Advertise on podcast: Close calls

When it comes to weather, trusting your eyes ahead of forecasts is advice that works. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Circumstances, contingencies and pressure from a passenger push an otherwise conscientious low-hours pilot towards a dangerous decision. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What you can't hear can still hurt you, as this pilot was shocked to discover, despite due diligence. Only the 'mk1 eyeball' saved the day. Read this close call at  https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2026/07/the-silence-over-kingaroy/.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Unchallenged assumptions about controlled airspace procedures put this pilot in a potentially very dangerous situation. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2026/05/mix-up-in-the-salad-bowl/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A newly minted pilot faces their first in-flight emergency, with the added complication of it happening in tightly controlled airspace. Spoiler: it ended well. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2026/04/perfectly-gauged-response/. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We've all had them: those flights that challenge the plan from the moment the wheels leave the ground. That's when distraction and frustration open the door for error. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2025/12/dont-stop-now/. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The fundamentals of flight planning do not change, as this classic close call from 2008 demonstrates. A first flight in a new type was a fuel management challenge a young pilot nearly failed. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2026/01/tanks-for-nothing/. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The textbook reactions of a low-hours pilot facing a deteriorating situation show how ab initio training works – if you listen and take its messages seriously.  Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2025/11/fast-thinking-fledging/. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Almost too late, a young pilot learns the importance of assertiveness as part of flight control. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2025/10/blundering-through-the-authority-gap/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An insidious and subtle failure almost bring's a young commercial pilot's career to a premature end. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2025/08/reality-under-pressure/. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Using your ears is a much less stressful way to maintain separation than relying on your eyes alone.Read this close call at: https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2025/062/silent-scream/. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Audio adds a new dimension to this anonymous  first officer's close call, first published in 2021. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2025/05/positive-climb/. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Flight Safety Australia reader Nic Barnes discovers conditions are different in northern Australia. Read this close call at: https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2025/03/a-brutal-hazing/. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The source of anxiety was in, or rather on, the pilot's face. But impatience was an even more effective blindfold. Read this close call at: https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2025/02/double-blind/. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.