AOPA Never Again

When was the last time you asked for a DF steer? It's time we asked for one. (By Steve Samuelson) Have you had a flying experience that made you say "Never again!"? Send us an email and we may publish it in AOPA Pilot and feature it in this podcast. ([email protected])

It's night. You're flying single pilot IFR and George has left the building. Pull the breaker? Tried that. Now what? (By Joe T. May) See the online version of this article. Want to submit a Never Again to AOPA Pilot? Email us.

Climbing to stay in visual meteorological conditions sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. We'll explore the latter. (By Andy Clark)

An SR20 and a wobbly iPad prove not to be mutually beneficial. Ride along, but maybe leave your iPad at home (by Juan B. Plaza)

Flying single engine over the mountains at night in a vintage airplane. What could go wrong? (By Jim Pitman)

By Steve Ells.

A night-time cross-country almost ends in disaster for want of a 50-cent part. (By Tom Hildebrandt)

A medical helicopter pilot flies into night IMC. Where are the towers? (By Byron Edgington.)

An icy diversion to JFK. Grab your winter gloves and fly along. By Charmaine Sperling

Get there itis and a lack of night experience cause a stressful flight over north Florida. (By Douglas Kiefer)

The unusual layout of controls creates a problem for the pilot of a Piper Tri-Pacer. By Gilbert Halacz.

When, and how, to defer to an older pilot in an emergency situation? Find out one opinion. By Paul Locander.

Smoke in the cockpit and a partial avionics failure make for an interesting flight. (By Alex Jones)

it's been said aviation accidents are caused not by one bad decision but by a chain of them. How about seven? Find out what's going on. (By James Witt)

Do you pay attention to small things or do you wait until they become big things? Find out one pilot's opinion. (By Sebastian Teunissen)

Do you really need to inspect the oil filter after every oil change? Read one pilot's perspective. (By Rusty Herrington)

A teardrop turn between two ridgelines in IMC? Sounds dangerous. Find out the grim results. (By Gary Deck)

We've all had some stinky flights but this is ridiculous. (By Bob DelValle)

A bush pilot unsuccessfully calculates fuel instead of looking at the tanks. By Steve Ells.

Flying a race plane is different from flying just about anything else. Find out what happened on this pilot's maiden flight. (By W. G. Hill)

A Mother's Day promise to his wife and mother caused one pilot to push his limits. (By Tom Snow)

Bad decisions often start with good intentions. (By Pat Haseltine)

How does a pilot miss seeing a Boeing 747? (By William Kramer)

Is a cornfield a good choice for an off airport landing? Sometimes you have no other option. (By Scott S. Thomas)

A 182 pilot discovers fuel gauges don't always tell the whole story. (By Dave Houghton)

Accepting a number of seemingly minor risks endangers a Cherokee pilot and his family. (By John Parker)

A Cessna twin pilot applies what he learned in an engine-out emergency to another engine-out emergency. (By Pierre Wildman)

A 172 pilot calls tower and receives an instruction that's completely Greek to him. Of course he is flying in Greece. (By Carl Dworman)

You're flying over the desert and your engine quits. How do you decide which tiny little butte you want to land on? (By Richard Snider)

Engine trouble above a solid overcast with known icing. That's not good. (By Jose G. Riera)

Sightseeing pilots in a dream destination are seduced by scenic grandeur into making a flight they would regret. (By Alan Cockrell)

Halfway through an Immelman is not a great time to lose aileron and elevator control. Good thing the regulations require a parachute, but will the pilot need it? (By David Werdeger)

We're all set to take our instrument checkride...or are we? Funny how little things can go unnoticed. (By Karen Atkins)

Operating in the Los Angeles VFR corridor seems safe enough, at least until the weather conspires against you. By Steven Mark Sachs.

Your engine dies because there's a parachute wrapped around the propeller. Find out how this happens. (By David Hensley)

When a Remos pilot has a partial engine failure on takeoff, the response seems less clear. What would you do? (By Jeff Durante)

An IFR flight in central Europe makes an American pilot long for the good old FAA. By Robert Tompkins.

While testing a novel piece of avionics, two pilots unknowingly become test pilots. By Stephen Davies

A Meridian pilot learns the true purpose of training, and any pilot at any time is capable of making a mistake that leads to a dangerous situation. By John Smith.

Most pilots would agree that gambling with an airplane is a bad idea. See how one pilot found this out. By Donald Burkley.

Have you ever declared an emergency? Have you ever considered it? Ride along in instrument weather with a failed HSI. By Austin Kallemeyn.

Flying a Cheetah with the canopy open sounds pretty cool--so long as you've read the handbook. By Martin T. Murat

There's darkness, and then there's middle-of-nowhere darkness. Add in a low cloud base and you've got the recipe for an uncomfortable flight. By Tom Haack.

Flight safety is compromised by a moose carcass. (By Mark Owen)

An oft-practiced landing technique pays big dividends in the real world when smoke fills the cockpit and the engine self-destructs.

A Centurion pilot ices up over the mountains and hears two voices in his head. Find out which one he listens to. (By Joe Brinck)

A Civil Air Patrol pilot on an Angel Flight mission realizes the importance of patience when he finds himself nose to nose with another aircraft at 100 feet off the deck. By Dale Brown.

When the runway lights go out at night while you're enjoying an electrical failure, decisions have to be made--and quickly. By Gary Souder.

A sod farm makes a fine landing field until it's harvested. Prepare for a bumpy arrival in "Ninety-Degree Turn on Takeoff" by Tom Haack.

On a 10-minute VFR trip, a Cessna Skylane pilot wanders into unforecast IMC. What to do? By Peter Boody.