Crash in Caribbean

Awful. Saw a vid that shows it going in nose down and the fishermen and authorities during recovery. Very sad.
 
Apparently, the pilot owned this Super VIking. Not sure if it's the plane that was involved, but....

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This is listed on ASN now, under incident number 349619, and that is the aircraft in question, N4023B.
 
Article stated he had radioed the tower reporting trouble and was turning around. "Impossible turn" stall?
Nothing but water in front of rwy 30, and mountains at rwy 12. No good options there...sad.
 
DavidWhite said:
…warm water
Click to expand...
I thought about that...
I wasn't familiar with that aircraft- fabric skin over steel tube frame and spruce/plywood wings. Lists stall speed as 70 mph, what are the odds that an airplane of that construction could survive a "Scully" style water landing, even with the gear up?
 
In warm water, you do not need a Scully type landing.

Wheels retracted, doors unlatched and streaming, seat belts tight. Stay above stall, wings level, and no matter how much damage, sinking is not instant. I strongly suspect that all aboard could swim.

There is a risk of swimming in gasoline, but that has been survived many times, and with nearby fishing boats, the time would have been short.

I was taught from my first lesson that the safest crash from a power loss in the first couple of hundred feet altitude, is straight ahead, concentrating on avoiding a stall. Small turns to avoid the solidest objects was acceptable.

Owning a beautiful new, expensive airplane that you have made so flashily different and yours, can make a difference, I guess, or too many hours since thinking of the risk of turning back to save the plane can be part of the problem.

Yes, emphatically, WARM WATER.

Plus, much sympathy for the survivors.
 
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