Todd Curtis and John Goglia analyze an accident that was investigated by the Australian Transportation Safety Bureau, Australia's version of the NTSB. The ATSB report offers comprehensive aviation safety details and insight. John and Todd review the level of detail and compare it to what they find in NTSB reports from similar general aviation accidents. The Australian accident involved a Cessna 172 aircraft that crashed due to pilot decision making. This was the pilot’s first solo flight using t...
Dec 27, 2023•40 min•Ep. 197
Greg Feith and John Goglia review recent general aviation safety issues. Lack of operation discipline is leading to avoidable plane damage insurance claims. Because the claims increase insurance rates, all general aviation pilots are paying a price. Multiple incidents are shared as examples: planes running over taxi lights, ground collisions with aircraft and other objects, engines started with tow bars attached. John and Greg see a lack operational discipline by general aviation and professiona...
Dec 20, 2023•20 min•Ep. 196
Pilot and maintenance failures combined to create a dramatic turboprop incident that became a criminal case. John Goglia and Greg Feith explore the incident with a Piaggio aircraft that lost an elevator on the first flight of the day and continued with operations. The air taxi flight crew landed and flew to next airport without performing a preflight inspection. John and Greg talk about the indications the pilots could have detected to recognize problems even if they could not visually inspect t...
Dec 13, 2023•35 min•Ep. 195
More money than brains? Todd, Greg, and John examine a fatal Bahamas helicopter crash where the pilots’ focus on what their billionaire boss wanted overrode operational discipline. The 2019 Agusta AW139 helicopter crash at sea killed both pilots and all five passengers. While the crew had flown the route on at least 10 previous occasions, this was their first night flight. Greg, Todd, and John raise many issues beyond the probable causes listed in the NTSB report: · Inadequate flight planning · ...
Dec 06, 2023•43 min•Ep. 194
A drone and helicopter collide in midair as they cover a desert road race. The crash caused minor damage to the helicopter and major damage to the drone. Todd Curtis and John Goglia dissect the video and NTSB report of the incident involving a Aerospatiale AS350BA helicopter and a DJI Mavic 2 Zoom drone. John and Todd focus on key safety issues that the NTSB did not raise as they examined the 2020 collision in Johnson Valley, California. Operating helicopters and drones in the same low altitude ...
Nov 29, 2023•30 min•Ep. 193
Oil leaks don’t just happen. When they do, they should trigger a close look at the engine. John Goglia and Todd Curtis share this advice after digging into the fatal crash of a Cessna Centurion after the owner and his passenger made unscheduled repairs on the oil system. The experienced pilot and passenger lost oil in fight and landed to add more. Surprisingly, there is no evidence that they did any kind of inspection of the engine. Witnesses present when they took off again say they did not do ...
Nov 22, 2023•21 min•Ep. 192
A pilot doing his first banner tow with a Piper PA25 crashed and died. Todd and John examine this devastating banner tow plane crash. They urge pilots to educate themselves about all types of flight operations. NTSB reports are a good resource, but more data is often available online. Images and videos taken by other pilots and the public and websites like FlightAware can help the effort to understand what is needed for aviation safety in all types of flight operations. The 2019 plane crash in F...
Nov 15, 2023•23 min•Ep. 191
A former major league pitcher who had a Hall of Fame career died when doing stunt-type maneuvers in his plane. Todd Curtis and John Goglia discuss Roy "Doc" Halladay’s risk-taking behavior that led to the November 2017 crash of the Icon A5 light sport aircraft he was piloting. The plane crash occurred when Halladay was executing aggressive maneuvers at low altitudes over the waters near Clearwater, Florida. The NTSB investigation showed that Halladay had drugs in his system that would have likel...
Nov 08, 2023•28 min•Ep. 190
The recent event where an off-duty airline pilot who was flying in an airplane jump seat allegedly tried to shut off the engines leads to a discussion of crimes in the air. John and Todd talk about several examples of criminal aviation disasters. In the October 2023 event, a Horizon Air Embraer E175 airliner carrying dozens of passengers from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco was endangered. An off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot reported he had taken “magic mushrooms” 48 hours before the inciden...
Nov 01, 2023•27 min•Ep. 189
An experienced pilot and mechanic made risky decisions, causing a plane crash that killed himself and a passenger. Todd Curtis and John Goglia discuss the 2021 crash and the many decisions made that compromised aviation safety. The pilot was flying a recently purchased Piper PA24 Comanche that had been grounded for the previous 15 years. The accident pilot was an experienced and certified FAA mechanic. He had extensive experience flying Piper aircraft, but no significant experience flying the mo...
