Air show plane goes down

We were flying just outside the SWF TFR yesterday doing practice approaches in the area when he went in. Heard the tones and NY ATC declare the field closed. Sucks. Its pretty sobering to hear this unfold over the freq in real time. RIP. We're going to the airshow Sunday.
 
unsafervguy said:
As composites do not display fatigue like metal does it will take the NTSB lab some time to find the failure point, my guess it will be a small defect in the layup that was not detected or possibly not detectable at manufacture.
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This is why I don't like composite airplanes. On aluminum structures I can inspect it and fix it. I Don't like plastic airplanes.
 
Tarheelpilot said:
This is why I don't like composite airplanes. On aluminum structures I can inspect it and fix it. I Don't like plastic airplanes.
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I've wondered how hard it is to detect on a craft like that. There would have to be some separation or delamination prior to the entire tail section jettisoning from the aircraft. I don't know if this was something visible from the external of the aircraft, internally, or not at all. It appeared to separate where the vertical stabilizer met the fuselage.

I'm always concerned about structural integrity where the wings meet the fuselage, to see the tail come off in that manner is quite shocking. It appeared to separate after the corkscrew maneuver, possibly residual fatigue induced from the other aerobatic maneuvers that preceded that one.
 
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Mopauly said:
I've wondered how hard it is to detect on a craft like that. There would have to be some separation or delamination prior to the entire tail section jettisoning from the aircraft. I don't know if this was something visible from the external of the aircraft, internally, or not at all. It appeared to separate where the vertical stabilizer met the fuselage.

I'm always concerned about structural integrity where the wings meet the fuselage, to see the tail come off in that manner is quite shocking. It appeared to separate after the corkscrew maneuver, possibly residual fatigue induced from the other aerobatic maneuvers that preceded that one.
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I was a huge fan of Greg Poe that flew the Fagen Ethanol sponsored plane.. It was a composite and he REALLY thrashed it during his performances... I was usually invited to display my plane at alot of the same Airshows / fly in that he attended since he lived in Boise... IMHO,, he was great. How that plane held together while being pushed to the edge in beyond me...

He cheated death daily, lost a son to drugs and was a great guy to talk to at all the events we attended... Then one day he takes the day off from flying and goes dirt bike riding with a few buddies.. Stops to relax, drink some water and eat a sandwich and falls over dead of a massive heart attack next to his bike...:sad::sad::sad::sad:... Funny how life plays out.:redface:

http://ethanolproducer.com/articles/8015/ethanol-plane-pilot-greg-poe-dies-at-age-57

Back on topic.... I too don't see how someone can thoroughly preflight / check a composite plane for hidden flaws, and apparently this latest in flight break up was a hidden flaw in the fuselage....

Real sad for the pilot...:sad::sad::sad:
 
I wonder if he even knew what happened. It looks like he had a brief moment where he could have bailed before the plane nosed over, but I wonder if he was trying to figure out what happened /what he had to work with. Very sad.
 
Fearless Tower said:
I wonder if he even knew what happened. It looks like he had a brief moment where he could have bailed before the plane nosed over, but I wonder if he was trying to figure out what happened /what he had to work with. Very sad.
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Thought the same thing when it sounded like he idled. By then the rate of descent had to have had him held down by his harness making it difficult to get out.



Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
 
I was at the airshow yesterday and the announcer said Wright was suppose to attemp a new guiness book record for inverted flat spins this week. No idea if those manuvers put any unusual stresses on the tail, but I Imagine he was doing a lot of them in preparation. The record is 87.
 
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