March 2006
January 12, 2006, West Branch, Mich. / Piper PA-28-161
Subscribers Only The airplane hit a deer during the landing roll. The pilot reported the landing was normal. During the landing roll, she felt the airplane “jerk” to the left. She reported she was able to maintain control of the airplane on the runway. A passenger in the airplane stated he saw the deer just prior to it contacting the airplane, but there was not enough time for the pilot to take evasive action....
January 9, 2006, St. Charles, Mo. / Cessna 310R
Subscribers Only At 1720 Central time, the aircraft was substantially damaged on impact with a bird about 10 sm west of the St. Charles County Smartt Airport (SET). An in-flight fire in the right wing main fuel tank then ensued. Visual conditions prevailed. The pilot was uninjured. The flight returned to SET after the bird strike....
January 5, 2006, Hillsboro, Ore. / Mooney M20K
Subscribers Only The airplane was destroyed when it impacted terrain during an attempted forced landing at approximately 1055 Pacific time. The Instrument-rated Private pilot was fatally injured. Visual conditions prevailed. The pilot was executing a practice ILS approach to Runway 12. As the airplane approached the airport, at approximately 3.5 nm, the pilot told ATC that the airplane was loosing power and that he was going to land on a grass airfield. Several residences of the Sunset Air Strip, North Plains, Oregon, reported hearing a loud noise; subsequently they found the airplane adjacent to one of their taxiways....
January 2, 2006, Heber City, Utah. / Beech 35-A33 Debonair
Subscribers Only At about 1230 Mountain time, the airplane impacted terrain under unknown circumstances, killing the non-Instrument rated Commercial pilot and sole occupant. The airplane sustained substantial damage. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the accident site. The flight was receiving VFR flight-following services; at about 1119, the controller advised the pilot of a storm system in the Salt Lake Valley and to the south. The pilot acknowledged receiving the information. At about 1138, the pilot was again advised of deteriorating weather conditions along his route of flight. About 1151, the pilot reported he was following I-80 south and, if necessary, would turn around and land at For...
January 2, 2006, Yonkers, N.Y. / Piper PA-28-161 Warrior
Subscribers Only The airplane was substantially damaged while ditching in the Hudson River, following a total loss of engine power in cruise flight at 1152 Eastern time. The Private pilot and Flight Instructor sustained minor injuries; visual conditions prevailed for the instructional flight to familiarize the Private pilot with the VFR corridor along the Hudson River. The airplane was in cruise flight at about 900 feet agl when, without warning, the engine sputtered and lost all power. The instructor took control of the airplane and transmitted a distress signal. His attempt to restart the engine was unsuccessful, and he then ditched the airplane in the Hudson River. The New York City Police Department and...
January 2, 2006, Santa Maria, Calif. / Saab SF340B+
Subscribers Only At 1439 Pacific time, the scheduled American Eagle flight encountered icing conditions during its en route climb at about 11,500 feet msl and departed controlled flight. Instrument conditions prevailed; none of the two flight crewmembers, one flight attendant and 25 passengers were injured. The crew recovered the airplane, continued to their scheduled destination and landed without further incident. As the airplane climbed through 11,000 feet msl, the captain noted light rime ice accumulating. The captain reached up to activate the manual deice boot system and the airplane vibrated. The airplane encountered ice and the windscreen immediately turned white. The clacker and stick-shaker activat...
January 2, 2006, Auburn, Ala. / Cessna T210L
Subscribers Only While making a localizer approach to Runway 36 in IFR conditions, the airplane broke out of the overcast at about 400 feet agl. The pilot forced the airplane down and landed some 2000 feet past the runway’s threshold at about 100 to 120 KIAS. The pilot stated that he was unable to stop the airplane before it departed the end of the runway and collided with the airport’s perimeter fencing. Damage consisted of the right wing, right aileron, right elevator, the nose gear and propeller. There were no mechanical problems reported by the pilot or discovered during the post-accident examination of the airplane....
January 1, 2006, Dawson, Ga. / Beech D55 Baron
Subscribers Only The airplane was substantially damaged and the Private pilot and one passenger were fatally injured when the airplane crashed during an approach at 1447 Eastern time. A pilot-rated passenger and two additional passengers received serious injuries. Instrument conditions prevailed. At 1335, the pilot requested an approach to Moultrie, Ga., which he missed. The pilot then requested vectors to the ILS Runway 4 approach at Albany, Ga. The pilot was cleared for that approach but, at 1430, advised the controller that he needed an airport nearby, as he was “running out of fuel.” The controller asked the pilot if he had ground contact, and he replied, “negative.” The controller then asked how much fu...
January 1, 2006, Grand Ridge, Fla. / Robinson R44
Subscribers Only At about 1900 Central time, the helicopter collided with trees and terrain. The helicopter was destroyed by impact and a post-crash fire; the Commercial pilot and two passengers were fatally injured. The flight originated about five minutes earlier from the parking lot of a nearby hotel. Instrument conditions prevailed. Witnesses reported to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office that the helicopter landed in a parking lot of a hotel and the occupants inquired at the hotel about the price of a room. After being told about the price the occupants walked to a restaurant located at a truck stop across the street from the hotel. The occupants ate at the restaurant, departed there and went to the he...
