Showing off? Looking for a place to land?

Clearly showing off, that last turn looks like he pulled too hard and stalled the wings or something broke. He owned the plane for two weeks if the article can be believed. Little to no sympathy in my mind, shame about the plane though and glad nobody else got hurt.
 
No, no, no, no, no!

So sad a life was lost. Fortunate no one else, and no other property was put at risk.

These are the type of incidents that give GA a bad reputation.

Having said all that, idiots get behind the wheel of a car and do similarly stupid antics in an automobile every day, with no where near the notice and the press that this gets.
 
He was looking for a place to land.
 
I think he was showing off while looking for a place to land.
 
How about just having fun and enjoying himself? Just because someone caught him on camera does not mean he was showing off.
 
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tehmightypirate said:
Clearly showing off, that last turn looks like he pulled too hard and stalled the wings or something broke. He owned the plane for two weeks if the article can be believed. Little to no sympathy in my mind, shame about the plane though and glad nobody else got hurt.
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Don't jump the gun . You don't know all the facts .
It doesn't look very populated area .
 
Jim Franklin sure knew how to fly an Aerostar.

Looked like a high speed stall to me. Bummer.
 
Concorde said:
Don't jump the gun . You don't know all the facts .
It doesn't look very populated area .
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I'd say that FAR 91.119 (c) (the 500 ft rule) was clearly violated and (a) probably as well. FAR 91.13 probably applies as well. I'd also argue that FAR 91.303 (Acrobatic flight) kicks in as well. This seems abrupt and unusual enough to apply.

As for jumping the gun, I see a guy flying less then 500 feet being recorded on video doing low passes, sharp turns, and being generally unsafe and a nuisance. I see no legitimate reason for his actions. I fail to see what I could possibly be missing here. Given social media these days this guy will probably make a fairly large splash in the non-GA crowd. This could possibly result in even more restrictions on our flying.

I have nothing wrong with him doing this with his own aircraft but to do anything this low, over a populated area, with a plane he was only a few weeks into, and in violation of multiple FARs and common sense, is wrong. If you can find a legitimate reason or even theory for this flight then I'd love to know it.
 
For an airline pilot to put his certificate and livelihood of his family in jeopardy would seem to indicate either mental anguish and frustration with something and saying "screw it," or maybe he had some bad medical news. I don't know, but considering what he had at stake, it seems that there is more to this story than just someone showing off.
 
tehmightypirate said:
I'd say that FAR 91.119 (c) (the 500 ft rule) was clearly violated
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Not sure how you can say that. The video was probably over a mile from where he was flying, and the crash footage showed wreckage in an open field. There could have been nothing in the area he was flying over. He clearly was taking some crazy risks, but I don't see any firm evidence the 500ft rule was broken.
 
I know a guy who used to fly a citation like that. He hit a utility pole about a month ago and totaled the airplane, but all 7 people on board walked away.
 
bullwinkle said:
Not sure how you can say that. The video was probably over a mile from where he was flying, and the crash footage showed wreckage in an open field. There could have been nothing in the area he was flying over. He clearly was taking some crazy risks, but I don't see any firm evidence the 500ft rule was broken.
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You're right, he could be over a field. Still reckless because at that speed he wont stay over a field for long but yes, I should give him the benefit of the doubt regarding what he was flying over.
 
bullwinkle said:
Not sure how you can say that. The video was probably over a mile from where he was flying, and the crash footage showed wreckage in an open field. There could have been nothing in the area he was flying over. He clearly was taking some crazy risks, but I don't see any firm evidence the 500ft rule was broken.
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According to the officials quoted by the local news, there were residences in the area that were fortunately not hit by the plane.
 
Fearless Tower said:
According to the officials quoted by the local news, there were residences in the area that were fortunately not hit by the plane.
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News speak for "almost hit" can be anywhere from 10 feet to 20NM away :)
 
He certainly went down within 500 ft. There is a large open area there but it looks populated enough that I doubt he would have been able to argue that he didn't come within 500 ft of a person in the area.

crash9.jpeg


And then from this perspective, it looks like another house to the right.

crash8.jpeg
 
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Timmer said:
News speak for "almost hit" can be anywhere from 10 feet to 20NM away :)
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People are very, very bad at judging heights and distances.

For scale here's a 500 ft tall tower at what appears to be a similar distance to the video footage:

towerfromfairperspective.JPG
 
Timmer said:
News speak for "almost hit" can be anywhere from 10 feet to 20NM away :)
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True, however, the additional photos posted give a better picture. It was a law enforcement or fire official who made the statement, not a reporter.
 
I think I figured out where those houses are. The red X is approximate location and those houses to the east of the X are on Millbrook Way cul-de-sac.

AuroraCrashSite1_zps84ff6d2e.jpg


Zoomed in and turned so up is east you can see the black and white striped house on the right that is on the picture in previous post and the house on the left with the deck on back. If you look at the whole area, he was most definitely too low over homes and people.

AuroraCrashSite_zps8488132a.jpg
 
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Some people do dumb things?

One time I was driving 70 mph on a busy 6 lane highway and a guy standing on the seat of a motorcycle doing a wheelie passed me on the inside lane. He was still doing a wheelie and speeding when he went over the hill and out of sight.
 
Bob T said:
He certainly went down within 500 ft. There is a large open area there but it looks populated enough that I doubt he would have been able to argue that he didn't come within 500 ft of a person in the area.

crash9.jpeg


And then from this perspective, it looks like another house to the right.

crash8.jpeg
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I had not seen those angles. Yep, looks like a violation.
 
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