Aviation Safety

Changing Weather
After a beautiful morning of flying in a 300-hp Cessna 182 from Steamboat Springs, Colo. (SBS), to Telluride and back, my flying buddy and I decided to have breakfast at a local restaurant then return to our home base of Fort Collins, Colo. It had been an incredibly smooth and uneventful flight. The aspens were already turning their fall colors despite it still being late August.

After breakfast, we proceeded back to SBS, pre-flighted and observed some ominous-looking clouds coming from the southwest. The skies over SBS and eastward looked very clear and promising and a call for a weather briefing indicated that our 40-minute flight over the mountains to For…

Even in the worst of times, the men and women working the scopes and the frequencies at your friendly neighborhood ATC facility usually refrained from allowing politics or personal opinions from interfering with their official duties. This was true following the August 1981 PATCO strike, during peak airline delays and congestion in 2000 and 2001 and in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks. In fact, late 2001 saw unprecedented cooperation between controllers and operators alike as we all struggled with airspace requirements and traffic levels that changed on a daily basis. Thats the way it should be: professionals working together to get the job done as efficiently and as saf…

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

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Cessna Model T210M
Alternate Air Door Magnet
The engine alternate air door is held closed with a magnetic latch (P/N 1250938-8). The magnetic latch has two small plates bonded to the magnet that make contact with the alternate air door. One of the steel plates debonded due to age and vibration. The plate was ingested into the turbocharger. The turbo was destroyed causing a total loss of boost and a return landing. Metal from the turbo passed through the induction and oil systems causing major damage. The submitter stated they have found two other T21…

Grossing Out
I very much enjoyed the article on weight and balance (Positioning Pounds, July 2004). It is my understanding that the poor full-fuel payloads we see in virtually all of our Part 23 single-engine aircraft have to do with the manufacturers meeting the rather arbitrary 61 knot Vso requirement.

For instance, the new TBM 700C2 max gross weight was increased by 815 pounds because Socata took advantage of an exception to the 61 knot Vso requirement. It had to provide crashworthy seats able to tolerate 20-G decelerations. The Vso for the 700C2 is 65 knots. Same wing and same engine as other TBMs, yet it gets a tremendous increase in max weights. Also, the FAA grants…

At about 1500 Eastern time, the accident aircraft was substantially damaged during an attempted takeoff from the Clermont County Airport in Batavia, Ohio. Both aboard sustained minor injuries. Visual conditions prevailed. During the first attempted takeoff from Runway 22 (paved, 3568 feet), the pilot was not able to obtain enough lift. During the second attempt, witnesses observed the airplane in a steep pitch attitude. It then descended into a field and flipped over. A weight-and-balance calculation performed by an FAA inspector after the accident revealed the airplane was about 110 pounds above its maximum gross takeoff weight. In addition, the runway sloped upward, approximately 30 feet…

The airplane was substantially damaged following a loss of control while landing at the Friedman Memorial Airport (SUN) in Hailey, Idaho, at about 1542 local time. The Private pilot and sole occupant was not injured. The pilot subsequently reported that, while on approach to Runway 31, he was keeping his speed up and landed hot due to a jet which was behind him. The pilot stated that he initially touched down in the first 300 feet of the available runway, but bounced twice. The pilot further stated, I didnt like the landing and decided to go around. The pilot reported that after the second bounce, and while still airborne, he added full power, …but nothing happened. There was no acce…

At 0819 Pacific time, the Experimental aircraft impacted a residence following an uncontrolled descent; the airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a post-crash fire. The Airline Transport pilot, who also was the aircrafts builder and registered owner, was fatally injured; three people on the ground sustained minor injuries. A combination of instrument and visual conditions prevailed along the route, from Torrance, Calif., to Chino, Calif.; the flight was conducted under IFR. The pilot was cleared to climb to 5000 feet and the airplanes Mode C transponder return indicated 5300 feet msl before ATC lost radar contact. According to a witness, the airplane came out of 600-foot ceiling in a…

At 1045 Eastern time, the accident aircraft landed wheels-up at the Fernandina Beach Municipal Airport, Fernandina Beach, Fla. The airplane was being flown by the pilot during a Commercial Single Engine practical test at the time. Neither the Private pilot or the check airman were injured. Visual conditions prevailed. The airplane sustained substantial damage….

The acrobatic airplane was destroyed after impacting terrain during maneuvering flight near Boise, Idaho, at about 1800 Mountain time. The Airline Transport pilot and sole passenger were seriously injured. Visual conditions prevailed. A witness reported that the airplane was coming out of a loop on the downside of the maneuver when it failed to pull up in time to clear the ground. The witness stated that he saw the airplane impact the ground in a slightly nose-up attitude, cartwheel after its left wing impacted the ground, then observed a cloud of dust before the aircraft came to rest inverted. The wreckage path was 345 feet long from initial ground impact to the final airplane component….

At about 0900 Eastern time, the aircraft was destroyed after impacting trees and terrain near Ticonderoga, N.Y. The 32,000-hour Airline Transport pilot and his passenger were fatally injured. Visual conditions prevailed for the flight between Waterbury-Oxford Airport (OXC), Oxford, Conn., and Ticonderoga Municipal Airport (4B6), Ticonderoga, N.Y. Weather at the nearest recorded facility, an airport about 35 nm south, at 0853, included clear skies and a visibility of 10 miles. The wreckage was located in a saddleback on the western side of Old Fort Mountain, at about 1740 feet of elevation. The top of Old Fort Mountain was between the wreckage site and the airport, and rose to about 2030 feet…