January 1, 2006, Phenix City, Ala. / Piper PA-23-160
Subscribers Only The Private pilot was on a VFR cross-country flight when he began encountering instrument conditions. The pilot continued into the instrument conditions for about 30 minutes before asking Atlanta Approach Control for directions to the nearest airport for landing. The controller directed the pilot to two different nearby airports but both were below minimums. The pilot informed the controller that he was low on fuel and needed to land as soon as possible. The controller directed the pilot to the Columbus Metropolitan Airport, Columbus, Ga. The pilot attempted four unsuccessful instrument approaches with the controllers talking him through each approach. On the fifth approach, at five miles fr...
January 1, 2006, Peachtree City, Ga. / Piper PA-28-180
Subscribers Only At 2007 Eastern time, the aircraft collided with trees during an approach in instrument conditions. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and the Private pilot was fatally injured. The pilot had been cleared for the Runway 10 Localizer approach at the Macon Downtown Airport (MAC). Shortly after receiving the clearance, he reported overflying the airport, and requested another approach. During the second approach the pilot said he was having trouble staying on the localizer course; control tower personnel reported seeing the airplane overfly the runway. Controllers then diverted the flight to Middle Georgia Regional Airport (MCN) for an ILS approach. The pilot made five attempts to land...
Squawk Box: 03/06
Subscribers Only The following information is derived from the FAA’s Service Difficulty Reports and Aviation Maintenance Alerts. ---------- Cessna 172RG Cutlass RG Frayed Elevator Cables During April, May and July of 2005 a technician at a repair station found and reported the exact same defect on three examples of the same type aircraft; all in the same location and all within the same approximate part times in service. A 100-hour inspection on each aircraft found broken elevator cable strands approximately two feet from the aft end. The elevator cable part number listed is 0510105-391. Part times ranged from 694.2 to 886.1 hours. Average Part Total Time: 822.1 hours. Cessna U206F...
Switchology
Subscribers Only It was a fairly warm summer, and exasperation with my quest to add my multi-engine land (MEL) rating was starting to grow like beads of sweat. In turn, my ME instructor—whose patience and professionalism has long since earned him sainthood—had been a pretty good sport all through this process. But, we still had some practice ahead of us, since I wanted Commercial privileges from the rating as well as to be comfortable with this well-worn-but-reliable Seneca I on the gauges. It was during this training that I learned to think before touching anything in an airplane. The day’s mission was designed to add more polish to my skills. I had gotten fairly comfortable in the Seneca, which was just...
NTSB Preliminary Reports
Subscribers Only January 1, 2006, Peachtree City, Ga. Piper PA-28-180 At 2007 Eastern time, the aircraft collided with trees during an approach in instrument conditions. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and the Private pilot was fatally injured. The pilot had been cleared for the Runway 10 Localizer approach at the Macon Downtown Airport (MAC). Shortly after receiving the clearance, he reported overflying the airport, and requested another approach. During the second approach the pilot said he was having trouble staying on the localizer course; control tower personnel reported seeing the airplane overfly the runway. Controllers then diverted the flight to Middle Georgia Regional...
Night Shift: Accident Probe 03/06
Subscribers Only Flying VFR at night can be very safe and enjoyable, but not when you’re in the mountains.
Fighting Flutter
Subscribers Only Aerodynamic flutter can develop with great speed and quickly destroy your aircraft. Here’s why, and what you can do about it.
Learning To Lean
Subscribers Only Properly leaning your piston engine can mean the difference between a non-stop flight or landing for fuel. It can also save money and repair bills.
When To Use The Gear
Subscribers Only Most agree that it’s a good idea to lower the landing gear before landing. But how early? And when should it be raised?
Getting Organized
Subscribers Only Cockpit organization is an art, not a science, and no number of gadgets, reminders or kneeboards will help the pilot who isn’t thinking ahead.
Sequencing Yourself
Subscribers Only Tomorrow’s ATC system may require pilots to identify and separate themselves from each other. Here’s why, and how it is supposed to work.
Unicom: 03/06
What Did You Say? I just finished reading “Mean What You Say” (December 2005). This is a very good article providing powerful information for pilots to include in the art of aviating, navigating and communicating. We do a pretty good job of aviating and navigating but we sure could use some improvements in communicating. In his non-towered airports discussion, Frank Bowlin says you are either “departing” or “taxiing into position and hold.” I tell pilots to never, ever go to position and hold at a non-towered airport. Doing this puts your back to traffic that may be landing on that runway. Several years ago, I was inbound at night to a non-towered airport on the ILS. We made...
Editor's Log: 03/06
The Dumbest Thing It’s no secret that pilots are human. While the advances in technology and increasing number of applications for unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, may eventually reduce our numbers, the overall impact on safety will probably not improve measurably until humans are completely removed from the equation. This means a totally automated—and thoroughly debugged—set of protocols for the design, engineering, manufacture and operation of UAVs wherein humans are not allowed to influence any aspect. Until then, aircraft will still crash as a result of human error, regardless of the phase of UAV development or operation in which that mistake is made. In the meantime, we...