Aviation Safety

We all know of someone who started out as an aviation enthusiast but fell by the wayside somewhere along the way.

For some, the cost of flying became either unaffordable or too much to justify to a spouse or oneself. For others, the time it takes to remain a safe pilot was too much to ask. For others, the novelty simply wore off.

One person I know had just traded up from a Bonanza to a Baron when I met her. She was very proud of her new bird and liked to boast of its performance, especially when compared to the Mooney M20J I owned at the time.

Over time, however, her boasting lost its enthusiasm and eventually turned into sour references about the cost of maintenance and engine ov…

In flying, like in any endeavor, you get out of it what you put into it. Some people consider flying a hobby, and theyre perfectly happy tooling around in a Cub or a Husky or a Skyhawk. To them, the world up there is one of peaceful vistas and three-dimensional freedom.

Some people find flying a lifestyle. They make their living at it, flying in all sorts of weather, sticking to a schedule and dealing with minor adversity before it becomes major.

Still others are consumed by the passion of flying. To them, flying is a challenge to be met, a task to be mastered and an adventure.

Many people, of course, share all of these traits to some degree. Their task is to balance the challenge…

Theres a couple of maneuvers youll never use again, a friend told me recently.

We had been discussing various maneuvers required on practical tests, and this reaction referred to the chandelle and lazy eights required for the commercial test. My friend, who flew briefly for American Airlines until concluding that flying for an airline wasnt her cup of tea, expressed disdain for the hoops all levels of pilots must jump through for no apparent reason other than to improve the standard of living for flight instructors.

I had to differ on this one. Besides the fact that I think chandelles and lazy eights are fun, they also serve a useful purpose. By learning to handle an airplane at th…

More than 14 months after the crash of singer John Denver in a Long-EZ off the California coast, the NTSB at press time released its final report on the accident.

The investigation of the last flight of N555JD is noteworthy because Denvers high profile ensured a more thorough investigation than otherwise would have occurred. The final result of the investigation has become well known, that Denver likely lost control while turning around to switch fuel tanks using the selector that was mounted behind him.

But the lessons that can be learned from Denvers crash are more lasting than the no-brainer opinion that you shouldnt mount your fuel selector where you cant reach it.

Though De…

Pilots feel pretty smug about themselves sometimes. When theyre masters of their machines and their sense of proficiency meshes perfectly with the proper caution, flying seems far from dangerous. It seems … ordinary.

But there are times when even the best pilots in the most familiar environments can find unexpected challenges when they least expect it.

Recently I was on board a single being flown by two very experienced pilots. Through a bit of test flying, some practice approaches and some touch and goes, it was obvious to me that these two veterans had the technique down cold. That thought, like sitting down while waiting for an elevator, only served to invite trouble.

The tower…

The pilot of an M20J noticed sloppy aileron response and observed the right aileron vibrating and not responding to control inputs. The pilot landed safely.

Technicians found the right control link rod assembly had cracked at a factory weld and then through the tubing weld. The break along the weld showed signs of age, while the break in the tubing looked more recent.

There was no indication that the ailerons had been subject to abuse, and the technician noticed that the replacement part was identical except that reinforcing gussets had been added at both 90-degree corners in the link.

Another incident, also in an M20J, had the same characteristics, leading the FAA to issue AD 98-…

When visiting a parachute jump zone airport, an FAA Aviation Safety Inspector discovered the operator was using K1 kerosene to fuel its turbine-powered aircraft.

K1, sold for home heating use, does not meet the American Society for Testing and Materials standards for aviation turbine-engine fuel. It also does not meet FAA requirements specified in aircraft type certificates.

Using such unapproved fuel creates a situation in which the airplanes performance may not be predictable. Although the kerosene may work for a long time in routine operations, quality control is not nearly as stringent, increasing the possibility that the airplane will be filled with bad fuel.

ASTM D-3699-98 an…

Reports several months ago of a tailwheel spring clip coming off of an Aeronca has lead to a spate of reports of similar problems on different makes of taildraggers. Many mechanics encourage operators to safety-wire the retention clips.

An amateur-built Thorpe T-18, for example, suffered substantial damage while landing on a rough runway surface. The aircraft had just been completed and had been test flown at an airport with a paved runway.

The two test pilots then flew back to the home airport, which had a rough landing surface, and the tailwheel bounced hard. The spring retention clip rotated and came off of one of the tiller springs. The pilot applied brakes, but the other tiller s…

The following information is derived from the FAAs Service Difficulty Reports and Aviation Maintenance Alerts. Click here to view “Airworthiness Directives.”

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The FAA has issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin addressing Textron Lycoming piston plug wear. The bulletin aims to help identify abnormally worn piston pin plugs and describes appropriate inspection/maintenance actions.

Lycoming engines have plugs that center the piston pin in the cylinder, which ensures that the piston is centered within the cylinder barrel. The plugs, by design, experience some wear on the plug face, which contacts the cylinder barrel. This…

The following information is derived from the FAAs Service Difficulty Reports and Aviation Maintenance Alerts. Click here to view “Airworthiness Directives.”

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The FAAs Aircraft Certification Office in Atlanta has received reports of problems with oil filters manufactured by Champion. The problems include collapsed elements, rubber gasket material inside the filter canister, and other one-time events. The reports were serious enough for the manufacturer and the FAA to launch an investigation, which revealed that the collapsed elements were caused by the engine oil bypass valve that is installed in some Textron Lycoming engines.

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