Aviation Safety

A pilot reported total loss of elevator control on final approach. Investigation revealed the rear control stick was no longer connected to the elevator push rod. The aft belly pan was removed and a loose bolt and washer were found. The nut was not found. The other rod ends were inspected for safety; the self-locking nut and bolt for the aft interconnect push rod was very loose. The existing hardware was not reinstalled because it was found loose during the inspection. New hardware was installed for each noted discrepancy. The owner was advised to have a factory service center inspect the aircraft, and make repairs according to the maintenance manual and parts book.

Fortunately for those of us who fly, runway incursions that cause accidents are relatively rare. But thats not to say incursions themselves are rare: Runway blunders have become an everyday thing, so much so that NASAs Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) has thousands of incident reports best described as coulda-beens. We recently reviewed an intriguing report on this subject delivered to the [IMGCAP(1)]International Symposium on Aviation Psychology in Dayton, Ohio, last April by Dr. Ed Wischmeyer, an aviation researcher and contributor to our sister publication, KITPLANES. Wischmeyer mined some 2000-plus ASRS reports collected between January 2003 and January 2006. His search criteria sought out reports on ground conflict and ground incursion incidents. This search yielded 1049 relevant reports, 723 of which were from turbine operators and 326 from smaller piston aircraft on personal or instructional flights.

By all the usual parameters, people are turning to the new light sport aircraft (LSA) category and its accompanying sport pilot certificate in large numbers. Both apparently are having a favorable, if perhaps modest, impact on private flying in the U.S. The new aircraft category has translated into options and a new airman certification scheme so far posting some formidable numbers: About 60 new S-LSA types-special light sport aircraft, a factory-built, ready-to-fly machine-have been approved by the FAA under industry-developed consensus standards as of November 2007. Nearly 1100 new S-LSAs were registered through the same period. And, according to the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), as of July 2007 when association Vice President Earl Lawrence delivered a three-year report on the movement, 2100 new sport pilot certificates had been issued, along with 232 sport pilot instructor certificates and 240 examiners. Not too shabby, considering the FAA didnt publish the final sport pilot rule until August 2004; it was April 2005 before the first S-LSA won approval from the FAA.

Its an interesting phenomenon: As student pilots, we master VFR traffic patterns in just a few hours. After earning the private, we work on our instrument rating. Initially, nothing is quite so nerve wracking as a difficult approach. Then, our careers progress and we land that big job. IFR becomes old hat-we can shoot that approach without a second thought. In fact, we get so used to “vectors to final” that we get the shakes flying a VFR traffic pattern at a small airport on a nice day-something we mastered thousands of hours ago. What causes this odd reversal and what can we do about it?

In a perfect world, wed always take off into clear skies. If were going to get any utility out of IFR airplanes, however, there will be times when we take off with reduced visibility and/or low clouds-an instrument departure. Transitioning from visual to instrument flight quickly after liftoff, while accelerating and still close to the ground, takes precision to be performed safely. How do pilots “on a mission” to take off into low ceilings or visibility plan and execute a safe departure? Dave Dewhirst runs Wichita, Kansas-based SABRIS, managing high-performance piston, light twin and light turbine aircraft around the country, with a network of mechanics and flight instructors helping assure safe operation by pilots in the managed fleet. The first key to safe IFR departures, says Dewhirst, is to “take a deep breath” before taxiing onto the runway, ensuring theres time to make certain all checklist items are complete. This includes briefing the departure, briefing passengers, along with all those little things like navigation and transponder settings, security of doors and windows, checking for seat belts closed in the door to flap against the fuselage in flight, and the like.

Two round trips up and down the east coast over the recent year-end holidays reinforced for me the incredible transportation value that is the personal airplane. They also reminded me we are operating these airplanes in not just three dimensions, but four. The fourth? Time. My first flight involved a solo “hop” of some 755 nm from my new home in Florida to my old one in the D.C. area. Due to some personal complications as well as the need to perform some much-needed TLC on the airplane, I didnt get away until late in the day; most of the flight would be at night. Some of that delay was by design, however, involving a fast-moving and wet front pushing in along my route from the west, extending north to New England and south into the Gulf of Mexico. It was dumping rain all along the east coast, and the weather-guessers were advertising real wind-gusts to 35 knots in some locations-to come in behind it. Ceilings were low until the front passed, but they wouldnt matter much if I had a 35-knot direct crosswind at my destination.

I wanted to write in response to the recent Learning Experience entry Ground Reference (September 2007) and the idea of ducking under a cloud deck on a flight between Buffalo, N.Y., and New York City. I dont doubt the author knows the route like the back of his hand, so flying it under a low overcast may be safe. Ive flown the route from Buffalo to Utica, N.Y.; the moisture pumped in from the lakes was something else. I didnt want to be high and on top, but I cant recall why. Despite my best efforts, the flight ended well thanks to Buffalo approach. They took me up and over the tops all the way to UCA where I made a simple, safe approach. The ceiling there was at minimums but it was the smoothest air Ive ever flown in, and some of the safest. The writer mentioned hills, but no reference to antennas as he flew. Hills in general are favored by radio stations and cell phone companies, and most often harbor a danger I learned to call “Porcupine Ridge.” Every radio station wants to be there.

At 1406 Central time, the private pilot reported engine failure and ditched one mile off Panama City Beach, Fla. Visual conditions prevailed. The airplane was substantially damaged; the pilot was fatally injured and his passenger received minor injuries. According to the pilots mechanic, the pilot contacted him at approximately 1219, and requested that he prepare his airplane for a short flight. Over the next 1.5 hours, the pilot, his mechanic and line personnel experienced difficulties involving a dead battery, underinflated tires and substantial amounts of water in its fuel tanks. The pilot arrived at the airport and, after another jump start of the airplane, boarded along with his passenger. The head lineman jumped the airplane again and the engine started.

According to the pilot, he was returning to a drop zone after releasing some skydivers. On final approach to Runway 8, his airplane was gaining on a slower airplane. The pilot reduced power and raised the nose to reduce airspeed to 85 mph. The airplane was “low and slow” as he passed over a lake, so he added power but not soon enough. The airplane touched down on the lake shore short of the runway. The nose gear was torn off, both wings and wing struts were bent, the aft portion of the fuselage was buckled and the vertical stabilizer was crushed.

At 0830 Eastern time, the airplane was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain near Greenville, Penn. The private pilot was fatally injured; visual conditions prevailed. According to a family member, the pilot intended to practice touch-and-go landings and to make sure everything was functioning properly prior to a planned afternoon trip in the airplane with his family. The Experimental airplane was equipped with a non-certificated liquid-cooled, fuel-injected, turbocharged, six-cylinder engine.