A letter to the editor of Parachutist

[diverdriver 5]

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Any advice on how I could tell that a plane is badly maintained??

tash

Piston engines other than radials like on DC-3s and Beech 18s should not have caked on oil streaks on the belly. Not only does it show there is a problem with the engine it can also add a lot of weight as it mixes with dirt and becomes crusty. The dirty belly can also create drag which reduces performance.

Do you have blue streaks on the underside of your 182/205/206 wing? That may be a fuel leak. AVGas (aviation gasoline 100LL) has a blue tint to it for identification. Fuel leaks should be addressed immediately.

Ever see your 182 dead stick to landing and then sit at the end of the runway trying to crank back up? It just might start back up and taxi back so you might not think much of it. But what caused the engine failur to begin with? Pilot running the fuel too close? Did he unport the fuel pickup by doing acrobatic manuevers after the jumpers left?

Does your plane need 2 quarts of oil every 4 loads or so? If you don't see oil on the belly then it is being burned through the engine and is a sign that the engine is not sealing well inside. That also means it isn't producing a lot of power and can also lead to an engine failure.

Duck tape to keep cowl doors closed. If they can't spend the money to get the darn clips fixed what else are they not fixing like the big important stuff?

Turbine planes: Same things but just with more bodies on board. If you don't like what you see then it may be that the other things aren't being taken care of. I know everyone loved the FrankenOtter. Having all the different paint jobs made it wholey unique. That's not what I'm talking about. Just refer to what I was saying above.

On an otter: do you have red fluid dripping on the nose wheel? This may be a nose steering actuator leak. Do you have someone in the right seat pumping the backup hydraulics just so it can takeoff again? That emergency pump is only to get you on the ground. It is not meant for taking off again.

Do you have red fluid streaking down the belly of the otter? It may look brown after it picks up dirt from the ground.

Do the engine exhaust areas seem like they are wearing fur coats from the soot? Regular washing of these areas is necessary because the soot can erode the paint and then it can corode the metal underneath to the point you could push your pinky on it and it will go through the brittle metal. Same with the tail area just behind the engines. They pick a lot of soot up too.

Does your operation go through a lot of pilots? They come in and seem all smiles in the beginning. Then as the season goes on they rarely smile? Then one day they just *poof* are no longer around? Why do you think that is? Sure, every DZ has turnover. But some have higher turnover than others. If you can, ask the pilot why he left if you can get ahold of him.

On caravans and king airs: look at the left horizontal stabilizer (left side tail). Does it have dents in the leading edge? Who hit it and why? And why hasn't it been fixed yet?

And then listen to the other jumpers. Do they talk about their aicraft ops and pilots like they have confidence in them or do they say things like "I feel so much better once I have gotten to 1,000 feet". That can be a warning sign that maybe they've had some scary issues with the plane in the past but just don't know how to say "NO" to getting on board again.

Does your warning panel have a lot of lights on or do many of the guages read zero because they don't work? Do you have engine failures on a semi-regular basis (other than intentional simulations for emergency drill practice)?
These are some of the things I look for when visiting an operation.

Chris Schindler
www.diverdriver.com
ATP/D-19012
FB #4125

[diverdriver 5]

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great article Chris,

Thank you for taking on this crusade. If it saves only one person from one crash, you have made an incredible difference.

You're welcome. I owe it to my friends since past to do something. Otherwise, their deaths mean nothing. I'd like to think I make a difference. But I don't know. It's a big industry with lots of people. I do what I can I guess.

Chris Schindler
www.diverdriver.com
ATP/D-19012
FB #4125

[sunshine 2]

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I say that because in my thirty years of jumping, I have seen only one person refuse to jump because of the airplane, and that was because one of the tires was half flat. (yes, I did go on that load).

Thats surprising. I've refused to get on a plane i felt was unsafe. At a boogie last year, planes from other DZ's were brought in. The plane from DZ 'A' had a reputation for not being maintained properly. The plane from DZ 'B' was well known to be maintained to the highest standards. Well to get on the plane from DZ 'B', it was generally a 1/2 hour wait, but you could get on the DZ 'A' plane on a 10 minute call with no problem. Seems i wasn't the only one that wanted to jump the "safe" airplane.

___________________________________________
meow

I get a Mike hug! I get a Mike hug!

[diverdriver 5]

Oh and to add:

Does your plane take every inch of runway to takeoff in? There is a thing called "accelerate-stop" distance. That is the distance required to accelerate to rotation speed, have an engine failure, and then stop before the end of the runway. If your plane is using every inch just to get to rotation speed then you are putting yourself in the corner if anything goes wrong. What's at the end of your runway? You might want to take a look out there because one day you just might become intimately familiar with that terrain.

