Aviation Safety

The airplane collided with terrain at 1120 Central time while on an instrument approach, fatally injuring the commercial pilot and passenger. The airplane sustained substantial damage from impact and post-impact fire. After being cleared for the RNAV (GPS) Y RWY 30 approach, the pilot was instructed to contact the tower but never checked in. The airplane impacted trees and terrain approximately one mile southeast of the airport. Observed weather included five miles’ visibility and a 900-foot…

At about 1215 Central time, the airplane was substantially damaged during deployment of its Cirrus Airplane Parachute System (CAPS) following a loss of control during a missed approach. The private pilot incurred minor injuries and the passenger was seriously injured. Instrument conditions prevailed and an IFR flight plan was in effect. …

I remember the first time an EIS (engine information system, commonly known as an engine monitor) saved my bacon. I was in a Cessna 210 I’d flown for many years by that time and we were high over Varadero, Cuba. I looked over at the JPI engine monitor, a retrofit on this L-model, and noticed the LED bar representing the exhaust gas temperature (EGT) for the number two cylinder was bouncing around.

As an instrument instructor I’ve learned one of the most common topics of confusion among pilots is, “When is it safe—and expected—to descend in the process of an instrument arrival?” Confusion isn’t limited to non-professionals. One of the most frequent topics for quizzes and reviews in professional pilot journals involves determining the correct altitude to fly at various points on a charted terminal procedure.

I still have my airplane today. And I’m very lucky I do. After the most recent annual inspection was completed, my aircraft’s induction system caught fire. I found I was woefully unprepared for such an event. If I was unprepared, you probably are, too.

We all want to fly safely, but it doesn’t work out that way sometimes. The accident record is filled with instances in which a pilot or two failed to fully implement that desire. Although pilots always are finding new ways to bend airplanes, that’s not the norm. Instead, too many accidents are repeats of pilots’ past poor performances: Sadly, we keep doing the same things, but expect different results.

There’s no need to go all Type A over this, but piloting an aircraft is among those activities where it’s to our benefit to be something of a control freak. It pays because of all the many bad outcomes that can result from losing control. The variations and possibilities seem infinite, as pilots find new and innovative ways to let physics and aerodynamics take over from them. Stalls—on rotation, turning final and elsewhere—promise particularly harsh results while running off a runway, another common example, hurts less often and less badly.

It promised to be a fun afternoon. I had recently gotten checked out in my flying club’s T210 Centurion, so I grabbed a non-club pilot friend and went flying. We were going to visit some local airports and chase down $100 hamburgers while I got used to flying this beast without an instructor.

Most pilots experienced in navigating with both VOR and GPS will prefer the latter. It’s easier, it’s more accurate and it’s available right down to the ground. The VOR technology—with the exception of ILS and where VOR stations are on the airport—enjoys only one advantage: It’s been around so long, most everyone knows how to use it. Well, everyone, that is, except pilots trained in aircraft lacking a VOR receiver, of which there are a growing number.

The following information is derived from the FAA’s Service Difficulty Reports and Aviation Maintenance Alerts.