Flight Safety Detectives

Aviation Skills Save Harrison Ford – Episode 147

Rapid decision making and impressive aviator skills saved Harrison Ford from a deadly result in a 2015 air crash. The Flight Safety Detectives review the facts that show that Ford had a clear plan and was decisive as he dealt with engine failure shortly after takeoff in his vintage plane.

Ford quickly determined that returning to the Santa Monica airport would not work. He landed on a golf course. The hard impact caused him serious injury but no one on the ground was hurt.

“Harrison Ford did everything right. He was mentally prepared and was able to put the aircraft down safely,” Greg Feith says.

The NTSB report shows clear evidence of Ford’s training and aviation skill. It also documents a defect with the engine carburetor that led to the loss of engine power.

Do antique planes still in use need more detailed maintenance procedures for continued airworthiness? The detectives suggest this might be one way to compensate for older maintenance manuals that are brief and incomplete.

Listen for aviation safety takeaways for pilots and aircraft mechanics from this Harrison Ford accident.

Related documents at the Flight safety Detectives website

• Public Docket
• NTSB airframe and engine examination
• Director of operations statement
• NTSB final report
• NTSB factual report

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Peter Tomarken Air Crash Was Survivable

Episode 146

A pilot lost engine power in his single engine plane shortly after takeoff. He did a controlled ditch into the Pacific. The plane is largely intact, yet the pilot and his passenger die. The Flight Safety Detectives dig into the NTSB final report of the Peter Tomarken air crash to look at how this event could have been survived.

TV personality Peter Tomarken and his wife Kathleen were killed when his Beechcraft Bonanza A36 crashed a few hundred feet offshore in Santa Monica Bay in March 2006. The aircraft lost power shortly after takeoff. Eyewitness statements indicate he was able to perform a controlled ditch into the bay.

Greg, John and Todd look into the NTSB finding of a missing engine cotter pin. The report lacks details about when this may have happened, recent maintenance procedures followed or inspection processes used. These are essential to help maintenance personnel learn from this event.

The docket includes medical findings of blunt force trauma to the victims and drugs found in the pilot’s system. The effect of the drugs on the pilot’s decision-making is not clear. The role that shoulder harnesses and/or helmets could have played in protecting the people onboard is also omitted.

Hear why the Flight Safety Detectives recommend that all older aircraft have shoulder harnesses mounted to the airframe and why every small craft pilot should wear a helmet.

Aviation Safety & Animals – Episode 145

More than 53 dogs being transported from New Orleans to Milwaukee had a bumpy ride when their cargo flight crashed on a golf course. This is a good news story with just a few minor injuries. John and Todd take the opportunity to put the focus on aviation safety for animals.

Animals are transported by air for a variety of reasons. There are some regulations to ensure their safety. However, Greg and Todd advise that anyone considering air transport for an animal do careful research and purchase a suitable travel carrier.

This crash involved a Fairchild Metroliner. The crash sheared off the wings and dumped a lot of jet fuel. Fortunately, there was no fire. Quick action by first responders recovered all the dogs and even led to a few adoptions!

Episode bonus: Meet Todd’s rescue pup Gidget!

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See & Avoid - Episode 144

"See and Avoid" is widely recognized as a method for avoiding collision. This accident shows that approach has limits.

The term "See and Avoid" is part of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Regulation 14 CFR Part 91.113 (b), calling for pilots to actively search for potentially conflicting traffic. John and Todd discuss a 2014 accident where two planes crashed because they were not able to see one another in time.

The accident involved a Cessna 172 and a Searey homebuilt participating in a Experimental Aircraft Association Young Eagles program. The Cessna was overtaking the Searey as it descended and the two collided. Two people in the Searey were able to land. The Cessna crashed and the passenger and student onboard died.

The NTSB probable cause cited failure to “see and avoid.” The Flight Safety Detectives explore the importance and limitations of relying on being able to see everything from the cockpit. They discuss how better preplanning by the two pilots involved could have avoided the collision.

Related documents at the Flight Safety Detectives website:

• NTSB Final Report (PDF)

Don’t miss what’s to come from the Flight Safety Detectives - subscribe to the Flight Safety Detectives YouTube channel, listen at your favorite podcast service and visit the Flight Safety Detectives website.

Mooney Accident in Maryland - Episode 143

Did get-there-itis and lack of preflight planning lead to the crash of a Mooney M20J into a power line tower in Montgomery County, Maryland on November 27? The Flight Safety Detectives think so.

The aircraft had taken off from Westchester County, New York, and was bound for the Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg. Around 5:40 PM, for reasons still under investigation, it crashed about a few miles away from the runway. The crash was close to home for Greg, who lives just four miles from the site.

John, Greg and Todd talk about the investigation ahead for the FAA and NTSB. They explore key questions:

• Did the pilot do proper preflight planning?
• Was the pilot monitoring the weather and taking appropriate action as it developed or was he trying to tuck under the weather?
• Was the pilot following proper procedures for the approach?
• What is this pilot’s history?

This event appears to be a perfect example of the need for preflight planning. The weather forecast called for rain and low visibility. The pilot should have planned alternatives if it was not safe to land at the Gaithersburg airport.

Related documents at the Flight Safety Detectives website:

• Related accident from 1992 (PDF)

Don’t miss what’s to come from the Flight Safety Detectives - subscribe to the Flight Safety Detectives YouTube channel, listen at your favorite podcast service and visit the Flight Safety Detectives website.

Recent Air Crash Leads to Urgent Aviation Safety Recommendation

Episode 142

The NTSB has issued an urgent aviation safety recommendation for all operators of DHC-3 Otters to conduct an immediate one-time inspection of the horizontal stabilizer actuator lock ring. This is the result of the NTSB’s initial findings in the ongoing investigation of the Sept. 4, 2022, crash of a De Havilland Canada DHC-3 in Mutiny Bay, Washington.

