C172 crash at KWHP

72 year old pilot. Looks like an extended downwind. News reports says it nose dived. I think he stalled it. It sucks because I really liked this G1000 beautiful 172.
 
The ASN page has a dash cam video showing him clipping power lines before nosediving.
So too low on approach? Now the question is if that had a mechanical reason or not.
 
72 yo? Probably didn't see the powerlines.
 

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FlightmechH3 said:
72 yo? Probably didn't see the powerlines.
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I'm 69, and had cataract surgery last year; 20:15 in my good eye.
Still, before the surgery, perhaps I'd miss seeing a line, but I'd also not be near it, unless there was a problem with the aircraft.
 
Yeah there is nothing for emergency landing out around that airport. I doubt there was mechanical issues with that 172. I have flown it a bunch and it is defintely kept well and in good shape. Nice G1000 avionics. There is a displaced threshold for RWY 12 for a reason. You can not have the papi showing all red come in in on rwy 12 at WHP. Damn.
 
Those power lines top out somewhere around 50 to 60’ above ground. It’s 2300’ from there to the displaced threshold, then another 700’-ish to the PAPI, which are set at 3.8°. So, nominally, at that location, a pilot following the PAPI should have been at 200’ AGL, or ~140-150’ above those lines.
 
From the dashcam video, it looks like he made a left bank and clipped the power line. Based on the last reported ADSB position, it probably looked like this out his window:







Rwy12.png
 
The tower extended his downwind, then forgot about him because the tower had a power outage and lost all capabilities to see planes in the area. He was never given a landing clearance let alone approved to be in anything but extended downwind. The tower didn't even know he went down until a local helicopter pointed it out...
 
FPK1 said:
The tower extended his downwind, then forgot about him because the tower had a power outage and lost all capabilities to see planes in the area. He was never given a landing clearance let alone approved to be in anything but extended downwind. The tower didn't even know he went down until a local helicopter pointed it out...
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What is your source for that?
 
I'm blaming ATC since they didn't stop grandpa from crashing into powerlines.
 
bonefishpete said:
That don’t make no sense.
Could it be the fuel selector was off?
Enough fuel for half a pattern?
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See my ADS-B track earlier; 99% of a lap. That's far more than any 172 will go with the fuel off (we ran ours out in a minute or two at idle, IIRC, before carb replacement.)
 
bonefishpete said:
That don’t make no sense.
Could it be the fuel selector was off?
Enough fuel for half a pattern?
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No way. The fuel shutoff is downstream of the header tank, and the engine will quit almost instantly if it's turned off. There is no "Off" position on the selector; it's a separate control.
Kenny Phillips said:
See my ADS-B track earlier; 99% of a lap. That's far more than any 172 will go with the fuel off (we ran ours out in a minute or two at idle, IIRC, before carb replacement.)
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The accident airplane was fuel injected. It won't even run for 30 seconds if the fuel is off. The three ounces of fuel in the strainer isn't available, either. It can't be sucked out by the pump, as the outlet is in the top of it, and the vacuum generated as fuel is removed would prevent fuel from leaving anyway.

1776963561805.png
 
I still think Tower forgot about him. They extended his Downwind, later told him he was #4, and from what I can tell never cleared him to land...

 
FPK1 said:
I still think Tower forgot about him. They extended his Downwind, later told him he was #4, and from what I can tell never cleared him to land...

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I’m putting this together with the recording in your post #16. It…..

 
The poor guy knew that when your downwind is extended you don't keep descending, right? I'm not tossing that out as a joke...some people get into a routine, and if he was past the numbers on downwind?
 
Rick A said:
Scary video. What's missing is the standard media narrative that only the pilot's skill and selfless lack of concern for his own safety directed the plane into an unoccupied parking lot, saving the lives of everyone on the ground near the landing site. /sarc
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Yes, but did he file a flight plan?
 
FPK1 said:
I still think Tower forgot about him. They extended his Downwind, later told him he was #4, and from what I can tell never cleared him to land...

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At urban airports in the L.A. basin extended patterns (up or downwind) are common, particularly at times of high training activity. Sometimes the pattern will stretch out to the limits of the class D boundary. This is exacerbated by the need for controllers to squeeze in frequent arrivals, assist with traffic advisories, etc. One can spend a lot of time loitering in the pattern. They don't forget you, but it seems like it sometimes!
 
Whiteman is at risk for closing and this just adds fire to the call for closing...

As I indicated before Tower completely lost track of this plane!

 
We can be very thankful the pilot survived this horrible accident. Personally my prayers and thoughts go out to him for a swift recovery. Hopefully, the forthcoming accident report will teach us something new and yield light on this pattern mishap.
 
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So this is ATC's fault that a dinosaur crashed into powerlines? Get outta here.

The pilot probably has a 2025 Corvette with dents all over it, wears white New Balance shoes and denim shorts.
 
I've flown with a few "dinosaurs" in the past with 30K+ hours. As patient and kind as they were, in comparison I almost felt like a monkey bouncing around in the other seat. Some dinosaurs actually know what they're doing.
 
FlightmechH3 said:
So this is ATC's fault that a dinosaur crashed into powerlines? Get outta here.

The pilot probably has a 2025 Corvette with dents all over it, wears white New Balance shoes and denim shorts.
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Not my place to wreck a good stereotype mid-stream, but aren't the Corvettes still plastic? I'm guessing they crack rather than dent, but could be wrong. (From my experience, actual carbon fiber laminates kinda shatter, but maybe GM is sprinkling some CF dust in a random thermoplastic and calling it a day, so it flexes more like a disposable water bottle.)
 
Albany Tom said:
Not my place to wreck a good stereotype mid-stream, but aren't the Corvettes still plastic? I'm guessing they crack rather than dent, but could be wrong. (From my experience, actual carbon fiber laminates kinda shatter, but maybe GM is sprinkling some CF dust in a random thermoplastic and calling it a day, so it flexes more like a disposable water bottle.)
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We can kinda tell you don't like Corvettes.
 
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