Search Results for: Cessna 172

It was a flying day. The sky had not a single cloud, the temperature was 78 degrees. It was April 1st and I was an 18-year-old April fool with a freshly minted private pilot license.

I actually flew twice that day. The first flight of the day was just not enough, so I had to go for more. The afternoon sun was dipping to the west as I headed out in the 152 with my passenger, a friends roommate.

What a grand time we had zooming over the hills and valleys of the desert right out to a large lake north of town. Then, the foolishness began to kick in. Wanna get a closer look at that boat? I yelled above the roar of the engine. Sure! she hollered back.

So I dipped lower, getting us…

One of the results of poorly assessing the risk involved with flying is reflected by the number of weather-related accidents that consistently grace NTSB logs, even in the face of widely available real-time meteorological data. A study of the accident record demonstrates that the raging debate about human versus mechanical observers largely misses the point.

Sure, human observers are superior in most respects and automated weather sometimes gives goofy and erroneous reports. On the other hand, automated weather stations allow observations from far more locations than was affordable for staffed stations. Both people and machines have strengths and weaknesses, but the more immediate point…

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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A Vans RV-8 made a forced landing after losing engine power immediately after takeoff.

The accident investigation showed the fuel tank had 10 gallons in it, but the fuel pick-up tube was crimped just outboard of its threaded fitting, and the tube had rotated more than 180 degrees.

This resulted in the pick-up intake end of the pick-up tube being positioned midway between the top and bottom of the tank.

The pilot/builder reported that several weeks previous to the e…

To get the most out of this article, read it with your eyes closed. Sound silly? Okay, lets apply the same philosophy to radio communications. To get the most out of your $50,000 nav/comm stack, make all transmissions with the volume turned down.

Youll find the silence quite relaxing, no stress from competing pilots on CTAF or confusing instructions from nattering air traffic controllers. Just you, your machine, and the cosmic bliss of free flight. If you were a seagull, someone would write a book about you. But youre not. Youre a pilot and, unless youre knocking about grass fields in a J-3 Cub with no radio, youll need to improve those radio skills.

The good pilot never stops…

The following briefs were selected from the 226 preliminary reports filed with the NTSB in August 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, August.”

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Aug. 2, Clarksville, Tenn.
Beech Bonanza
At about 07:00 central time, a Beech A36 struck a tree during a missed approach to runway 35 at Outlaw Field and crashed. The pilot and passenger were seriously injured. The flight had departed Atlanta at 05:30. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed. The pilot said he attempted t…

Put a dozen pilots in a room, and odds are youll hear a series of shocking stories of derring do as well as a parade of tales about other peoples mistakes. Put 200 in a room, and you might see something different.

The National Transportation Safety Board hosted a symposium in late September that brought together accident investigators, regulators, flight training experts, mechanics and manufacturers, among others, to discuss ways to make general aviation safer. The NTSB billed it as the first-ever General Aviation Accident Prevention Symposium. For several days, engineers, mechanics, human factors experts and flight training specialists examined a variety of common general aviation acci…

No matter what youre flying, chances are youve thought of trading up to something faster, or more nimble, or with a bigger payload. Pilots never have problems thinking ahead of the airplane when theyre looking so far ahead theyre seeing the next airplane theyll own. As one pilot once told me, Anything worth doing is worth doing to excess.

Conventional wisdom says that aircraft selection should match the mission of aircraft ownership. In other words, once youve figured out what you really want to do with an airplane, selecting an adequate model should be a piece of cake. If you plan to haul a family of four plus luggage over the Sierra Nevadas in the summertime in a typical 4-place…

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 Greensboro, N.C., Flight Standards District Office has issued a warning to owners and operators of Beech 58P Barons after a gear-up landing. The normal landing gear extension system failed and the pilot was unable to extend the landing gear with the emergency gear crank handle because it was jammed.The inspector discovered that the emergency landing gear extension crank handle jammed under the spar carry-through cover. The crank handle had been improperly stowed under the…

Recently I had my own almost accident, which reminded me of a problem that is only going to get worse.

It was Thanksgiving Day and the traffic going into Denver International was normal for any holiday. Our Boeing 727 was cleared for the visual approach and landing behind an Airbus 319. Since the 727 is heavier than the Airbus, and since we had sufficient separation distance, the thought of a wake vortex encounter didnt enter my mind.

Just as I started to flare, we hit the Airbus wake and suddenly my wing dropped. It only takes 12 degrees of wing dip to strike an outboard flap during a normal landing in the 727. For a few moments, that wake had more control over the aircraft than…

The following briefs were selected from the 112 preliminary reports filed with the NTSB in November 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, November.”

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Nov. 1, Millersburg, Ohio
Beech Bonanza
At about 10:15 eastern time, a Beech A-36 was damaged during a forced landing at Holmes County Airport. The pilot and two passengers were not injured. The pilot reported the power failure to ATC approximately 6 miles northwest of Millersburg and was given radar vectors. The airplane str…