Strange Lancair Accident

Unusual, feel sorry for the guy on the beach. Glad the pilot and passenger survived.

Looking up the registration, it says it's had its airworthiness certificate since January 2009 and it has a TSIO-550 in it, so it's not turbine-powered. Funny that the media found the Lancair website but not the N-number registry. :)
 
steingar said:
A guy doesn't notice an airplane headed right at him?
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He was running on the beach, the plane is at idle behind him, there are wave noises and possibly the runner had earphones on. I could see it happening. We just had a women run over by a train. She did not hear it coming either according to the women that did survive and was walking right next to her.
 
I can see not hearing a plane on the beach a lot easier thanmissing a train near the tracks.
 
RMCN172RG said:
I can see not hearing a plane on the beach a lot easier thanmissing a train near the tracks.
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the train was high speed coming up behind two women who were talking and not paying attention. I used to the take the train to work and standing at the station I could watch a train approach and not hear it until it was right upon me. I completely can believe it, I have experienced it.
 
ScottM said:
the train was high speed coming up behind two women who were talking and not paying attention. I used to the take the train to work and standing at the station I could watch a train approach and not hear it until it was right upon me. I completely can believe it, I have experienced it.
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I agree 100% It is almost silent until its right upon you. The jogger was wearing an iPod as well in the case. This is just tragic for everyone involved.
 
More information:

http://www.islandpacket.com/2010/03/15/1173769/man-on-hilton-head-beach-struck.html

The plane experienced engine trouble over the water about an hour and a half after leaving Orlando Executive Airport in Florida, bound for Norfolk, Va. The aircraft was flying at about 13,000 feet when air traffic controllers told the pilot to land at Hilton Head Airport.
But before the male pilot and his male passenger reached the island, oil began to leak onto the windshield, blocking their vision, said Joheida Fister, Fire and Rescue Division spokeswoman.
Then, the plane's propeller came off. The men decided to make an emergency landing on the beach, she said.
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I have to wonder if the pilot had put the plane in the water a hundred yards off the beach if this guy that got killed wouldn't have jumped in to help him? A water landing there and there's a great chance that no one get's a scratch.
 
PittsDriver said:
I have to wonder if the pilot had put the plane in the water a hundred yards off the beach...
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This thought is always going through my mind when I'm flying along the shoreline, that if the engine quits, do I aim for the beach, or the water just off the beach?

In the middle of July, at a summer resort, it's a no-brainer, the beach is filled with people, and the water is warm. In March, with the beach empty, and the water pretty durn cold, and with the windshield covered in oil, obstructing forward vision, I can't say I blame the pilot for making the decision he did.
-harry
 
Terrible, millions-to-one kind of freak mishap... :(

Not to nitpick or cast stones, but I wonder if he tried to (fwd) slip it, or if that would've helped... injuring folks on the beach aside, I'd just be trying very hard to see what was in front of me.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Unusual, feel sorry for the guy on the beach. Glad the pilot and passenger survived.

Looking up the registration, it says it's had its airworthiness certificate since January 2009 and it has a TSIO-550 in it, so it's not turbine-powered. Funny that the media found the Lancair website but not the N-number registry. :)
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Yeah, but it's turbo-charged. To the uninitiated, turbocharged sounds line turbine powered sounds like turbojet sounds line turbine, and they're all the same.
 
rottydaddy said:
Not to nitpick or cast stones, but I wonder if he tried to (fwd) slip it, or if that would've helped... injuring folks on the beach aside, I'd just be trying very hard to see what was in front of me.
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With less than 100 SF of wing, I imagine they already had a pretty impressive rate of descent, so slipping probably wasn't on the pilot's mind.


Trapper John
 
Trapper John said:
With less than 100 SF of wing, I imagine they already had a pretty impressive rate of descent, so slipping probably wasn't on the pilot's mind.


Trapper John
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http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N9JE/history/20100315/2055Z/KORL/KHXD/tracklog

05:58PM 32.08 -80.69 15° North 222 255 0.38 12,400 -1,980
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Jacksonville Center
05:59PM 32.14 -80.67 333° Northwest 222 255 0.38 9,300 -3,300
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Jacksonville Center
06:00PM 32.19 -80.70 193° South 174 200 0.30 5,900 -3,360
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Jacksonville Center
06:01PM 32.16 -80.71 257° West 61 70 0.10 2,600 -2,340
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Jacksonville Center
06:02PM 32.15 -80.74 200° South 67 77 0.11 1,300 -840
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Jacksonville Center
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gprellwitz said:
Yeah, but it's turbo-charged. To the uninitiated, turbocharged sounds line turbine powered sounds like turbojet sounds line turbine, and they're all the same.
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Well, some people do actually put PT-6s on a IV-P. I just view it as standard media error. The newspaper once said that I was able to navigate a course around terrain using radar, misunderstanding what I said about having weather radar on board.

Just imagine them pulling a TPE-331 off an MU-2 and stuffing it in a IV-P. Angry mosquito airplane. :lol:
 
Trapper John said:
With less than 100 SF of wing, I imagine they already had a pretty impressive rate of descent, so slipping probably wasn't on the pilot's mind.
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While I have never flown a IV-P, I have spoken with one of the guys who does the Lancair approved training for them. According to him, he's seen bricks with better glide ratios.

Interestingly, the Lancair 320 I flew in actually seemed to do pretty well for glide, but I could be remembering incorrectly.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
While I have never flown a IV-P, I have spoken with one of the guys who does the Lancair approved training for them. According to him, he's seen bricks with better glide ratios.

