Few turns in aviation are as dangerous as the “base-to-final” turn. That’s the last turn the pilot executes to line up with the runway. 
When that final turn is made, the aircraft is always low and slow. If the pilot tightens the turn too much, the aircraft can stall and crash. The factors that contribute
At first glance, this week’s crash of Cirrus N89423 at Truckee looks like yet another “high density altitude” accident. Such accidents are, after all, perhaps the most common type of accident at Truckee airport. Due to the thin air, the aircraft cannot climb fast enough to clear rising terrain or to maintain altitude
At first glance, one might expect that high density altitude was the cause of last week’s fatal Comanche crash at Truckee-Tahoe airport. The pilot first attempted to depart with three aboard, but aborted the takeoff. He then offloaded his two passengers and tried again. It was on the second attempt that the pilot crashed into
We’ve filed suit against Los Gatos real estate broker Karen Trolan (pictured), her husband Steve Trolan, and their company, Trolan Enterprises, as a result of the September 2009 plane crash that left the Trolans’ passenger, 14 year-old Marilyn Mitchell, seriously injured.
The Trolans were headed from Truckee Tahoe airport to San Jose. They needed very
An FBO is not supposed to rent an aircraft to a pilot who the FBO knows isn’t competent to complete the planned flight safely. If it does, and a passenger is hurt or killed by the pilot’s mistake, the victim or his family can hold the FBO responsible. That’s the law of "negligent 
entrustment."
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Many airports in the western United States are located at altitude. In the thin air, a departing aircraft’s propeller and wings are less aerodynamically efficient. And without a turbocharger, the aircraft’s engine won’t be able to produce full power. All of that hurts the aircraft’s ability to climb. Unless the aircraft is handled properly, after lifting off the runway it may travel for a distanceContinue Reading Summer Means High Density Altitude Airplane Accidents