Probable Cause

This article originally appeared in Aviation Safety, August 2005. Pilots are a curious bunch. Arguably the result of concentrated, lengthy training in everything from reading and understanding aviation regulations, manipulating an aircraft’s controls, and obtaining and understanding weather reports and forecasts, we still find ways to bend sheet metal and injure people. Yes, every now […]

This article originally appeared in IFR Refresher, Oct. 2006. Most ILS approaches take from three to five minutes to complete after crossing the final approach fix (FAF). What you’re about to read is the story of a pilot who was cleared for an ILS approach just before his aircraft disappeared from radar, only to pop […]

This article originally appeared in Aviation Safety, July 2005. Stuff happens. Despite our best, most conscientious plans, once we get airborne things can change. Weather forecasts turn to lies, passengers change destinations and a well-maintained aircraft can break. It can get lonely up there.When the landing gear fails to extend, do we calmly and professionally […]

This article originally appeared in IFR Refresher, Sep. 2006. An inherent problem that comes with familiarity is that it tempts us to take risks we would otherwise never consider. Think of the road you take home from work every day. Because you’re familiar with its every bounce and undulation, you probably take a turn or […]

This article originally appeared in Aviation Safety, June 2005. The romance of flying to an out-of-the-way location, one only accessible with a personal airplane, is a powerful attraction to many pilots and their passengers. Unfortunately, the landing areas at many remote destinations — resorts, fishing camps, islands and lakes come to mind — are not […]

This article originally appeared in IFR Refresher, Aug. 2006. Although you won’t find it as an official cause in any accident report, get-there-itis has been the root of many decisions that eventually led pilots down a wrong and dangerous path.Sure, diverting to another airport is hardly ever a desirable option, but some pilots seem determined […]

This article originally appeared in Aviation Safety, May 2005. Taking risks is something we do every day; in the shower, on the Interstate or on an approach to minimums. The ways in which we manage those risks often determine whether we’ll be around to take them again, or if some other outcome will intervene. Astronauts, […]

This article originally appeared in IFR Refresher, May 2006. If your flying is limited to Part 91, you may not realize that operators who fly for hire, like Part 135 and Part 121 carriers, must follow different rules when it comes to flying approaches.One of those is that a pilot flying an aircraft for hire […]

This article originally appeared in Aviation Safety, Apr. 2005. The first few hundred hours of any pilot’s flying career are the ones involving the greatest accumulation of experience and judgment. In some ways, it’s a miracle any of us survive this period; in other ways, these first few hours of flying time are both necessary […]

This article originally appeared in IFR Refresher, Apr. 2006. What any pilot does not need at the end of a long day is low ceilings and poor visibility with fog. Yet, that is what a Beech Baron pilot faced in the early hours of an October morning in 2001 when he needed to reposition his […]