Head Scratcher

("john smith" wrote)
This happened two days ago in Central Ohio. The pilot had just purchased
the 1966 Mooney M20F and was getting on a check out flight with the
instructor. Witnesses report the aircraft came straight down.


I read a link (in rec.aviation) a while back about a person investigating
the possibility that CO poisoning might be a culprit in more crashes than
people realize. Sounds like an interesting theory, except for my thought
that there were toxicology tests for that. Maybe his theory is they're not
catching it - forensically. Memory fails me on the details of the research
in the link.

I know some past exhaust issues have involved higher pressure vs. lower
pressure areas - Piper's tail cone 'low pressure zone' was one problem spot
for CO gas to find its way into the cabin, IIRC.

I know many planes are leaky ...but if you do have a somewhat tight cockpit,
would a (small) fresh air feed, slightly pressurizing the cabin (perhaps
with a small computer type fan), be good insurance against CO gas intrusion?


Montblack