July 2004
April 16, 2004, Kennedy, New York / Zenith Tri-Z
Subscribers Only The Experimental airplane was substantially damaged during an attempted landing on a private airfield at about 1745 Eastern time; the Private pilot was seriously injured. According to the pilot, he performed a touch-and-go landing at his private airfield and, during the climbout, observed fuel venting from the right wing. He then switched the fuel tank selector from the left tank to the right tank. He then flew the downwind leg of the traffic pattern. Subsequently, while turning onto the base leg, the engine lost power. The pilot was able to restart the engine; however, it lost power again shortly after the restart. The pilot then set up for a forced landing, during which the airplane impact...
April 15, 2004, Carthage, Tenn. / Aeronca 7AC
Subscribers Only At about 1728 Central time, the Aeronica collided with wires while maneuvering in VMC and was substantially damaged. The private pilot and one passenger reported minor injuries. The pilot stated he was flying at 1500 feet in the vicinity of a river. He started a turn when his passenger stated, “Watch the wires.” The airplane collided with two of four wires and the water in Defeated Creek. The pilot later stated he should have been more alert about his surroundings. The pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane before it collided with the wires and the water....
April 12, 2004, North Augusta, S.C. / Cessna 182S
Subscribers Only At 1007 Eastern time, the Cessna collided with trees and the ground near North Augusta, S.C. The private pilot and two passengers received fatal injuries, and the airplane was destroyed. The flight had departed the Aiken (S.C.) Municipal Airport less than 30 minutes earlier, with an intended destination of Greenville, Miss. A preliminary review of radar data revealed that the airplane’s flight path exhibited constantly fluctuating altitude, heading and groundspeed and was not following its filed course. As the flight neared the Augusta Regional Airport at Bush Field in Augusta, Ga., the pilot elected to proceed to that airport for landing. An air traffic controller provided the pilot a headi...
April 10, 2004, N. Lauderdale, Fla. / Cirrus Design Corp. SR22
Subscribers Only At about 0956 Eastern time, the Cirrus SR22 collided with trees after the pilot intentionally activated the airplane’s parachute system. The flight originated about six minutes earlier from the Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Executive Airport. Shortly after takeoff, the flight encountered IMC at 400 feet. The pilot later reported the vertical speed indicator suddenly decreased to zero, then increased to 2000 FPM, then went back to zero. He reported there was no turbulence. At that point, the altimeter began large deflections. Subsequently, the attitude indicator did not agree with the turn coordinator. After requesting vectors for an ILS approach at the departure airport, the pilot advised the contr...
April 05, 2004, Johns Island, S.C. / Smith Aerostar 601P
Subscribers Only At 1526 Eastern time, a Smith Aerostar 601P crashed during its initial climb after takeoff from the Charleston Executive Airport, Johns Island, S.C. The commercial pilot and the airline transport pilot-rated passenger received fatal injuries, and the airplane was destroyed. Before the takeoff, the pilot reportedly requested maintenance on the airplane. A witness stated the pilot told him he wanted to fly the airplane to another airport to have the problem looked at before returning to Florida. Later, another witness watched the takeoff, noting that the aircraft appeared to rotate “really late,” using approximately 4000 feet of runway. He stated the airplane climbed to about 400 or 500 feet,...
April 04, 2004, Fernandina Beach, Fla. / Piper PA-30
Subscribers Only At about 1609 Eastern time, a Piper PA-30 crashed shortly after takeoff from the Fernandina Beach (Fla.)Municipal Airport. The airplane was substantially damaged and the commercial-rated pilot and one passenger were fatally injured. A witness reported the airplane was airborne with the landing gear retracted before reaching the intersection of Runways 04/22 and 08/26. He believed the airplane climbed to approximately 250-300 feet. Just before the airplane flew past a hangar, he heard a brief sputtering sound, then observed the airplane bank to the left. He then lost sight of the airplane for a short time as it passed behind the hangar. When he saw it again, the airplane was in a 25-30 degree...
April 04, 2004, Ukiah, Calif. / Piper PA-32R-301T
Subscribers Only About two minutes after an 0808 Pacific time departure from the airport at Ukiah, Calif., the Piper Saratoga SP II collided with terrain. The private pilot, the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries and the airplane was destroyed. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed but no flight plan had been filed. An instrument-rated air ambulance helicopter pilot attempting to return to Ukiah heard a pilot on the Unicom frequency say he was in a Saratoga and preparing to depart Runway 33. The Saratoga pilot told him that there were no holes in the clouds, and that the 100-foot ceiling looked about right. A few minutes later, the air ambulance helicopter pilot heard the Saratoga pilot say tha...
