In March, a Mooney airplane door opened in flight, causing a loss of control and two fatalities. Todd and John examine this incident and three other Mooney events. Instead of a fault with Mooney aircraft, they find a pattern of very experienced pilots having issues and crashing when a passenger or baggage door opens in flight.

Doors open in flight often. The outcome depends on pilot action.

The pilot in the most recent crash had commercial and instrument ratings and nearly 800 hours of experience. Besides the door opening in flight, the NTSB found no other issues with the aircraft. The door alone should not have caused the plane crash.

In the earlier cases they discuss, all the pilots had at least a hundred hours of flight experience and there were no issues with the aircraft other than the doors opening in flight. One of those accidents had an instructor pilot on board, and between the student and instructor, they had over 9,000 hours of flight experience.

Todd shares an early similar flight experience when an oil access door came open during the takeoff roll. He aborted the takeoff. His current process during his flight training focuses on flying the aircraft and assessing the situation before taking any other action.

Related documents are available at the Flight Safety Detectives website.

Don’t miss what’s to come from the Flight Safety Detectives - subscribe to the Flight Safety Detectives YouTube channel, listen at your favorite podcast service and visit the Flight Safety Detectives website.

Music: “Inspirational Sports” license ASLC-22B89B29-052322DDB8

Don’t miss what’s to come from the Flight Safety Detectives - subscribe to the Flight Safety Detectives YouTube channel, listen at your favorite podcast service and visit the Flight Safety Detectives website.

Music: “Inspirational Sports” license ASLC-22B89B29-052322DDB8

Get the highlights of the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture 2024 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin!

Hundreds of thousands of attendees attended the multi-day event. All sectors of aviation were represented, from the military to general aviation, from exotic and experimental aircraft to flight demonstrations by military and civilian aircraft.

John Goglia attended once again this year and chatted with pilots, mechanics, elected officials, and aviation enthusiasts of every age. He met several people who regularly listen to the podcast, including some who offered ideas for future shows.

AirVenture is a unique airshow experience, but there are opportunities to visit other airshows around the country. Many local airports also offer opportunities for the general public, to see airplanes up close and speak to local pilots, flight schools, and others involved in aviation.

Don’t miss what’s to come from the Flight Safety Detectives - subscribe to the Flight Safety Detectives YouTube channel, listen at your favorite podcast service and visit the Flight Safety Detectives website.

Music: “Inspirational Sports” license ASLC-22B89B29-052322DDB8

What led to the deadly crash of a Voepass Linhas Aereas in August? Video of the flight's final moments show the aircraft rapidly descending in a flat spin. Early reports on the accident mention that icing conditions were present in the area at the time of the crash.

Recovering from a spin in a large airliner is a significant challenge for pilots. Understanding how to avoid situations that lead to stalls and spins is the best way to avoid these tragedies.

Flight training typically does not require pilots to experience actual spins. Even full-motion simulators do not provide the full range of physical experience on an actual airplane. Pilots need to understand their aircraft's stall and spin characteristics and the situations that make an aircraft's wings more prone to stalling.

John Goglia shares his experience as an NTSB Board member investigating a 1994 icing-related crash of an ATR72. That investigation included an FAA test involving another ATR72 in controlled icing conditions, which revealed that certain icing conditions could result in icing that the ATR72's deicing system could not control.

Todd Curtis and John also delve into an incident at Boston Logan Airport where the pilot of a Brazil-registered Embraer Phenom 300E who had difficulties communicating with an air traffic controller. The pilot could not follow several ATC requests, resulting in altitude and speed deviations during a landing approach.

English is the language used by ATC at international airports, but pilots from countries where English is not the language used to communicate can have difficulties. The English used for air traffic control is not the same English used in normal conversations. Even native English speakers have challenges when communicating with ATC, particularly those performing a single-pilot IFR flight.

Related documents are available at the Fight Safety Detectives website.

Don’t miss what’s to come from the Flight Safety Detectives - subscribe to the Flight Safety Detectives YouTube channel, listen at your favorite podcast service and visit the Flight Safety Detectives website.

Music: “Inspirational Sports” license ASLC-22B89B29-052322DDB8

Don’t miss what’s to come from the Flight Safety Detectives - subscribe to the Flight Safety Detectives YouTube channel, listen at your favorite podcast service and visit the Flight Safety Detectives website.

Music: “Inspirational Sports” license ASLC-22B89B29-052322DDB8