Mission Safety International

A number of recent events have reminded us of an all too common danger when flying the Cessna 200 series aircraft. Hopefully everyone piloting one of these aircraft (Cessna 205, 206, 207, 210) is well aware that you must be very careful to switch tanks in a very disciplined and deliberate manner, otherwise there is a great risk of running a tank dry and the engine stopping at a very inopportune time. This can be very embarrassing (or much worse!), especially if you still have plenty of fuel in the other tank that was not selected. In most cases, switching tanks and hitting the electric auxiliary boost pump switch brings the engine back to life very quickly, but there are some exceptions, which we will discuss later in the article.

However, there is a much less commonly recognized danger relating to fuel supply and

Skidding Turn

starvation in these aircraft, and that is called “unporting” of the fuel due to uncoordinated flight maneuvers. In the Cessna 200 series, the tubes “picking up” the fuel extend into the wing tanks from the inboard ribs. This is also where the fuel quantity transmitters are located in the 205, 206, and 207.

Due to the lack of much baffling inside the fuel tanks, uncoordinated flight, such as is experienced while slipping or skidding, can cause the fuel to move away from the inboard rib, and allow air to be drawn into the pickup tubes. The U206 is especially prone to this during photo shoots with the cargo door removed, as the photographer often asks for skidding right turns to allow him to get photos out of the open right side of the aircraft while keeping the right wing up with opposite aileron. If the left tank is selected while doing this, it is very possible to “unport” the pickup tubes in the left tank, even with half fuel capacity. Couple that with the typical request to be down low for good photos, and you have a disaster in the making.

Other examples of uncoordinated maneuvers that have caused unporting events are slipping in a crosswind on long final, extended cruise or descents using only rudder, climbing right turns after a low pass with low fuel in the selected tank, circling over objects on the ground, and tipping the plane to observe air drops.

What is the solution?

1. Always stay coordinated while maneuvering the aircraft. Your fuel is doing whatever the ball in the turn coordinator is doing.
2. Always have the fuller tank selected while near the ground.
3. Avoid the temptation to run your tanks down to the last 5 or 10 gallons. If you want to know why, look inside the tank next time it is that low. The fuel is barely an inch deep, and the pickup tubes are about half an inch off the bottom of the tank.
4. Finally, “just say no” to the photographer when they ask for a skidding right turn, especially close to the ground. Offer to climb to a higher altitude that will allow for gentle banking to keep the subject in sight without getting the wing in the way. Hopefully you briefed him ahead of time to bring a telephoto lens or two.

Regarding restarting the engine if unporting or fuel starvation occurs:

Testing has demonstrated that switching tanks and immediately hitting the emergency setting on the aux pump switch for a few seconds or until you see the fuel pressure or flow start to come back up brings the engine back to life the fastest. Waiting to switch tanks only delays the restart. Holding the pump switch in emergency position for longer than a few seconds can easily flood the engine, especially turbocharged ones or the newer IO550’s.

Another consideration affecting the restart has to do with maintenance. If the TCM service bulletin (SEB 96-4R1) regarding setting the resistors that control the pump speed with varying throttle positions is not followed properly, particularly in using a properly regulated voltage of 14 or 28 VDC, there is added danger of flooding the engine while attempting a restart. Some places have used the aircraft battery while setting the resistors, but that gives an incorrect setting, as the battery gives a lower voltage than the running alternator will.

As a final warning, unporting can be deadly, and has been already. Additionally, flooding the engine while attempting a restart, while not conclusively proven, is strongly suspected to have been a major factor in at least 3 recent fatal accidents in missionary aviation.

Click Here to see more pictures and information about the 2010 IAMA Conference in MSI’s Safety Net.

This year’s IAMA conference took place in Tucson, Arizona, from April 19 – April 23. The first two days were a special event put on by Fort Sherman Academy. Nineteen people took advantage of this opportunity to go through their B+ security training.  It was an exciting course, full of surprises, for one never knew what was coming next.

The conference met at the Tucson Baptist Temple, courtesy of staff at UIM Aviation. There were 83 pre-registered attendees, with perhaps a dozen more coming in for one day only. These represented 8 training institutions, 14 flying missions and 5 service-oriented organizations such as MSI, Quest and Spokane Turbine Center. Twenty-three wives attended various parts of the conference as well.

