Can 182 tail end take damage from ground contact during pushback?

[OOOPSIE]

Pushed my 182S into the hangar with a tug, mains got stuck on a 'lip' and it seems the nose cam up far enough for the tail to touch the ground (happened so quickly hard to tell).
Gust lock was not in.

Anyone know if there could be any damage? and if so where (tail, tiedown, elevator)?

Lesson learned, unload baggage compartment before pushing back plane and look into removing the 'lip'...

 

[Kenny Phillips]

There could be damage. If in doubt, the the wallet out. Or at least look for wrinkles in the tail section.

 

[Daleandee]

Yes there "could" be. No one here has any idea. Your mechanic can answer the question and because you're concerned enough to ask the question you might want to let them have a look-see. Of course my advice is worth less than it costs!

 

[Gary Ward]

Pushed my 182S into the hangar with a tug, mains got stuck on a 'lip' and it seems the nose cam up far enough for the tail to touch the ground (happened so quickly hard to tell).
Gust lock was not in.

Anyone know if there could be any damage? and if so where (tail, tiedown, elevator)?

Lesson learned, unload baggage compartment before pushing back plane and look into removing the 'lip'...

I doubt that will be damage. There should be a tie down ring that would hit the ground first.

I use a tug to push my 172 in over a lip and have never had that problem loaded or unloaded.
Might want to take a look at the tug to insure it is pushing at the right angle?

 

[Dan Thomas]

I doubt that will be damage. There should be a tie down ring that would hit the ground first.

I use a tug to push my 172 in over a lip and have never had that problem loaded or unloaded.
Might want to take a look at the tug to insure it is pushing at the right angle?

A 182's elevator will hit the ground first if the control lock isn't in, and even then it comes close. If it snagged on that lip you'd have plenty of ways of getting rid of money. A 172's elevator has more clearance.

Did the elevator's trailing edge skid along the floor? Might be some damage to the bottom skins at the inboard corner. Depends on how rough the floor is.

You'd have to bang the tiedown ring pretty hard to do more than deform it or bend it, but a look into the area with a flashlight and mirror would be a good idea to make sure the aft bulkhead, which the rings bolts though, isn't cracked. The tailcone fairing has to come off for that unless someone has a snake camera they can feed through the rudder bellcrank hole. And check the elevator tip tabs (balance horns) for looseness where they're riveted to the elevator spar, and the rudder top balance horn for distortion. Those tabs/horns carry the lead mass balance weights, and a sudden stop can bend or loosen stuff. Those elevator weights could also damage the stabilizer's aft spar if the tail hit hard enough. They yank down on the stab tips via the hinges.

 

[Sinistar]

Too bad you can't tell how far down it traveled. I could see it striking the elevator trailing edge and then quickly bouncing up. Or they might have leveled out (normally) as it went all the way down to the tiedown. I guess you could carefully (slowly) tip the tail down first with the gust lock in. Verify it hits the tiedown and not the end of the tail stinger. If it were to hit the stinger then you definitely did some damage. You could slowly repeat it again with the gust lock out and watch how the elevator would have hit - do they just slide out nicely or immediately catch. But it all just brings you back to did you actually damage anything. Is there another similar skylane you can compare to?

 

[DavidWhite]

If there isn’t any apparent visual damage you’re probably good to go. C brand builds em mighty stout.

(not my picture, or an endorsement to fly an airplane you aren’t sure is airworthy)

 

[Clip4]

Pushed my 182S into the hangar with a tug, mains got stuck on a 'lip' and it seems the nose cam up far enough for the tail to touch the ground (happened so quickly hard to tell).
Gust lock was not in.

Anyone know if there could be any damage? and if so where (tail, tiedown, elevator)?

Lesson learned, unload baggage compartment before pushing back plane and look into removing the 'lip'...

I suspect the main issue was the plane being push back with too much speed.