Well, it's not my plane, but it's one of the planes from my flight school/club that I've rented many times. Here's an article of the event and a description of the somewhat daring rescue:
It's always possible for a small airplane's engine to fail, the same way any other piece of equipment can fail. Federal Aviation Administration regulations are very strict to keep these risks as small as practical, but they can't eliminate the human factor. Was this accident caused by a problem with the airplane that was difficult to detect, or did the pilot simply allow this accident, and loss of a plane, to happen? Here's the relevant snippet from the preliminary National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report:
The pilot said that during climb-out, he was monitoring the airspeed so he could retract the flaps when the airplane reached 70 knots; however, at a height of 500 ft above the ground, he noticed that the airspeed was decreasing below 60 knots without out any changes to pitch attitude. The pilot thought the engine had lost power (he did not feel any vibration or unusual noise) and he pushed the nose over to gain airspeed. The pilot made a forced landing to a partially frozen creek, which resulted in substantial damage to the airframe.
Just so you all know, that explanation from the pilot makes very little sense. He should have lowered the nose (pitch down) after being above all obstacles, which at that airport is no greater than 200 feet up. After pitching down, his speed should have picked up from 63 knots to 79 knots pretty quickly. As that was happening, he should have verified his vertical speed was positive, then retracted the first notch of flaps. What the heck was he doing getting up near 500 ft before achieving the correct speed to climb out or retract the flaps. How do you "lose power" and somehow only notice it via your airspeed indicator in a Piper Warrior?
Unfortunately, it could be a year before the final report is released, and even then it might only take a cursory look at causes. Thankfully, nobody was seriously hurt, but I'm pretty annoyed regardless.
On January 07 2023 16:41 iPlaY.NettleS wrote: Any information on how experienced the pilot was? Hours etc.
That will eventually be in the final report. I looked the pilot up in the FAA database, and he appears to be certified as a private pilot, rated for single-engine land only. This doesn't tell us much except that he was actually rated for that airplane.
edit: I could possibly figure out more if I went to the flying hangar and dug through folders (I have a folder there too), but that would probably be frowned upon
This quite amazing video also has to do with crashed small planes, but in the unlikeliest location.
Dorktown documentaries really are the best, fascinating how these guys can keep you captivated for hours on end with graphs, newspaper cutouts and good writing.
Yeah that video's really something, although there was just too much football analysis and play-by-play which I don't really care about. Also, it was clear that they were overreaching a tiny bit while discussing how flying works, but it wasn't egregious and didn't bother me.
On January 07 2023 23:46 micronesia wrote: Yeah that video's really something, although there was just too much football analysis and play-by-play which I don't really care about. Also, it was clear that they were overreaching a tiny bit while discussing how flying works, but it wasn't egregious and didn't bother me.
The villain's perspective while flying was perhaps my favorite part of the video.
On January 19 2023 10:39 Alakaslam wrote: "Eh? Can't be a stall, engine is running and there's no stall horn"
-_-
It's January, what is ice?
Edit: "carb heat? Nah I like a strong engine, who needs it in this weather?"
Carb icing is definitely a possibility. The engine in that plane is not as prone to carb icing as some other planes (e.g., carb heat is not normally on during landing). I don't think carb icing is likely during takeoff, though.
That sucks. My first flight school lost two airplanes. One was a 150 hp C150 that a guy took to look for some sheep for his upcoming hunt. Did the standard "moose stall" while circling low level looking for some. He survived the crash but not the fall down the ravine he took while walking around afterwards. Crazy.
It does seem weird about not knowing if his engine quit. That's some hyper focus on the airspeed to be tuning everything else out.
On January 20 2023 09:04 Tubesock wrote: That sucks. My first flight school lost two airplanes. One was a 150 hp C150 that a guy took to look for some sheep for his upcoming hunt. Did the standard "moose stall" while circling low level looking for some. He survived the crash but not the fall down the ravine he took while walking around afterwards. Crazy.
It does seem weird about not knowing if his engine quit. That's some hyper focus on the airspeed to be tuning everything else out.
That's quite a story. I wonder if the accident report discussed what happened to the pilot after he evacuated the aircraft safely...
EPT
![[image loading]](https://i.imgur.com/rYfNlhh.jpg)
