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Airworthiness
Ring of fire
A tiny, inexpensive part was ignored for decades until it failed, with dreadful consequences.
The fiery crash of a 44-year-old Mooney MJ201 in 2022 remains...
Dirty plus thirty
A 12-factor classification of maintenance hazards remains as relevant as it was in 1993. Gordon Dupont’s' dirty dozen’, identifies manageable distinct safety problems, breaking a huge vague challenge into 12 smaller ones.
Back in the box: the importance of tool control for safety
Technology can assist, but not replace, human thoroughness in controlling this foreign object damage hazard
Aircraft maintenance is an unforgiving way to make a living.
As...
Total recall
If not for an experienced engineer’s long and detailed memory, a serious in-flight incident might have remained a mystery
By Robert Wilson
It’s something not meant...
Phoney maintenance
by Roger Alder
‘Never, in the history of aviation maintenance, have so many been distracted by so little.’
With apologies to Sir Winston Churchill, who was...
The hour cometh
A recent airworthiness directive from the US Federal Aviation Administration highlights the difficult issues surrounding the ageing general aviation aircraft fleet.
Some things just seem...
Hot and confused
A tangle of misinformation about engine bay flammable fluid flexible hoses needs clearing up
Dangerous ideas are not always outrageous. Sometimes they arise out of...
Rationalising airworthiness
Thomas P. Turner
The pilot of a vintage Cessna 120 taildragger noticed over time that the aeroplane’s battery would not always hold a charge. It...
The cable saga
In the five years since a very near miss put the issue of flight control deterioration into clear focus, sixty-one unserviceable and potentially dangerous...
Grinding gear
A known and documented problem continues to cause embarrassment and expense for Cessna operators.
It was a memorable sightseeing trip, for the wrong reasons. The...
Airworthiness spotlight
Planet gears implicated in Norway helicopter crash
The Norwegian Accident Investigation Board (AIBN) has issued another preliminary report into the helicopter crash on 29 April that killed 13 people.
The crash happened...
Bulletins highlight D-ring dangers
Helicopter Winching and Passenger seat belt attachment warning
CASA has published a series of airworthiness bulletins to address safety problems with helicopter winch hooks,...
Directive covers possible instrument failure
Primary flight instruments that could fail without notice or indication are the subject of a recent CASA airworthiness directive.
CASA has published European Aviation Safety...
Check your hose before it blows
When did you last think about your aircraft’s hoses? Have you ever thought about how your safety in the sky depends on these unglamorous,...
CASA considers changes to propeller inspections
CASA is proposing clearer and simpler criteria for propeller maintenance. A proposed amendment to airworthiness directive AD /PROP/1 Amdt 3 covering all propellers is...
