and I nominate as my campaign poster boy…Tada! — Capt. Chesley Sullenberger. The newest member of the formerly obscure community of aviation safety commentators has a new gig on CBS News. From that platform he can say what many others who don’t have his good looks or American hero status have been saying, and he can make these points to the very people who have recently been given a somewhat mangled version of what happened on Air France Flight 447. By that I mean that when Capt. Understatement said on television… Read More…