Plane down in Gilbert, AZ

Whoa ... "The pilot, also a skydiver, jumped later and landed in a field about 25 miles from the crash site."

From the website of the Gilbert Constitution Fair:
"Attendees can marvel at military aircraft displays, a bi-plane flyover, skydivers, American history galleries and an exhibit honoring Arizona’s fallen soldiers."

Nighttime jump -- Were the skydivers carrying pyrotechnics in the airplane ... ?
 
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The article says "a half mile from the crash site."
 
SoCal RV Flyeit. post: 2142025 said:
The article says "a half mile from the crash site."
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They must have fixed it. Last night it said 25 miles. I figured it was an error in a late breaking story.
 
Was not paying attention to the radio in the car last night but when I heard 'plane crash' and 'pilot ejected' I thought it was an F-35 or F-16 out of Luke ... Not a 182
 
The final result everyone is Ok ,the plane can be replaced.
 
Scrabo said:
Was not paying attention to the radio in the car last night but when I heard 'plane crash' and 'pilot ejected' I thought it was an F-35 or F-16 out of Luke ... Not a 182
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Couldn't have been an F-35. They're grounded!
 
azpilot said:
They must have fixed it. Last night it said 25 miles. I figured it was an error in a late breaking story.
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Yep, definitely said 25 miles last night. I remember trying to figure out how the plane ended up 25 miles away from the pilot.
 
Crazy, I live on Lindsay and Ray, so this is just a few streets over. I was gone for the weekend but plan to drive over and try to take pictures in the morning.
 
Fearless Tower said:
When was that? They just announced the grounding of the F-35As Thursday or Friday.
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I believe they were flying demos at the races. Since I wasn't there this year (sniffle) I'm not sure how many flights they did.
 
This was a night demo jump. On daytime demo jumps cold smoke is used (to make the jumpers more visible to the audience) but at night pyros (hot smoke) are used. In cabin class a/c like the Twin Otter, Caravan, or King Air, with their rear position doors far from the wing fuel tanks and the fact they burn Jet A it's not much of a problem. But in a C-182 you have to be really careful. Especially older ones as they can leak avgas from the wing root which is right above the door. Also the fuel selector is right there on the floor next to the first jumper in the door and those can leak fuel vapors if not maintained. Usually the jumper places his foot outside on the step of the gear leg and pulls the pin to ignite the pyrotechnics. But often at least some sparks fly back into the cabin. You can figure out the rest.

As for the pilot some are experienced jumpers but most are not. But they wear parachutes because of the open door and the fact parachute operations are being conducted. And while it doesn't happen often jumpers can have there rigs open prematurely (by accident) while climbing out onto the step. And most times they just get pulled off but sometimes they can foul or badly damage the tail leaving the pilot with no choice but to jump. Fire just makes that decision a lot easier for a non-jumping pilot.

BTW, I was a professional skydiver for 35 years.

:)
 
Fearless Tower said:
Couldn't have been an F-35. They're grounded!
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Temporary Suspension of Flight Operations Announced for a Limited Number of F-35A Aircraft
September 16, 2016


In consultation with our customers, a precautionary suspension of flight operations was issued for 15 F-35A aircraft. This action was taken after non-conforming insulation was found on coolant tubing carrying Poly-Alpha-Olefin (PAO) throughout the jet’s wings.

This issue was discovered during depot maintenance on one of the impacted jets where loose insulation was discovered. The issue is confined to one supplier source and one batch of parts. In total, 57 F-35As are affected; 42 are in production and 15 have been delivered to the U.S. Air Force and Norway.

This is not a technical or design issue, it is supply chain manufacturing quality issue. It will likely require depot-level maintenance to address the corrective actions for the 15 jets in the field. The U.S. Government and Industry engineering teams are analyzing the best approach to resolve this issue. For the 42 F-35As in assembly, the issue will be addressed prior to their delivery.
 
mscard88 said:
Temporary Suspension of Flight Operations Announced for a Limited Number of F-35A Aircraft
September 16, 2016


In consultation with our customers, a precautionary suspension of flight operations was issued for 15 F-35A aircraft. This action was taken after non-conforming insulation was found on coolant tubing carrying Poly-Alpha-Olefin (PAO) throughout the jet’s wings.

This issue was discovered during depot maintenance on one of the impacted jets where loose insulation was discovered. The issue is confined to one supplier source and one batch of parts. In total, 57 F-35As are affected; 42 are in production and 15 have been delivered to the U.S. Air Force and Norway.

This is not a technical or design issue, it is supply chain manufacturing quality issue. It will likely require depot-level maintenance to address the corrective actions for the 15 jets in the field. The U.S. Government and Industry engineering teams are analyzing the best approach to resolve this issue. For the 42 F-35As in assembly, the issue will be addressed prior to their delivery.
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Funny article. Same problem on an A-10 and it is a trip to Home Depot for a few cans of spray foam, problem solved. The pos-35 will require about 11 million per plane for repairs, plus a few million in studies and research, design changes, inspections etc etc. sounds like a winner there.
 
SkyDog58 said:
I saw that. Quite an expensive dud. But I'm sure they will pour several more billions into the money pit.
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First the ejection seat and now the fuel lines... your tax $$ at work

It's as bad as the F-22 issues like NO oxygen !!
 
Scrabo said:
First the ejection seat and now the fuel lines... your tax $$ at work

It's as bad as the F-22 issues like NO oxygen !!
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That was more of a pilot problem problem then an airplane problem. The plane doesn't need oxygen. Just get better automation.
 
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