Monday, October 23, 2017

Cessna 150H, N22092, Pocono Mountains Flying Club Inc: Accident occurred October 22, 2017 at Schuylkill County Airport (KZER), Pottsville, Pennsylvania

Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Aviation Accident Final Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf 

Investigation Docket - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms

Aviation Accident Data Summary - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

Pocono Mountains Flying Club Inc

Analysis 

The pilot reported that, during approach, the automatic weather observation station at the destination airport reported that the wind was from 170° at 12 knots. He added that there was "very massive choppy wind, including what could have been windshear, updrafts, and downdrafts." During the landing roll on runway 11, a wind gust blew the airplane off the runway to the left. The pilot attempted to recover, but the airplane impacted a ditch.

The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and right wing.

The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector reported that a postaccident examination revealed that the rudder cable that passed along the left side of the fuselage was separated into three pieces. The rudder cable was covered in debris, which contained red fibers. The rudder cable was splayed and exhibited signatures consistent with tension overload.

The airplane's illustrated parts catalog contained a diagram titled, "Rudder Control System Installation," which displayed the cable along the left side of the fuselage cross over the right side of the airplane, in the tailcone section, and connect to the right side of the rudder horn, which provided right rudder authority.

The airplane's most recent inspection was an annual, which was conducted 6 months before the accident flight. The FAA inspector interviewed the mechanic who performed the most recent annual inspection, and the mechanic reported that, during inspections, he used manufacturer data and FAA Advisory Circular, AC 43.13-1B, "Acceptable Methods, Techniques, and Practices – Aircraft Inspection and Repair." He further reported, multiple times, that he should probably "tighten up" his inspections.

AC 43.13-1B contained a section titled, "Cable System Inspection," which stated the following:

"Aircraft cable systems are subject to a variety of environmental conditions and deterioration. Wire or strand breakage is easy to visually recognize. Other kinds of deterioration such as wear, corrosion, and/or distortion are not easily seen; therefore, control cables should be removed periodically for a more detailed inspection.

At each annual or 100-hour inspection, all control cables must be inspected for broken wire strands. Any cable assembly that has one broken wire strand located in a critical fatigue area must be replaced."

It further stated the following:

"Close inspection in these critical fatigue areas, must be made by passing a cloth over the area to snag on broken wires. This will clean the cable for visual inspection, and detect broken wires if the cloth snags on the cable."

It is likely that the red fibers found on the rudder cable were from a red cloth used to inspect the rudder cable during the annual inspection. It is also likely that, sometime during the flight or landing sequence, the right rudder cable separated, which subsequently restricted the pilot's ability to recover from the loss of control during landing. 

Probable Cause and Findings

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The failure of the right rudder cable and subsequent loss of directional control during landing.

Findings

Aircraft
Rudder control system - Failure (Cause)
Directional control - Attain/maintain not possible

Environmental issues
Windshear - Effect on operation
Updraft - Effect on operation
Downdraft - Effect on operation

Factual Information

History of Flight

Unknown
Flight control sys malf/fail (Defining event)

Landing
Other weather encounter
Loss of control on ground
Runway excursion

Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT)

Location: Pottsville, PA
Accident Number: GAA18CA020
Date & Time: 10/22/2017, 1815 EDT
Registration: N22092
Aircraft: CESSNA 150
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Defining Event: Flight control sys malf/fail
Injuries: 2 None
Flight Conducted Under:  Part 91: General Aviation - Personal 

The pilot reported that, during approach, the automatic weather observation station at the destination airport reported that the wind was from 170° at 12 knots. He added that there was "very massive choppy wind, including what could have been windshear, updrafts, and downdrafts". During the landing roll on runway 11, a wind gust blew the airplane off the runway to the left. The pilot attempted to recover, but the airplane impacted a ditch.

The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and right wing.

The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector reported that, during a postaccident examination, the rudder cable that passed along the left side of the fuselage was separated into three pieces. The rudder cable was covered in debris, which contained red fibers. The rudder cable was splayed and exhibited signatures consistent with tension overload.

