Aviation Safety

Grinding away on the starter is no way to wake up a cold airplane. Warm it and prime it like you know what youre doing

Static electricity can combine with fueling operations in unfortunate ways. Self-serve fuel only increases the chance of trouble

I am an 1,100-hour instrument pilot flying an A-36 Bonanza. The other night, my friend Bill (a student pilot) and I were flying along in the Pittsfield, Mass., area and encountered a situation I had never seen before.

We were cruising along northbound VFR on top at 7500 ft. in smooth air and unrestricted visibility with autopilot engaged at 154 knots IAS. There was a broken layer below us with tops estimated at 6,000 feet. The winds at our altitude were from the northwest at approx 65 knots. Outside air temperature was right around 0 Celsius. The highest terrain in the area was about 4000 ft. The nearest weather front was a strong low hundreds of miles to our south.

In front of us we s…

Just for the fun of it, I decided to learn to fly my taildragger from the back seat. Theres a stick. PTT, throttle and carb heat in the back, but from there you cant change the radio frequency, adjust the mixture, hit the start button or manipulate any of the panel controls. Because there has to be a person in the front, you cant see much, either.

Nonetheless, I wanted the challenge, so I enlisted the help of one of my favorite instructors and off we went. Taxiing was more Pitts or P-51 or Stearman than Citabria, with S-turns a requirement for seeing whats in front of you. Suddenly the taxiways seemed much narrower.

The runup and mag check were normal. I dictated a pre-takeoff flow…

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

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A recent fatal accident of a single-engine aircraft involved the apparent separation of the tailpipe assembly from the turbocharger, which allowed hot exhaust gases to be expelled into the engine compartment.

The pilot reported smoke and fire in the cockpit before the aircraft crashed short of the airport, killing both aboard. The NTSB investigation is targeting an exhaust clamp failure due to fatigue cracks found in the turbocharger to tailpipe clamp. A review of the FAA Service Difficulty Report (SDR) database reveals similar incidents involving this clamp as…

Thanks, Ibolds, for the article on emergency pilot instruction [Reality Check, November]. Ill recommend it to my wife.

However, I protest the male bashing that seems to not only be in vogue, but promulgated by Mrs. Ibold in I Ride in Back.

…I wanted a woman instructor, so I wouldnt punch him for speaking to me like I was an idiot.

What Mrs. Ibold seems to need is a sensitive, thoughtful CFI, not necessarily one with XX chromosomes. Instruction should as a matter of course include awareness of what the student needs to hear, and encouragement is vital. As for punching out the instructor, why does she feel thats a legitimate thing to say? Its very insulting.

…(after g…

At about 1540 eastern time, a Beagle B.206 Basset crashed in West Carrollton while on a ferry flight to Easton, Md. The pilot was killed. The airplane had been parked at Moraine Airpark for about six months. The pilot obtained a ferry flight permit to move the airplane, which was out of annual. A mechanic who helped prepare the airplane for flight reported draining about 2.5 gallons of water from the airplanes center sump drain. It was then fueled with 224.5 gallons of avgas and the pilot prepared for departure. A witness said the engines sounded like they were running smoothly but not developing full power. When the airplane was about three-fourths of the way down the 3,500-foot runway, it…

At approximately 1440 central time, a Cirrus SR-22 crashed following an in-flight separation of the left aileron during cruise flight near Lewisville. The pilot activated the airplanes parachute and was not injured. The pilot said the airplane had been in for completion of Cirrus service bulletin 22-95-05, which called for replacement of the parachute activation cable, and SB A22-27-03, which called for replacement of the trim cartridge self-locking nut. The pilot conducted a preflight inspection and took off. A few minutes after takeoff, the pilot noticed the airplane was pulling to the left and discovered the left aileron was separated at one hinge attach point. He declared an emergency,…

At 0830 central time, a Mooney M20K struck trees during a go-around at Birdwin Airport. The pilot and three passengers were not injured. The pilot said he overflew the 2,200-foot turf runway 03 prior to landing and noticed no hazards or standing water. He made the second approach and landed, but the airplane was not slowing down. With heavy braking the airplane started to skid. The pilot abandoned the landing and applied full power. During initial climb the left wing struck a bush. The airplane pivoted to the left and struck an embankment….

At about 1057 eastern time, a Beech K-35 broke up in flight and crashed on Pine Mountain near Jellico. The pilot was killed. The airplane was en route at 9,000 feet when Indianapolis Center handed the flight off to Atlanta Center. The pilot did not respond. Radar data showed the southbound flight made a brief descending right turn before climbing back to 9,000 feet. The airplane was then heading north-northeast and disappeared from radar while at a Mode C indicated altitude of 7,700 feet….