Search Results for: Cessna 172

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.

The following information is derived from the FAAs Service Difficulty Reports and Aviation Maintenance Alerts.

The FAA is looking into a number of reports and safety recommendations that have arisen as a result of lines behind the instrument panel leaking flammable fluid. The problems are encountered in a variety of models, from old models of aircraft currently in production to out-of-production vintage models to current production models.

Part 23 certification rules require a means to minimize the ignition and resultant hazard of ignition associated with the installation of flammable fluid systems. However, many older models do not have to comply with current Part 23 rules….

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.

December 01, Prescott, Ariz.
Piper Comanche
At about 19:30 mountain time, a Piper PA-24-250 suffered fuel exhaustion while on final approach to runway 21R at Love Field and crashed about 450 feet short of the runway. The two occupants, both of whom were flight instructors, suffered minor injuries. The engine failed on approach with the fuel selector was positioned to the right auxiliary fuel tank and the pilot restored powe…

Click here for January accident totals.

January 01, Hollywood, Fla.
Piper Navajo
At about 18:02 eastern time, a Piper PA-31-250 operating as a Part 135 air taxi flight ditched into the Atlantic Ocean about 300 yards from shore. The pilot and three passengers were seriously injured and a fourth passenger died. The aircraft originated from the Bahamas at about 16:35. The pilot initially declared a minimum fuel status to Miami Center, then told the tower controller he would have to ditch short of the coastline.

January 02, Boise, Idaho
Beech Baron
At 10:45 mountain time, a Beech 58P on a post-maintenance te…

Ive noticed the syndrome of name-dropping sneaking into your articles lately. I was reminded of it again in Flying in Ice [Weather Tactics, October]. The article led with Indy racer Tony Bettenhausen going down in his Baron 58, but his name is mentioned only in that opening line; for the next three pages he is referred to only as the pilot.

One can only presume he is mentioned merely to hook the reader – a pretty cheap practice for a serious publication. Do readers really need such prompting?

Isnt accident investigation supposed to be about what went wrong, not who went wrong?

I can only imagine the articles I must have overlooked during the past year:

* Autorotations…

Superior Air Parts will market a pair of aero diesel engines manufactured by Thielert (pronounced “tea-lert”). The TAE 110 and TAE 125 engines produce 110 and 125 horsepower, respectively. The 110 has already won JAA certification; the 125 is said to be close, and FAA approval for both is expected to follow soon. Initial U.S. […]

A tuned exhaust system, developed by Power Flow Systems, is now approved for installation on the Piper Cherokee 140 and on Cessna 172s equipped with 180-horsepower engines. According to Power Flow, a Cherokee powered by the 150-hp Lycoming O-320-E2A engine and fitted with the new exhaust system demonstrated a 40 percent increase in rate of […]

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