Oct 25, 2023•31 min•Ep. 188
Not too long ago, anyone who reported a UFO, or UAP as they are called today, was deemed crazy. The most likely follow up was a psychiatric exam. John Goglia and Todd Curtis report on the growing effort to systematically record and analyze these events. A September 2023 NASA report from an independent study team recommended that NASA use the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) to support U.S. government efforts to understand unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and the effect on aviation s...
Oct 18, 2023•25 min•Ep. 190
Special guest former NTSB Board Member Richard Healing and Greg Feith and John Goglia cover the recent fatal crash involving Richard McSpadden. McSpadden was executive director of the AOPA Air Safety Institute and a true champion of aviation safety. “Richard contributed a lot to aviation safety, especially on the general aviation side,” Feith shares. The number of accidents involving flight instruction is sky high right now. Healy discusses his ongoing work in researching aviation safety issues ...
Oct 13, 2023•40 min•Ep. 189
People have seen unexplained objects in the skies for decades. The US Government and other entities are finally discussing these events publicly, an important development for aviation safety. “These events have an impact on flight crews and systems and are important to look at,” says Todd Curtis. Now falling under the classification, unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), these events have been cited by the US Government as impacting national security and public safety. Todd and John discuss ho...
Oct 03, 2023•34 min•Ep. 188
The sheer number of helicopter accidents in the last six months is raising safety alarms. Todd Curtis and John Goglia focus on the conditions that helicopter pilots, and specifically medical helicopter operations, experience. John and Todd examine the relatively frequent accidents around the U.S. involving medical helicopters. The show starts with a deep analysis of events around the August 28 crash of a medical helicopter in Pompano Beach, Florida. A video of the crash was shared online shortly...
Sep 27, 2023•25 min•Ep. 187
Here’s a true aviation stinker ripped from the headlines! Todd and John discuss a recent event where a Delta A350 traveling from Atlanta to Barcelona had to return to Atlanta due to an uncontained diarrhea event involving a passenger. On to more serious aviation safety topics, they discuss in detail the March 1991 crash that killed the backup band for country and western music legend Reba McEntire. The pilots were flying out of an unfamiliar airport at night over mountainous terrain when the air...
Sep 20, 2023•25 min•Ep. 186
A recent gender reveal party turned tragic when the Piper ag plane used crashed and killed the pilot. John, Greg and Todd observe that the plane appeared to be poorly maintained. They share insight into the reasons why these types of commercial planes need special maintenance attention. The flight safety detectives focus on a recent report from the European aviation authority about bogus airplane parts. The report highlights efforts to track down suspected unapproved parts that could have been i...
Sep 13, 2023•38 min•Ep. 185
The discussion of unidentified anomalous phenomena – UAP – continues as Todd and John look at the record of JAL Flight 1628. The 1986 UAP event was investigated in detail by the FAA. The investigation could serve as a model for how the U.S. government could systematically examine current UAP events. The event involved a large unknown craft that was seen by the flight crew and tracked by radar. It was larger than anything that was known to be able to fly at the height and speed that was documente...
Sep 07, 2023•36 min•Ep. 184
Aerobatic fun led to tragedy in the fatal plane crash that killed composer James Horner. His aerobatic maneuvers in a high performance Tucano aircraft ended with a high speed crash in the canyons of California. Horner wrote music for dozens of movies, including Titanic, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and Avatar. Horner was the sole occupant of a high-performance Tucano turboprop aircraft. He crashed while performing a number of low-level maneuvers. John and Todd discuss the findings of the acc...
Aug 23, 2023•28 min•Ep. 183
Todd Curtis, Greg Feith, and John Goglia discuss the risks of aviation thrill-seeking. They look at aviation disasters from the NTSB database that involve experiences outside of standard FAA regulations. The FAA allows certain commercial operators to offer voluntary high-risk experiences to the general public. “Top Gun” aerobatic rides, balloon flights, and sight-seeing flights are some examples. Existing rules allow for a wide range of leeway in FAA approval for these types of flights. Oversigh...
Aug 16, 2023•40 min•Ep. 182
Todd Curtis, Greg Feith, and John Goglia interview historian and author S.C. "Sam" Gwynne, about his latest book, "His Majesty's Airship." The book tells the story of the crash of the British R101 in France in 1930. The book discusses how the airship R101 was a key part of the British government's plan to cut by more than half the time it took to travel to distant parts of its empire such as Australia and India. The R101 crashed during its first commercial flight. The aviation disaster killed 48...
