Ajay Raghavendra, Ph.D.
Ajay Raghavendra is a B-737 first officer with a U.S. airline and a rated UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter pilot/aviation officer with the U.S. Army (New York National Guard). He holds a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science from SUNY-Albany and graduated with honors from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Fla. campus) with a B.S. in Meteorology and Computational Mathematics. Ajay also flew an ERJ-175 for a U.S. regional airline and a Cessna 340 for a cloud-seeding program. Ajay is a strong advocate for aviation safety and education in the general aviation community. He is a FAASTeam representative (FAA Safety Team) with the Albany Flight Standards District Office, a Gold Seal Flight Instructor (CFI/II/MEI), and works part-time as a part 141 Assistant Chief Instructor and flight instructor in Albany N.Y. He has logged over 3400 hours of flight time.
The “Try-Again” Trap: Breaking the Cycle through CRM and TEM
When Higher Approach Minimums > Lower Approach Minimums: A masterclass in Meteorology, Technological Limitations, Crew Resource Management (CRM), and Threat and Error Management (TEM),...
Beyond the Numbers: Mastering Takeoff Performance and Limitation
Every professional pilot is accustomed to the routine: plug the weights into the FMC, verify the V-speeds, and brief the departure. But while our...
The Windshear Paradox: Why Dispatch Performance Requirements Mandate a Fixed Derate
Editor's Note: This month we launch Desk One, a new column relating to the art and science of dispatch. Joining us as...
TAT vs. SAT: The Temperature Error that Puts Pilots on Ice
No doubt winter is here as pilots grapple with environmental and weather-related threats related to icing. In this article, I provide some clarification on...
Beyond the Radar: Using Planning and CRM to Conquer Thunderstorms
Pilots are tasked with the decision-making process in the face of a significant weather threat. Let me share a story and reflection on the...
Game-Changing Turbulences Avoidance using SkyPath®
Flight segment by flight segment, airline pilots are committed to the safety of every flight. Each segment is ripe with a minefield of threats....
Understanding Weather Delays, Flight Delays, and Cancellations
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) maintains a robust operations and performance dataset accessible through the Aviation System Performance Metrics (ASPM). Broadly speaking, flight delays...
Dissecting the Mach Transition
In the United States, the first jet-powered airplanes that most non-military pilots transition to, are those of the regional airlines or to a light-...
Should You Overfly a Developing Thunderstorm?
On July 8th, Hurricane Beryl made landfall at Matagorda, Texas (approximately 90nm south-west of Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental – KIAH). As expected, air traffic...
Anticipating Upper Clear-Air Turbulence
Editor’s Note: We are pleased to welcome Ajay Raghavendra, PhD back to our pages. Ajay took a sabbatical for service to the country, additional...
