Crash Investigations:

1971: C-131 and F-4 Midair near San Francisco, CA. 14 feet of Convair C-131 outer wing section lost in flight due to impact with F-4, conducted crash investigation along with Project engineer of C-131 program.

1972: Lockheed C-130 Fire bottle failures, Republic of Vietnam, conducted engineering investigation as to cause of the failure of the fire bottles in Lockheed C-130A and B model aircraft. Prepared engineering change proposals for the modification and repair of the bottles, the fire suppressant system, and the type and model aircraft.

1973:

1. Hawker AV-8A Harrier crash, STO takeoff with loss of control. Improper CG calculations and power/nozzle use.
    

2. Hawker AV-8A Harrier crash, First un-demanded roll crash. Cause not identified until 1976.
    

3. Hawker AV-8A Harrier crash, un-demanded roll on takeoff.
    

4. Boeing-Vertol CH-46 crash at New River Air Station, Jacksonville, N.C., conducted crash investigation into the crash of a Marine H-46 aircraft. Deicing blanket adhesive failure on main blade system at shutdown. Blade investigation conducted in support of the Project Engineer on the CH-46 program.

1974:

1. Hawker AV-8A Harrier crash, in-flight failure of fuel control.
    

2. Hawker AV-8A Harrier crash, Off of North Carolina, Atlantic Ocean: full power impact with water. Results CLASSIFIED.
    

3. Hawker AV-8A Harrier crash, MCAS Twenty-nine Palms, low level impact with terrain.

1975:

1. Hawker AV-8A Harrier crash, ground impact during air show. Loss of control in the jet nozzle borne flight.
    

2. Hawker AV-8A Harrier crash, MCAS Cherry Point, un-demanded roll at take off.
    

3. Hawker AV-8A Harrier crash, MCAS New River remote site, un-demanded roll at take off.

1976:

1. Hawker AV-8A Harrier incident, USS FDR, NAS Naples Italy. Incident CLASSIFIED.
    

2. Hawker AV-8A Harrier crash, UK aircraft in Britain. Incident CLASSIFIED.
    

3. Hawker AV-8A Harrier incident, MCAS Cherry Point, N.C., loss of control during conventional landing. Wing tip wheel damper failure.

During the period of time of 1973 through 1978, Mr. Mineo was primarily responsible for the low speed un-demanded roll research on the AV-8A aircraft. He investigated numerous additional crashes and incidents and many hours of flying research was conducted, including the use of high speed photography and wind tunnel testing. He personally prepared and made numerous presentations to flag rank personnel of the U.S. Marine Corps and the United Kingdom. In addition, he was task as the U.S. representative with the testing and investigation conducted at the Hawker Plant in Kingston, U.K. Although much of this work is classified, the final result eliminated many of the un-demanded roll characteristics of the AV-8A aircraft and the improvement in the roll-stability of the AV-8B aircraft manufactured by McDonald Douglas.

Mr. Mineo has personally been responsible for conducting in excess of thirty crash investigations, and has been involved with many more involving the McDonald F-4, Lockheed C-130, Rolls-Royce/MTU RB 193 engine and its derivative the Pegasus, and Sikorsky CH-53.

During this time Mr. Mineo's responsibility was to determine the cause(s) of fatal and non-fatal AV-8A crashes and improve the safety of the weapons system for the pilots of the U.S. Marine Corps and the Royal Navy.

Since 1982, Mr. Mineo has been involved as an aviation lawyer in many general aviation and large commercial Part 121 crashes. He has represented pilots, passengers, aircraft owner/operators, and Part 135 operators in both tort and F.A.A. enforcement actions. During this period Mr. Mineo has continued to be directly involved in aircraft accident investigations on numerous aircraft types, including the Lockheed L 1011, Boeing 747, 737, Cessna 208, 210, 172, 310, 340 and 414 aircraft. Other aircraft in which Mr. Mineo has been involved in an investigation include the Convair 440, Grumman G1, and many of the Piper series aircraft. Throughout his training and professional career, as both an engineer and attorney, aviation safety has been and continues to be his primary goal on behalf of his clients and the flying public. Since 1982 Mr. Mineo has held MEMBER status in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.