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State plane cleared by FAA to fly again

Pilots raised concerns about cramped cockpit.

The Ohio Department of Transportation's Partnenavia P68 Observer airplane has been grounded for 16 months following pilot complaints about a cramped cockpit. It has been cleared to fly by the FAA.

Laura A. Bischoff The Ohio Department of Transportation's Partnenavia P68 Observer airplane has been grounded for 16 months following pilot complaints about a cramped cockpit. It has been cleared to fly by the FAA.

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By Laura A. Bischoff, Columbus Bureau 12:21 AM Friday, February 10, 2012

COLUMBUS — Air and ground training classes on a state-owned Partenavia P68 Observer airplane will begin for pilots in the coming weeks after the Federal Aviation Administration gave the Ohio Department of Transportation the all clear to fly the plane.

The P68 has been sitting in a hangar at Ohio State University’s Don Scott Airport in Columbus for 16 months after two ODOT pilots, Eric Smith and John Milling, raised safety concerns about the cramped cockpit.

The aviators said the flight controls bumped into their legs when the controls were in the most extreme positions.

The FAA initially told ODOT that if the pilot-in-command doesn’t have full free and clear movement of the controls, then it wouldn’t be safe to fly. So ODOT voluntarily grounded the plane and shifted work to other aircraft until the FAA completed an investigation.

The 1982 plane, purchased in 1988 for $240,000, has a clear plastic nose. It is used for spotting marijuana crops, inspecting airport runways and conducting wildlife surveys.

After the Dayton Daily News wrote about the issue on Jan. 30, the FAA sent a letter the same day to ODOT settling the matter. Milling and Smith’s are the only pilots to raise this particular issue in the 30 years that the P68 has been flying, according to federal authorities’ review of FAA, Italian Airworthiness Authority (ENAC) and manufacturer records.

“... FAA agrees with ENAC that this design issue is not an unsafe condition,” wrote FAA Small Plane Directorate Assistant Manager John Colomy to ODOT.

ODOT spokesman Steve Faulkner said a pair of overhauled engines purchased for the P68 will be installed and training will begin for ODOT pilots in a few weeks.

The P68 will be used for an Ohio Department of Natural Resources mapping project along the Ohio River, Faulkner said.

All told, the state of Ohio owns 25 aircraft used for passenger travel, wildlife surveys, aerial mapping, traffic enforcement and marijuana eradication.

Most of the aircraft are kept at Scott Field, and all the planes and helicopters are maintained by ODOT. The aviation division’s operations budget is $3.8 million a year.

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