A flight instructor chose to have a pilot take his first flight in an airplane into a special use airport and the result was a different learning experience than planned. The aircraft experienced a hard landing that led to a fracture of the right wing spar.
Todd Curtis, Greg Feith, and John Goglia discuss this accident in Puerto Rico that involved a Britten-Norman Islander aircraft. The instructor pilot chose to take a new pilot on his very first flight with the airline to a small airport that had a very challenging approach. The new pilot was a highly experienced 737 pilot who had no recent experience flying this aircraft model. The instructor allowed the new pilot to continue the approach even though the aircraft was about 100 feet above approach altitude shortly before landing. The Flight Safety Detectives question the instructor pilot’s decision to choose this challenging approach for the transitioning pilot’s first flight with the operator as well as the decision to allow the landing to continue. Also discussed is the NTSB’s decision to not investigate or nor report key issues about events leading up to the crash, including the aircraft operator’s training and procedures.
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John shares his long history dealings with cargo door issues. He shares how door engineering has evolved over time. He also explains the rush to convert passenger aircraft to cargo aircraft that came about in the 1980s due to many airlines getting into the air cargo business.
Todd and John discuss several aviation disasters involving cargo doors, including one involving a United Airlines plane near Honolulu. Some flight plans have aviation safety risks baked in. Todd Curtis and John Goglia discuss a runway excursion accident involving a student pilot who in the same flight was attempting to satisfy both a night currency requirement and a 250 nautical mile training flight requirement for an instrument certification.
The plan literally went off track during the attempted takeoff at the fourth stage of the flight plan. “They bent some metal, no one was injured, but there is a lot to learn from this incident,” John says. The original plan involved a flight of well over 400 nautical miles of night flying, well exceeding the training requirement. The plan also involved landing and takeoff at two busy airports. Due to traffic, weather, and fueling station issues, two unplanned fuel stops were added. Todd and John talk about the decisions made before this flight began that created unnecessary safety risks. Among the takeaways was the need to make better flight plans and to change those plans as circumstances unfold. You had to be there to know the full story of the plane crash of USAir Flight 5050. John Goglia was, and he shares the experience.
Todd Curtis and John discuss the fatal 1989 crash of USAir Flight 5050 at La Guardia Airport in New York. John directly participated in the accident investigation as a mechanic with USAir. He shares accident investigation details well beyond the official report. The extraordinary amount of media attention around the accident and the flight crew impacted the sequence of events. The reported “missing pilots” were only missing to the media, having been moved away from the scene by investigators to protect them from the frenzy. John also reveals how the media got recordings of investigation team status meetings. flight safety detectives episode 170 - keith green plane crash shows value of accident investigation6/14/2023 The fiery plane crash that killed Christian music star Keith Green and 11 others resulted in aviation safety lessons for every pilot. The NTSB accident report also has safety takeaways for anyone who rents or uses aircraft and pilots that are not their own.
Greg Feith, Todd Curtis, and John Goglia talk about the circumstances of the fatal 1982 air crash. The thorough NTSB accident investigation documents the roles that the overloaded and unbalanced aircraft and the pilot’s experience played in the tragedy. Greg and John compare the detailed findings in this report with the more superficial summaries that are the norm for today’s NTSB accident reports. This report contains valuable aviation safety findings that can help pilots avoid similar mistakes. The NTSB has a message for mechanics – pay attention to B-nuts! Todd Curtis, Greg Feith, and John Goglia dig into NTSB Safety Alert 086, which highlights four accidents that were caused in part by improperly tightened b-nuts.
Small parts led to big problems. Two of the accidents were fatal. They focus on one accident that involves a very experienced pilot who also performed maintenance on the accident aircraft. The Bell 206 helicopter crashed following a fuel leak. The NTSB found that when he did maintenance on the aircraft, he failed to properly torque the nut. Failure to follow defined procedures in the maintenance hangar and in the cockpit is the leading cause of aviation accidents. The pilot in this accident was fortunately able to walk away from the accident caused by not following the engine repair steps outlined by Rolls Royce. The Flight Safety Detectives offer advice and details not found in the NTSB report and safety bulletin to help every pilot and mechanic avoid similar issues. Of the “dirty dozen” workplace mistakes, John believes complacency is the most prevalent and dangerous. Aviation maintenance professionals are critical to safety. John Goglia helped put the spotlight on aviation maintenance and safety programs at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University recently. John did a presentation on Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) Day and witnessed first-hand some safety operations in place at the university.
Greg Feith also reviews lessons learned from the fatal June 1999 crash of American Airlines Flight 1420 in Little Rock, Arkansas. The NTSB investigation showed the role that being in a rush played in the crash that involved 9 fatalities. A pilot’s report of 40% engine power is just one of many unexplained facts in the NTSB report of a crash involving a modified Cessna 150. The banner-towing flight crashed while attempting to land in Riverside, California.
Todd Curtis, Greg Feith, and John Goglia discuss a Cessna 150 banner tow plane accident where the pilot had engine issues shortly before landing and made an emergency landing near the airport. They discuss unusual decisions made by the pilot, including taking off in challenging weather conditions and trying to restart the engine while in the airport traffic pattern. The NTSB left out key details and findings in the accident report. The probable cause does not explain why the plane crashed. Fuel starvation is cited, yet there was fuel on board. Todd Curtis, Greg Feith, and John Goglia discuss the role of pilot decision making in a crash of a Cessna 152 in Florida. The pilot decided to do some practice flying at night and under low visibility conditions with deadly results.
The NTSB investigation of the 2015 fatal crash did not seriously investigate several apparent issues, including the quality of the accident pilot’s training and English language proficiency. Hear the recording with Air Traffic Control to get a sense of the severe communication issues that occurred. Like many accidents, the trajectory of this accident was set before the pilot took off. John, Todd and Greg talk about a series of poor decisions and inappropriate actions. The Flight Safety Detectives find that the NTSB didn’t ask the right questions as they investigated this accident. The result is a report that lacks important safety findings. Commercial space operations pose significant aviation safety challenges. Safety systems and processes need to evolve to meet the demands of new technologies and approaches. John Goglia and Todd Curtis discuss human factors issues with experimental aircraft.
They examine the single commercial space accident in the NTSB database. The investigation looked at the 2014 inflight breaking of Scaled Composite’s SpaceShip Tow spacecraft over the Mojave Desert. A disconnect between how engineers expected the aircraft to be operated and pilot behavior in the cockpit appears to be at the root of this accident. They look particularly at assumptions made about how the flight crew would manage critical spacecraft systems. John shares takeaways from his review of other accidents involving test and experimental aircraft. A common thread is that during the development of these aircraft, assumptions are generally made about the crew that will fly them. They talk about how innovations in commercial space challenge the FAA to set proper guidelines for testing. And, how the persistent need to consider human factors in aviation is a thread that traces back to the earliest days of flight. |
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