There are good annual inspections and cheap annual inspections. Unless you can see the bills, you can't tell which is which. It would have been a great catch if the mechanic caught this. But does every mechanic look at EVERY PART OF EVERY PLANE? No, they don't. They might not even have removed the fuel cap unless the pilot told them of a specific concern with it. It was an expensive lesson for the pilot and their insurance company. Leave it at that.

(Written on 05/26/2023)(Permalink)

No, they aren't the answer. An A380 can't get into Midway Airport, or most of the smaller fields, and neither can the venerable and now discontinued Boeing 747. You need the: Right Ship for The Right Passenger Traffic at The Right Cost. Southwest has the best working model.

(Written on 05/12/2023)(Permalink)

This was a typical, heavy handed, Democrat raw use of power. Basically saying "I did it because I wanted to." Stranding a bunch of planes there (that later had to get special approval to take off on a taxiway.) Messing up the State of Illinois, who flew in their from Springfield regularly. Eliminating a close to the downtown airport for pilots to use and patronize downtown businesses and the museum complex. The argument made by the Mayor was baloney. If you have ANY clue of where O'Hare and Midway are, they are the locations with the heavy aircraft and when the winds are right, they go RIGHT OVER the tall buildings. So like I said, raw, heavy handed democrat power. Just like the current administration in Washington and Illinois are trying to do trouncing the Second Amendment to our US Constitution with their illegal and unconstitutional rules and executive orders restricting guns. Democracy doesn't die with a fight - it dies when we let tyrants take away our constitut

(Written on 03/31/2023)(Permalink)

Here we go, blaming Trump again. President Biden published over 100 Executive Decisions, rolling back almost all of Trump's reforms. If he missed this one (he called them "bad policy" that's on him. He also improperly used an "executive decision" to try to forgive billions in college debt. There is no such thing - he's just transferring that debt to the backs of taxpayers like you and me. But thanks for bringing Trump up again. As usual, fanning hatred - you've been well brainwashed by the liberal media to HATE HATE HATE Trump. We get it.

(Written on 02/25/2023)(Permalink)

All this discussion about "lockout" is not applicable. The pilot and the regulations govern. You don't fly an unairworthy plane. PERIOD. I got into a dispute with my mechanic. He wanted to tear a third of my engine apart because two non-load bearing nuts were missing. I got a peer check from industry experts, and declined. He said he could not sign off the plane as airworthy. I put the plane in my hangar, contacted and contracted with another A&P mechanic, who came out, installed the two nuts, torqued them properly, and signed off the plane. In the time between the original mechanic saying NO and the new mechanic signing off, 30 days elapsed. I didn't fly the plane in those 30 days BECAUSE IT WASN'T AIRWORTHY. And if the mechanic had tried to "lock out" my plane, I would have had to sue. It's my property, and per the FARs, it's my responsibility to maintain the plane. Summary: There are the Federal Air Regulations, which detail the responsibilities of the pilo

(Written on 01/27/2023)(Permalink)

A "wet ticket" means the pilot just got their pilot's license. The ink isn't "dry" yet. This is one that strikes a chord with the old adage - there are old pilots, and bold pilots, but few old bold pilots. The plane was not airworthy. Taking off in an unairworthy plane means the insurance is null and void. I see lots of problems coming for the estate. It's a shame, but as I have said before aviation is incredibly fun, but it has ZERO tolerance for any gaps in your decision making or safety behaviors.

(Written on 01/27/2023)(Permalink)

BULL-S___ Two US aircrews had the same event, and no fatalities, no loss of life. This is a lack of TRAINING. Another liberal "blame the company" lawsuit that will fail with any reasonable defense. I'm sorry folks, but the PILOTS were to blame here.

(Written on 01/20/2023)(Permalink)

I used to be in a Union. The best day of my life was when I got OUT of the Union. The Union doesn't serve the good workers - it protects the malingers, the mal-contents, those that show up and don't work. No wonder the lawless City of Chicago thinks it can strong-arm people to let people join the union. It's a dangerous city now with the catch and release state's attorney Kim Foxx.

(Written on 01/06/2023)(Permalink)

It's called "Get There-Itus" They probably both had scheduled flights. Calling off is bad. So he launched probably when he shouldn't have.

(Written on 01/06/2023)(Permalink)

It's hard to object to a factual article. I've flown out of Denver centennial and out of Jackson Hole. To say that high density altitude affects aircraft performance is an understatement. You have to know your plane, use your POH, and make sure you have enough runway. I used 7000 feet of runway at Jackson Hole to get my Bonanza into the air safely, and it took me 15 minutes to safely climb out of the Teton Bowl that the airport is in. It's a shame that they died - this was an accident that a well-trained pilot should have been able to avoid.

(Written on 01/06/2023)(Permalink)