Aviation Safety

April 2, 2005, Marion, Ohio
Cessna 182N Skylane
At 1630 Eastern time, the airplane was substantially damaged during a precautionary landing at the Marion Municipal Airport (MNN) following an encounter with in-flight icing. The Private pilot and three passengers aboard were not injured. Instrument conditions prevailed for the flight, which departed Morgantown, W.V., with an intended destination of Lambertville, Mich. Shortly after crossing into Ohio, the pilot elected to divert and was directed to MNN for the GPS Runway 24 approach. While on final approach to Runway 24 and at approximately 80 to 100 feet agl, the airplane began descending at a rate that could not be arrested…

The airplane was substantially damaged when its left main landing gear retracted on landing. The Airline Transport pilot and the two medical crewmembers aboard the aeromedical flight were uninjured. The pilot subsequently reported an unsafe gear indication after the last takeoff; he recycled the landing gear two or three times until the gear appeared to be secured. He then noticed that the airspeed was too low for the airplanes indicated flight configuration. The pilot suspected a landing gear malfunction and returned to his departure point. He then made a low approach to the runway and was told by his maintenance personnel that the left gear was still extended. The pilot cycled the gear…

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A relatively inexperienced pilot botches his landing on a short, soft turf runway.

[IMGCAP(1)]After a great day at the Block Island State Airport (BID) my wife and I departed IFR back to the Brookhaven Airport (HWV), a non-towered airport on Long Island. A marine layer began to move in, not uncommon in this area in August. After a brief climb through 200-foot ceilings, we broke out into bright sunshine and were soon cruising at 6000 feet.

I was concerned that the same marine layer was moving in on the entire south shore of Long Island. I tuned in the weather at HWV and within 15 minutes of departing BID the ceilings went from 1500 scattered to 1100 broken. Over the Hamptons, the controller asked which approach I would like into HWV. With the latest weather reporting ce…

The following information is derived from the FAAs Service Difficulty Reports and Aviation Maintenance Alerts.

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Beechcraft F33A
Gear Retraction Failure
The pilot reported selecting gear up with no results. A maintenance technician tracked the problem to an intermittent dynamic breaker relay, p/n SM50D7, but did not make a recommendation.Part Total Time: 245 hours.

Cessna C150D
Rudder Separation
The AN3-7A top rudder hinge bolt was described as having loosened from its locking nut plate, precipitating complete rudder separation while the aircraft was in flight at 2000 feet agl. The mechanic suggests there should be additional safeties for t…