The airplane's illustrated parts catalog contained a diagram, titled "Rudder Control System Installation". This diagram displayed the cable along the left side of the fuselage cross over the right side of the airplane, in the tailcone section, and connect to the right side of the rudder horn, which provided right rudder authority.

The airplane's most recent inspection was an annual, conducted 6 months prior to the accident flight.

The FAA inspector interviewed the mechanic who performed the most recent annual inspection. During the interview, the mechanic reported that, during inspections, he uses manufacturer data and the FAA advisory circular, AC 43.13-1B. He further reported, multiple times, that he should probably "tighten up" his inspections.

The FAA's advisory circular, AC 43.13-1B, titled "Acceptable Methods, Techniques, and Practices – Aircraft Inspection and Repair", contains a section titled "Cable System Inspection", which stated:

"Aircraft cable systems are subject to a variety of environmental conditions and deterioration. Wire or strand breakage is easy to visually recognize. Other kinds of deterioration such as wear, corrosion, and/or distortion are not easily seen; therefore, control cables should be removed periodically for a more detailed inspection.

At each annual or 100 hour inspection, all control cables must be inspected for broken wires strands. Any cable assembly that has one broken wire strand located in a critical fatigue area must be replaced."

It further stated:

"Close inspection in these critical fatigue areas, must be made by passing a cloth over the area to snag on broken wires. This will clean the cable for visual inspection, and detect broken wires if the cloth snags on the cable." 

Pilot Information

Certificate: Private
Age: 25, Male
Airplane Rating(s): Single-engine Land
Seat Occupied: Left
Other Aircraft Rating(s): None
Restraint Used: Lap Only
Instrument Rating(s): None
Second Pilot Present: No
Instructor Rating(s): None
Toxicology Performed: No
Medical Certification: Class 3 With Waivers/Limitations
Last FAA Medical Exam: 11/16/2016
Occupational Pilot: No
Last Flight Review or Equivalent: 
Flight Time: (Estimated) 83 hours (Total, all aircraft), 82 hours (Total, this make and model), 29 hours (Pilot In Command, all aircraft), 35 hours (Last 90 days, all aircraft), 13 hours (Last 30 days, all aircraft), 2 hours (Last 24 hours, all aircraft) 

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Manufacturer: CESSNA
Registration: N22092
Model/Series: 150 H
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Year of Manufacture: 1967
Amateur Built: No
Airworthiness Certificate: Utility
Serial Number: 15068059
Landing Gear Type: Tricycle
Seats: 2
Date/Type of Last Inspection: 04/14/2017, Annual
Certified Max Gross Wt.: 1600 lbs
Time Since Last Inspection: 
Engines: 1 Reciprocating
Airframe Total Time: 
Engine Manufacturer: CONT MOTOR
ELT: Installed, activated, did not aid in locating accident
Engine Model/Series: O-200 SERIES
Registered Owner: POCONO MOUNTAINS FLYING CLUB INC
Rated Power: 100 hp
Operator: POCONO MOUNTAINS FLYING CLUB INC
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: KMUI, 488 ft msl
Observation Time: 0958 UTC
Distance from Accident Site: 18 Nautical Miles
Direction from Accident Site: 208°
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear
Temperature/Dew Point: 6°C / 6°C
Lowest Ceiling: None
Visibility:  10 Miles
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: Calm
Visibility (RVR): 
Altimeter Setting: 30.38 inches Hg
Visibility (RVV): 
Precipitation and Obscuration: No Obscuration; No Precipitation
Departure Point: MOUNT POCONO, PA (MPO)
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Destination: Pottsville, PA (ZER)
Type of Clearance: None
Departure Time: 1730 EDT
Type of Airspace: Class G

Airport Information

Airport: SCHUYLKILL COUNTY /JOE ZERBEY (ZER)
Runway Surface Type: Asphalt
Airport Elevation: 1729 ft
Runway Surface Condition: Dry
Runway Used: 11
IFR Approach: None
Runway Length/Width: 4599 ft / 75 ft
VFR Approach/Landing: Full Stop

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 None
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: 1 None
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 2 None

Latitude, Longitude:  40.705278, -76.377500 (est)

A plane crash has been reported at the Joe Zerbey Airport Sunday evening.