Wreckage recovered from this accident reveals evidence related to the horizontal stabilizer actuator. The actuator has two parts that were screwed together and secured with a circular wire lock ring. It appears the lock ring was not seated properly. The two barrel sections unscrewed, leading to a loss of pitch trim control and the loss of the aircraft.

John and Todd explore the ways that components are kept from coming loose in airplanes, including the lock ring that is the subject of this safety recommendation. Get their insider view of the preliminary findings, possible causes of this crash, and probable next steps in the NTSB investigation.

They also talk about the implications for anyone involves in this crash that resulted in loss of life. No one wants to make a mistake, especially one that causes a crash.

Related documents at the Flight Safety Detectives website:

• NTSB Preliminary Report
• NTSB Investigative update
• NTSB Safety Recommendation
• Press release about the inspection recommendation
• NTSB investigation page

Don’t miss what’s to come from the Flight Safety Detectives - subscribe to the Flight Safety Detectives YouTube channel, listen at your favorite podcast service and visit the Flight Safety Detectives website.

Passenger Suicide in Flight

Episode 141

The NTSB database has just 74 events involving suicide and the focus of this discussion is the only one that involves a passenger rather than a pilot. The event took place in 2000, when a passenger on a Twin Otter plane intentionally opened the emergency exit door in flight.

As we enter the holiday season, this accident is a reminder of the additional pressures many people experience. The Flight Safety Detectives ask everyone in aviation to be especially diligent.

In this case, another passenger saw the person open the door and tried to keep her from exiting the aircraft. Recent years have shown that unusual things can and will happen on aircraft.

John and Todd discuss the importance of acting when you see something that isn’t right. They wonder how many aviation safety issues have been averted due to the quick actions of someone who noticed something and did something about it.

Related documents at the Flight Safety Detectives website:

- NTSB Final Report (PDF)

- NTSB Public Docket (PDF)

Don’t miss what’s to come from the Flight Safety Detectives - subscribe to the Flight Safety Detectives YouTube channel, listen at your favorite podcast service and visit the Flight Safety Detectives website.

 

John Denver Crash and Experimental Aircraft

Episode 140

A look inside the world of experimental aircraft is prompted by John Denver’s fatal crash 25 years ago. Denver was flying an experimental aircraft he had recently purchased. The non-standard placement of the fuel selector valve was found to be at the heart of the issues that lead to the crash.

John, Greg and Todd talk about how experimental aircraft are built and maintained. They talk about how modifications are made, often with little oversight.

The particular Long-EZ plane that Denver purchased was built with the fuel selector site valve mounted on the bulkhead behind the pilot’s left shoulder. Using it literally required the use of a mirror and pliers.

The setup, combined with questionable preflight decisions, set John Denver up to fail. Witnesses describe the engine sputtering, a steep nosedive and a crash into the ocean off the California cost. The NTSB concluded that the root cause was issues related to the fuel selector valve.

The Flight safety Detectives offer words of caution to the experimental aircraft community to make sure that safety is top of mind at all times.

Related documents available at the Flight Safety Detectives website:

- NTSB report of fatal Long-EZ crash from 1997 (PDF)
- NTSB report of WACO crash from 1989 (PDF)

- Public Docket Fatal 1997 crash

Don’t miss what’s to come from the Flight Safety Detectives - subscribe to the Flight Safety Detectives YouTube channel, listen at your favorite podcast service and visit the Flight Safety Detectives website.

Failure to Plan Leads to Cessna 150 Crash

Episode 139

A pilot in a Cessna 150 making a short trip in Australia got himself into trying circumstances that led to a crash into trees. This episode dissects the preplanning failures that doomed this 1994 flight.

The pilot took off at 3:50 a.m. on a schedule that would get him home for Christmas. Predicted bad weather caught up with him, and a partial failure of the instrument control panel added to the situation. The plane crashed into trees, and fortunately the pilot was able to walk away.

His choices stacked the deck against him including choosing to fly at night, deteriorating weather conditions, and self-induced pressure to be home for the holidays.

“Every flight has a set of circumstances. It is up to you as the pilot to determine if the circumstances are right before you take off,” Todd says.

Related documents available at the Flight Safety Detectives website:

• ATSB accident report: C152_ATSB_Dec_1994.pdf
• Magazine article on the crash: Asia_Pacific_Air_Safety_Marc_1995.pdf

Don’t miss what’s to come from the Flight Safety Detectives - subscribe to the Flight Safety Detectives YouTube channel, listen at your favorite podcast service and visit the Flight Safety Detectives website.

 

Level 5 Thunderstorm Leads to Plane Crash

Episode 138

Flight Safety Detectives examine the crash of a Sabreliner twin engine plane in Ironwood, Michigan.  The pilots flew into severe weather and did not follow standard procedures to avoid engine flameout.

The pilots were on a day trip transporting two business executives. They flew into a level 5 thunderstorm and lost both engines. The investigation showed they did not use the established checklist for this type of situation.

John discusses the continuous ignition system that was not apparently turned on. That system is designed to allow for quick restart of the engines.

Todd and John highlight key lessons and takeaways including the value of using standard procedures, avoiding weather, flying within aircraft limits, and actions the pilots could have taken.

Related documents available at the FSD website:

• NTSB Final Report (PDF)
• AC 00-24B about Thunderstorms (PDF)
• August 2002 Accident Prevention article about this crash (PDF)

Don’t miss what’s to come from the Flight Safety Detectives - subscribe to the Flight Safety Detectives YouTube channel, listen at your favorite podcast service and visit the Flight Safety Detectives website.