In the early stages of a lawsuit, it is often unclear which of two different defendants is responsible for an aviation accident. But as the case progresses, evidence may point to one defendant over another. When that happens, it may seem like a good idea for the victim to settle with (or dismiss from the lawsuit) the defendant whose
New Rules To Keep Tour Helicopters Apart From Airplanes Transitioning Through Hudson River Corridor
The FAA has instituted new rules designed to keep sightseeing helicopters from colliding with airplanes that are transitioning the Hudson River Corridor near the Statue of Liberty. The San Francisco Daily Journal, California’s largest legal newspaper, published this column on how the new rules came to pass, and why they aren’t enough.
Mountain Lifeflight EMS Helicopter Crash Update
The NTSB’s preliminary report on the crash contains little more than what was in the news accounts. The report does, however, offer one bit of new information. The helicopter impacted on a magnetic heading of 230 degrees. That heading is not in line with the route from Reno to Susanville. While that might ultimately prove to be important, little can be made
Running Past TBO: Smart Economics or Owner Negligence?
Aircraft engine manufacturers recommend that owners overhaul their engines when they accumulate a certain amount of operating time, usually between 1200 and 2400 hours depending on the engine’s make and model. For example, Teledyne Continental Motors suggests that owners overhaul its IO-550 model engine at 2000 hours. Textron Lyc
oming suggests that owners overhaul its O-235 engine, like the one pictured, at 2400 hours.
Overhauls are expensive. Some can cost $40,000 or more. An increasing number of owners opt to run their engines 200, 400 or more hours past the manufacturer’s recommended "time between overhauls," or TBO. Once past TBO, they may take extra precautions by, for example, regularly sending out engine oil samples for spectrographic analysis, checking the engine’s compression, and looking inside certain parts of the engine with a boroscope to insure that things look good. They feel the manufacturer’s TBO recommendations are somewhat arbitrary. By running their engines past TBO they are squeezing more life out of them, and that just makes good economic sense.
The FAA does not require private owners to comply with the manufacturer’s stated TBO interval. The manufacturer’s TBO is therefore advisory only. As long as a properly certified mechanic hasContinue Reading Running Past TBO: Smart Economics or Owner Negligence?