Technique

The title of this article, which was made famous by Gene Kranz during the Apollo 13 mission, popped into my head recently while I was climbing my ham radio tower. Whenever I unhook my climbing safety belt and start to climb down, I take a moment to focus and remember to have one hand securely […]

The majority of all aircraft accidents are attributed to pilot error. Most accidents occurred because of a chain of events or factors that contributed to the accident. If any one of these events in the chain had been broken or stopped it is likely that the accident could have been avoided. Break the chain, prevent […]

This article appeared in the December 2001 edition of Aviation Consumer and is reprinted here by permission. Like the speed of light and the freezing point of water, one of the constants in the universe is this imponderable question: Is a twin safer than a single? Does having two motors really add measurably to the […]

Updated August 24, 2003, with information on new PLBs from Pains Wessex. I was ferrying my antique open-cockpit biplane — a rare Flaglor High Tow — from my home base in Driggs, Idaho (just west of Jackson Hole) to the maintenance shop at Idaho Falls. That’s about 45 nautical miles, which doesn’t sound like much […]

On March 29th, 2001, about 1902 Mountain Standard Time (MST) [1], a Gulfstream III, N303GA, operated by Avjet Corporation, crashed into sloping terrain about 2400 feet short of runway 15 at Aspen-Pitkin County Airport Sardy Field (ASE), Aspen, Colorado. The three crewmembers and all 15 passengers were killed, and the airplane was destroyed. The flight […]

On March 29, 2001, about 1902 Mountain Standard Time (MST), a Gulfstream III, N303GA, operated by Avjet Corporation, crashed into sloping terrain about 2400 feet short of Runway 15 at Aspen-Pitkin County Airport Sardy Field (ASE), Aspen, Colo. The three crewmembers and all 15 passengers were killed, and the airplane was destroyed. The flight was […]

This article appeared in the October 2002 edition of Aviation Safety and is reprinted here by permission. Recent high-profile incidents involving allegedly drunk airline pilots reporting for duty have renewed the call for more random drug/alcohol testing of flight crews. Public hypersensitivity over anything aviation even led CNN to host an online poll that asked […]

This article appeared in the January 2002 edition of Aviation Safety and is reprinted here by permission. Aircraft components are tested and retested. Manufacturers are subjected to inspection, airplanes are inspected, mechanics are inspected. The goal: Nothing mechanical should go wrong without plenty of warning.There is one part that bucks that trend. When called on, […]

No doubt about it, pilots are a special breed.And after a day of reading accident reports — which I do without fail at least once a month — I sometimes suffer from the impression that they’re highly motivated, well-trained, steely-eyed idiots. I’ll concede that this is a cynical, over-the-top generalization but when you read about […]

This article appeared in the July 2002 edition of Aviation Safety and is reprinted here by permission. One of the nagging questions that plagues the pilot who doesn’t fly every day is, “Am I really ready for this flight?” The problem is even more serious when contemplating an instrument flight, particularly when the weather is […]