Pilots Fly Safely in Wyoming's Wind

A pilot's single-engine aircraft was flipped by the wind Monday at Casper-Natrona County International Airport and investigators are still at work.  
  
Many may wonder what could cause a plane to crash and just how do pilots handle flying in the wild Wyoming wind.

One of the first things to investigate in any plane crash is whether it was a malfunction in the plane's equipment or if the pilot was at fault.

David Calar, pilot of 23 years says, "manufacturing wise, I have not seen any. In my 23 years, I have not seen any manufacturing issues that would have been related to a major accident of any kind."

Travis Peter, an aviation mechanic for Atlantic Aviation says, "very more likely to be involved in an accident in a car than an airplane."

People looking to obtain their pilot's license must complete a total of 40 hours in the air.

Calar says "that's the minimum requirement. There's 20 hours of solo flying and 20 hours of dual flying."

Peter says, "it's a pretty safe industry. FA does a really good job making sure maintenance and pilots are properly trained."

To no-one's surprise, there is one thing any aviation school stresses among their students.

Calar continues, "safety is the biggest, the biggest thing that we deal with. Aircraft is inspected daily before you get in an aircraft, you inspect it."

In order to manage take-offs and landings in high speed winds... CNCIA's airport is designed to handle any direction.

"Our runways here in Casper-Natrona County Airport is very good. We have runways that can accommodate just about every wind direction."

Experts say students are trained to handle high-stress situations if they're not comfortable with a particular landing.

"You know, we're trained to go around if a landing doesn't feel comfortable, we usually, we could abort that landing and go around and attempt it again."

Over the past five decades, studies show a higher death rate in general aviation with 44,000 deaths compared to commercial flights with about 5,000..

Although not everybody flies with an updated license, experts say it is something punishable by law, just as if you were driving a car without a driver's license.

Story, photo and video:   http://www.kcwy13.com

AIRCRAFT ON LANDING FLIPPED OVER, CASPER, WY
FAA Casper FSFO-04:  http://www.asias.faa.gov

Cessna 180,  N9012C: http://registry.faa.gov/N9012C