Accident Probes

Theres no question flying after the sun goes down is different. Many of the things we take for granted in the daylight-the scenery, the speed sensation, better terrain avoidance to name but three-simply arent available. The same airports we fly to and from in the daytime look…different. Ramps bathed partly in darkness and partly in yellowish or bluish glows appear cleaner, perhaps, more antiseptic. The runways and taxiways, too, take on a different appearance, hidden between rows of blue and white jewels.

The old saying about gear-up landings-“There are those who have and those who will”-applies to all of us flying retractables. Perhaps a fatalistic outlook, its also an admonition to perform those pre-landing checklists at least once each flight. Beyond that, the saying also admits few, if any, have died or were even seriously injured in a gear-up landing. Depending on the circumstances of such misfortune, the airplane might be only minimally damaged. While few of us fly DC-3s, that airplane and others like it are quite capable of landing without the gear extended, likely damaging only the props. Check the engines, hang new props, jack the airplane and its good to go.

In a certain perverse way, its interesting to contemplate the fate of the worlds first multi-engine airplane pilot. The guy (or gal) who first took one of those early contraptions aloft likely had no real clue of what would happen if one of them failed. My dark side tends to smile, trying to conjure up the look on the pilots face when the inevitable happened. Nowadays, of course, flying a twin on a single engine is a well-understood challenge on which multi-engine pilots regularly spend hours training and practicing.

There were two basic rules I learned early on in my aviation career. One of them was to avoid instrument conditions because I didnt have the training, even if the airplane was adequately equipped. The other was to never fly an airplane with known deficiencies that could affect the flights outcome. This included balky airspeed indicators, as one example, or inoperative radios as another. There have been many rules learned-and sometimes bent-since then, but these stand out. Ive tried mightily to comply with them. Call it self-preservation.

Establishing someones basic medical fitness for flight has long been a prerequisite for pilot certification. Before even going far beyond initial lessons, primary students should have obtained at least a Class III FAA medical certificate, which is a requirement before their first solo.

Keeping current is one of the downsides of earning the Instrument rating. Even if our flying activity is above-average, logging all of the required maneuvers in actual IMC during six-months of normal operations is next to impossible for many pilots. Thankfully, the FAAs recent-experience rules allow us to simulate instrument conditions even in good VFR as long as we have a safety pilot along.

Early in our flying careers, we do everything by the book. Watching a flight schools ramp, its not at all uncommon to see a student peering intently back and forth between the airplanes POH and, say, the engine compartment. We check everything during the preflight, even if the tires are still warm from the squawk-free flight just concluded.

This time of year, pilots main weather worry turns to airframe icing. The thunderstorms are (mostly) gone, replaced by layers and layers of moisture-laden clouds. Depending on where and how high you fly, there be ice in them there clouds.

Flying a personal aircraft is different things to different people. To some, its fun, relaxing recreation. To others, its an efficient, private transportation mode. It can be just a job, or a career or a reason for living. Thats when things are going well.

When the chips are down, you only get one shot at handling an in-flight emergency.