Suffolk Airplane Accident Highlights Risk of Faulty Equipment | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

The pilot of a Mooney M-20 airplane went out for a flight and wound up crashing into the woods of Suffolk, Virginia (VA). Why? Because the plane’s FL-2 fuel gauge malfunctioned and did not alert the pilot that the plane ran out of gas, according to the Kathryn Report. There were two passengers on the plane along with the pilot, but only the pilot suffered a serious injury.

airplane, aviation, accident, crash, wreck, injury, attorneyOn average, there are 1,600 airplane accidents that occur in the U.S. every year. In 2009, there have been 1,509 plane crashes.

My colleague, Randy Appleton, wrote an article about this crash and revealed that this was the 14th general aviation accident in Virginia this year.

Unfortunately, malfunctioning equipment is a common cause for aviation accidents. For example, it appears the tragic Air France Airbus A330 accident which killed 228 people was due to faulty air speed indicators.

As a licensed pilot, I understand the risks associated with malfunctioning flight equipment. The key is to remain calm and collected when the plane starts to have problems. It appears the pilot of the Mooney M-20 plane did what he could to land the plane without causing serious harm to the passengers and people on the ground. This accident was bad and caused a serious injury, but on the bright side, it could have been a lot worse.