The incident occurred around 6:15pm with early reports stating an airplane slid off the runway.

Foster Twp., Mt Pleasant, South Cass, Minersville Fire/Rescue, and Yorkville Fire are responding to the scene.

More details when they are available. 

Original article can be found here ➤ http://www.skooknews.com

Drake Field Airport (KFYV), Fayetteville, Washington County, Arkansas

Ethan Kimes, a flight line operations technician, repositions the propeller Thursday before pulling a Beech Bonanza A36 out of a hangar and to the flight line for its owner at Drake Field in Fayetteville.



FAYETTEVILLE -- Municipal airport officials want to remain fiscally responsible with an eye toward growth.

They have planned more than $10.6 million in capital improvements over the next five years. The plan includes widening a taxiway, repaving the runway, making the terminal more energy-efficient and building hangars.

Summer Fallen, airport services manager since July, said all nine of the corporate hangars are leased, there's a waiting list for double T-hangars and four single T-hangars are available. There are 94 T-hangars total.

"If the airport is going to continue to grow, we need more space to house aviation-related businesses and individuals who would like their aircraft to be based in Fayetteville," she said.

Officials also want to replace the heating and air-conditioning systems, which were installed in the 1980s.

The airport is one of two in the country this year to receive a Federal Aviation Administration grant to retrofit the terminal for energy efficiency, said Terry Gulley, city transportation services director. Portland International Jetport in Portland, Maine, received $1.3 million for the project, according to the FAA's website. Fayetteville got $25,740 for an energy assessment so it can apply for another grant in 2018 to complete efficiency projects.

The work might include solar panels, using geothermal energy or a new chiller and boiler, Gulley said.

"If any or all of that works out, who knows?" he said. "That might end up saving us three-quarters of a million dollars or something."

The airport is in the design phase to widen and fix Taxiway B because larger planes have trouble rounding its corners. The $1.6 million construction is set to begin next year. The FAA will pay for 90 percent of the project through the Airport Improvement Program.

A roof rehab project should also finish up in 2018. The Arkansas Air and Military Museum, in the old terminal, the FAA building and hangars that needed repair all got new roofs.

The airport also will get a spruced-up parking lot. The City Council on Tuesday gave airport officials authority to apply for a grant from the Arkansas Department of Aeronautics. The city would contribute about $45,000 to the $180,000 project, Gulley said.

The city's Capital Improvements Plan, which the council approved Tuesday, has $245,000 set aside for repairs to the airport over the next five years. Those would tackle basic needs, like new plumbing, fixing the leaky skylight and replacing ceiling tiles, Fallen said.

"Our main focus right now is fixing the issues we have," she said. "Before we can improve the terminal as a whole, we need to address the problems as they stand."

The airport also needs a new beacon. The one it has is fading, and a new one would hopefully sit atop the tower and be more energy efficient, Fallen said.

Fallen and Gulley attended the Arkansas Airport Operators Association conference in Eureka Springs on Oct. 16-17. A big part of the association's mission is to have municipal airports in the state become financially sustainable.

The Springdale airport has nearly $250,000 in the bank, according to Wyman Morgan, the city's finance director. The airport plans to buy 10 acres nearby and expand. The City Council has approved a $207,000 FAA grant to fix up the runway and replace its lighting with LED lights.

The Bentonville airport wants to build a new taxiway, which would lead to more hangars. The number of planes based at the airport has increased from 63 in 2014 to 77. Airport officials predict there will be 111 by 2035.

The Rogers airport finished a $6.6 million runway, lighting and drainage project this summer. An upcoming taxiway improvement project has an estimated cost of $2.2 million and entails about 10,000 square yards of new concrete, said David Krutsch, airport manager.