Aug 09, 2023•43 min•Ep. 181
Todd Curtis and John Goglia discuss the use of carbon fiber in the Boeing 787 airplane and the Titan submersible. Prompted by listener questions, they explain why the carbon fiber is subjected to completely different – and riskier - conditions in the case of the sub that got international attention when it imploded on June 18, 2023. The Titan accident is under investigation by American and Canadian authorities. The submersible used a novel design that included using carbon fiber to construct a m...
Aug 02, 2023•22 min•Ep. 180
A F28 airliner crashed shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport due to icing that degraded the lift on the wings. Just 3% leading edge wing contamination would have been enough to cause this aviation disaster. Todd Curtis, Greg Feith, and John Goglia highlight the safety findings related to the 1992 plane crash of USAir Flight 405. The aircraft had no devices to keep the leading edge of the wing clear in the cold and snowy weather conditions. The crash caused 27 fatalities. John shares first...
Jul 26, 2023•41 min•Ep. 179
Dollars over lives? Greg Feith and John Goglia discuss Part 135 and “Part 134 ½” charter operations. They offer numerous aviation safety benefits of being (and using) a properly certificated charter company. It costs more but leads to safer operations. John and Greg cover the plane crash of Lear 25A in Teterboro, New Jersey to illustrate the value of proper charter operations. They review key findings of the NTSB report, including the lack of planning for a short repositioning flight and lax enf...
Jul 19, 2023•34 min•Ep. 178
A flight instructor chose to have a pilot take his first flight in an airplane into a special use airport and the result was a different learning experience than planned. The aircraft experienced a hard landing that led to a fracture of the right wing spar. Todd Curtis, Greg Feith, and John Goglia discuss this accident in Puerto Rico that involved a Britten-Norman Islander aircraft. The instructor pilot chose to take a new pilot on his very first flight with the airline to a small airport that h...
Jul 12, 2023•23 min•Ep. 177
This episode dives into the design and maintenance of aircraft cargo doors. Many aviation safety incidents with cargo doors are documented as maintenance issues, but some have caused notable air crashes. Todd Curtis and John Goglia focus on the 1989 plane crash of an Evergreen International Airlines DC9. The first officer did not properly close the main deck cargo door. The door came open shortly after takeoff, which led to a loss of control and a crash. John shares his long history dealing with...
Jul 05, 2023•33 min•Ep. 176
Some flight plans have aviation safety risks baked in. Todd Curtis and John Goglia discuss a runway excursion accident involving a student pilot who in the same flight was attempting to satisfy both a night currency requirement and a 250 nautical mile training flight requirement for an instrument certification. The plan literally went off track during the attempted takeoff at the fourth stage of the flight plan. “They bent some metal, no one was injured, but there is a lot to learn from this inc...
Jun 28, 2023•22 min•Ep. 175
You had to be there to know the full story of the plane crash of USAir Flight 5050. John Goglia was, and he shares the experience. Todd Curtis and John discuss the fatal 1989 crash of USAir Flight 5050 at La Guardia Airport in New York. John directly participated in the accident investigation as a mechanic with USAir. He shares accident investigation details well beyond the official report. The extraordinary amount of media attention around the accident and the flight crew impacted the sequence ...
Jun 21, 2023•42 min•Ep. 174
The fiery plane crash that killed Christian music star Keith Green and 11 others resulted in safety lessons for every pilot. The NTSB accident report also has safety takeaways for anyone who rents or uses aircraft and pilots that are not their own. Greg Feith, Todd Curtis, and John Goglia talk about the circumstances of the fatal 1982 air crash. The thorough NTSB accident investigation (NTSB_FTW82AA299_Keith_Green.pdf) documents the roles that the overloaded and unbalanced aircraft and the pilot...
Jun 14, 2023•26 min•Ep. 173
The NTSB has a message for mechanics – pay attention to B-nuts! Todd Curtis, Greg Feith, and John Goglia dig into NTSB Safety Alert 086, which highlights four accidents that were caused in part by improperly tightened b-nuts. Small parts led to big problems. Two of the accidents were fatal. They focus on one accident that involves a very experienced pilot who also performed maintenance on the accident aircraft. The Bell 206 helicopter crashed following a fuel leak. The NTSB found that when he di...
Jun 07, 2023•32 min•Ep. 172
Aviation maintenance professionals are critical to safety. John Goglia helped put the spotlight on aviation maintenance and safety programs at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University recently. John did a presentation on Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) Day and witnessed first-hand some safety operations in place at the university. Greg Feith also reviews lessons learned from the fatal June 1999 crash of American Airlines Flight 1420 in Little Rock, Arkansas. The NTSB investigation showed the r...
May 31, 2023•37 min•Ep. 171
