Flying when you know there is something wrong with the plane

I can't remember where I read it, but I seem to recall that in the majority
of fatal accidents the pilot knew something was wrong with the airplane
before he even took off. It does seem like a popular trend reading through
the accident databases. But can anyone point me to a study that actually
supports this view?

--
Christopher J. Campbell
World Famous Flight Instructor
Port Orchard, WA


If you go around beating the Bush, don't complain if you rile the animals.

I can't remember where I read it, but I seem to recall that in the majority
of fatal accidents the pilot knew something was wrong with the airplane
before he even took off.


Ever flown a rental that had nothing wrong with it?

Jose

--
(for Email, make the obvious changes in my address)

In article , Teacherjh
wrote:

Ever flown a rental that had nothing wrong with it?

That's an oximoron isn't it?

No. I have _never_ flown a rental that didn't have something wrong with
it.


"Teacherjh" wrote in message
...

I can't remember where I read it, but I seem to recall that in the
majority
of fatal accidents the pilot knew something was wrong with the airplane
before he even took off.


Ever flown a rental that had nothing wrong with it?

Jose

--
(for Email, make the obvious changes in my address)

"C J Campbell" writes:

I can't remember where I read it, but I seem to recall that in the majority
of fatal accidents the pilot knew something was wrong with the airplane
before he even took off. It does seem like a popular trend reading through
the accident databases.

(Well, we all know pilots like to be trendy and popular.)

It's also common that pilots checked the fuel levels before departing
on flights that resulted in fatal accidents. Are you going to try to
infer something from that too?

I'm willing to bet that it's about as "popular a trend" that planes that
are involved with safe landings have problems known to the pilot. What
does that mean?

Planes are commonly flown with *some* problem. If I never flew a plane
with any problems I would have never made it through flight training.
(Heck, I went through four planes just to finish my initial checkride
and I still didn't get fully-functional instrumentation.)

Whether or not the problem has something to do with the accident would
be more interesting.

--kyler

Like the skydivers say - There's no such thing as a perfectly good airplane....
--
Gene Seibel
Hangar 131 - http://pad39a.com/gene/plane.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.


"C J Campbell" wrote in message ...
I can't remember where I read it, but I seem to recall that in the majority
of fatal accidents the pilot knew something was wrong with the airplane
before he even took off. It does seem like a popular trend reading through
the accident databases. But can anyone point me to a study that actually
supports this view?

What I want to know is how they interviewed the pilots after the accidents
to ask them if they knew the plane had a problem before takeoff....sir, nod
you head if the plane did not have a problem before takeoff and don't nod if
it did have a problem. The majority indicated they had problems.

"C J Campbell" wrote in message
...
I can't remember where I read it, but I seem to recall that in the
majority
of fatal accidents the pilot knew something was wrong with the airplane
before he even took off. It does seem like a popular trend reading through
the accident databases. But can anyone point me to a study that actually
supports this view?

--
Christopher J. Campbell
World Famous Flight Instructor
Port Orchard, WA


If you go around beating the Bush, don't complain if you rile the animals.

"C J Campbell" wrote in message ...
I can't remember where I read it, but I seem to recall that in the majority
of fatal accidents the pilot knew something was wrong with the airplane
before he even took off. It does seem like a popular trend reading through
the accident databases. But can anyone point me to a study that actually
supports this view?

Although in the majority of accidents the pilot knew something was
wrong, that does not mean that the majority of flights where the pilot
knew something was wrong necessarily resulted in an accident.

(Andrew Sarangan) wrote in message . com...
"C J Campbell" wrote in message ...
I can't remember where I read it, but I seem to recall that in the majority
of fatal accidents the pilot knew something was wrong with the airplane
before he even took off. It does seem like a popular trend reading through
the accident databases. But can anyone point me to a study that actually
supports this view?

Although in the majority of accidents the pilot knew something was
wrong, that does not mean that the majority of flights where the pilot
knew something was wrong necessarily resulted in an accident.

I don't think that's what he was getting at. He meant, I think,
that some pilots will take off knowing something's not right, then
that defect, whatever it is, COULD cause an accident.
This is a similar argument to the "taking off on one mag" thread
of a few days ago. There were some who would do it, some who wouldn't.
I've had two engine failures in my flying time, both in singles, both
with aging engines. Add this to the fact that I'm getting older and
more conservative, and that I'm an aircraft mechanic and know that if
one mag is bad, the other is likely not far behind if they are the
same age, I won't temp fate anymore. Of all airplane maintenance
problems, electrical defects are a large part, and of all the rough
engines I fix, ignition is by far the most common cause.
In spite of all the fuss over mechanical defects, the accidents
due to engine failure are usually the pilot's fault. I have a list
here of the big five causes of engine failures: Carb ice was most
common, followed by fuel starvation, water in the fuel, and practice
forced approaches when the weather was cold and the engine quit when
the pilot opened it too quick in the overshoot. Oil starvation came
last, and was sometimes caused by old oil hoses, corroded oil coolers,
or a loose drain plug that fell out. Except for most of the oil
starvation cases, these failures are caused by pilots who get
complacent, careless or forgetful of their training.

Dan