Some aircraft need to use flaps for takeoff. If they fail you may still be able to takeoff in the available distance but just at a significantly reduce weight. The pilot needs to be checking these performance numbers for all conditions. Hot days, tail wind, flaps/no flaps, max gross weight takeoff.

Chris Schindler
www.diverdriver.com
ATP/D-19012
FB #4125

[airtwardo 6]

Chris-
I especially like your last two posts...

"What to look for..."

I've printed them out and now have them in my log book as a reminder.

In my 28 years of jumping, I've only 'stood down' one time because of A/C conditions that I believed unsafe.
I'm sure in retrospect I should have done it many, many more times.

Reading through my little 'reminder list' now and then will hopefully relieve some of that
"GO FEVER"
that blinds safe, rational, evaluation and thinking.

Thanks for all your effort on this.
-Twardo

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[Meatbomber 0]

one thing i stumbled over in the thread was that skydivers wouldn't get on a plane that wasn't loaded correctly.

This is good.... BUT

YOU as a skydiver are most responsible for knowing where to sit in a particular airplane! If you don't ASK!!

So an aircraft being loaded wrong in my oppinion it's the skydivers to blame rather than the operation (not for nothing skydivers are also fall under the category SLF... self loading freight ).

MB

[HRHSkyPrincess 0]

Lotsa luck on your letter to the editor! Based on personal experience, you may not recognize your own work when/if they publish it! Editorial license is one thing (and often necessary), but having your words chopped and rewrapped like they were prepared by the 'butcher of Lyon' is quite another.
Perhaps you'll be lucky and the person who reviews your letter will actually have command of the English language. :)

*****************
Attitude is everything!

[quade 3]

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So an aircraft being loaded wrong in my oppinion it's the skydivers to blame rather than the operation (not for nothing skydivers are also fall under the category SLF... self loading freight ).

Technically, no.

It's the reponsibility of the pilot to ensure the aircraft is within weight and balance limits. FAR 91.3

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[airtwardo 6]

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Editorial license is one thing (and often necessary), but having your words chopped and rewrapped like they were prepared by the 'butcher of Lyon' is quite another

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I don't know...I had a couple of editorials published word for word...

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[skytash 0]

thanks Chris for all the hints of what to look for as well as bringing the whole topic up!

tash

Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is a special occasion. Avril Sloe

[Meatbomber 0]

you know what i man tho don't you quade ?

I know my responsibilities full well, and i think skydivers should think about theirs a couple of times too.

[winksmith 0]

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In my 28 years of jumping, I've only 'stood down' one time because of A/C conditions that I believed unsafe. I'm sure in retrospect I should have done it many, many more times.

i don't have 28 years behind me, but at 17 years i'm no slouch either. there was a couple of times that i should have stood down, but didn't. i regret that even though nothing happened, and i've learned from it.

--------------
Mark Smith
AFF-I, S&TA, ex-Strong Tandem, Instrument Pilot

[kallend 1,623]

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one thing i stumbled over in the thread was that skydivers wouldn't get on a plane that wasn't loaded correctly.

This is good.... BUT

YOU as a skydiver are most responsible for knowing where to sit in a particular airplane! If you don't ASK!!

So an aircraft being loaded wrong in my oppinion it's the skydivers to blame rather than the operation (not for nothing skydivers are also fall under the category SLF... self loading freight ).

MB

Not in this case: it was more jumpers than seatbelts available.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[quade 3]

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Not in this case: it was more jumpers than seatbelts available.

Ah . . . and all this time I was thinking weight and balance.

Meatbomber may not realize that seatbelts are mandatory for taxi, takeoff and landing in the US.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[kallend 1,623]

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Not in this case: it was more jumpers than seatbelts available.

Ah . . . and all this time I was thinking weight and balance.

Meatbomber may not realize that seatbelts are mandatory for taxi, takeoff and landing in the US.

But the point is that rather than make do (doubling up - whatever) a whole bunch of jumpers simply refused to get on the plane until manifest and/or the pilot got pissed and the mix-up was sorted out.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[quade 3]

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Not in this case: it was more jumpers than seatbelts available.

Ah . . . and all this time I was thinking weight and balance.

Meatbomber may not realize that seatbelts are mandatory for taxi, takeoff and landing in the US.

But the point is that rather than make do (doubling up - whatever) a whole bunch of jumpers simply refused to get on the plane until manifest and/or the pilot got pissed and the mix-up was sorted out.

