NTSB Wants Changes to Learjet 60 Thrust Levers

[Fly91]

I think it's a great idea. You can bet it won't be cheap, but as long as it's reliable, it will prevent the frequent small pressure losses caused by checking the pressures with a conventional gauge.

You completely missed the point.


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[Fly91]

I have a minor in Aviation Safety, (not that it means diddly to anyone here), I got hooked on accident investigation, I was always intrigued about statistics on aviation crashes, their causes and especially how easy they could have been avoided. Human factors to me was almost funny when you read details of some reports. I think I read hundreds of NTSB reports, I was addicted for a few years. 100% safety will never, ever be reached....but this type of instrument makes people lazy and its a step away from getting closeer to that 100% mark. I guess I put more thought into things like this than most do.


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[Basil]

Geez...

I guess I put more thought into things like this than most do.
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Too bad all that extra thought didn't help you arrive at a reasonable conclusion.

To suggest that the installation of electronic tire pressure and temperature sensors is dangerous is simply absurd, regardless of your college minor. Yes, they certainly won't be infallible, just like every other gauge and indicator on every aircraft ever made. The readings should be viewed with skepticism, as should every other reading, but let's weigh the benefits versus the disadvantages...

Pros:
-Does not require the manipulation of the valve stem, possibly unseating it. We had a properly inflated tire go flat within 24 hrs of being checked and leak-checked by an A&P. It leaked through the valve stem.
-Does not require the removal of the valve cap, thus preventing debris from entering the stem.
-prevents the loss of pressure possible when using a conventional gauge, especially if the hose is not square on the stem.
-Does not require leak-checking like conventional gauges would. Leak-checking can be hard to see, especially if the outboard tire valve stem is at the 12 o'clock position blocked by the gear door.
-Relatively quick and simple, even for your lazy pilots. I suspect that if installed, many pilots would check the pressures every day instead of only every 96 hours.

Cons:
-Could fail. I suppose that smart pilots would stick a conventional gauge on the stem to verify any suspect readings. The only dangerous situation is if it were to give a false reading that was coincidentally within spec, while the tire was actually low, but not visibly underinflated. Sure it's possible, but unlikely. The same bad "good reading" on a low tire is also possible with a conventional tire gauge, so no winner there...

We will have this system installed on our -60. If I check the pressures with the wand and they all fall within spec and within a psi or two of the last reading (adjusted for temperature, which the sensor also provides) and the tire passes my visual inspection, then I'm going to be fairly confident that it's safe to take off down the runway. I'll favor this over the "looks good...we checked 'em 4 days ago" technique or the "they were checked at the last mx event...I think" approach.

Your contention that this will somehow breed lazy pilots holds no water (or Nitrogen in this case). If a pilot can't find the energy or motivation to properly preflight his/her aircraft, then that's a character flaw that they had long before this system was developed and they are indeed a risk to the safety of flight. There's no telling what else they may intentionally overlook.

 

[BoilerUP]

but this type of instrument makes people lazy

Same could be said for EFIS, EICAS, and most definitely for GPS...