Is My Pilot Properly Managing My Aircraft?

Case Study – Citation 501 Gear Horn Trouble

Topic

Let’s examine a situation where poor management of an aircraft’s flight crew lead to safety concerns and additional costs imposed on the aircraft owner.

Background

           A businessman owns a Citation 501, part of the CE500 type rating, for pleasure and business use. He flies about 100 hours a year and chooses to use contract pilots his trips rather than employ a full-time pilot(s). The 501 can be operated single pilot if the PIC is appropriately rated. Because the aircraft owner does not employ a full-time pilot, he pays a friend/local corporate pilot to manage the aircraft for him. The aircraft manager is not type rated on theCE500.

Event

           The owner had booked a trip for the following week, but the aircraft manager was having difficulty locating a contract pilot for the trip. As such, the aircraft manager reached out to a new pilot he hadn’t used before, but was still type rated and current on the aircraft. This pilot’s particular experience was on the CE560 Citation V, a larger, newer, and more powerful airplane, but still under the CE500 type rating. The pilot had very limited time in the 501, and the time he did have in it was over 10 years ago. Nonetheless, the aircraft manager booked the pilot for the trip and the contract pilot accepted.

           During the trip, the aircraft manager received a text message from the contract pilot saying that there was something wrong with the gear horn on the airplane, and that the horn kept sounding during flight. The gear horn is an audible alert meant to indicate to the pilot that the landing gear is not in the proper position for landing. The aircraft manager queried the pilot about the situation ,but the pilot was unable to provide details about the situation.

           The aircraft manager instructed the pilot to take the aircraft for a maintenance test flight the next day in order to try and replicate the problem with the gear horn, and that the pilot would get paid an extra day for doing so. The pilot did this, and the following day, the pilot reported to the aircraft manager that the gear horn sounded whenever the throttles were reduced “about half”. The aircraft manager then consulted with the aircraft’s mechanic. The mechanic then informed the manager that the gear horn sounding…was completely normal.

The pilot had failed to realize that this older Citation 501 did not have a gear horn that was integrated with the pitot-static system, which newer citations, like the CE560 he was used to flying, do have. The 501 requires the pilot to manually silence the gear horn whenever the throttles are reduced below approximately 70% N2. The pilot was unaware of this. Additionally, the aircraft manager, not being type rated in the aircraft, was also unaware of this fact.

Negative effects

On top of safety concerns that the contract pilot was not familiar with the aircraft he was operating, the owner also had to pay the contract pilot an extra day of pay for the maintenance test flight. Lastly, the aircraft manager’s lack of experience with the aircraft made it so that he was unable to help diagnose the problem without a maintenance test flight and consulting with the aircraft’s mechanic.

Lessons Learned

1. Competent Aircraft Management

  - Employing an aircraft manager with a comprehensive understanding and qualification on the specific aircraft type is crucial to ensuring effective oversight and problem-solving.

  - Awareness of aircraft intricacies, including differences between models, is paramount for both aircraft managers and contract pilots.

2. Thorough Vetting of Contract Pilots

  - Beyond meeting insurance policy qualifications, contract pilots should be vetted based on their experience with the specific aircraft they are hired to operate.

  - It is not uncommon for contract pilots to fly multiple types of aircraft; this allows them to diversify their income stream. But diversification of aircraft types by contract pilots should not compromise the need for expertise and familiarity with each model.

Conclusion

This case underscores the importance of oversight in aircraft management, emphasizing the need for qualified personnel and vetting processes for contract pilots. By learning from this experience, aircraft owners and managers can enhance safety measures and mitigate unnecessary costs associated with inadequate flight crew management.