Lombardo covers business aviation maintenance-related issues. He is also a writer and on-air reporter for AINtv. He has over 3000 articles published and is the author of several books on aircraft systems for pilots and on the topic of flight simulation.
He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in education from the University of Illinois, has taught aviation for over 35 years in industry and as a university professor and academic dean at three different universities. He is also a frequent seminar and after-dinner motivational speaker.&nbsp;
Lombardo holds an A&amp;P Certificate, ATP, CFI and Ground Instructor ratings. He was a corporate pilot and was a research pilot and flight instructor at the University of Illinois. An FAA Safety Counselor for over 25 years, he was one of the original 13 Counselors appointed to the FAA’s Airworthiness Safety Program for maintenance technicians.&nbsp;

Contributor

David A. Lombardo

CESSNA 208B, MANTEO, N.C., DEC. 25, 2002–At about 1 a.m. EST Cessna N1122Y, registered to Avion Capital Corp. and operated by Telford Aviation, crashed into Croatan Sound near Manteo. The aircraft was in IMC on an instrument flight plan. The ATP-rated pilot was killed and the aircraft was substantially damaged. The flight departed Elizabeth City, N.C., about 25 minutes before the accident occurred. 
The pilot was in radio contact with Washington Center and had been cleared for the NDB Runway 05 approach at Dare County Regional Airport (MQI) when it was five miles northeast of the airport. The aircraft disappeared from radar contact when it descended below 2,000 feet about five miles north of the airport while maneuvering for the approach. 
Three minutes before the crash the pilot reported to the controller that he was completing the procedure turn and was inbound to the airport. No further transmissions were received from the pilot. When the pilot did not report that he was on the ground, and further radio contact could not be established, controllers initiated search-and-rescue efforts. The wreckage of the airplane was located in the waters of Croatan Sound, about two miles west of MQI, at about 10 o’clock the following morning.

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