Interesting point.

Was the issue really about safety or who was going to get bumped off the flight?

If it's a matter of safety (people v. seatbelts) for me it's not an issue at all to simply walk off the plane -- if I'm a solo.

However, if I'm the 24th person on a plane with 23 seatbelts and my 4-way team is already on, I'm sorry but one of the solo flyers had better get off (as long as all our names are on the manifest).

Sometimes this discussion can go on for a few minutes -- which is just stupid and a waste of everyone's time.

(Spock said something . . .)

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[diverdriver 5]

I am not getting on a plane for 23 with 24 people. Period. So, since I had the issue with it I was pulling myself off. I don't care which pilot "approved" it. BS. So, by pulling myself off there were then 23 jumpers on board. Legal to go. Since my compadres didn't like that I was being told to get on anyway they sat off also. Originally it was said there were no solos on the plane. Fine. I'll just stay off. But low and behold there was a solo. I put my gear back on. Thanked him for getting off and went on my way.

I made my point. I don't think that'll happen again.

Chris Schindler
www.diverdriver.com
ATP/D-19012
FB #4125

[Meatbomber 0]

yea i meant weight and ballance.

too few seatbelts available THAT is a blame on the operator for sure.

[algboy 0]

Chris.
Great article! I always pay close attention to YOUR posts. Being out-of-currency has given me plenty of time to become a student of this sport

I've read the entire thread so far and--unless I somehow skipped it--have yet to see anything about pilot attitude/state-of-mind addressed.

Caveat here: OK, I have a pathetic 19 jumps, but I can fly and was raised by a VERY takes-his-job-seriously airline pilot dad.

Anyway: I remember being on a few loads (usually Otters or King Airs) where I felt as if the PIC was wearing his skydiver hat and not his PIC one. Certain loads seemed a bit "loosey-goosey" and a rather cavalier attitude pervaded the plane.

Sure, I was a nervous student, (thought I was surrounded by lunatics) but the entire jump plane experience--by nature--is outside the box, you have to admit. So, I have to wonder if the jump pilots find it harder to maintain their professional edge in that environment.

Another thought: could those fast turnarounds with the rather spectacular high-rate descents be another factor?

I agree with the earlier post, too, that weight-and-balance considerations are sometimes ignored.

BSBD

[diverdriver 5]

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Chris.
I've read the entire thread so far and--unless I somehow skipped it--have yet to see anything about pilot attitude/state-of-mind addressed.

I agree. It is a tough environment to keep that professional edge. The atmosphere is pretty loose. We just have to work to keep that edge a bit.

There was a crash in Michigan with a King Air. It took off with a full load first flight of the day. Leveled off and banked hard to come back to buzz the campground. It stalled in an accelerated stall and nosed into the ground. The pilot had a couple of DUIs and was looking at having trouble with his airline job. Nothing suggests he was drunk or hung over at the time. But the stress of his situation may have effected him.

Chris Schindler
www.diverdriver.com
ATP/D-19012
FB #4125

[dreamsville 0]

Chris,

You spoke of the visible signs of lax maintenance, which I think is great. There are other cases where I was at a DZ down south where I didn't know the signs, if they were evident at all, and the fact that the DZ was having money problems wasn't well known at earlier times. Later the FAA failed the aircraft. As far as the interrim period, I'll never know when that plane fell out of standard.

When I think about it some more, absent visual evidence, we sometimes have to really on reputation of an operation from whatever sources we have. I know I'm OK where I usually jump, but if I'm travelling across the country and decide to stop at DZ "X" for an airbath, I'm placing a bit of faith in their place to jump there if I know nothing about it beforehand. Then maybe it comes down to appearances and hearsay, I guess. We just have to do our best to check on a place before we jump there.
|

I don't drink during the day, so I don't know what it is about this airline. I keep falling out the door of the plane.

Harry, FB #4143

[mnischalke 0]

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There was a crash in Michigan with a King Air. It took off with a full load first flight of the day. Leveled off and banked hard to come back to buzz the campground. It stalled in an accelerated stall and nosed into the ground...

I don't know if it was mentioned before in this thread. Since you mention it now... Buzzjobs may be exciting as hell, but they have produced a substantial number of a/c crashes.

mike

Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills--You know, like nunchuk skills, bow-hunting skills, computer-hacking skills.

[kallend 1,623]

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Sure, I was a nervous student, (thought I was surrounded by lunatics)

That's not nerves, that's good powers of observation

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.