April 3, 1998 Allendale, SC Rockwell 112TC 2 FATAL The non-instrument rated pilot departed at night into weather that was reported as 100 feet overcast, visibility ?-mile in fog. A witness reported the airplane was on takeoff climb and was about 200 feet above the ground before it disappeared into the clouds. He heard the … Continue reading VFR Pilot Night Flight
Author: NTSB
Jumper Cables
June 03, 1998 Everett, WA Piper PA30 1 FATAL The pilot used a jumper cable to connect the battery of his car to the aircraft's electrical system at the power receptacle located on the left side of the nose. With both engines running, the pilot exited the aircraft to remove the chock from the nosewheel. … Continue reading Jumper Cables
Flying In Mountainous Terrain
May 13, 1998 Gorman, CA Bellanca 7GCBC 1 FATAL The flight departed Santa Paula, California on a pipeline inspection flight. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed along portions of the route of flight and no flight plan was filed. Ground witnesses observed the aircraft flying uphill in mountainous terrain below the clouds at an estimated 100 to … Continue reading Flying In Mountainous Terrain
Forced Landing
May 16, 1998 Pageland, SC Nanchang CJ6A 1 SERIOUS When he was approximately 1.5 miles east of the destination airport, the pilot said he felt a vibration and observed an object protruding through the engine cowling. Unable to maintain altitude due to the loss of engine power, the pilot attempted a forced landing in a … Continue reading Forced Landing
Final Approach
February 22, 1998 York, PA Cessna 172P 1 FATAL The airplane was on final approach to a runway with a displaced threshold. A passenger in a landing helicopter who observed the Cessna during its final approach stated: ?The wings began to seesaw left and right, back and forth and then the airplane dropped sharply and … Continue reading Final Approach
The Hurry-Up Syndrome Revisited
Past ASRS research has documented that the "hurry-up syndrome" ? any situation in which pilot performance is degraded by a perceived or actual need to rush the completion of cockpit tasks ? often results in downstream safety incidents. In practical terms, this means that omissions or oversights made during pre-flight and taxi-out often manifest themselves … Continue reading The Hurry-Up Syndrome Revisited
Improper Engine Starts
Many small airplanes have impulse magnetos installed which use sensitive spring-loaded coupling to produce a series of sudden rotations and hot sparks during starting. If the magnetos are on, even the slightest manual turn of a prop may be enough to snap the magneto and start the engine, as this unlucky pilot discovered: The airplane … Continue reading Improper Engine Starts
Gear-Up ‘Gotchas
A number of gear-up landings reported to ASRS by pilots of experimental aircraft involve a mechanical or electrical problem, coupled with the pilot?s failure to use a before-landing checklist: Landed with nosewheel retracted. Minor damage to aircraft. Nosewheel up/warning for throttle to idle was disabled due to electrical wiring problems. New aircraft (15 hours since … Continue reading Gear-Up ‘Gotchas
Nesting Urges
It's that spring-wonderful season of the year when pilots brush the cobwebs off their flying skills and airplanes and vault joyfully into the blue. Only (in a few unfortunate instances reported to ASRS) to suffer engine fires, or fuel starvation, because the nesting habits of small creatures went undetected during pre-flight. A Cessna pilot titled … Continue reading Nesting Urges
Oxygen Irregularities
Both pilots and controllers are educated to recognize the effects of oxygen deprivation and hypoxia. This training can be vital in safely resolving oxygen-related pilot incapacitation. Several ASRS reports illustrate: While at FL250 on an IFR flight plan, my oxygen line became disconnected from the regulator. I could hear the oxygen escaping and thought the … Continue reading Oxygen Irregularities