Aviation Safety

At about 1605 Pacific time, the airplane was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain. The commercial pilot was fatally injured. Visual conditions prevailed. Witnesses reported the airplane was circling and maneuvering at a low altitude around the beach area when they observed it ascend abruptly.

The airplane veered off the runway at about 1615 Pacific time, while landing, sustaining substantial damage from a post-crash fire. The private pilot receiving instruction and the flight instructor were not injured. Visual conditions prevailed.

The airplane collided with terrain at about 1606 Pacific time, sustaining substantial damage. The private pilot and passenger sustained fatal injuries. Visual conditions prevailed. While in cruise at 16,500 feet msl, the pilot requested and received an IFR clearance to Fresno from ATC, with a further clearance to 14,000 feet. A subsequent clearance was issued was issued to 7000 feet.

At about 1529 Eastern time, the airplane was destroyed following a collision with trees and terrain shortly after takeoff. The commercial pilot and the pilot-rated passenger were fatally injured. Visual conditions prevailed. A witness watched the airplane take off, reporting the takeoff roll seemed longer than normal, and the airplane climbed slowly. As the airplane approached trees located past the runway, it “pancaked” into the trees without rolling right or left. He then saw a plume of smoke and realized the airplane had crashed.

At 1419 Eastern time, the airplane was destroyed when it impacted a house during a forced landing. The private pilot and two passengers were fatally injured. Visual conditions prevailed. While in cruise, the pilot reported vibrations in the propeller and engine. Daytona Approach advised that airports in the area were IFR with cloud ceilings of 900 to 1000 feet agl.

Would you like to declare an emergency?” the controller asked with practiced coolness. Looking at the stopped and feathered left engine on the Cessna 310R I’d had for just 10 days, there was only one possible answer: “Yes.” Moments before, the engine had started vibrating so violently I was afraid it would shake the plane apart. I quickly feathered and shut it down, and called ATC. “Buffalo Approach, Twin Cessna 692, my left engine has failed.” So there I was, about 20 miles from my destination with only one fan turning, taken somewhat by surprise by the failure of a freshly overhauled engine. I stabilized and trimmed the plane, and with airspeed well over the blue line, I keyed in “direct to” on the GPS. Approach indicated they would inform my non-towered destination of my situation and impending arrival.

Pilots of personal aircraft ultimately have all the responsibility to ensure a flight is conducted safely. To help meet our responsibilities to ourselves and our passengers, we need to minimize the outside world’s distractions when we sit down in the cockpit to focus on the task at hand. Different pilots have different ways of focusing, but one common thread is blocking out anything unrelated to ensuring the upcoming flight’s success. That’s a major challenge when we serve as baggage handler, dispatcher, meteorologist and pilot. It’s also a major challenge in the dynamic world of air show pilots. An air show’s sights, sounds and attention-grabbing activities perhaps make it one of the worst places a pilot can be prior to a flight. But pilots about to fly their air show routines have implemented a formal “quiet time,” allowing them to focus on their upcoming flight and get into “the zone” or “the game,” if you will. Here’s how they do it.

A time-honored pre-flight inspection ritual is sampling an aircraft’s fuel tanks. The idea, of course, is to drain a quantity from each sump, which usually mounted at a tank’s lowest point, into a clear container, then examine the fuel for contamination and quality: Is it the same stuff that’s supposed to be in the tanks? Are water or other contaminants present? Is it even fuel? In my flying career, at least, it’s rare to find a problem with a fuel sample. But I’ve been quite shocked on a few occasions to find nothing but some very nasty-looking water in a tank or two, which demanded further investigation. Yet, I’ve seen pilots walk up to an airplane for the first flight of the day, kick the tires, light the fires and launch without sumping. Truth be told, I’ve probably done it a couple of times, too. But it’s a bad idea. Here’s why, and what can happen when we fail to sump fuel tanks and ensure we have clean, correct fuel.

The only time ice on the airframe is a good thing is when it’s tied down and you really didn’t want to go flying today, anyway. Otherwise, it’s always something to be avoided. As we all should have been taught, ice adhering to the wings, tail and other components tends to add weight and drag. If it forms on an airfoil, the surface’s lift characteristics can be dramatically different, in addition to the weight and drag. Bad karma all around. But ice can affect other systems, too. The pitot/static system is problematic, as is the electrical system, as more current is demanded to keep things warm. Depending on the aircraft, ice also can extend the landing gear, fail an engine or cause critical electrical failures. The NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) recently updated one of its database report sets, the one covering icing incidents among commuter and general aviation aircraft. The incident descriptions have several lessons for us and highlight airframe icing’s complications, even if having the stuff on the airfoils turns out not to be a factor.

A pilot can learn a great deal by stripping his or her flying down to its fundamental roots. Flying an aircraft without an electrical system puts you in touch with the basics of flying by altimeter, whiskey compass, pilotage and pure stick-and-rudder skills. On the mechanical side, it’s a chance to commune with the engine using only the minimum required instruments. There’s also a certain romance to flying a vintage plane, especially one lacking an electrical system. It harkens back to the barnstorming days when men were real men, women were real women and there was no TSA to verify the difference via pat down. Even in this era of modern instruments, glass panels and gadgets, there’s still room in the skies for a basic plane with minimal systems. Here’s how.