Colleen Mondor

By relegating pilot actions to factor status and minimizing management’s role, the board purposefully deemphasized decision-making’s impact on flight safety.

Flight 1002 shows how tempting it is to view crashes like it through the old tired lenses of “bush pilot syndrome.”

It would be easy to dismiss PenAir’s summer engine problems and the decisions leading up to the Unalaska crash. But it would be wrong.

This is not a charter or commuter operation; it is a company that hires a charter and commuter operation to do the job it can not do.

The coronavirus might have been the last straw, but it is not the only factor.

There should be conversations about decision-making on the part of not only pilots, but also within the management structures of those who employ them.

Through all of its name changes and ownership upheavals, the most appalling constant in Ravn’s operation is that its planes have crashed.

The FAA believes that even with devastating crash statistics, Alaska’s small population just does not and will not warrant the same degree of funding as the Lower 48.

Between 2002 and 2019, at least 131 commercial aircraft accidents in Alaska involved Medallion star and shield recipients.

The crashes raise questions about whether Medallion standards meant to reward safe air operators are meaningful.

Watching the debate over President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee is infuriating because I know that my family's health care is at risk.

Close review of Togiak, other recent crashes could reveal flaws in current programs.

Although the number of accidents has been reduced, the Medallion Foundation’s programs have yet to fully solve problems plaguing Alaska aviation.

Over the past few years the annual Valdez Fly-In has gone from being a popular statewide exhibition to an internet phenomena. Social media has helped spread the word of the impressive STOL (short takeoff and landing) competition and online videos have made stars out of both the pilot and aircraft participants. The event’s popularity led … Continue reading What brings pilots to Valdez? A new video offers some clues

Shortly after noon on Aug. 19, 1929, a 6-year old girl watched an airplane fly low past her home near Wellton, Arizona. As reported by the Arizona Republic, the child called out to her grandmother that the plane was landing as it dropped below the tree line. The next morning, a group of searchers, following … Continue reading The short, brilliant career of Alaska’s first woman pilot