In a time when municipal airports around the country are struggling, the ones in Northwest Arkansas are doing relatively well.

Cities across the nation are reconsidering the value of municipal airports in the era of super jets and budget cuts, according to a July 18 New York Times article. The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association estimated the nation loses 50 public-use airports a year, the Times reported.

"Right now, we're holding our own and managing to raise enough revenue to meet the expenses that we incur," Gulley said. "Any extra we make we usually use to match grant opportunities."

More than 70 percent of the Fayetteville airport's $2.2 million budget comes from fuel sales. Nearly all the rest comes from rent.

Fallen said fuel sales are up 14 percent from this time last year. All of the terminal space is rented to aviation companies, the Post Office and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Skydive Fayetteville signed a contract in August.

Jett Aircraft started leasing space at the terminal as Creamer Pilot Services about a year ago. The Fayetteville-based business, which manages a service for aircraft owners who rent their planes to pilots, wanted to grow, said Scott Davis, director of maintenance.

Under the Jett moniker, the company renovated about 2,200 square feet of space at the terminal. The renovation work is an investment as it hopes to start a charter service by the end of the year, Davis said.

"We're trying to grow a business also," he said. "We figured if they're in growth mode, and we're in growth mode, we might as well hold hands and take off running."

Fallen officially became airport manager in July. Before that, she had been serving a dual role as financial coordinator and manager. Gulley was helping run things at the airport, on top of his duties as city transportation director. Gulley now serves an advisory role, Fallen focuses solely on managing the airport and Dee McCoy, former administrative assistant, moved up to financial coordinator.

Capital Improvement Plan

The airport has $10,608,000 in improvements budgeted over the next five years. Projects are paid for mostly through federal and state grants.

2018

• Taxiway B widening and renovation: $1,650,000

Beacon upgrade: $120,000

Terminal parking lot renovation: $200,000

•Hangar roof renovation: $458,000

• Fayetteville energy assessment project: $500,000

• Total: $2,928,000

2019

• Runway pavement and lighting renovation (preliminary engineering): $120,000

• Hangar construction: $1,000,000

• Fuel farm renovation: $310,000

• Runway pavement markings: $100,000

• Fayetteville energy assessment project: $500,000

• Total: $2,030,000

2020

• Runway pavement and lighting renovation (design): $150,000

• Hangar roof renovation: $200,000

•Taxiway A renovation: $100,000

• Total: $450,000

2021

• Runway pavement renovation (construction): $3,400,000

• Airfield lighting and sign renovation: $1,200,000

• Total: $4,600,000

2022

• Arkansas Rural Firefighters vehicle: $600,000

• Total: $600,000

Source: City of Fayetteville

Original article can be found here ➤ http://www.nwaonline.com

New flight paths lead to airplane noise complaints across US

PHOENIX — Airliners began flying over Twila Lake’s bungalow-style house in a historic district three years ago, taking off every one to two minutes from the Phoenix airport and roaring over her neighborhood. It was a sudden change after rarely hearing jets in her previous 13 years in the downtown neighborhood.

Now, “it’s all day and night long,” complained the 71-year-old retiree, who said she sleeps with the television on to drown out aircraft noise. Some neighbors sold their homes and moved after the aviation highway entrance ramp was routed overhead.

The Federal Aviation Administration started revising flight paths and procedures around the United States in 2014 under its air traffic control modernization plan known as “NextGen.” The new procedures use more precise, satellite-based navigation that saves time, increases the number of planes airports can service, and reduces fuel burn and emissions.

Noise complaints exploded from San Diego to Charlotte, North Carolina, to New York as flights were concentrated at lower altitudes, in narrower paths and on more frequent schedules. The new paths often reduce the number of people exposed to noise, but those who get noise get it far more consistently.

