Comments on: Get out of the airplane to close the holes in the Swiss cheese http://www.plasticpilot.net/blog/2009/09/27/get-out-of-the-airplane-to-close-the-holes-in-the-swiss-cheese/ General Aviation and Aviation In General Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:18:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Julien http://www.plasticpilot.net/blog/2009/09/27/get-out-of-the-airplane-to-close-the-holes-in-the-swiss-cheese/comment-page-1/#comment-26273 Julien Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:09:44 +0000 http://www.plasticpilot.net/blog/?p=2885#comment-26273 A perfect illustration of holes in the Swiss Cheese lining up can be found in <a href="http://www.aopa.org/asf/epilot_acc/chi06fa224.html?WT.mc_id=091002epilot&WT.mc_sect=sap" rel="nofollow">this real story</a> published on the AOPA website. Root problem: fuel cap not properly secured let fuel out of wing tanks in flight due to siphoning (since pressure is lower on the top side of a wing, fuel is sucked out if the fuel cap does not provide a good enough seal) Layers of cheese: - Pilot didn't trust his fuel gauges but rather relied on the estimated amount of fuel left computed by the fuel computers based on indications from the fuel flow meter. - When the engine eventually stopped, the airplane had drifted too far from the shore of Lake Michigan to glide to land - The pilot didn't know how to swim and subsequently drowned. Sad story, and a fatality that could have been avoided if any of the three layers above had been aligned a different way. A perfect illustration of holes in the Swiss Cheese lining up can be found in this real story published on the AOPA website.

Root problem: fuel cap not properly secured let fuel out of wing tanks in flight due to siphoning (since pressure is lower on the top side of a wing, fuel is sucked out if the fuel cap does not provide a good enough seal)

Layers of cheese:
- Pilot didn’t trust his fuel gauges but rather relied on the estimated amount of fuel left computed by the fuel computers based on indications from the fuel flow meter.
- When the engine eventually stopped, the airplane had drifted too far from the shore of Lake Michigan to glide to land
- The pilot didn’t know how to swim and subsequently drowned.

Sad story, and a fatality that could have been avoided if any of the three layers above had been aligned a different way.

]]> By: Sylvia http://www.plasticpilot.net/blog/2009/09/27/get-out-of-the-airplane-to-close-the-holes-in-the-swiss-cheese/comment-page-1/#comment-26261 Sylvia Fri, 02 Oct 2009 08:04:00 +0000 http://www.plasticpilot.net/blog/?p=2885#comment-26261 To my mind, personal minimums is critical. It is too easy to just "keep going" in hopes of finding a solutions, whilst losing options because you continued. To my mind, personal minimums is critical. It is too easy to just “keep going” in hopes of finding a solutions, whilst losing options because you continued.

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