Pilot suspects static electricity in Citation X pitot failures | Aviation International News

Pilot suspects static electricity in Citation X pitot failures

Static electricity may cause pitot static probes to fail, according to a Cessna Citation X owner-pilot who survived a simultaneous failure of all three pit

By Vladimir Karnozov

October 28, 2009

Static electricity may cause pitot static probes to fail, according to a Cessna Citation X owner-pilot who survived a simultaneous failure of all three pitots during a flight earlier this year. Kirill Minovalov, a Russian entrepreneur and private pilot, was flying in stormy weather conditions when the incident happened; he managed to land safely at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport.

Minovalov, 38, was quick to take advantage of Russia’s economic reforms in the early 1990s. In 1994 he formed Bank Avangard and still serves as its president and CEO. He was urged by the Russian Business Aviation Association to discuss the serious safety incident and spoke exclusively to AIN.

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