Running out of gas is a leading cause of piston aircraft engine failures. So you’d think that pilots would have zero tolerance for the shoddy fuel gauges installed in many aircraft, such as the ones installed in the Cirrus SR22. But instead, they tend to make excuses for the manufacturers. "It would be too expensive to make
Mike Danko
Helicopter Rules Differ from Airplane Rules
By Mike Danko on
Posted in Helicopters
After a helicopter accident, many airplane pilots are quick to conclude that the helicopter pilot violated one aviation regulation or another. But the laws that airplane pilots know so well do not always apply to helicopters. Rather, helicopters operate largely under their own set of rules. Some of the differences between the rules applicable to airplanes and helicopters are:
Minimum Altitudes…
LSA Loophole Claims the Life of Another Hawaiian Tourist
By Mike Danko on
Posted in Tour Industry
The Hawaiian air tour industry has a horrible safety record. And now it has claimed yet another life – that of a 53 year-old Californian who had traveled with his wife to the islands to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.
I’ve written before about the dangers of Hawaiian helicopter tours. But this tourist’s death was…
Lidle Judge Keeps Evidence Out; Jury Rules for Cirrus
By Mike Danko on
Posted in Cirrus Aircraft, Lawsuits of Note
The lawyer representing Lidle’s widow told the Associated Press that today’s verdict for Cirrus was a foregone conclusion once the judge decided to keep out certain key evidence.
. . .the jury result was predictable because the judge refused to allow jurors to hear that the company revised its manufacturing process after the crash to
…
Brazilians Sentence American Pilots to Prison: Not in Best Interests of Safety
By Mike Danko on
Posted in Airlines
In many countries, criminal prosecution of those involved in aviation accidents is the rule, not the exception. For example, the French courts began a criminal investigation almost immediately after the crash of Air France Flight 447. The Indonesian legal system convicted a Garuda Airlines 737 pilot of negligence and sentenced him to two years in prison following a 2007…
Surprise Witness at Lidle Trial
By Mike Danko on
Posted in Lawsuits of Note, NTSB
Cirrus says Cory Lidle crashed because he was inexperienced, not because his controls locked up. But a surprise witness testified that Lidle had flown the East River Corridor successfully four times in the two months before the crash. According to a NY Daily News account, the witness related that Lidle talked with her about his…
Lidle Jury Won’t Learn of NTSB’s Conclusion as to Cause of Crash
By Mike Danko on
Posted in Cirrus Aircraft, NTSB
The Lidle jury will never learn that the NTSB concluded the crash was caused by pilot error, and not a defect in the plane, as plaintiffs allege.
The reason is that, by federal statute (49 USC 1441(e)), the NTSB’s conclusions are inadmissible in court.
No part of any report or reports of
…
Senator Stevens Crash Looking Like “Controlled Flight Into Terrain”
By Mike Danko on
Posted in Accident Investigations
Early news reports described the pilot in the Senator Stevens crash as a hero. According to the reports, the fact that there were any survivors at all is a testament to his flying skills.
I disagreed. (See Pilot in Senator Stevens Crash a Hero?)
As I saw it, the pilot took off in poor weather. When…
NTSB: Maintenance-Induced Fuel Starvation Caused Cirrus Crash at Morton, Washington
By Mike Danko on
Posted in Lawsuits of Note
We knew from the surviving passenger that the Cirrus’ engine quit before crashing at Morton, Washington. But did the engine quit because of a mechanical problem? Or did it quit, perhaps, due to fuel starvation?
I discussed those questions here, days after the accident happened. Now, a year later, the NTSB says the engine failure was the…
Jury Verdict Against Cirrus Overturned on Appeal
By Mike Danko on
Posted in Cirrus Aircraft, Lawsuits of Note
A pilot flew his new Cirrus into conditions of poor visibility and crashed, killing himself and his passenger. The passenger’s family sued not just the pilot, but Cirrus as well.
Why sue Cirrus? According to the family, Cirrus didn’t train the pilot properly when he showed up at the factory to pick up his new plane, and…