Flying at night brings spectacular views and usually calmer weather making it an enjoyable experience. At the same time, night flying adds risks that need to be managed. What happens when the flight doesn’t go as planned? What are some considerations when flying at night?
Herb Patten, Senior CFI at San Carlos Flight Center will share an experience from a recent night flight where things didn’t go exactly as planned. During the flight, a malfunction occurred which caused a loss of electrical power. Herb will describe at what point in the flight he encountered the failure and then share the response and decision making process that followed. He will share the actions that in hindsight were good decisions along with key learnings of what he would have done differently.
Join us for this seminar for a discussion of how the issue presented itself, what were the factors that lead up to the failure, immediate steps that were taken followed by developing a set of contingencies and finally the root causes of the failure.
Herb Patten is a CFII and teaches both the Private Pilot and Instrument Ground School at San Carlos Flight Center. Herb has been recognized three times by AOPA as a Distinguished Flight Instructor.
San Carlos Flight Center (SCFC) is the SF Bay Area’s most dynamic flying club, committed to building general aviation through safety, community, and adventure. AOPA has consistently recognized SCFC in their Best Flight School survey, most recently in 2024 as a Distinguished Flight School for the fourth year in a row.
