Accident at VNC (Venice, FL)

[GaryO]

I went to the airport this morning for a fun flight. As I neared the airport entrance there was a stream of emergency vehicles entering.

There is an aircraft down in the grass beside 13.

That's all I know for sure. I didn't want to try to get closer and possibly cause problems for the emergency crews.

Here are some details I got from the linemen. They may or may not be accurate.

The pilot was the only one on board the aircraft.
The fusilage looks intact but the wings are gone.
There's gas all over the place.

I'll go back later to see if I can get more info.

Edit:

The wind this morning was from 160 at 15 gusting to 21. It doesn't seem like that should be a problem.

 

[gismo]

That doesn's sound good, but if there's "gas all over" I'd guess there was no fire at least.

Did you get to fly anyway?

BTW I should be back to Venice for the last week in March. Hope to see you then.

 

[AdamZ]

Lets hope no injuries

 

[GaryO]

I have been informed that the aircraft was an Archer and that the pilot suffered a broken arm.

That's all I've learned so far.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

I have been informed that the aircraft was an Archer and that the pilot suffered a broken arm.

Well that's a heckuva lot better than it could have been! Phew!

 

[GaryO]

That doesn's sound good, but if there's "gas all over" I'd guess there was no fire at least.

Did you get to fly anyway?

BTW I should be back to Venice for the last week in March. Hope to see you then.

No. Something about all those emergency vehicles next to the runway took all the fun out of it.

Let me know when you'll be in town.

 

[GaryO]

Looks like it was a student's first solo.

And it also looks like the linemen and the reporter have different information.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070226/NEWS/702260449

The winds at the time of the accident were a bit stronger - from 160 at 15 gusting to 21.

Since this was a training flight I will also post it in that forum.

 

[Bill]

Re: Looks like it was a student's first solo.

The winds at the time of the accident were a bit stronger - from 160 at 15 gusting to 21.

A bit windy to be soloing a guy, I'd think.

 

[GaryO]

Re: Looks like it was a student's first solo.

A bit windy to be soloing a guy, I'd think.

I'll leave it up to the CFI's to comment on that.

What seemed windy when I was a student doesn't seem so windy now. I really can't remember how strong the winds were when I soloed.

 

[ScottM]

Re: Looks like it was a student's first solo.

A bit windy to be soloing a guy, I'd think.

I'll leave it up to the CFI's to comment on that.

What seemed windy when I was a student doesn't seem so windy now. I really can't remember how strong the winds were when I soloed.

Really? You think? I did my PP check ride is about those types of wind. My cross wind component limit for solo was 12knots according to my logbook. I am thinking that he might not have really been very competent in crosswind ops and that would fall to the CFI for not teaching him enough.

 

[etsisk]

Re: Looks like it was a student's first solo.

Scott, there's a world of difference in capabilities between FIRST solo and checkride - I imagine that you were able to do a LOT of stuff better by the time you took that checkride! At least, I certainly HOPE so!

 

[ScottM]

Re: Looks like it was a student's first solo.

Scott, there's a world of difference in capabilities between FIRST solo and checkride - I imagine that you were able to do a LOT of stuff better by the time you took that checkride! At least, I certainly HOPE so!

Please read my note again I also said that I had a solo crosswind limit of 12 knots. That was written there for my first solo. 12knot is 14mph so in the winds conditions reported by the paper I could have done my first solo with a 90 degree crosswind according to my CFI at the time. Makes me wonder if this guy was really prepped?

I would also have expected that the CFI had flown witht he student a few couple of times that morning before getting out of the airplane and signing the paperwork to let him go. It is unclear formt he report if that happened. But making the assumption it had the student had at least flown to a level that warranted the sign off. If the CFI had not flown with him that morning shame on him.

What do the current group of CFI's consider a reasonable amount of wind these days for a supervised solo and crosswind component?

 

[Dean]

My CFI would not solo anyone if the winds above 10kts, He also put a 10kt and 5000' ceiling restriction for solo flights on all his students.

 

[tonycondon]

Re: Looks like it was a student's first solo.

What do the current group of CFI's consider a reasonable amount of wind these days for a supervised solo and crosswind component?

depends on the student Scott. If they are good, Ill give em more. Typically I say something like 15 knot total, 5 knot crosswind. If they prove they can handle more and be safe, than I give em more than that.

 

[LvPilot]

...

The wind this morning was from 160 at 15 gusting to 21. It doesn't seem like that should be a problem.

Really? 160 at 15 gusting to 21 doesn't seem like too much for a first solo? .. yikes. I wanted absolute calm for mine. IMHO .. the first solo is just a mental hurdle that helps you to start building confidence. No need to challenge skills for that flight.

 

[GaryO]

Really? 160 at 15 gusting to 21 doesn't seem like too much for a first solo? .. yikes. I wanted absolute calm for mine. IMHO .. the first solo is just a mental hurdle that helps you to start building confidence. No need to challenge skills for that flight.

When I said that I didn't think the wind should have been a problem I did not know that the pilot was a student.

Also, I had been told that the aircraft was an Archer. Since that is a more capable aircraft than most pilots use for primary training, I believed that the pilot would have enough experience to make those winds a non-issue.

I know, assumptions are usually wrong.

 

[mdpilots]

IMHO .. the first solo is just a mental hurdle that helps you to start building confidence.

I'm with you on that one. For me, I certainly wouldn't have wanted to add gusty crosswinds to my solo. There's enough to worry about without adding that variable.