The conference kicked off each day with a devotional message from Brent Armstrong, pastor of Tucson Baptist Temple and  a tremendous keynote message by NTM’s Tim Sanford. The Breakout Sessions were designed for groups of attendees with more specific interests, including Training Issues, Maintenance Issues, and one just for the ladies. There were other special events like a picnic with Sonoran (read Mexican) hot dogs, a supper out at a real cowboy town steakhouse and a morning just for the ladies at the Sonora Desert Museum and Zoo.

Eighty-six people attended the banquet Thursday night. Jack Walker, retired MAFer, brought the message, speaking from his extensive history as a missionary pilot and challenging us with new ministry opportunities that he is developing in Cuba.  Overall, the conference was a great success and we look forward to seeing you all next year!

- Shirley Miel

See More Photos

Click Here to see more pictures and information about the 2010 IAMA Conference in MSI’s Safety Net.

To date, IAMA has collected all the fees for participation and has purchased exhibit the space. 26 Mission Aviation Agencies have registered and will be part of the exhibit tent with JAARS and MAF anchoring each end. Praise the Lord, we have the same location as last year. Jeff & Wonita Werley, New Tribes, will be managing the IAMA exhibit tent. The Fly4Life presence continues much like it did last year, but without the separate Fly4Life tent.

In order to pull off this massive event, IAMA, and all the participants, depend on the generous and extensive work of MASA (Mission Aviation Support Association) . MASA is lead by a governing board with Lee Smoll serving as Executive Director. Leadership teams have been assembled to care for those attending this event.

MASA provides 3 meals a day at the hospitality tent in Camp Scholler on the EAA grounds. They provide housing in area homes as well as loaner vehicles. They pick up and deliver from airports. For over 30 years MASA has made it possible for Mission Aviators to attend EAA. The cost would be prohibitive without their help.

More than just Oshkosh, MASA is also managing the IAMA store. If you have need of any tee-shirts, polo’s, caps, etc…you can contact leesmoll@tds.net to order them. These items will be available at EAA

First of all, the portal is not an original IAMA concept.  It is the result of a partnership between Wycliffe Bible Translators, IAMA, and Finishers.org.  Primarily the brain-child of people like Jamie Farr (Wycliffe) and Nelson Malwitz (Finishers), IAMA comes in to be the host and caretaker of the project.

So what exactly is a portal and what does it have to do with mission aviation? First of all, step with me into the world of recruiting – that industry that feeds us the most valuable resource we have; people.  At its most elementary level, the Mission Aviation Portal is an on-line tool that will make a meaningful connection between recruiters from mission organizations and potential candidates.  It is a one-stop shopping site for both the recruiter as well as the candidate.  At a deeper level it is a hi-tek search and matching engine that automatically matches a candidate’s profile / resume with all available openings in mission aviation – pilot/mechanic, AMT Specialist, administrator, etc. – based on the candidate’s criteria.

At an even deeper level it is very much a ‘Facebook’ for mission aviation.  And anyone that has tried to make meaningful contact with anyone of the younger generation over the last 5 years knows, that’s where you find them: On-line social environments.  The portal will allow both public and private messaging that is logged for referencing years later.  That’s important for a recruitment process that often takes  5 or 6 years.  For the recruiter, it is one place where he can keep all relevant information about the organization, upcoming events, membership requirements and processes.  He too can perform searches that seek candidates that match his criteria.

Will it work? Fortunately the concept has already been proven.  MissionTeach.org, also developed by Wycliffe and Finishers, is the proof-of-concept.  This portal has already been filling teaching positions for years, at a rate near 10 times faster than before, and saving the organizations thousands of recruitment dollars.  The Mission Aviation Portal is one of several more ‘industry-specific’ portals that are being developed to help meet this need in missions.

But the benefits don’t stop there.  Using this same technology and platform, IAMA will have the ability to better serve mission aviation by also connecting schools, vendors, donors, pilots and anyone else who wishes to be involved.

When will we see it? IAMA hopes to go live with the portal this fall.  Start visiting the IAMA website (www.iamanet.org) this summer as bits and pieces of the portal start appearing.  For those interested tecky-types, the technology for this tool is being provided by WM Tek, using a platform they created called Site Stacker.  You can check them out at www.wmtek.com.

David Doss presents compelling reasons for us to boost our security training.

Fort Sherman Academy (FSA) was present at the 2010 IAMA conference this year to provide hostage survival and security training.  For those who participated, it was a said to be a powerful event and highly recommended for anyone planning on spending any length of time traveling oversees in potentially hostile environments.    David Dose then gave a 45-minute presentation to the rest of the attendees .  Having lived oversees myself, I fully recommend the high impact quality training being offered by FSA.

