Letters from our October 2016 issue

I enjoy Mike Busch’s articles; however, this one is beyond enjoyment. It is a call to action. That aircraft owner was the victim of extortion. Even a casual reading of the legal definition shows this person was extorted out of thousands of dollars by a person using their FAA-granted authority as leverage.

The aircraft owner should contact the U.S. Attorney’s office and ask for an inquiry as to criminal activity being conducted under the authority of the FAA. He should also file civil suit for damages in both federal and state courts.

I believe some of the ADs that are created fall under this category as well. Collusion (also a crime) between the manufacturers and the FAA, resulting in use of authority to take property and enrichen the manufacturers by forcing the replacement or repair of perfectly serviceable items is wrong.

In the bad old days of gas station attendants convincing the unwitting driver their franastat was leaking and “good thing I saw it before you had an accident; only $500 to fix while you wait” caused consumer protection laws to be enacted. Perhaps it is time we aircraft owners were protected from those stealing from us under color of authority. We may not need a new law, but an investigation under criminal statutes would send a clear message to knock it off.

Rick Adler
AOPA 675290
Clarksville, Virginia

“Mike Busch’s approach to troubleshooting is textbook of what a good mechanic is supposed to do. Thank you for sharing his expertise. Jose Moreno, Riverside, CaliforniaI agree with almost everything Mike Busch said. I would like to add one thought. He wrote about keeping mechanics on a short leash so they don’t find additional squawks. I think he’s right, to a certain point. However, there is legal precedence for finding additional squawks. There have been judgments against mechanics who perform a maintenance task and shortly afterward the aircraft crashes because of unrelated mechanical problems.

The mechanic was held responsible because he should have known and informed the pilot of the unairworthy item. I don’t agree with those judgments because the owner/operator is ultimately responsible to determine the airworthiness of the aircraft. The lawyers just needed someone to pay. At what point does a mechanic’s prudence become snooping? I don’t know. I used to think that an aircraft owner would appreciate a cursory inspection. Not so.

I used to work at a busy FBO. Across the ramp was another FBO that was notorious for snagging owners. There were a few instances when the other FBO would write a bunch of squawks in the logbooks, grounding the airplane, and threaten FAA action. The owner would then taxi over to our FBO. The director of maintenance, whom I think had a great deal of savvy and common sense, would address the squawks for next to nothing costwise. One grounding item was the tachometer on a 1974 Cessna 182. It was 75 rpm low at 2,500 rpm indicated. The other FBO said the tachometer had to be sent out for recalibration. There is no requirement for tach accuracy that I know of. We made a placard stating the error. In a few months, that owner came back and let us perform his annual.

Paul Cotrufo
AOPA 898618
Apex, North Carolina

Flameout!

As a Boeing 727 engineer at the time, with 10 years at United Airlines, I remember this much-discussed DC–8 disaster well and the lessons learned from it. Shortly after this avoidable event, United developed a course focusing on crew discipline and team effort for all flight officers. It emphasized the importance of crewmembers speaking up when disagreeing with a captain’s (or anyone’s) decision, or lack thereof. The course was titled “Command Leadership Resources” or CLR and was the forerunner of CRM. It involved the recounting and study of several situations made worse, and often resulting in accidents, by wrong or no decisions made by captains and worsened by “shy” crewmembers. It was a good course and one left knowing it was OK to question decisions and offer one’s input.

Later in my career as a 767/757 check pilot and instructor I wrote an article for our safety bulletin titled, “What Do You Think?” It was a technique I used while flying the line as a captain: When a sticky situation developed requiring good decisions I would consider a possible solution, present it, then ask the first officer: “What do you think?” He/she would either agree, sometimes adding good supplemental info, or would suggest an altogether better solution. This same process can be used in general aviation aircraft if there’s a knowledgeable person in the right seat, especially in multiengine airplanes.

Jerry Blalock
AOPA 1272679
Carmichael, California

I had a beautiful career with Eastern Airlines. I started in 1964 and my first airplane was a Convair 440. Flying at night with thunderstorms all around, we were going to Chattanooga and the ILS was out; we had to do an ADF approach. 

After passing the fix, I noticed the captain flying like he was still going inbound. Being fresh out of school and having flown many ADF approaches before Eastern, I was getting nervous. After all, he was the captain!  After about 15 seconds I started pointing at the ADF gauge and mumbling; he understood and the rest of the landing was normal. 

After landing and we were walking to operations the captain put his arm around my shoulders and said, John, if you ever see the old man doing something wrong, speak up, don’t let the old man kill you, we all make mistakes. When I made captain I always told my crew to speak up if they saw me doing something wrong.

John Stetson
AOPA 944851
Fort Myers, Florida

Logic: So overrated

Regarding “Waypoints,” Tom Haines could have reduced his post-landing taxi times significantly at the military bases with their long runways by requesting a long landing. Years ago as a DoD civilian at the McClellan Air Force Base, I was a member of the Aero Club. I loved flying the T–34, not taxiing. The Aero Club was at the southwest end of the field. Given that the runway was almost 10,600 feet long, if you landed on the numbers of 16 (the usual active) you also had quite a taxi back to the club. The procedure was to arrest the descent at 500 feet agl then, when over the numbers, to continue the landing. That put your touchdown just about midfield abeam the tower, and then a normal rollout and exit for the Aero Club. Easy. We also made lots of mid-field departures.  

Greg Stovall
AOPA 944528
Davis, California

“Dave Hirschman needs to come to the Valdez airshow and show everyone how it is done! He can put his money where his mouth is. Happy to hand him the first-place trophy. ”  Bill Wilcox, AOPA 735071, Soldotna, AlaskaHope has wings

I read the fine article on AirServ in AOPA Pilot. I am a life member of AOPA and I enjoyed reading this splendid article on the outfit flying humanitarian missions in Africa. And there was Dave Carlstrom, the CEO and president of AirServ. Congratulations to him, he is doing heroic work. I remember working with him in Fairbanks. I wish him only the best and I applaud what he is doing—a standing ovation is deserved.

Mike Rice
AOPA 4679693
Mayhill, New Mexico

We welcome your comments. Editor, AOPA Pilot, 421 Aviation Way, Frederick, Maryland 21701 or email ([email protected]). Letters may be edited for length and style before publication.

Hangar Talk

“The DC–3 has always had a special connection to my family,” says Peter A. Bedell, author of “Golden Age Ambassador,” page 50. “Just after college graduation in 1956, my father stopped by New York’s La Guardia Airport to inquire about flying jobs. At the Northeast Airlines office, the chief pilot wasn’t impressed by the 21-year-old asking about flying jobs. We only need pilots with multiengine and instrument ratings, the chief said to dad. My dad checked both those boxes having completed his multiengine rating in a Cessna T–50 six months prior. Next thing he knew he was flying right seat in DC–3s all summer from La Guardia and having a blast. Although he likely wanted to, he never became a career pilot, instead entering medicine. As a child, I too became enamored with the DC–3. I peppered my dad with questions about it, built models of them, and committed specifications to memory. Fast-forward many decades; dad’s long gone and I’m the airline pilot with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fly a DC–3, thanks to the crew of PMDG Flight Ops, owner and manager of the magnificently restored Clipper Tabitha May. Just like the Clipper brings the Golden Age of flight to a new generation at its appearances, I got to reconnect with an experience my father cherished—and I will, too.”