Accident Probes

Once I started the engine and made it to the runup area, the Dynon D-180 registered about 10 gallons in the selected right tank (I have a Lycoming O-235-L2C engine installed and typically I burn about 5-6 gallons an hour). I thought it was peculiar, but I attributed the loss of five gallons to starting, taxi and runup. I took off and headed the 30 miles to my practice area.

Understanding how drones-in FAA parlance, an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) is sometimes called a drone-are used is the first step toward avoiding an unexpected and unwanted encounter. In its recently released Part 107 regulations on commercial use of UAS, the FAA focused on small UAS, craft weighing under 55 pounds. Given their numbers and popularity, this is the class of systems with which we should be most concerned.

Depending on the controller and his/her workload, plus how professional you sound on the radio, ATC may offer to fix the problem immediately. A controller can prompt you for enough information to enter your plan into the system directly, without you needing to chase down someone else on the phone or another frequency to re-file. If you can do it with your cell-connected tablet and an EFB app, try it. Otherwise, youll have to figure out a way to contact Flight Service and file all over again. Of course, you can depart VFR instead of IFR. If the weather is good, thats an option, and you can raise Flight Service on the radio once youre airborne and file, then call ATC for the clearance.

On the first occasion, I was on an IFR flight plan departing into an 800-foot ceiling on my way to a destination reporting clear skies. At some point, I would clear the fog layer covering the inversion and find those clear skies, I just didnt know exactly where the layer would burn off. On departure I passed through the 500-foot-thick layer and was soon in VMC on top. Tops were at roughly 6500 feet and I was cruising along at 8500 with nothing but blue skies above me and a flat layer of white tops 2000 feet below.

That was when I realized that my system had stopped charging. Not only was the weather collapsing, but the location I had just departed had limited maintenance options and expected severe thunderstorms with hail the following day. From my previous loss of electron flow, I knew I could do a great deal in this different airplanes cockpit to manage power consumption, plus I was flying steam gauges that didnt need electrons. Plus it was Mothers Day weekend, so continuing to a destination with known good weather required less decision making than finding an alternate airport with services.

At about 0900 Eastern time, the airplane was substantially damaged upon impacting an aircraft hangar following a total loss of engine power during a go-around. The flight instructor (CFI) and a student pilot received minor injuries. Visual conditions prevailed. The two had been practicing takeoffs and landings for about an hour when, on the downwind leg of the traffic pattern, the CFI directed the student to demonstrate a simulated engine failure. The airplane was about of the way down the runway when he initiated go-around. At this point, the engine sputtered and lost power. The CFI took over the flight controls and made a left turn at about 100 feet agl with the intent of flying over a hangar to a clear area beyond but realized they would not clear it. He placed the airplane in a 45-degree nose-up attitude so the engine penetrated the hangars metal door first.

Have you encountered a situation or hazardous condition that yielded lessons on how to better manage the risks involved in flying? Do you have an experience to share with Aviation Safetys readers about an occasion that taught you something significant about ways to conduct safer flight operations? If so, we want to hear about it. We encourage you to submit a brief (500 words) write-up of your Learning Experience to Aviation Safety for possible publication. Each month, Aviation Safety publishes a collection of similar experiences sent to us by readers. Sharing with others the benefit of your experience and the lessons you learned can be an invaluable aid to other pilots.

There I was, on my last day at EAAs 2016 AirVenture extravaganza in Oshkosh, Wis. It had been a great week, with a full Oshkosh experience, including camping in the rain, spending some money and catching up with old friends. The airplane was loaded and preflighted, the door was closed and I was strapped in. Id gotten the departure flick from the ATIS and from watching airplanes depart Runway 36L, the threshold for which was about 200 yards east and south of me. I was ready to power things back up, start the engine and get outta Dodge.

I recently read Mr. Marcums excellent comments concerning the crash of JFK, Jr.s Piper Saratoga II. As a pilot and flight instructor, and as a clinical laboratory scientist for over 50 years, Id like to suggest there are additional factors that command consideration. First, with no reported passenger in the right seat, was there an asymmetric load on the aircraft which was initially compensated by the autopilot? Could the pilot have experienced a runaway electronic trim malfunction when resuming manual control of the aircraft?

As I write this, Im looking at my Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award sitting near the window sill. Its the most prestigious award the FAA issues to pilots, according to the agency, and eligibility for it requires a minimum of 50 years to elapse since a pilots first solo flight. I originally dismissed this award as an overblown creation of the FAA or, worse, an old geezers award for longevity. I finally decided it would be a great bookend for a lifetime of flying, or a beginning of the next chapter. For those of you out there with 50 continuous years of flying without accident, incident or violation-or if you know someone who meets the minimum requirements-you can find details of the award and how to apply on the FAA website.