As more than a few commenters have posted on Youtube, you may want to mute the song accompanying the footage as soon as you start the video!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQnDPIkaJ34&w=480]
All about crosswind takeoffs and landings
Crosswind takeoffs and landings can both be tricky maneuvers for novice and experienced pilots alike. Moreover, Jason Schappert of MzeroA.com, who has recently put together a short video about crosswind takeoffs, has noted that crosswind takeoffs tend to get neglected as pilots will focus on making great crosswind landings instead of great crosswind takeoffs.
Hence, Jason has put together a video where he shows pilots how to takeoff into a perfect 90 degree off the runway crosswind by first turning the ailerons into the wind and then holding the aircraft down the centerline while climbing out.
Meanwhile and when the time comes to make a crosswind landing, Richard Collins has recently written a lengthy article for Air Facts Journal that is well worth reading where he first noted that there is little agreement about how to make a good crosswind landing. In fact, varying schools of thought that he cited include:
It is best to crab into the wind and kick (rudder) the airplane straight with the runway right before touchdown.
Or:
Lower the wing into the wind with aileron enough to take the drift out and maintain runway alignment with the rudder.
Or (especially in heavier airplanes):
Some pilots just land with the drift in and let the airplane straighten itself out after touching down.
Richard also noted that he even changed his crosswind landing technique late into his flying career and he noted that the technique he now uses also seems to work better. Richard then ended his article by asking readers about how they handle crosswind landings and whether or not they were taught the specific technique or learned it on their own.
In addition, Jason Schappert has also put together a crosswind landing video and he also noted that over the past 5 years, there have been over 740 reported mishaps related to crosswind landings – roughly 150+ per year. Meaning it might be time for you to brush up on your crosswind landing technique.
Landing on a wet grass runway proves fatal
General Aviation News will often reprint accident reports from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), including an October 2009 accident report that involved a Piper Archer in Oliver Springs, Tennessee.
According to the accident report, a pilot was attempting to land on a grass runway that was wet. When the Piper touched down on the runway, it bounced back into the air.
The Piper then touched down on the runway for a second time. However, the aircraft then turned about 45° to the left and skidded toward the woods bordering the runway. The aircraft crashed through a fence and hit a tree with the left side of the cockpit taking the full force of the impact – causing one fatal injury and three minor injuries.
To avoid having the same situation happen to you, check out a great article by William L. Gruber that’s posted in the Flight Training section of the AOPA’s website. Gruber noted that landing on a grass field takes extra care because they are constantly changing depending upon the season and the amount of recent rainfall in the area. He also noted that it will take much longer to get off the ground on a wet grass runway than on one that is dry.
In other words, be extra careful during any wet season and be sure to talk to pilots who have recently used the grass runways you intend to use.
Pilot misjudges runway and lands too fast and too far down it
General Aviation News often reprints excerpts from US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident reports, including this one from October 2009 that involved a Cessna 182 in White Plains, New York where there was substantial aircraft damage but no injuries. According to the accident report, the pilot was attempting a night landing and was told by ATC to expect to use runway 29 at the best forward speed in order to expedite his landing. The pilot looked at his approach charts and noticed that the runway was more than 4,400 feet long. He choose to land with no flaps.
The Cessna 182 touched down past a runway intersection with 2,854 feet of runway remaining to the departure section. However, the pilot could not stop the aircraft as it slid off the runway, down an embankment and then onto a service road resulting in the nose landing gear collapsing. The aircraft’s pilot-rated-passenger would later report that the aircraft’s estimated speed to the runway had been 110 knots.
After the mishap, the pilot learned that the runway’s displaced threshold meant that it only had about 3,164 feet available for landing instead of the 4,400 feet he thought was available. Hence, the probable cause of the accident was ruled the pilot’s failure to land at the runway’s proper spot plus excessive airspeed in order to comply with ATC’s request to expedite landing.
Water landings: Some facts and figures to consider
If you fly over bodies of water, then a recent post about water ditchings by Paul Bertorelli for AVweb is well worth reading. Paul began his post by mentioning a recent ditching of a Cessna 310 13 miles off the coast of Hawaii (probably due to fuel exhaustion) and then commenting that such incidents are not all that uncommon.
Paul then recited some of the following data and statistics that he has collected over the years about water ditchings:
- For warm water ditchings where the chance of survival in the water is measured in hours rather than minutes, the chance of survival is well into the 80th percentile.
- Pilots and passengers rarely get trapped in the aircraft as the uninjured egress rate is more than 90% in most waters. The exceptions being deep ocean bluewater where its slightly less while the survival rate is markedly less in a deepwater ditchings at night. Otherwise, the overall survival rate after leaving the aircraft is 88% for general aviation aircraft based on a study of about 220 accidents over 30 years.
- Rivers and lakes are the best places to ditch followed bays and estuaries and then open oceans. However, there is not enough data to draw any definite statistical conclusions.
- Helicopters will almost always turn over after a ditching while fixed wing aircraft will sometimes turnover but often will not. Hence, a turnover should be less of a concern for general aviation pilots.
Finally and if you are wondering whether or not you should ditch with full power or try to press on to land and risk ditching with no power, Paul pointed out that a water landings will be tough enough even with power. Hence, he would just cut his losses and ditch. Then its just a matter of waiting for the aircraft to stop, releasing the seatbelt and opening the door.
At the end of his post, Paul once again reiterated the survival rate of water ditchings – meaning it might actually be a better option than attempting a landing where there are trees and rocks.
The Innsbruck approach
John Fiscus has written on the Cirrus Owners & Pilots Association (COPA) blog about an interesting observation he made while organizing his charts: The approach chart into Innsbruck Austria actually folds out and its one steep approach into the airport!
However and to fully appreciate an approach into Innsbruck Airport, the following video from YouTube shows the standard procedure for approaching Innsbruck’s runway 08:
Its worth noting that the approach into the Innsbruck Airport is actually a popular flight simulation and as you can see from the above video, most pilots (and passengers alike) would probably prefer doing the approach usig simulator software and not in real life!