Search Results for: Lear 45

Buzzing and hot-dogging are the leading spin scenarios, often by highly qualified pilots who ought to know better.

The following briefs were selected from the 99 preliminary reports filed with the NTSB in February 2002. Statements in quotes were taken directly from the NTSB documents. The information is subject to change as the investigations are completed.

Feb. 03, Joshua Tree, Calif.
Beech Baron
At 0953 Pacific time, a Beech 95-B55 was damaged in an off-airport landing following a loss of power while on approach to Joshua Tree Airport. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The pilot, with about 600 hours in the airplane, said the airplane had come out of its annual inspection just over four flight hours earlier. The engines lost power in the traffic pattern. Both auxiliar…

[IMGCAP(1)]One of the most basic tenets in aviation is that an airplane ought to take off and land into the wind. Yet each year the accident statistics show that some pilots refuse to follow this basic rule. And each year the tailwind factor results in bent aluminum, injured passengers, or worse.

Right off well acknowledge that there are occasions when a downwind departure is necessary. For example it is quite common due to ATC traffic flow and airport congestion at large terminals such as JFK, LaGuardia, Teterboro or Washingtons Reagan National. Then there are airports such as Aspen, Colo., with a mandatory downhill departure on runway 33 – often with tailwinds – due to surrounding t…

A pilot we know usually starts (and often completes) his preflight in the car on the way to the airport. He calls Flight Service from the cell phone. He pulls the airplane out of the T-hangar, makes sure its got both wings and still has a propeller, and away he goes.

Most pilots are a bit more diligent, calling Flight Service before leaving home or the office and conducting a more thorough walk-around before parking the car in the hangar and heading out. Some are downright anal-retentive about it, plotting the weather for days before a flight and conducting a 100-hour inspection before lighting the fire.

Over the recent Thanksgiving holiday, I was reminded of how many different faces…

ELTs are there to aid rescuers, but false alarms are compounded by the fact that ELTs usually dont work when they should.

In a little airplane, a final longer than a half-mile is a gross waste of national resources. Tighter patterns are better and more fun.

Old airplane and twin-engine psychology take Apache pilot down the wrong road toward emergency landing.

The following briefs were selected from the 130 preliminary reports filed with the NTSB in October 2001. Statements in quotes were taken directly from the NTSB documents. The information is subject to change as the investigations are completed.

Oct. 01, Lindsay, Mont.
Cessna Skyhawk
At about 17:00 mountain time, a Cessna 172 crashed into terrain while in cruise flight near Lindsay. The pilot, who was seriously injured, had opened a VFR flight plan about 35 minutes earlier. The aircraft was in cruise flight at 300 feet agl when the pilot was distracted by tuning a radio.

Oct. 02, Hudson, N.H.
Beech C-45H (Military Twin Beech)
At about 13:10 easter…

On a coast-to-coast cross country in my 160-hp Warrior, my wife and I made a planned stop at Grand Canyon (GCN) while enroute to Camarillo, Calif., via Las Vegas. We arrived in the late afternoon, intending to leave the next morning for LAS. Instead, we decided it would be fun to see the canyon in mornings light, and we decided to remain overnight an additional night and leave at 6 a.m. local time since the density altitude was reaching over 8,500 feet msl by mid-morning at the airports 6,600 ft elevation.

Having experienced the Warriors abysmal climb in high density altitude conditions the previous day at El Paso, I was anxious to be in the air no later than 6:30.

We arrived at G…

The following briefs were selected from the 121 preliminary reports filed with the NTSB in December 2001. Statements in quotes were taken directly from the NTSB documents. The information is subject to change as the investigations are completed.

Nov. 02, Argyle, N.Y.
Cessna Skyhawk
At about 14:10 eastern time, a Cessna 172D crashed while returning to land at Argyle Airport. The pilot was not injured. The pilot said the oil access door popped open shortly after takeoff when he was at about 150 feet agl. He decided to return for a landing and made a left turn toward the airport. He said the airplane then lost lift because of strong wind and the airplane struck the…