Consider a few statistics:

• 2009 there were 3,000,000 short-term ‘missionaries’, and 20% of them had some sort of crisis.
• Annual increase in crime against Westerners increases roughly15% each year.
• In the event of a kidnapping or detention situation, an organization can plan on spending $50,000 – $100,000.  Can your ministry afford that?

Visit www.fortsherman.org for more information.

But it takes a lot of work to host these events.  For years, MASA ( a.k.a. “Mission Aviation Support Association”) has been hosting IAMA at the EAA Airventure event with increasing excellence. 

Now, a new opportunity has surfaced because of the generous and high-energy efforts of people like John Hoke and Robert and Teena Ray. John Hoke and the Ray’s have assembled a MASA – Florida chapter that will allow more mission aviation organizations to be represented at Sun ‘n Fun this year.  Thanks guys, for the great work.   Please click here>>> to  check Out  MASA’s  Florida chapter site to see what they are doing!

Now, with over 3 million people in need of emergency aid, there is much work to be done.  With massive amounts of supplies coming and  thousands of people still in need of critical medical attention, the aviation teams in Haiti have been running full speed.  Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), working in partnership with other organizations such as Missionary Flights International (MFI), Samaritan’s Purse, and JAARS, estimates that to date, they have transported some 3500 passengers and moved over 1,000,000 pounds of cargo – primarily medical supplies.

One such passenger was a young lady named Julane, who was injured with a spinal injury.  MAF organized her evacuation and put her on a Samaritan’s Purse Kodiak and flown to Port au Prince by Mark Wuerrffel, a JAARS pilot. This kind of partnering and sharing is what makes this huge relief effort work.

There is still much work to be done.  Please pray for the safety of the hard working crews in Haiti.

From the beginning, Missionary Flights International (MFI) has been providing a critical air link between Haiti and the US.  Having served in Haiti for many years, MFI was already in place when the need arose.

Other organizations immediately put their resources on the table and began partnering as necessary to get the job done.  On February 4, JAARS Pilots, Steve Otaviano and Jerry Gardener, flew a Samaritan’s Purse Kodiak to Haiti.  They joined the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) operation in Port-au-Prince, and the next day began relief flying.

As of February 14, MAF had reported that they had moved “10 tons of food over the last few days”, having transported an estimated 3200 passengers and 670,000 pounds of cargo.

IAMA will continue to facilitate the work of mission aviation around the world so the body of Christ will be well equipped to answer the call for help in the time of need.

Course Information

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Download Application

Download Schedule

Survival Training Extraordinaire

This is as good as it gets, folks.  Every once in awhile, a special offer comes along that simply can’t be ignored, and that’s what we have here.  Thanks to a cooperative effort between MSI, Moody Aviation, and especially a dedicated team of instructors from Emergency Response International (ERI), some top-notch survival training is being made available to the mission aviation community at an incredibly low price.  Trust me, these ERI guys are good.  They train many of the world’s best—be it military, special ops, industry executives, or the like—and now they are using their talents to serve the mission aviation world.

The initial training session will be held June 14-18, 2010 at the Moody Aviation facilities at Felts Field in Spokane, WA.  By design, this training will be broad spectrum, covering a wide variety of topics and environments.  Class size is limited and priority will be given to Safety and Training staff who can multiply the effectiveness of this course by incorporating what they learn into their own organizational training.

The training is being provided at cost with those costs being divided equally among participants.  Estimated costs per person for the week are between $250-300.

Course Detail

This is a pilot program specifically designed for mission aviation aircrews that operate in some of the most remote regions of the world.  It is presented by Emergency Response International (ERI) in cooperation with Mission Safety International and Moody Aviation.

The course will be held 14 – 18 June 2010 at Moody Aviation, 6719 East Rudder Ave, Spokane, Washington 99212.  Classes begin at Moody at 0800 on Monday, 14 June and will conclude by 1700 on Friday, 18 June.  Contact information is included at the end of this list.

Students are responsible for their own transportation to Spokane, all meals and lodging, and transportation to and from the field training.  Car pooling is recommended.

Training will consist of classroom discussions, field activities including an overnight bivouac, and water training in a swimming pool using the Shallow Water Egress Trainer (SWET).  During field students will construct their own shelters and will spend the night in them.  Certain materials will be provided to assist with shelter construction.  A  Survival Handbook will be provided and will be used as the course text, along with numerous handouts.

