I Learned About Flying From That

Peter Holt

Wednesday, April 15, 2009 at 08:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

During a checkout flight, a pilot encountered an unannounced airspeed indicator failure on final approach, leading to a hard landing despite the instrument showing a normal speed.
The pilot's perception of being too slow, based on the aircraft's sound and feel, allowed them to intuitively add power and prevent a more serious stall, even while the instrument indicated otherwise.
The incident emphasizes the critical lesson for pilots to remain vigilant, cross-reference all available flight cues, and avoid blind trust in instruments, as complacency can mask equipment failures.

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It was on a short final into Palo Alto in a Grumman Tiger that things began to go weird.

I was a relatively new private pilot and it was my first flight in the Grumman; in fact, it was my checkout flight. For several months I had been making maintenance runs for my flying club in various single-engine Cessnas and Pipers, perhaps flying a 172 from the club’s base in Palo Alto to the mechanic in Hayward for an annual, then running some engine parts in a freshly serviced 152 down to Reid Hillview south of San Jose, then heading home. It was a bit more purposeful than just hacking around, it was free, and it provided good practice navigating the Bay Area’s complex airspace.