April 02, 2004, Harrietstown, N.Y. / Piper PA-28R-180
Subscribers Only At approximately 1925 Eastern time, the Piper Arrow impacted terrain while attempting the ILS Runway 23 approach to the Adirondack Regional Airport (SLK) in Harrietstown, N.Y. The private pilot and passenger were fatally injured and the airplane substantially damaged. Night IMC prevailed for the flight from Leesburg, Va. According to the NTSB’s preliminary review of radar data, the airplane crossed the SLK VOR at 6000 feet and proceeded outbound, descending to 5000 feet. About nine miles from the SLK VOR, the airplane made a left turn, then turned to the right approximately 10 seconds later. The right turn continued until intercepting the final approach course for the Runway 23 localizer, wh...
Learning Experiences: 07/04
Subscribers Only Running Out of Gas Unfortunately, running out of fuel is still not an uncommon cause of private aircraft mishaps. I was flying home from a relaxing two-hour flight with about 30 minutes of fuel left as my home field came into view. When I was five minutes from the grass strip, my engine suddenly quit very abruptly, as if it had run out of fuel—it had. The first thing I did (correctly) was to establish the best glide angle and head straight for the airstrip. When I was less than a mile from the runway (downwind, as it turns out) and 2000 feet high, I started my descent. This was the wrong thing to do. I made a near-perfect power-off glide right down to the ground, 10 feet short of...
Squawk Box: 07/04
Subscribers Only The following information is derived from the FAA’s Service Difficulty Reports and Aviation Maintenance Alerts. ---------- Southern California Propeller Service Improper Repairs The FAA is proposing a new airworthiness directive (AD) for Hartzell Propeller, Inc., McCauley Propeller Systems, and Sensenich Propeller Manufacturing Company, Inc. propellers returned to service by Southern California Propeller Service, of Inglewood, Calif. Comments on the proposed AD are due at the FAA by July 19, 2004. According to the FAA, inspections of various propeller models returned to service by Southern California Propeller Service have revealed safety-critical problems. These include...
NTSB Preliminary Reports
Subscribers Only Selected recent general aviation and airline accidents
Peer-Pressurized
Subscribers Only A VFR-only Bonanza pilot succumbs to peer pressure and launches into marginal conditions.
Five Pattern Sins
Subscribers Only They aren’t fatal, just bad manners and sloppy technique. Here are some tips on improving your pattern flying.
Positioning Pounds
Subscribers Only How to develop a healthy understanding and respect for weight and balance limitations.
Too Low to Go?
Subscribers Only Yes, zero-zero takeoffs are risky. Here’s how to examine the hazards realistically and decide if you’ll go or wait for better vis.
The Other Partial Panel
Subscribers Only An electrical system failure means you’ll have a different set of instruments with which to work. Here’s how to get the plane safely on the ground.
Gear-Up On Purpose
Subscribers Only You’ve run the checklists, but the gear still won’t come down. Here’s how to walk away from an intentional gear-up landing.
Unicom: 07/04
Who’s Safer? As a lifetime subscriber to your magazine I just want to tell you what a great job you are doing. Your magazine has made me a much better pilot. I do have a question, though: Have you done any studies regarding high-time pilot accidents vs. low-time pilot accidents (GA only)? Are high-time pilots safer (or at least involved in fewer accidents) than low-time pilots? Seems to me that for every 200-300 hour pilot who has an accident, there is 2000-3000 hour pilot who has an accident as well. -Kevin Hughes Via e-mail We’re glad you keep coming back, Kevin. To answer your question, we turned to the NTSB, and its “Annual Review of Aircraft Accid...
Airshow Arrivals
By the time you read this, the U.S. airshow season will be in full swing. Already, Sun ’n Fun has come and gone; AOPA’s fly-in is scheduled for shortly after this issue’s deadline and the Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture extravaganza in Oshkosh, Wis.,—the granddaddy of all fly-in airshows—is coming up. Any number of other events are planned, too. All of these fly-ins have one thing in common: A relatively large number of aircraft will attempt to arrive during a relatively short time span. For that purpose, event organizers and the FAA often create a set of arrival procedures designed to provide some order to the chaos. These procedures are published as Notices to Airmen (No...