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You fly in actual instrument weather conditions and make enough approaches to keep
"current," take your flight review from a good instructor, know the
"Normal" and "Emergency" procedure sections of your Pilot's Operating
Handbook, and feel you are qualified to cope with any emergency. Are you?
Maybe not. The NTSB has reported air pump/system failure as a factor in an average of
two accidents per year over the past eight years. About one-half of the reported cases
involved other overriding factors such as loss of control with a back-up electrical gyro
available, non-instrument rated pilots flying in instrument weather conditions, and
departing with pneumatic systems known to be inoperative.
The most disturbing factor is that the remaining half - an average of about one accident
per year - occurred to instrument-rated pilots who recognized the pneumatic system failure,
flew on partial panel in instrument weather conditions for 30 to 45 minutes, and then
lost control during high task loads, such as during an instrument approach. Another common
denominator was that all aircraft involved were high performance, retractable gear,
single engine aircraft.
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