Aviation Safety

Unless youve been living under a rock since mid-January, you have at least a passing familiarity with the January 15, 2009, water landing in the Hudson River. US Airways Flight 1549, an Airbus A320 departing New Yorks LaGuardia for Charlotte, N.C., apparently suffered multiple bird strikes, disabling both engines. The crew, admirably, ditched the airplane in the Hudson River with no loss of life and only one injury. The popular media labeled the flights captain, Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger, a hero for successfully handling the emergency. Almost completely ignored were the team efforts of Sullenbergers crew, including First Officer Jeffrey B. Skiles, who was flying the takeoff and departure, and the three flight attendants, who successfully prepared and evacuated the cabin. The outcome would not have been nearly so favorable if the crew hadnt been properly trained and prepared. Instead of labeling Flight 1549 a miracle and its captain a hero, we all should use this event as a teaching episode and wonder how things might have turned out if the crew hadnt been prepared.

The pilot was making a left turn in front of a hangar. He pulled the control wheel full aft to take the weight off the front wheel and the control wheel broke off in his hand. The break formed across the wheel, from the lower left to the upper right. Control wheel p/n: 0513168-2.

I enjoyed Decembers article, “Cold-Weather Ops.” I wanted to pass on a suggestion for virtually all pilots flying piston engine airplanes. The article states, “When you first get to the airplane, put the ignition key on the panel so people can see it….” The article goes on: “Checking to see if the engine is warm often involves rocking the propeller.” The reason given is that “with the key out of the ignition and readily visible, you are reasonably assured that the mags are not hot.” Wrong and possibly dead wrong! I was fortunate to be trained by a high-time 18,000-plus-hour flight instructor. He ingrained in me the importance of doing a mag check during shutdown, prior to pulling the mixture: Turn off one mag and then the other to see if the RPM dropped as it should. Although a mag check should be done during the pre-takeoff run-up, there is no guarantee that a wire might not come loose during flight. If that were to happen, the mags would still be hot and rocking the propeller could be catastrophic!

During a normal approach to landing, the pilot misjudged the height between the airplane and the runway during the flare. The airplane settled onto the runway hard. The airplane bounced, the pilot lowered the nose and the airplane entered a porpoise, followed by the propeller contacting the runway. The firewall sustained substantial damage. The pilot said there were no pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures.

At about 1205 Atlantic time, the airplane was destroyed when it impacted terrain. The airline transport pilot and two passengers were killed. Instrument conditions prevailed for the Part 135 on-demand flight.

After performing a couple 360-degrees turns and slow flight, the pilot attempted a power-off stall. To prepare for the power-off stall, the pilot retarded the throttle and applied carburetor heat. During the recovery of the power-off stall, the pilot “rapidly” applied engine power, closed the carburetor heat, and the engine lost power. The pilot attempted to restart the engine, however, the restart was unsuccessful. During the forced landing to a field, the pilot landed the airplane downwind, impacting crops and terrain. Examination revealed a buckled firewall.

At about 1635 Eastern time, the airplane was substantially damaged during a series of touch-and-go landings. The sport pilot was not injured. Visual conditions prevailed. The pilot later stated a “gust of wind” made the airplane feel as though it was “on marbles.” The pilot attempted to control the airplane and maintain runway alignment by utilizing aileron and rudder inputs, but when the “gust of wind” subsided, the airplane immediately went towards the edge of the runway.

The two airplanes collided in midair at about 1630 Eastern time. Both airplanes were being operated as instructional flights in the A-291B concentrated flight training area at the time of the accident and were substantially damaged. The flight instructor and private pilot aboard each were killed. Visual conditions prevailed.

The flight was at 13,500 feet overhead the airport, preparing for the skydivers to jump. The pilot turned on the green light to initiate the jump. He then felt the aircraft shudder, but did not lose control of it. After most of the jumpers had left the airplane, one of the skydivers came forward and notified the pilot of damage to the tail. After a controllability check, the pilot landed the airplane without further incident.

During takeoff, the engine lost power. The pilot maneuvered the airplane away from some large trees with rudder and aileron before the airplane touched down near the edge of the runway. The nose gear struck a runway light and broke off. The airplane then spun around approximately 180 degrees before coming to rest, facing north. The mixture control cable had come loose at the cable housing crimp, resulting in the loss of engine power.