Aviation Safety

At approximately 0630, a Cessna 172K struck power lines and crashed near Brazoria County Airport. The airplane had been stolen by an unlicensed person who later admitted to authorities that he had been drinking heavily since the previous evening. An FAA inspector said 16 hangars were broken into and the accident airplane contained miscellaneous equipment from the hangars as well as several beer cans. Law enforcement authorities said the man had taxied another airplane around the airport for a while before parking it and getting into the 172. He said he taxied the 172 around for a while and then decided to go for it and took off….

At about 1100 mountain time, a Cessna T210L lost engine power and crashed in the forced landing that followed. The pilot suffered minor injuries and three passengers sustained serious injuries. The flight had left Burbank, Calif., that morning for a sightseeing flight. The pilot stopped at Gila Bend, Ariz., for fuel, but the airport was out of fuel. The pilot then decided to go to Goodyear but the airplane lost power about a mile from the airport and landed in the plowed field….

At about 2115 eastern time, a Piper PA-28-180 struck trees and crashed while on approach to Bacon County Airport. The pilot and two passengers were killed. The flight departed Fort Lauderdale, Fla., at about 1800. The pilot picked up the two passengers in Fort Pierce, Fla., and advised controllers he was headed for Bacon County Airport as an intermediate fuel stop. The pilot was receiving flight following but descended below radar coverage about nine miles southeast of the airport. The controller advised the pilot that radar services were terminated and the pilot acknowledged. The airplane crashed less than a mile from the runway threshold about 1,100 feet left of a straight in course for ru…

Aircraft designers have put new effort into accident avoidance and crashworthiness. If only the elements could be adapted to older airplanes

Loss of your vacuum system or other flight instruments poses a challenge in training and real life, but its hardly a death sentence

Advancing technology puts weather downloads in the cockpit alongside the stalwart radar and sferics. The ideal setup is driven by budget

Checklists come in a variety of flavors, and just which kind suits your taste depends on what kind of pilot you are

As home beckons, commuting pilot slugs through storms and delays before finally meeting his match a half-hour from home

Engine gauges can tell you a lot about whats going on inside your engine – but you have to understand what theyre saying

A Lack of Control
I was inbound for landing in a Cessna 172 to my home field. I checked in with the tower about six miles out and was told to report back on a left midfield downwind. The runway in use normally used right traffic. The weather was clear and visibility was unrestricted.

While I continued toward the airport, the tower cleared several departures and apparently one of them was a left downwind departure, but I didnt hear that clearance.

The controller was fairly new at the airport, and she did not provide me or the airplanes departing with any traffic information. As I approached the crosswind/downwind intersection, another 172 suddenly appeared on a collision…