Accident Probes

About 1 hours into the return flight, I noticed I was switching fuel tanks more frequently than normal. The headwind I now had was payback for the tailwind on my arrival flight. From 12,000 feet msl down to 4000, the headwind was here to stay. I spent several minutes deciding if I had enough fuel. After going back and forth, I decided to play it safe and admit I didnt plan appropriately for the headwind. I located my new destination which was just 10 miles ahead. A sigh of relief came over me as I chose the safer option, stopping to refuel.

Almost from the beginning of our training, pilots are taught how to react to an engine failure. Before that, though, were also taught how to conduct a preflight inspection to ensure the engine (and the rest of the aircraft) is ready for what we are planning. Thats as it should be, since mechanical failures are a major component of overall accident causes, right after the pilot making a mistake. The good news is that the typical piston engine in a personal aircraft is much more reliable than it was a few years ago. The bad news is those reliability improvements often result in pilots giving little thought to piston engine aircraft reliability because failures have become so rare.

First my condolences and prayers go out to the entire Halladay family; his was a tragic loss.I commend Mr. Wright on his emphasizing risk management awareness, not only regarding the A5 but similar general aviation safety issues. Unlike many light sport aircraft that I am familiar with, the A5s inherent engineering design and safety features are second to none.

Over the last couple of years, Ive spent some time helping students transition to full-fledged private pilots. One of the first questions I do is ask them is to picture a standard six-pack of steam-gauge instruments and explain what they each do and where they get their energy. Most pilots can quickly rattle off the airspeed indicator, the altimeter and the vertical speed indicator. Those systems are relatively simple to understand and describe.

Its easy to look at controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) accidents as the kind youll never get into. Sure; you may suffer an engine failure from contaminated fuel, or scrape a wingtip while landing in a stiff crosswind or even forget to put down the gear before landing. But flying a perfectly good airplane into the side of a mountain? Never happen. The thing is, Im relatively certain every pilot who was ever involved in a CFIT accident said the same thing at one point or another, perhaps right up until the moment a tree trunk came through the windshield.

The pilot reported attempting to activate the airports pilot-controlled lighting (PCL) system, but was unsuccessful. He continued toward the airport and, while maneuvering for a landing, he lost sight of the airport. The pilot continued to descend, however, and the airplane sustained substantial damage when it impacted a fence adjacent to the runway at around 1650 Central time. The private airports owner reported the PCL does not receive signals from the southeast, due to obstructions. The accident airplane was approaching from the southeast.

Im a 63-year-old pilot completing my IFR training and obtaining a high-performance endorsement for a 182. Virtually all of my training has been with a large flight school in South Florida (name withheld to protect the guilty).In my regular life Im a senior faculty member for a respected trade association. After about 30 years as an educator, Ive learned that a successful learning outcome happens when the teacher is addressing the unique learning styles of each individual student. All of my students are adults with varying skill and education levels. If I teach in a manner that I think is the right way, but fail to connect with the individual student, Ive failed as an instructor.

Right fuel tank cracked at top seam. Tank was replaced. Operator noticed a very loud oil canning sound from right wing after shutdown following a one-hour flight. Investigation revealed a partial blockage of the fuel tank vent, causing oil canning of fuel tank due to vacuum in fuel tank. Vent line was cleared and vented cap was replaced with new.

Open your favorite EFB or log onto a web-based aviation weather site and youll be presented with a deluge of information on the environment in which we fly. Text-based weather observations and forecasts, plus Nexrad weather radar mosaics, satellite-based cloud and moisture images, and information-dense graphical products are but a few taps or clicks away. With a smidgen of understanding, a lot of it becomes self-explanatory to even the infrequent pilot.

If youre lucky, youve gotten some of your aviation education from an instructor with extensive real-world experience. One CFI who fits that description-having flown freight, charter, airline and corporate without ever giving up teaching in the 35 years hes had his certificate-likes to remind students of the difference between procedure and technique. The former is what you have to do; the latter is how you choose to go about doing it. Before landing, for example, a constant-speed prop should be moved to its full-forward high-rpm setting to prepare for a possible go-around. Whether its done after turning final, on base or immediately after reducing power on downwind is entirely at the pilots discretion, provided it gets done. Reasonable arguments can be made for each alternative.