A flight review is not a pass/fail test. It's a competency check and a learning opportunity, a way to ensure you're still sharp, safe and switched on in the sky. It's also a great excuse to reconnect with an instructor, ask questions and maybe finally admit you never really mastered that one radio call. In this edition, Monica Kade gives valuable tips to prepare for your review and discusses what happens on the day.
Limited panel instrument flying is a key part of every instrument proficiency check but a recent incidents highlight the challenges that real-world instrument failures bring. Nick Stobie identifies a common narrative for instrument failure – it’s rare that the failure is immediately recognised and understood. Partial failure makes this challenge even more difficult. It’s unlikely to be what you expect, and likely to be a worse challenge than the complete failures you likely trained for as part of your instrument rating.
With aircraft maintenance, you can choose to do it now or risk paying dearly later. To emphasise this point, Senior Writer Robert Wilson writes about the crash of a Cessna Citation 560 in which the 4 people onboard died. The pilot had stopped responding to ATC instructions. Earlier, maintenance personnel had noted 26 issues with the aircraft, including several related to the pressurisation and environmental control system. The owner declined to address the items. ‘The crash, with its unresponsive flight crew and steady automatic flight until fuel exhaustion, had all the hallmarks of hypoxia.’
Staff writer Steve Creedy interviewed Captain Kevin ‘Sully’ Sullivan for the story, ‘Beast in the machine.’ It tells the terrifying story of QF72 which was subjected to uncommanded pitch downs – erroneous data from a key component resulted in the roller-coaster ride that left at least 110 passengers and 9 crew members injured. The accident generated international headlines, spawned a complex and lengthy Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation and raised questions about automation in aircraft. It was also one of several incidents that led to changes in training, software and hardware aimed at mitigating the impact of unexpected events.
In the close call, ‘And then I got high’, a glider pilot writes about not heeding advice to stay well away from the base of a rapidly developing cumulonimbus. The aircraft was caught in the strong updraft and shot up to 12,000 feet. ‘It took no time at all before I was inside this monster!’ Fortunately, the pilot was able to escape but is still shaken by the encounter.
This 64-page edition includes a crash comic, quizzes and valuable safety insights, making it a must-read for aviation enthusiasts.
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