The pilot and six passengers were injured when a Cape Air Cessna 402 crashed just past the runway of Provincetown Municipal Airport (PVC) in Massachusetts on Sept 9. Information is just starting to be collected but Greg, John and Todd already see key takeaways to benefit every pilot.

The NTSB has launched an investigation. Questions to look at include the role of weather – did water on the runway impact an attempted landing? What does Flight Radar 24 and Flight Aware data offer and is the fidelity good enough to draw any conclusions? The flight was delayed at takeoff – what role did that play?
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John, Greg and Todd explore the many questions and factors that could have played a role in the accident. The details to emerge so far indicate this event provides both commercial and general aviation pilots and mechanics with important takeaways.

Ignore that seemingly mundane safety bulletin at your own peril. John, Greg and guest Jason Lukasik, president of JL2 Aviation Consultants and former FAA inspector, talk about the importance of knowing and acting on all levels of service instructions.

Three levels of service instructions are routinely issued for aircraft. Service letters are generally informational. Service Bulletins ask for a higher level of attention and action. Airworthiness Directives indicate a serious safety issue. John, Greg and Jason argue that each is worthy of attention because they all improve aircraft safety.

They share first-hand experiences of negative outcomes when service information is ignored or completed incorrectly. They argue that the time and cost needed to track and address these notices are important investments every airplane owner needs to make.
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Special advice is offered for anyone in the market to purchase a plane. Some research and asking the right questions can go a long way to getting full disclosure on the status of all related service bulletins.

Wednesday September 29, 2021
Crystal Springs Golf Course
Hamburg, NJ

Check in and lunch start at 10:00am, shotgun start at 12:00pm.

Guest Jonathan Rupprecht of Rupprecht Law joins John and Todd for a discussion of a lawsuit related to recent FAA rulemaking involving drones. The new rule effectively puts drone pilots under surveillance and create significant limits on use.

Jonathan discusses his work with Tyler Brennan and RaceDayQuads to petition the FAA to reconsider the remote ID rule. The lawsuit is seeking to strike down the drone remote identification regulations as illegal.

The rule requires, among other things, that a drone in flight to provide identification and location information that can be received by other parties.
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Listen as they discuss the implications of the rule. Jonathan shares knowledge of related cases and Fourth Amendment concerns.

USAir Flight 1493, a Boeing 737-300, collided with SkyWest Flight 5569, a Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner turboprop aircraft, upon landing at Los Angeles International Airport in Feb.1991. John led the machinist’s union investigation and discusses the chain of events that led to this accident.

The air traffic local controller was distracted by a series of abnormalities when Flight 1493 was on final approach. The SkyWest flight was told to taxi into takeoff position while the USAir flight was landing on the same runway. It was crushed under the 737.

The exit at the front of the Boeing were jammed and could not be opened. Other exit doors were also compromised, leaving the over wing exit as the only egress. The fuel ignited and caused an intense fire. All 12 people aboard the smaller plane were killed, as well as 23 occupants of the Boeing.

The machinist team found themselves having to stabilize the accident scene, working around many victims. They worked alongside other investigators as all the facts were gathered.

The National Transportation Safety Board found that the probable cause of the accident was the procedures in use at the LAX control tower and inadequate oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration for failing to supervise the control tower managers.  The crash led directly to the NTSB’s recommendation of using different runways for takeoffs and landings at LAX. It also led to changes in procedures for use of aircraft safety exits.
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Greg and John also discuss content being shared online about recent accidents that is incorrect and misleading. The unsubstantiated conclusions being shared are doing a disservice to aviation safety. They stress that proper accident investigation takes time to dig into all the facts.

Greg was the investigator in charge of the National Transportation Safety Board investigation of Korean Air Flight 801. He shares backstories not in the report to add to understanding of the accident and aftermath.

Flight 801 crashed on August 6, 1997, killing 229 of the 254 people aboard. The aircraft crashed on Nimitz Hill in Guam while on approach to the airport. The NTSB final report cites poor communication between the flight crew as probable cause for the air crash, along with the captain’s poor decision-making.
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Learn more about:

• Delays in response to the accident scene
• Allowing families to grieve at the site
• Training shortcomings
• Crew resource management issues
• Delays in decision making and execution3

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Greg shares details about the role of the minimum safe altitude warning system (MSAW), the partial outage of the Guam ILS system, and cultural factors that impeded cockpit dynamics.

Oshkosh 2021 was an adventure! More than 600,000 people and 10,000 planes were onsite. Greg and John took it all in and share the highlights.

The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital was a special exhibit. John had worked on the plane when it was in service for an airline. The Flying Eye Hospital is a state-of-the-art teaching facility complete with operating room, classroom and recovery room. Part of the innovation is a modular interior.

Several unique restored planes were on display. Greg talks about the plane from the 1950s Sky King television show. He also shares the fascinating history of a restored Aero Commander 500 that served as Air Force One to transport President Eisenhower to his Pennsylvania farm.

The event was well attended by Flight Safety Detectives listeners. Greg and John enjoyed meeting folks. Comments from those conversations and emails will be used to shape future shows. Expect to hear more about the nuts and bolts of accident investigation, dissections of lesser-known investigations and more!

John and Greg also examine 10 flight instruction related accidents that happened in a recent two-week period. They are looking for trends. Observations include lack of operational discipline, rusty skills following 2020 shutdowns, and over-reliance on technology.

Catch the video below, or that an more at ​https://flightsafetydetectives.com/eaa-airventure-oshkosh-2021-recap-episode-80/ 

TWA Flight 514 crashed into Mount Weather in Virginia in 1974 and changed aviation safety forever. This accident led to the creation of the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS).

The TWA 727 crash was due in part to ambiguous information provided to the crew. As a result of the accident, the FAA and NASA created ASRS. The ASRS lets aviation system users contribute lessons and safety issues. Information is used to resolve aviation system issues.

Keys to the success of the program include its voluntary nature, focus on safety, and immunity from sanctions for self-reported unintentional violations.
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John, Greg and Todd also provide updates on the Trans Air crash in Hawaii and recent general aviation accidents.

This conversation covers emerging information about Transair Flight 810. The plane crashed in the ocean on July 2 shortly after takeoff from Honolulu.

John, Greg and Todd raise a series of questions important to the investigation:

• Air traffic control handling of the incident
• Flight path after the engine failure
• Engine history and maintenance
• Safety performance of cockpit seats and harness

They stress that there are safety benefits to learn from every crash, even when an older airplane is involved. As information is released, questions will likely lead to more questions to answer.
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This episode also covers recent accidents in Colorado, Texas, Montana and Massachusetts. Record-breaking heat across the US may be impacting aircraft performance.