Originally Posted by Wrathmonk
Just out of curiosity, and not wanting to drag the thread off topic, but why isn't the Tucano cleared for goon suits? I've never flown it myself - is it a space limitation, a weight restriction, a "we're not issued with them" restriction or something else?
I believe it stems from a Tucano accident a while ago; the one about the prop blade leaving the aircraft during a spin. I've not read it for a while, but there was a comment about the front seat occupant's boot being damaged around the toe area. I can't remember if he was wearing an immersion suit, or if they postulated that it would have been damaged if he was.
Either way, one of the recommendations was to remove clearance to wear immersion suits until some sort of mod could be fitted. It doesn't seem to have come back, but that's presumably because they don't really fly over many large expanses of water.