Aviation Safety

Few things demand getting the airplane on the ground more quickly than an in-flight fire. Heres why.

Each flight involves assessing risk and making judgment calls. How does your decision-making ability stack up against other pilots?

Chain of Events
On a cold, clear night a few years ago, I convinced myself that I needed to re-establish my night currency so I could carry passengers after the sun goes down. In retrospect, I guess I really wanted to prove that I could fly by myself at night. Kidding myself was the first of several stupid mistakes I made.

One of the things I did that night was smart-I arrived at the airport before dark to preflight the airplane I had scheduled. At the time, it was the only plane operated by the FBO with which I was familiar.

After darkness fell, I walked out to it, climbed in and ran the checklist. Soon, the engine was idling and I was copying the ATIS, preparing my ini…

We constantly assess the risks of our everyday activities. When climbing out of the shower, we decide whether to step on wet tile or a dry bath mat. When approaching an intersection in a car, we may choose to accelerate when the light turns yellow. About to take off again after a quick fuel stop, we might conduct a cursory preflight inspection, instead of something more detailed.

In all of lifes activities-major and minor-were constantly performing risk-based calculations. Most of them-especially those not involving an aircraft-we perform every day.

When it comes to aviation, other decisions can involve using a set of skills and knowledge we may not have exercised frequently.

Just…

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

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Beech Model 200 King Air
Rudder Boost Malfunction
During a rudder boost test, the right rudder pedal remained at full deflection, even with the engines at idle. When the system was turned off, both pedals returned to center. The rudder solenoid, p/n 717 was determined to be the culprit. The submitter stated if the system failed on final approach or during takeoff, the result could be devastating. Part total time: 1185.7 hours.

Cessna Model 150G
Windshield Departed In Flight
The pilot reported that a section of the windshield (P/N 0…

Touch And Goes?
I am in full agreement that touch-and-go landings (Touch And Goes, October 2004) are not that useful. Heck, they dont even count for currency in a tailwheel aircraft. But mostly, they are very unrealistic and dont teach that much. I would agree that if you need to do them, make sure you have lots of runway. But if you have lots of runway, think about a stop-and-go landing. Land, stop, reconfigure, perform whatever checklist items you need to do and then go. You get to practice a takeoff too!

Instead of practicing touch-and-goes, we ought to practice more go-arounds. Sometimes I think they are a lost art.

Vince Massimini
Via e-mail

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August 4, 2004, Mineral Wells, Texas
Piper PA-32-260
At approximately 1140 Central time, the airplane was destroyed when it departed controlled flight, impacting power lines and terrain one mile northwest of the Mineral Wells (Texas) Municipal Airport. Visual conditions prevailed for the test flight by a Commercial pilot and Private-pilot rated passenger. Both sustained fatal injuries. According to several witnesses, the accident airplane was observed flying over Runway 31 at approximately 150 feet AGL and flying rather slow. The airplane then pulled-up hard and banked to the right. and was observed to descend below the tree line. The airplane was found, inverted, in a…

At approximately 1140 Central time, the airplane was destroyed when it departed controlled flight, impacting power lines and terrain one mile northwest of the Mineral Wells (Texas) Municipal Airport. Visual conditions prevailed for the test flight by a Commercial pilot and Private-pilot rated passenger. Both sustained fatal injuries. According to several witnesses, the accident airplane was observed flying over Runway 31 at approximately 150 feet AGL and flying rather slow. The airplane then pulled-up hard and banked to the right. and was observed to descend below the tree line. The airplane was found, inverted, in an open field, directly under power lines. A power pole, located 430 fee…

The aircraft was substantially damaged when it impacted the edge of a road, just prior to the approach end of Runway 01 at the Durango-Animas Air Park (5CO0), Durango, Colo., at about 1605 Mountain time. Visual conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The Private pilot and two passengers reported no injuries; a third passenger sustained minor injuries. The cross-country flight originated at Albuquerque, New Mexico, at 1440. The pilot reported that, at approximately 300 feet AGL on final approach, the airplane began to sink rapidly. The pilot said he applied full power, and barely cleared a drop-off on the approach end of the runway. He also said that the stall warning horn was sound…

At approximately 0730 Mountain time, the airplane was destroyed when it impacted trees and terrain while maneuvering approximately 20 miles east of Spanish Fork, Utah. Visual conditions prevailed; the pilot and one passenger on board the airplane were seriously injured. Two other passengers had minor injuries. According to one of the passengers, the airplane was flying in a canyon. As the pilot tried to pull up, the engine sputtered a little bit and struck trees. The engine sounded like it was bogging down before the tree strike….