Search Results for: maintaining your airplane

Specialized flight training has long been part of the typical transition process for pilots moving up to ever-faster and more capable airplanes. A rash of fatal SR22 crashes in 2012, however, forced Cirrus Aircraft to go back to the drawing board and completely rethink its approach to training. Nothing was out of bounds, from the […]

If you were investigating a runway overrun mishap-to discover precisely what led to the accident for the sole purpose of helping other pilots avoid similar events in the future-where would you focus your attention? What might be the deciding factor? What one thing would have broken the accident chain and prevented the crash?

As the summer fly-in season kicked off in the U.S., the NTSB published the latest in its ongoing series of Safety Alerts, with discussions and tips for pilots arriving at fly-in events. Focused primarily on the Sun n Fun and the Experimental Aircraft Associations (EAAs) AirVenture events but applicable to many others, the Boards new advisory (SA-053) emphasizes the unique challenges arrivals at heavily attended fly-ins can present to pilots of all experience levels but especially those who arent prepared.

On October 21, 2010, Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe, an experienced pilot of 11,000 hours, landed his Cessna 340 on Runway 13/31 at the Port Isabel-Cameron County Airport despite the presence of the appropriate X markings designating the surface as closed. To say that the senator ruined the day of various construction workers operating equipment to […]

It seems to me that power pilots seeking best endurance should avoid using an autopilot. I understand that autopilots operate elevators rather than the throttle. I’ve often wondered why one might slow their plane in sink, using up elevator, and spend more time there.

She thought that I was text messaging her from my soon-to-crash plane. Her panic wasnt helped by recalling an incident a few years ago when we took off with a fully loaded airplane into low IMC and lost our turbo controller. Of course we didnt know what was causing the power loss until we were on the ground, but the manifold pressure did stabilize at exactly 15 inches.

We listen to the weather at KLEE. The winds favor Runway 13. We have the RNAV 13 approach loaded and ready to go. All we need is to be turned over to Orlando Approach on 121.1 to make our request.

We all know that unannounced, catastrophic, mechanically caused engine failures — loss of power with no previous warning — are so unlikely you’re better off worrying about meteor strikes or an outbreak of bubonic plague. But engines continue to quit because, as Yogi Berra put it, “We make too many wrong mistakes.” A commitment to […]

“You can’t teach judgment.” “I’m afraid no amount of ‘risk management’ training is going to change your attitude.” These comments were in response to John’s May column, “Double Trouble at Denver.” John had revealed our incredible series of risk-management failures on a trip in the early ’70s — getting caught in a snowstorm in two separate airplanes […]

The safety consequences associated with procedural noncompliance-failing to correctly perform normal checklists-have become hot button issues within the business aviation community and the NTSB. All general aviation pilots should heed the warnings raised.