Aviation Safety

The airplane was substantially damaged during a forced landing at 1140 Central time after a total loss of power. Visual conditions prevailed; there were no injuries. According to the pilot, the airplane was in cruise flight at 3500 feet when the engine quit, “just like it was running out of fuel.” The pilot switched the […]

Whether to use the FAAs minimum standards depends on you, the airplane and the weather. Sometimes, you just have to say No.”

During my now well over 2000 hours in Cessna 206 Stationairs, Id never thought much about a little under-inflation or a tad of over-inflation in the nose strut. And then it happened: my wife and I came within inches of serious injury-or worse-just because I departed with an over-inflated nose gear. …

The ultimate fallout from last months crash of a Cirrus SR20 into a New York high-rise building, killing the Cirrus owner and pilot, New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle, and his instructor, may come well before the NTSBs probable cause determination.

The following information is derived from the FAAs Service Difficulty Reports and Aviation Maintenance AlertsUnison UREM40EDefective Spark PlugsDuring the installation and operational check of two new Unison/Slick magnetos-plus harness and eight spark plugs-to correct a hard starting discrepancy, the engine had a 200-300 RPM magneto drop on the left magneto.Troubleshooting determined one of the eight […]

I thoroughly enjoyed Bryan Websters recent ditching article (“Top Five Ditching Myths,” September 2006). I flew single-engine planes from Aruba in the 50s and 60s. When leaving on any overwater flight, I would take the time to climb to 10,000 feet or so while circling, before heading out over the water. Of course, this minimized the likelihood of having to ditch after an engine failure. …

At about 1300 Pacific time, the airplane was destroyed when it impacted flat desert terrain. The pilot and sole occupant was seriously injured. Visual conditions prevailed.A helicopter emergency medical services crew witnessed the accident. They watched the airplane complete several “tail slide” maneuvers and then saw it flat spin and hit the ground. They responded […]

The airplane was destroyed when it collided with trees during an instrument approach at 0841 Eastern time, fatally injuring the Private pilot and passenger. Instrument conditions prevailed.After being cleared for the GPS Runway 5 approach and approximately four miles from the airport inside the final approach fix, the pilot reported a missed approach, made a […]

At about 1642 Pacific time, the airplane was substantially damaged after a loss of engine power and forced landing. The Private pilot and sole occupant was not injured. Visual conditions prevailed.The pilot reported there were no discrepancies with the takeoff roll. About 200 feet agl, the engine failed. The pilot attempted to land; however, the […]

At 0847 Eastern time, the aircraft sustained a partial loss of engine power on initial takeoff climb, and collided with the ground during a forced landing. Visual conditions prevailed; the airplane received substantial damage. The Private pilot reported minor injuries.The pilot stated he had just retracted the landing gear on initial climb at 50 feet […]