Pueblo KR2 Down, Delays Romney's Visit

Ugh that's sad. kRs are neat little planes. I just flew to breakfast today and a KR was in our group. Fast sporty little birds.
 
George McHenry, 68 - well known on the KR email list.

RIP

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Another fatal here this year?!

I'm so out of words.

There was an e-mail sent to the Colorado Pilot's Assn membership last night that the airport would be able to handle folks who wanted to fly in for the rally, and that if you happened to be a supporter, why not have a nice full ramp of GA planes at a Presidential campaign event.

I suspect that's why he went. :(

I guess a GA fatality wasn't the expected outcome, nor the cancellation of the event.

Damn it.
 
From the KR email list - "The Gathering" is an annual KR fly-in:
George had just replaced the O-235 in his KR with an O-320. I missed a call from
George on Saturday afternoon where I assume he was going to tell me he had his plane
ready to fly. George was planning to attend "The Gathering" this year with his
plane freshly refurbed with a 160 HP O-320 powerplant on board. As usual, he had
done meticulous work on the installation and had managed to make the O-320
installation 2# lighter than his previous installation with the hopped up O-235. As
a drag bike engine builder, George was always in search of more horse power.

I don't have any details on the crash other than he had taken off and attempted to
make an immediate 180 back to the runway when the crash happened.

I am deeplly saddened by the loss of our fellow KR aviator and my friend George.
God Speed George.
 
Aww darn it... The news of an attempted turn back makes me sad. There's oodles of open land around KPUB for a straight ahead landing... :(
 
Aww darn it... The news of an attempted turn back makes me sad. There's oodles of open land around KPUB for a straight ahead landing... :(

Yup, none of us wants an off-field landing...but we want a stall-spin when attempting the "impossible turn" even less.
 
Aww darn it... The news of an attempted turn back makes me sad. There's oodles of open land around KPUB for a straight ahead landing... :(

I could be wrong, (and I will trust my gentle compatriots here to show me the error of my ways), but it takes a routine of constantly planning your outs in the event of an emergency which keeps you from making the wrong choice on the spur of the moment.

If indeed he was trying to turn back and had a spin/stall event, it was a choice made on the spur of the moment, possibly fostered by the completely understandable desire to save the aircraft.

It may not surprise those who know my background when I say I am a stickler for procedure when I fly. On climb out I am always looking at outs and tracking altitude. It is straight ahead below 500 feet. Slightly to either side between 500 and 1000, and depending on wind and terrain I would consider a 180 between 1k and 1500. I actually run this through my mind every time I fly. (These are for the 172...of course it is different in the 310)
 
I have flown with one CFI who requires those items for takeoff "outs" be stated out loud prior to taking the runway.

In fact, for students to get into the habit, he requires a full takeoff and landing data sheet filled out for every flight (later he backs that off to keeping copies for various weights or utilizing electronic tools if you normally fly that way) that includes a takeoff abort section with blanks for altitudes and amount of turn, etc.

He makes it clear that there's at least three distinct altitudes...

- No turns or only mild ones to avoid the largest/hardwest obstacles. Straight ahead. Stop on runway, re-land on runway remaining or pick the softest most inviting looking stuff ahead there.

- Turns okay but we're not high enough to return to the runway. Go into known fields/open areas at airports you're familiar with, or pick the best looking option if not, and commit to it.

- Runway return altitude. Nose aggressively down, high bank angle. Pull and nail target airspeed. Don't attempt if you're not in practice. Go back to level 2 and survive.

I go in and out of the habit of saying it all out loud, but his point stuck. I always think actively about it before pushing the throttle forward.

Sometimes saying it out loud concerns passengers. "Below 400 feet, no turns more than twenty degrees left or right of centerline, we will be landing straight ahead." etc... Kinda has the effect of freaking out new pax. Sometimes it's wiser to just say it to myself. But it's always there. He pounded it into my thick skull.

And it may just save my life someday.
 
In actual emergency situations (according to the FAA) 80% of turn backs result in fatalities.

Please don't argue with me, call the FAA safety director and argue with them. These are the stats they put out at a safety seminar at OSH.
 
I think a lot of this has also to do with the lack of training for off field situations. It would really do a lot of pilots some good to have more grass experience. An off field doesn't really scare me as much as a stall / spin.

Ryan
 
In actual emergency situations (according to the FAA) 80% of turn backs result in fatalities.

Please don't argue with me, call the FAA safety director and argue with them. These are the stats they put out at a safety seminar at OSH.

You are absolutely correct. And I would wager that 100% of that 80% tried to execute that turn at too low an altitude, and had never prepared for, nor thought about the possibility or feasibility of successfully performing the maneuver. If you are not thinking when at the controls of your plane you are just a lump of meat waiting to arrive.
 
I saw George's plane at the KR gathering in Illinois in 2008, which I attended with my uncle who was building a KR at the time.

George's plane won lots of prizes including Best Overall plane. It was really nice. You can see it here. I remember that he flew it to the gathering while sucking oxygen. He was a very serious homebuilder and pilot.
 
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In actual emergency situations (according to the FAA) 80% of turn backs result in fatalities.

Please don't argue with me, call the FAA safety director and argue with them. These are the stats they put out at a safety seminar at OSH.

They may well be right... Or they may be wrong. If someone has a successful turn-back, how would they even know about it? :dunno: Thus, they cannot know what percentage result in fatalities, because they don't know the denominator - The number of attempts.
 
In actual emergency situations (according to the FAA) 80% of turn backs result in fatalities.

Please don't argue with me, call the FAA safety director and argue with them. These are the stats they put out at a safety seminar at OSH.

No argument here!

My philosophy is that the insurance company owns my cherokee. I just get to pay for everything and play with it. So as long as my actions save my life & any pax and anyone on the ground, I don't care what happens to the airplane.
 
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