Aviation Safety

At 15:50 CDT, a Cessna T207A flipped over while taxing onto runway 24 at the Austin Straubel International Airport. The pilot reported minor injuries. Winds reported just prior to the accident were from 310 degrees at 34 knots gusting to 47 knots. Another reading was taken as the accident was occurring reported the winds at center field from 290 degrees at 27 knots gusting to 44 knots, with winds at the northeast quadrant reported from 360 degrees at 28 knots. The tower issued a low level wind shear advisory….

At about 10:30 EDT, a flight instructor and student pilot sustained minor injuries when their Piper PA-28-161 crashed -mile short of the runway at the Horace Williams Airport. The pilot reported encountering severe gusting winds while on final approach to runway 27 to the extent that control about the airplanes longitudinal axis was lost. Examination of the wreckage path revealed the airplanes initial collision with the ground was on a heading of about 180 degrees. Local TV news subsequently reported that numerous trees and power lines were down as a result of winds that reached 50 to 60 miles an hour as a weather system traveled through the area at the time of the accident….

At about 18:00 EDT, a homebuilt Long-EZ crashed in the vicinity of Collegedale. The private-rated pilot and private-rated passenger were not injured. According to the pilot, he had just purchased the airplane and was conducting in-flight familiarization with the delivery pilot. After 30 minutes of flight and two landings conducted from the back seat, the pilots decided to perform a full-stop landing and switch seats. The pilot reported that the airplane got too low on final approach with the speed brakes extended, and that he was not familiar enough with the cockpit control location for the speed brakes to retract them in a timely manner….

At about 10:45 EDT, two Avions Mudry CAP-10Bs operated by French Connection Airshows as an airshow practice flight, collided in flight and crashed at the Flagler County Airport. Both aircraft were destroyed and both pilots were killed. The formation flight departed about 15 minutes before the accident. According to eyewitnesses and examination of a videotape of the flight, the team had performed a formation hammerhead stall that terminates with the wingman rolling 180 degrees while the team is in their nose-down vertical recovery from the stall (essentially belly-to-belly), and an immediate pull-out that results in a formation split into flight paths 180 degrees apart. The accident occurred…

The following briefs were selected from the 224 preliminary reports filed with the NTSB in August 1999. Statements in quotes were taken directly from the NTSB documents. The information is subject to change as the investigations are completed. Click here to view “Accident Totals, August.”

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Aug. 3, Tusayan, Ariz.
Cessna 177B Cardinal
At 14:07 PDT, a Cessna Cardinal crashed shortly after takeoff from Grand Canyon National Park Airport, killing the pilot and one passenger and seriously injuring another passenger. Several pilot witnesses stated that the airplane appeared slow and did not climb much above the trees. Ab…

Pilots who want to get from Point A to Point B are no dummies. Most of the time, the shortest distance is that straight line on the chart.

Part of the navigation training that every beginning pilot receives is how to use dead reckoning to fly that line. Getting there quickly and efficiently is, after all, one of the many benefits of flying as opposed to driving. But that direct route to the destination may not be all it is cracked up to be. Careful consideration of some of the available routing options may show that more distance is less hassle in the long run.

Although IFR pilots have more points to consider when selecting routes, VFR pilots also need to think about the dynamics of…

When I was a new flyer, an old instructor named Tony Stubby Azzetti taught me how to hand-prop an airplane. Despite the lack of three fingers on one hand, he made it look easy, as though hed been swinging props to start airplane engines for decades. Always remember, he said as I took the propeller blade for the first time, that propeller cant see you and wont feel a thing if your melon gets in the way. Old Stubby sure knew how to teach.

Safety-conscious pilots will shake their heads in disbelief that anyone would intentionally grab a propeller and swing it. Good. Keep that attitude and youll live to be an old pilot. But some day, when your guard is down, you may be tempted to tw…

The world of charter pilots is different from that inhabited by those who fly for fun, people who use their planes for business travel, or even airline pilots.

Many are contract pilots who get paid when they make a trip, putting pressure on them to complete trips under almost any conditions. They may fly a variety of equipment in varying condition, despite Part 135 rules that may say otherwise.

Charter customers are a demanding lot. They expect airline-style performance with private plane-style convenience. They want to be on time, and they vote with their checkbooks.

With that kind of environment, the safety record of Part 135 passenger flights borders on remarkable. But like any o…

If vectors to a runway 90 degrees off the prevailing wind make your palms sweat, if you sometimes pick airports based more on avoiding crosswind landings than their proximity to your destination, youre not alone.

Crosswind landings have been causing anxiety attacks in pilots for a long time now – along with crunched wingtips and bent landing gear – and will apparently continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Although all student pilots learn crosswind techniques, once on their own they tend to avoid crosswind landings whenever possible. The biannual tune-up often doesnt help much, as many instructors are just as willing to seek out runways where the wind will be more inconveni…

If you fly much over the water – even over wide bays and rivers – youve had to quell the uneasiness that arises when the engine goes into auto rough mode the instant youre beyond gliding range of shore. Not to worry; its not just you.

The prospect of going into the water in an airplane terrifies most pilots, chiefly because few prepare for it and, in general, instructors dont know enough about the relevant risks to make well-informed judgments about overwater flying.

As a result, certain myths and half-truths about ditching seem to persist, handed down from one pilot to the next who read something or knows someone who knew someone who vanished without a trace in Lake Michigan…