Search Results for: Lear 45

A step-by-step guide for using GPS to monitor your climb gradient when terrain and obstacles threaten. (And even when they dont.)

I’m not given to the $100 hamburger. This euphemism for a flight designed to get the pilot and the airplane out of the house, into the air, and over to a nearby airport that features a restaurant of uncertain quality has never held me in its grasp. I’m more inclined to flights that take me […]

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September 1, 2004, Willits, Calif.
Cessna 172S
The airplane was destroyed and the Private pilot received minor injuries after descending into trees about 1/8th mile west of the Willits Municipal Airport. Visual conditions prevailed for the dark, nighttime flight that originated in Watsonville, Calif., about 90 minutes earlier. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions during the flight; the airplanes landing light was functional, although he did not use it. According to the pilot, he was attempting to locate his home base airport. Upon arriving in the vicinity of the airport…

At about 1945 Mountain time, the airplane collided with mountainous terrain while maneuvering about 17 nautical miles northwest of Stanley, Idaho. Instrument conditions prevailed at the accident site; no flight plan was filed. The aircraft was substantially damaged and the Commercial pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The flight departed from Pistol Creek, a private mountain airstrip about 1925. This was a flight of two aircraft that were returning to Stanley after dropping off freight at Pistol Creek. The pilot of the other aircraft reported that the flight encountered fog and clouds while en route and had to circle. Both pilots were in radio contact while circling. The pilot of…

Each flight involves assessing risk and making judgment calls. How does your decision-making ability stack up against other pilots?

August 4, 2004, Mineral Wells, Texas
Piper PA-32-260
At approximately 1140 Central time, the airplane was destroyed when it departed controlled flight, impacting power lines and terrain one mile northwest of the Mineral Wells (Texas) Municipal Airport. Visual conditions prevailed for the test flight by a Commercial pilot and Private-pilot rated passenger. Both sustained fatal injuries. According to several witnesses, the accident airplane was observed flying over Runway 31 at approximately 150 feet AGL and flying rather slow. The airplane then pulled-up hard and banked to the right. and was observed to descend below the tree line. The airplane was found, inverted, in a…

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

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Cessna Model T210M
Alternate Air Door Magnet
The engine alternate air door is held closed with a magnetic latch (P/N 1250938-8). The magnetic latch has two small plates bonded to the magnet that make contact with the alternate air door. One of the steel plates debonded due to age and vibration. The plate was ingested into the turbocharger. The turbo was destroyed causing a total loss of boost and a return landing. Metal from the turbo passed through the induction and oil systems causing major damage. The submitter stated they have found two other T21…

We came from all corners of the country at our own expense to Galveston, Texas, for a 15-minute ride in an ancient airplane. Nobody came away disappointed. The money spent and the vacation days taken meant nothing, you see, because the airplane was a B-17, the Flying Fortress. This one is in the careful custody […]

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The acrobatic airplane was destroyed after impacting terrain during maneuvering flight near Boise, Idaho, at about 1800 Mountain time. The Airline Transport pilot and sole passenger were seriously injured. Visual conditions prevailed. A witness reported that the airplane was coming out of a loop on the downside of the maneuver when it failed to pull up in time to clear the ground. The witness stated that he saw the airplane impact the ground in a slightly nose-up attitude, cartwheel after its left wing impacted the ground, then observed a cloud of dust before the aircraft came to rest inverted. The wreckage path was 345 feet long from initial ground impact to the final airplane component….