Search Results for: Cessna 172

Moving maps may be what sell the top-of-the-line handheld GPS units, but one of the niftiest features common to all GPS units is the nearest feature that points you at the closest airports as quickly as you can push the buttons. Its a good one, for sure, but doesnt relieve you of your responsibility to constantly update your engine-out plan.

The moment of power loss is very, very busy. I have been there. After a rapid diagnosis of the problem and trimming for best glide, the next item is Where am I going? If youre flying IFR, Center may be of assistance – or maybe not, as the occupants of an MU2 found out in 1993 on their way into an Iowa barnyard.

The push of a button (or seve…

Some of the following information is derived from the FAAs Service Difficulty Reports. Click here to view “Airworthiness Directives.”

———-

After the air combat simulation accident involving a Beech T-34, the FAA issued an AD limiting the airplanes aerobatic flight. As part of the investigation into the accident, the FAA has determined that a number of T-34s have been imported into the United States that have been sufficiently modified so that they no longer meet the original type design.

Over the years since the aircraft was originally produced, many of them have been exported and used by foreign governments for military missions or…

Among pilots, the perception of whats safe is forever clouded by the tree-falling-in-the-woods syndrome. If no ones there to hear it, does it still make a thud?

The aviation safety corollary has to be the accident stats numbers game. When a trend seems to surface, was it there all along or are we just noticing it because we happened to be looking?

Such may very well be the case with the FAAs current safety problem child – runway incursions. According to data collected by the agency, runway incursions are at an all-time high and rising.

Worse, most of them are committed by general aviation pilots, giving the impression that the average Bonanza or Piper owner is bumbling around…

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

———-

Following on the heels of an airworthiness directive and an earlier warning about aerobatic flight, the FAA is continuing its investigation into fatigue on T-34s used in air combat simulation.

After the April 1999 accident that followed the in-flight wing separation of a T-34A Mentor, a metallurgic examination found structural fatigue cracks at several of the fracture surfaces. An examination of the left wing, which did not separate from the airplane, also displayed fatigue…

The following briefs were selected from the 98 preliminary reports filed with the NTSB in January 2000. 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, January.”

———-

Jan. 2, Telluride, Colo.
Cessna Golden Eagle
At approximately 09:50 MST, a Cessna 421B crashed while maneuvering near Telluride. IMC prevailed but the pilot was not instrument rated and had not filed a flight plan. The flight had departed Montrose, Colo., approximately 30 minutes before the accident, en route to El Paso, Texas….

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

———-

American General AA-5A Cheetah
Poor Engine Performance
The aircraft owner reported the engine performance deteriorated during flight.A mechanic discovered the carburetor bowl was not attached tightly to the throttle body. Even though the locking-tab washers under the attachment screws were properly installed, the screws were loose. The gasket may have shrunk or the attachment screws were not properly tightened during installation, allowing excessive air to be dr…

A fairly new private pilot recently mentioned that hes read about stalls occurring while turning from base to final but doesnt remember hearing much discussion about it during his private pilot training.

The pilot had done all the approach-to-stall, stall recognition and stall recovery training required to perform the tasks required by his certificate. However, he had no idea why he was doing them – other than to pass the checkride – nor how he might apply this training in the real world.

The central concept never presented to him is that the main reason for stall training, including the spin discussions (which replace the mandatory spin training of the old hairy-chested days), is…

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

———-

The FAA has approved Exxon Aviation Oil Elite 20W-50 for use in Lycoming O-320-H and O-360-E series engines as fulfilling the requirements of AD 80-04-03R2 – making it the third oil approved as an alternative method of compliance.

The AD was aimed at preventing excessive wear and oil contamination due to spalling of the hydraulic lifters. It requires operators to add a Lycoming-approved oil additive at each 50-hour oil change. In 1987, the FAA determined that Aeroshell Oil W…

I enjoyed Wally Millers article Big Pile of Trouble [Weather Tactics, June], but I was sorry to see that he did not list my favorite pre-flight planning guideline and flying technique for handling wind and the mountains. At my flying club in Seattle, they teach us to plan for at least 1,000 feet of ridge clearance for each 10 mph of wind at altitude. If your airplane cannot fly at that altitude, take a different one (we have a pressurized Centurion) or do not go. Following this guideline does not assure that you will stay out of trouble – as pointed out in Millers article – but it does give the pilot a minimum altitude to fly and reasonable basis for a go/no-go decision.

-Daniel Wise…

The following briefs were selected from the 173 preliminary reports filed with the NTSB in May 2000. 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, May.”

———-

May 1, Kotzebue, Alaska
Piper Super Cub
At about 06:30 Alaska daylight time, a ski-equipped Piper PA-18 collided with snow-covered terrain 33.5 miles west-northwest of Kotzebue. The pilot, who held an expired student pilot certificate, was killed. Passing villagers found the airplane inverted about one mile east of the coast near Cape…