A multi-engine, instrument rated pilot, James Wynbrandt has been an AIN and Business Jet Traveler contributor since 2003. His in-depth reporting and insightful features have won more than a dozen editorial honors, including two National Business Aviation Association Gold Wing Awards (2019; 2021), and his articles have also appeared in the New York Times, Barron’s, Fortune, Forbes, and Smithsonian Air &amp; Space. He has flown his Mooney M20K 252 on assignments throughout North and Central America and the Caribbean. Wynbrandt is also the author of Flying High (Wiley &amp; Sons), a biography of Jet Blue founder David Neeleman, as well as histories, references works, and books on a variety of other topics from major publishers. He lives in New York City.

Contributor - Business Aviation

James Wynbrandt

Business aviation operators need “to focus on high-altitude stalls” in upset prevention and recovery training (UPRT), due to the effect of reduced air density on aircraft performance and aerodynamics, said John Cox, CEO of Safety Operating Systems, last week at the Business Aviation Safety Summit (BASS) in Phoenix. “The instability [at high altitude] is something we’re not adequately addressing,” he said, noting many pilots have no experience hand-flying aircraft at high altitudes due to RVSM mandates on using autopilots above FL290.


The loss of control accident in January <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2017-03-20/challenger-accident-spurs-cautions-a380-separation" target="_blank">over the Arabian Sea involving a Bombardier Challenger 604</a> at FL340 underscores the need, he said. The Challenger rolled several times, following a wake encounter with an A380,&nbsp;and reportedly lost 10,000 feet of altitude before recovery. The episode resulted in serious injuries to passengers and the permanent grounding of the aircraft as a result of damage from exceeding operating limitations.


When properly executed, “high altitude recoveries are slow and gentle,” Cox said. Paul Ransbury, president of UPRT provider Aviation Performance Solutions, who’s discussed the accident with Bombardier investigators, told attendees that they declined to say whether the Challenger crew had undergone upset recovery training.

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