The following list of clothing and equipment will be needed for the various labs and the field portion of the survival course, adjusted as needed for weather and environment.  However, we do not recommend that you buy a lot of new gear for this training.  This is an opportunity to try out what you have and to find out what really works and what does not.

Pool Lab

Swim suit and tee shirt are acceptable. Old tennis, beach shoes or dive booties recommended. No leather shoes, boots or belts. Bring a towel and dry clothes to change into after the exercise.

Field Training

The field training will be conducted in a wooded area within an hour’s drive of Spokane.  Weather is typically warm and dry with a chance of thunderstorms.  The nights may be cool.

Student Clothing and Equipment List

Pack: Large enough for the items on the equipment list.  A water proof cover, such as a large trash bag, is recommended.

Clothing:  For 1 day and 1 night of field training, suitable for the terrain and anticipated weather conditions

Boots: Suitable for the terrain and anticipated weather conditions

Gloves: Leather recommended for shelter construction and other tasks

Water proof shell layer: Includes jacket with hood and pants, either Gore-tex or coated material.

Head protection: A hat with a brim for sun/rain protection.  A large bandana to augment sun and wind protection is recommended and a stocking cap may be appropriate for cool nights…

Personal survival kit: Bring any items that you might normally carry for outdoor activities.  This is a good opportunity to try out clothing and equipment

Sunscreen and Chap Stick: Essential!

Sun glasses: Wrap-around for maximum sun protection are recommended.

Base-plate type compass: Basic orienteering style compass such as a Brunton or a Silva.   Lensatic compass acceptable but not recommended.

Multi-tool: Gerber, Leatherman, etc

Headlamp and Flashlight: A headlamp for working at night is recommended along with a backup flashlight and extra batteries.

Canteen, water bottle, Camelback, or other water container:

Cup: Metal cup that can be heated over a fire recommended.

550 Line: Also known as parachute cord or para cord, 7-strand, minimum of 50’

Signal Mirror: Glass with aim hole recommended

Whistle: Plastic, not metal

Fixed-blade knife: Durable full-shank utility knife for general use and wood splitting.

Saw: Utility saw such as the Pocket Chain Saw or Gerber or Buck folding saw

Food: Enough for 3 meals (1 day and 1 night) in the field.  MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) recommended, or other high carbohydrate foods

Sleeping Bag: A light-weight bag or a bivouac sack should be sufficient.

Sleeping Pad: A closed-cell foam pad or a self-inflating pad such as a Therm-a-Rest recommended.

Applications and course coordination

Stephen Quigg, Mission Safety International
Phone:  717.284.4788

Download Application

Email:  CaptainQuigg@netzero.net

Questions about schedules, activities and equipment

Download Schedule

Ralph Wilfong, Director of Operations, Emergency Response International
Office:  509.443.1377
Cell:  509.993.0092
Email:  emtspec@comcast.net
Web Site:  www.eri-online.com

Questions about Moody and the Spokane area

Allison Pfening, Moody Aviation
Office:  509.535.4051 Ext 256
Email:  Allison.Pfening@moody.edu

Download Application

On August 1, 2009 a mission operated 1976 Cessna U206 equipped with Monarch fiberglass tanks to replace the bladder tanks, and Flint tip tanks experienced a loss of engine power while conducting a low level photo flight over a slum area just outside the traffic pattern at home base. While gliding toward a forced landing, the aircraft struck a utility pole, the ground, and a building, catching on fire. The pilot and front seat passenger were fatally injured. The two photographers in the back received non-life threatening injuries. No mechanical discrepancies were found, and the fuel was not contaminated.

On October 22, 2009 a mission training operated 1977 Cessna U206 equipped with bladder tanks and Flint tip tanks experienced a loss of engine power while flying at gross weight over mountainous terrain. The aircraft struck trees and the ground, catching fire. The instructor and commercially rated trainee were fatally injured. No mechanical discrepancies were found, and the fuel was not contaminated.

Have you experienced, or are you aware of similar power losses in similar aircraft, even momentary?

We would like to hear from you if you have experienced even momentary power loss in Cessna 206 aircraft, especially if it was a normally aspirated one with bladder tanks. We would also like to hear from you if you have information that might be helpful in solving the mysteries as to the cause of these events.

Contact Jon Egeler at jegeler@msisafety.org or call 423-542-8892 or 423-502-9460 or Skype:  jonegeler