Safety Analysis

Alternator (p/n ASG120003RX) failed to charge during cross-country flight. Alternator cooling fan came apart in flight. Front engine charging system was intermittent, then constant alternator inoperative light was observed. The right engine locked up in flight, going into feather, and could not be restarted.

I hope it wont come as a shock to learn magazine editors dont always practice what they preach. Kind of like fat-cat politicians urging austerity for the proletariat, we arent always as prolific in our flying as we may seem, or as we encourage others. In fact, over the last couple of years, competing and conflicting priorities conspired to keep me and my airplane on the ground much more than was good for either of us.

Fatal accidents involving experimental, amateur-built aircraft (EABs) during the 2015 federal fiscal year-October 2014 through September 2015-fell 20 percent from the previous 12-month period. The FAA has published for public comment draft revisions to two ACs, as well as a handful of others useful to GA and other operators. The FAAs efforts to approve a new, unleaded aviation gasoline are continuing, with an ongoing series of lab tests being conducted at the agencys Atlantic City, N.J., research facility.

By the time someone is sent for the instrument check ride, he or she is expected to know the emergency procedures in the appropriate POH as well as how to deal with failures affecting the airplanes ability to fly in IMC. A cross-section of the bad news stuff is discussed during the oral portion of the practical test and demonstrated in flight. But whats a little frightening is that the IFR check ride often marks the high point of an instrument pilots ability to deal with an emergency.

From time to time, someone will pop up with the idea that the time-honored practice of visual traffic separation-often known as see and be seen-is too archaic for modern aircraft. Anything that flies, so the theory goes, should have some kind of automated collision avoidance system which does exist but will solve all potential conflicts between aircraft of all sizes. Someday, perhaps, but until then most of us are stuck using see and be seen.

Recent general aviation and air carrier accidents

While each pilot has to compile his or her own checklist for the go/no-go decision on a low-vis takeoff, heres a start:

It had been a long day: Several hours breathing O2 in the low teens, covering more than 1000 nm. But I was on the ground, safe and sound, at Cheap Gas Muni. I was all topped off and on the takeoff roll for the short hop to Cheap Hangar Field. I had to do some broken-field running to get here late on this summer afternoon, but thanks to Nexrad and ATC, I was able to avoid the big bumps and hadnt even gotten wet.

Under basic Part 91 rules for certified aircraft, everything aboard has to be documented and working. The aircraft can remain airworthy if failed equipment isn’t required for the operation, and is placarded and isolated from other systems. But an airplane is like any other mechanical contrivance: it’s subject to wear and tear: A system may function, but not as intended.A good example can be braking systems. Those on typical personal airplanes are hydraulically actuated, as…

The NTSB (or FAA when delegated by NTSB) investigates fatal accidents and the Board issues reports on the probable cause of the accident. The reports also list contributing factors to the accident. Typically, the final reports are peppered with words such as loss of control, controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) and other language describing the final event in the accident sequence and attributing it to one or more other events. But rarely does the report explain the “why” of the accident or the “how” of the pilot’s or other participants’ actions relating to the “why.” For example, in a loss-of-control accident, why did the pilot lose control of the aircraft and how did he or she place themselves in that predicament?