The pilot of the Otter that crashed in Alaska on Monday, killing Senator Stevens and three other passengers, encountered some very bad weather. Low ceilings. Fog and rain. Gusty winds.
Rugged terrain only complicated things. Fortunately, the pilot had tons of experience — tens of thousands of hours. According to the Alaska Dispatch, had any less talented pilot
Cirrus N146CK crashed on August 4 at Deer Valley, Airzona. The pilot was killed. Just before the accident, the aircraft’s door popped open. We know that because the pilot reported to air traffic control that his door was open and that he needed to return to the airport to close it. Plus, surveillance cameras confirmed that the pilot’s door was indeed ajar.
The plane’s door popped open? What’s with that?
The Cirrus doors are poorly designed. It’s that simple. They just don’t stay shut in flight.
The plane flies okay after a door pops open. But the distraction can be dangerous, and can lead to a loss of control, as demonstrated by this 2009 Cirrus crash. Following the 2009 accident, JohnContinue Reading Cirrus Crash at Deer Valley, Arizona: Door Opened (Yet Again. . .)
The NTSB has released its preliminary report of the off-airport landing of Lancair IV-P N9JE at Hilton Head. The accident killed a jogger but left the plane’s two occupants uninjured. According to the preliminary report,
Further examination of the airplane revealed that the propeller assembly separated from the crankshaft flange and was missing.
In
That’s the number one question I’ve been asked about this accident. Not "why did the accident happen," but "why didn’t the pilot use the parachute?"
As I note here, most Cirrus pilots would say that the parachute should be deployed in the event of engine failure, unless there is a long, paved runway beneath the aircraft such that a safe on-airport landing is assured. But that doesn’t mean that, if there is no airport within range, a pilot who opts to glide to a field rather than pull the chute is negligent.
Pulling the parachute has serious risks. The aircraft’s rate of descent under the parachute is high. Ground impact forces are severe. Cirrus warns that the decision to deploy the parachute shouldContinue Reading Morton, Washington Cirrus Crash: Should the Pilot Have Deployed the Parachute?
A Cirrus SR-22, N224GS, crashed yesterday in Washington state. The pilot was killed. The passenger was critically injured. The aircraft departed Concord, California (CCR) in good weather, bound for home. It crashed in Morton, 60 miles from its destination, which was presumably Renton (RNT).
The accident appears to have been the result of engine failure:
Facts suggesting that the engine failed because it ran out of gas:
The NTSB released its preliminary report on the Pine Mountain Lake crash. As usual, the preliminary report contains no conclusions concerning the cause of the crash. For that, we’ll have to wait up to 4 years. The preliminary report does, however, hint that the NTSB’s investigation will focus on whether the pilot pressed on into weather beyond what the regulations allowed.
The full text of the report is here. Some excerpts:
Instrument night meteorological conditions prevailed at the accident site, and no flight plan had been filed.
Instrument weather conditions are those that require a pilot to fly by reference to his instruments rather than by looking out the window. To fly in instrument conditions, a pilot must be instrument-rated, his plane must be properly equipped, and he must have a clearance from air traffic control. He is not necessarily required to file a flight plan. For example, instead of filing a flight plan, theContinue Reading NTSB Preliminary Report on Saratoga Crash at Pine Mountain Lake in Groveland, California
The runway at Pine Mountain Lake is oriented east-west, and is surrounded by rugged terrain. In poor weather, pilots are permitted to execute instrument approaches to the airport. The approach procedures guide pilots as they descend through the clouds to the runway. The procedures, flown properly, will place the pilot in a position to land straight ahead without having to maneuver. When the pilot pops out of the clouds after flying the instrument approach to Pine Mountain Lake, his view out of the windshield should be something like this:
The procedure the pilot must follow when approaching from the east is set forth below. A pilot may descend in the clouds no lower than 770 feet above the runway. To descend further, the pilot mustContinue Reading Piper Saratoga Crash at Pine Mountain Lake Airport in Groveland, California
The initial investigation was conducted by local law enforcement in conjunction with the FAA. Now the National Transportation Safety Board will take over.
The NTSB’s job will be to examine the wreckage and attempt to determine if the crash was caused by a defective aircraft part, negligent maintenance, or pilot error. The NTSB concedes, however, that it lacks the manpower, the technical expertise, and the funding to do that job properly on its own. Therefore, as a matter of long-standing policy, it will seek engineering assistance from the companies that manufactured the aircraft components in question. In this case, the NTSB will recruit the help of Cessna Aircraft, which manufactured the aircraft involved in the accident, Cessna N5225J, and Teledyne Continental Motors, which manufactured each of the aircraft’s two 260 horsepower 
engines. The NTSB will exclude members of the victims’ families and their technical representatives from the investigation, feeling that they have nothing to offer. (Sad but true.)
Of course, the NTSB’s practice of asking the manufacturers for help – a practice it calls “the party system” — presents a conflict of interest. After all, the manufacturers themselves might be the ones responsible for the accident. Some say that the NTSB’s party system is akin to asking the suspects for help in solving a crime. Nonetheless, the conflict – discussed further here – is ingrained in all NTSB investigations.
It’s no surprise that most NTSB final reports often favor the manufacturers who have “assisted” the NTSB investigators in their work. But perhaps it doesn’t make any difference because, by federal regulation, the NTSB’s probable cause findings are not binding on anyone. The families are free to conduct their own investigation, and in the event of a lawsuit, the NTSB’s conclusions are given no deference whatever. In fact, in the event of litigation, the NTSB conclusions are not even admissible. Aviation attorneys who conduct their own independent investigations find that the NTSB’s conclusions are wrong about 50% of the time.
In one recent example, a Teledyne Continental engine similar to those installed on N5225J quitContinue Reading Cessna 310 (Tesla) Crash at East Palo Alto: NTSB Probable Cause Investigation
One might think that a twin-engine aircraft is safer than a single-engine aircraft. After all, if one engine fails, you still have the other to bring you home safely. That’s the whole point of the second engine, right?
If one of the twin engines fails in cruise flight, maybe that’s true. But if it quits right after takeoff, the twin can be extremely difficult to handle. When the aircraft’s landing gear is down, its flaps set, and its airspeed just above the minimum flying speed, the asymetric thrust generated by the operating engine can flip the aircraft onto its back and out of control. A "Vmc roll", as it is called, isContinue Reading Tesla Cessna 310 Crash at East Palo Alto: The Paradox of the Twin
Updated February 12:
A Cirrus SR-20 single engine aircraft collided with a Pawnee tow plane that was pulling a glider. The Cirrus reportedly ran into the Pawnee’s tow line. The Pawnee crashed and the pilot was killed. The occupants of the Cirrus were also killed. The glider pilot, however, recognized the impending collision, released his aircraft from the tow line, and landed without injury to himself or his two Continue Reading Cirrus – Pawnee Mid-Air Collison Near Boulder, Colorado
