Originally Posted by
B2N2
If it had a janitrol heater it may have been leaking.
Either fuel fumes or maybe even CO if it was running.
I disliked those things.
The ‘66 I flew had it disabled fortunately.
With the owners having the disposable income for racing makes you wonder why they fly such an old airframe. Last Aztec was built in ‘78.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to have one but for recreational purposes not depending on transportation.
Especially at lighter weights it’s a big baby on one engine, relatively speaking.
My company operated and maintained 'JW for a number of years in the 1980s, at which time it had been owned by the same person since 1974 and indeed he didn't sell it until 2019. He was very safety-conscious and no expense was spared in keeping the aircraft immaculate. It did have a Janitrol heater and as a licensed engineer myself I didn't like them as they seemed prone to breakdown and had to be scrupulously pressure tested as per the maintenance schedule. I preferred the Southwind fitted to earlier Apache/Aztec as I recall. In fact I flew down to Chateauroux from Southend one day in 'JW with no heater the whole way and had to wait until after landing to reset the circuit breaker, which normally resolved the problem. I don't like speculation of accident causes in advance of the AAIB investigation but I wouldn't disagree with your thoughts.
Regarding the aircraft's age I think it must probably have been one of the best maintained for its 'vintage' and I believe she featured in a 'Pilot' assessment not too long ago.