Aviation Safety

It would take a clinical psychologist to explain, but there are some people who are not meant to fly airplanes.

It certainly doesnt take a superman or superwoman to become a competent pilot, of course. Like riding a bicycle, most people can learn to do it competently, with a few becoming exceptionally skillful. The flip side of that is that there are also those who cant get the hang of it.

So it is with flying: There are some people who, for whatever the reason, simply can not put it all together and fly competently. The difference is that in aviation, this apparent learning disability costs lives and money, rather than scrapes and bruises.

My first exposure to this phenomenon w…

If you think an air show is just about watching aerobatic planes dance around their own trails of smoke, you havent been trying hard enough.

Most people think of air shows as recreation, a time to gawk at airplanes, swap tales with other pilots and eat food that would make a nutritionists eyes roll in disbelief.

But they also offer all kinds of opportunities to become a safer pilot to those who take the time to look.

EAAs Sun n Fun Fly-in in April had a smattering of new gear, loads of familiar products and a comprehensive lineup of seminars and forums geared to homebuilder and factory flier alike. Buried in the chaff were some valuable nuggets that were suitably rewarding.

T…

Pilots love to scoff at the aerophobes who express fear at the prospect of light plane flying.

The most dangerous thing about flying is the drive to the airport, might be the amiable retort.

Some sayings persist because the truth they carry is evident. Others endure because no one has seriously challenged their worth.

Dr. Gerald Fairbairn, professor of aviation at Daniel Webster College and a long-time flight instructor, challenges the notion that light plane flying is even remotely as safe as driving. In so doing, he suggests a look beneath the surface of aviation safety. Look at what constitutes risk, why it is there, and how it can be mitigated.

Fairbairn is not decisively…

The vast majority of aviation accidents have a chain of events that lead up to tragedy. It may be long or short, but seldom is it a single catastrophic event that strikes without warning.

Sometimes the events that chain the airplane to the accident are subtle. Only by playing Monday morning quarterback can you spot the links. In examining those accidents you may silently wonder if you would have spotted the potential for disaster in time to avert it.

Other times, the accident chain smacks you across the face. How, you wonder, could anyone have been so foolish?

One December night three acquaintances decided to go flying. They drove to a private airstrip west of Ocean City, Md., and…

Something about flying a twin grabs your attention. Sitting up high, a fistful of throttles, clear one, turning one – it all adds up to a feeling of power and control.

Thats appropriate, of course, because power and control are the big issues in learning to fly a light twin. Its not a matter of having power and control, its that you can lose them very quickly when something goes wrong. Flying a light twin isnt for everyone, and its not a panacea that takes all the risk out of flying. But with proper instruction, flying a twin is, in some ways, as good as it gets.

Are Two Better Than One?
The biggest myth of light twins is that they are inherently safer than singles…

Although you hate to admit it, some pilots just seem to be asking for it. They fly like drunken outlaw motorcyclists, always dodging regs and cutting corners. You can usually spot their aircraft by the duct tape on the landing gear. When these guys crash their airplanes, you shake your head knowingly and say, What the hell was he thinking, anyway?

At the other end of the scale, there are those times when a highly trained, proficient, conscientious pilot augers one in. When it happens to airliners the feds spare no effort until they get to a conclusion the experts can live with. But among general aviation crashes, the scorched earth approach to accident investigation falls victim to too…

There comes a time in almost every pilots career when the need arises to transit high terrain or overfly weather at an altitude in the low to mid teens.

Sometimes the climb is planned, such as crossing a mountain pass in the west or the Appalachians in the east. Sometimes its not, like when trying to overfly building cumulus clouds on a summer morning. In either case, the flight to higher altitude is generally intended to be brief and the need for supplemental oxygen is often written off.

These flights seem to start out smoothly. Once you climb, you wonder why you dont fly high more often. Things are going well – very well, in fact. You realize you havent felt this well in years….

Consider the pilot – a creature of superior intelligence and drive who tires easily of the mundane in the search for new adventure. The pilot looks to the sky and sees romance where the rest of humanity sees only a place from which rain falls. The pilot is the quintessential lover and like anyone in love is completely blind to the reality of relationships. In our case its the relationship to our passengers.

We pilots havent a clue what passengers expect when they climb into our machines. We assume they share our passion for flying, but we forget that it was we who left the real world to gain our wings. Whenever we make that occasional foray back to share our gift, the recipients might…

Recently the FAA issued a warning to operators of jets and turboprops not to substitute K-1 kerosene (used for home heating, among other things) for Jet-A. The FAA had discovered a parachuting operation using K-1 in its fleet of turboprops and warned other turbine operators not to do the same.

The kerosene used in this case may work for a considerable amount of time until one gets a load of bad fuel, the FAA reported. The manufacturing quality control system used to produce K-1 kerosene is far less stringent than for Jet-A aviation fuel.

The use of kerosene in certified aircraft is a violation of the aircrafts type certificate, but warbird aficionados have wondered what differen…

Most of the time American aviators learn and study about American accidents, but accident reports and studies from other countries can also pack useful lessons. For example, one interesting difference between flying in the United States and many other countries is the freedom to fly VFR at night. Most countries require pilots to be instrument rated and to be on a IFR flight plan to fly at night. Many others do not allow single engine flying at night.

Within the U.S. and a handful of other countries, single engine night VFR flying is accepted without question. However, pilots and investigators from countries that do not allow single engine night VFR flying can cite relevant accident stati…