flight safety detectives episode 298 - Missing Logbooks, Missing Answers in Night Flight Tragedy

​A pilot who was attempting to satisfy FAA requirements for flying at night was killed in another preventable plane crash. The NTSB report of this 2018 high-energy impact into the ocean leaves several key questions unanswered.

The NTSB lists a probable cause that the Flight Safety Detectives just can’t support. They add this to a list of insufficient NTSB reports published in the last few years

The pilot in command was flying at night with a passenger. He was required by the FAA to have performed three takeoffs and landings in the previous 90 days. According to the NTSB report, in the previous 90 days, the accident pilot had flown for three hours, including the two-hour accident flight.
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The NTSB did not determine if the night currency requirements were met before the accident flight because the pilot’s logbooks were unavailable for review. Public Docket documents that shed light on how the company behind the pilot’s rented aircraft could have let this happen. The rental form that the pilot signed did not mention anything about requirements for night flights.

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