Mooney clips car on forced landing

ollopa

ollopa

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ollopa
http://www.dglobe.com/news/3712198-plane-grazes-car-emergency-landing

040115.N.FF_.PlaneAccident%201_1.JPG


Could have turned out worse!
 
"The driver of the car, a female Clay County employee, said she noticed a plane behind her in her mirror and it was catching up to her."

I bet that was a brown pants moment. Routinely check your mirrors to see what cars/trucks are near you and instead see an airplane.
 
For a plane "that had lost its engine power" according to the article, it sure was able to do a lot of damage with an unpowered propellor.
 
ollopa said:
Reminds me of two things:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaIbpSaEoYc
(Cute ending)
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That was funny, but the idiot in that car reminds me of another idiot.

When our engine failed and we had to set down on a highway, there was a little red pickup truck that tried to outrun us. Had he stopped we would have overflown him, or if he pulled off the highway we would have gone by him, but he attempted to outrun us and forced us to pull up (with no power) and stall into the median and bounc into oncoming traffic in the other side. All turned out well though because by then we were almost stopped and oncoming traffic could see us. Fortunately that was about 6 years ago and I don't think texting while driving was quite as common as it is now or someone would probably have hit us. Even after we came to a stop.
 
I count about 11 cuts. It's a Mooney 231 so if it's a 3 blade prop that's less than 4 revolutions.
5-6 revolutions if it's a 2 blade.

Doesn't seem that far out of line. don't know how long he was down when he cut her up but he was moving so air flowing over the prop was still driving it.
 
ChemGuy said:
I count about 11 cuts. It's a Mooney 231 so if it's a 3 blade prop that's less than 4 revolutions.
5-6 revolutions if it's a 2 blade.

Doesn't seem that far out of line. don't know how long he was down when he cut her up but he was moving so air flowing over the prop was still driving it.
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An air driven prop would have stopped on the first impact..... IMHO...:confused:
 
These dumb drivers stepping on the brakes when they see a plane behind them!! Step on the GAS and get the hell outta there!
 
LuisO said:
These dumb drivers stepping on the brakes when they see a plane behind them!! Step on the GAS and get the hell outta there!
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Wrong!
Unless they really think they can outrun an airplane.

Now I understand they don't have training for this, and they don't have much time to evaluate the situation, but speeding up will only keep them in harms way. Stopping or pulling off to the side will allow the plane to pass them and land.
 
JOhnH said:
pulling off to the side will allow the plane to pass them and land.
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While that sure is the right thing to do, you need to realize that majority of "drivers" on the road know nothing about driving, laws of physics, common sense or even self-preservation.

Let's hope that none of us ever has to perform an emergency landing where the terrain is so hostile that an idiot-filled road is the only option. :(

Safe skies!
 
How would you expect a driver to know where the plane is going to touch down? Stopping in the wrong place could take out a wheel or even an wrong. On the other hand, in an emergency landing, I'd expect a light single top be going below highway speeds at touchdown.
 
JOhnH said:
That was funny, but the idiot in that car reminds me of another idiot...
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So would you recommend landing on top of highway traffic as in the YouTube video? :D Damned if you do, damned if you don't :(

I recall a story about an engine loss of power just after takeoff not too far from here. The pilot couldn't maintain altitude and came down on the freeway, but with the engine still running. The prop cut into a van and nearly severed the leg of a young girl :(

*Found the story: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Small-plane-crashes-on-I-680-at-rush-hour-Girl-2767531.php

N801BH said:
An air driven prop would have stopped on the first impact..... IMHO...:confused:
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It doesn't look like it cut too deep, though. That car's skin is probably like paper to a windmilling prop.

Lindberg said:
I'd expect a light single top be going below highway speeds at touchdown.
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I think you'd be doing in the range of 60MPH to 75MPH on final in a Skychicken. You'd slow down in the round-out and flare but all that slowdown between then and touchdown would occur in about the same height as the vehicles below...
 
JOhnH said:
Wrong!
Unless they really think they can outrun an airplane.
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Why can't they? How fast are you going when you are on final? I would dare to say the average speed on the interstate is just as fast.
 
N801BH said:
An air driven prop would have stopped on the first impact..... IMHO...:confused:
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Not so sure... Cars aren't built like the used to be! Thin metal cut just by the tip.. What's windmill? 800 rpm? A fraction of a second for 11 cuts.
 
Kritchlow said:
Why can't they? How fast are you going when you are on final? I would dare to say the average speed on the interstate is just as fast.
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I like to be at 65kts short final in the 201, that's about 75mph, so yeah, probably average interstate speed.
 
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