Twin and Turbine’s editor Dianne White posed an intriguing series of questions to me: “When working on our multi-engine rating, we spend most our time practicing engine-out technique, which is critical. But is engine failure what kills pilots and their passengers? Or are they more the result of flying into stuff – weather and terrain? Read More
What effect does a tailwind have on your takeoff performance? More than you might think. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released an unusually detailed Preliminary Report on the crash of a turbocharged piston airplane: The aircraft impacted terrain shortly after takeoff from Stevensville Airport (32S), Stevensville, Montana. The private pilot and his passenger received Read More
Confirmation bias can lead pilots to act on their belief of what is happening, despite evidence that the opposite is occurring Say you are solo in a very familiar aircraft, approaching a busy but familiar airport. The tower controller clears you to land on Runway 20L at Orange County/John Wayne Airport (KSNA), the shorter and Read More
Focus the same amount of care and attention to a low-visibility departure as you do an instrument approach. From an NTSB Preliminary Report: A Cessna Citation 525 (CJ4) was destroyed in a collision with Lake Erie shortly after takeoff from runway 24R at the Burke Lakefront Airport (BKL), Cleveland, Ohio. The pilot and five passengers Read More
The real meaning behind the words “Maintenance,” “Inspection” and “Repair.” Three Airworthiness Responsibilities Maintenance is something actively done to maintain airworthiness before something breaks. Maintenance cannot usually be put off until the next annual inspection (although some maintenance functions are routinely re-done as part of an annual). Inspection is done to confirm that the maintenance Read More