In Phoenix, redrawn flights over vintage neighborhoods like Lake’s affect some 2,500 homes, prompting a court challenge from historic districts and the city.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Aug. 29 agreed with their assessment that the FAA was “arbitrary and capricious” in revising flight procedures. FAA officials asked for an extension, and the court this month pushed the petition deadline to Nov. 16.

Local governments and residents in more than a half-dozen other areas - including Washington’s Georgetown neighborhood and California’s Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, Orange County and Culver City - have similar petitions before the court.

Attorney Steven Taber, who represents several Southern California communities with complaints, predicted legal action over flight changes will be a continuing problem across the U.S.

Aviation experts said they don’t expect the Phoenix ruling to set a precedent for other cities, but it is forcing the FAA to be more responsive.

“We certainly view it as one of the most egregious cases of a lack of community involvement,” said Chris Oswald, vice president of safety and regulatory affairs with Airports Council International-North America. The FAA has since done more outreach elsewhere, he said.

Policy analyst Rui Neiva of the Eno Center for Transportation think tank in Washington said agency officials must find a middle ground.

“In some cases, they may have to settle on a path that is less efficient, or create several additional paths,” he said.

But David Grizzle, a former FAA chief operating officer, said it’s not possible to redesign procedures to address the problem and still reap NextGen’s technology advantages.

“There is an intrinsic issue of concentrating noise in particular places that comes with precision-based navigation that is inescapable,” he said.

FAA officials knew a decade ago some homeowners would suffer more noise because of the changes, but hoped their complaints would be offset by the people who benefited, Grizzle said. But those people haven’t spoken up.

The FAA said in a statement it is reviewing the Phoenix decision and working with residents near airports around the country through “noise roundtables” to balance community interests with needed improvements to the national airspace system.

In Phoenix, “simply reverting to previous air traffic control procedures is not viable,” the agency said. The new procedures are “interdependent,” and any changes to one would have a domino effect, it said.

FAA officials claimed a “categorical exclusion” for Phoenix, which they said allowed them to forgo the customary environmental assessment because any changes in flight procedures were not expected to have an adverse impact. When Phoenix filed a challenge, the FAA sought to have it dismissed, arguing it was not filed in a timely fashion.

The court ruled that by keeping people in the dark, the agency made it impossible for the public to submit views on the project’s potential effects - something the FAA is especially required to do for historic areas and parks.

People elsewhere also complain the FAA failed to adequately explain the planned changes or provide opportunities to comment. In some areas, people say they didn’t know changes were coming because the FAA advertised them in places people wouldn’t normally look, such as government webpages.

In the Washington metro area, Georgetown University and neighborhood groups complained the FAA left them out of the loop and failed to properly assess the effect of changes at Ronald Reagan National Airport.

Residents said that until spring 2015, departing flights traveled a straight line over the Pentagon, Arlington National Cemetery and commercial areas of Rosslyn, Virginia. Now, a major departure path routes planes alongside historic Georgetown.

Roberto Vittori said he didn’t know about the FAA’s plans when he bought his home near Georgetown University’s medical school. Vittori wrote in a legal declaration last year that he spent $12,000 on soundproof glass for the home’s double-paned windows, but it was “still inadequate to muffle the noise.”

In Maryland, residents have complained about aircraft noise from Reagan National and Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan recently ordered the state’s attorney general to prepare a lawsuit against the FAA over routes he said were making families “miserable in their own homes.”

Santa Cruz, California, residents have complained of noise from planes headed to San Francisco International Airport but said they decided to work with federal officials rather than go to court.

For some 30 years, San Francisco-bound aircraft traveled over unpopulated areas, but residents were surprised last year when planes began flying closer to their homes, Denise Stansfield said.

Through the Save our Skies Santa Cruz citizens group Stansfield founded, a committee of residents, elected officials and FAA representatives began meeting to devise less obtrusive flight procedures. The process is ongoing, but residents are optimistic.

Initially, the FAA “didn’t consider the impact for people on the ground,” group member Vicki Miller said. “I think they are reassessing.”

Original article  ➤ https://www.washingtonpost.com