Interestingly, the Lancair 320 I flew in actually seemed to do pretty well for glide, but I could be remembering incorrectly.
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I would expect the ratio to be pretty good since it is a reasonably clean airplane. But the rate of descent might be a touch on the high side - at least compared to what some of us are used to.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
I would expect the ratio to be pretty good since it is a reasonably clean airplane. But the rate of descent might be a touch on the high side - at least compared to what some of us are used to.
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From what the instructor I talked to said, both were bad.

As I said, never flew one. Would like to.
 
Maybe this engine TSIO550-C is from the same batch as the TSIO550-C on N47BC. The crank broke and the propeller flew away. With oil over the windshield he landed back on the departing runway at Aspen.

The NTSB ruled that the shop that did the shoddy work installed the propeller improperly. They didn't find the prop with the crank flange still attached for many months.

Kevin
 
Ed Smith and his wife spent years putting that plane together. He's a former AF guy. I visited him at Hampton Rhodes a few years ago while he was doing fiberglass work. He is a real craftsman.
Tragic.

Glad he's O.K.

Best,

Dave
 
Ted DuPuis said:
While I have never flown a IV-P, I have spoken with one of the guys who does the Lancair approved training for them. According to him, he's seen bricks with better glide ratios.

Interestingly, the Lancair 320 I flew in actually seemed to do pretty well for glide, but I could be remembering incorrectly.
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Is that the one you flew at the FlyBQ?
 
Dave Siciliano said:
Ed Smith and his wife spent years putting that plane together. He's a former AF guy. I visited him at Hampton Rhodes a few years ago while he was doing fiberglass work. He is a real craftsman.
Tragic.

Glad he's O.K.

Best,

Dave
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Interesting that it was an aircraft he built himself and it was the part that he just bought and bolted on that let him down. Do you have any idea if it was purchased new or what the background was on the engine/prop?
 
I remember him talking about putting that engine on there, but wasn't there when he did it. Pretty sure it was a new engine he purchased, but might not have been. I'm sure more will come out when Ed gets a bit of time to deal with all that's happened.

Best,

Dave
 
Seriously? :skeptical:

Even with oil smeared on the windshield, Schiavo, the former NTSB official, said Smith should have been able to see through a small window on the side of the plane and possibly yell out to anyone below. Still, there may have been little time to try to avoid hitting the jogger, she said.
She said Smith made the right choice in landing on the beach rather than the water. The aircraft likely wasn't carrying flotation equipment.
"Planes like this sink like a rock," she said.
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dmccormack said:
Seriously? :skeptical:
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Let's see, oil leak and prop loss. Probably fumes in the cabin from the leak and who knows what the CG would be. Big bang; then, silence, no idea what is wrong and pilot says he can't see out because of oil in front. Probably shut down the engine and may have been worried about fire; mags off, fuel off, etc. Pressurized plane--and he should have yelled out the little window on the side--right.

Piece of work isn't she? She'd represent you in an aviation law suit in a heartbeat--not that she would prevail.

Best,

Dave
 
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It's from a AP artlcle published on 3/17. I read it on a newpaper published in Hampton Roads.
 
I'm not sure what you call the club of pilots that have ditched but I'm in it. I realize a statistical sample of one isn't significant but based upon my experience I'd say the ditching thing is a very benign way to bring yourself back to earth in an emergency assuming you can get yourself dry again (swim to shore, picked up by a boat, etc) before the water temp takes it's toll on you. The aircraft certainly didn't sink like a stone and there was nearly no impact damage to it other than form fitting the cowling to the bottom of the engine and ripping the wheel pants off.
 
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Could the plane make a difference? How many exits does the IV-P have and where are they? I just don't know.

In my P-Baron, I always wondered how it would float if I had to ditch on water. The pressurized hull (sealed) should help, but one is to open the door before landing so it doesn't deform and jam. Only two exits on the P- Baron. Breaking a window out wouldn't be an option unless you had shotgun or small shaped charge along <g>.

Some folks will tell you the risk is if someone is knocked unconscious or really hurt on impact and can't get out. Complicated if the plane flips over in the water.

In the helos, we were to hover, cut throttle, and bank to one side to let the rotor hit away from the cabin.

You have more experience than me; sure seem to be a lot of opinions.

Best,

Dave
 
HHI beaches in March aren't really deserted. The weather starts picking up around that time. If he had an iPOD, no wonder he didn't hear it - and yelling wouldn't have made a difference. The last thing you expect while running on the beach is to be whacked in the head by an airplane.
 
Make note to add to emergency POH checklist:
When engine out due to lost prop and oil on the windscreen. Shortly before beach touchdown: OPEN SMALL PILOT SIDE WINDOW AND YELL WARNING TO POSSIBLE PEDESTRIANS WITH I-POD!!!!

Best,

DAve
 
Why not just install an air horn? :skeptical:
 
Dave Siciliano said:
Make note to add to emergency POH checklist:
When engine out due to lost prop and oil on the windscreen. Shortly before beach touchdown: OPEN SMALL PILOT SIDE WINDOW AND YELL WARNING TO POSSIBLE PEDESTRIANS WITH I-POD!!!!

Best,

DAve
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Yes, it's silly. Even without the iPod, I'd imagine the surf and maybe even the wind would overpower the sound of a plane arriving with the engine shut down.
Even if the pilot did manage to holler out the vent window, the guy on the beach, if he heard it, might have started looking.... everywhere except up in the air behind him.

But I will say I have often wondered why airplanes don't have horns. They wouldn't have to be exposed to the slipstream; a loud horn would carry nicely through the typical aircraft nosebowl. I can think of a couple of times I could have used one. :D

Even a little air horn or rescue whistle might have helped in this case, if the pilot was not simply too busy and distracted to make use of one.
 
Tragic.

Dr. Bruce carries an air horn in his Seneca, IIRC...
 
mantakos said:
This thought is always going through my mind when I'm flying along the shoreline, that if the engine quits, do I aim for the beach, or the water just off the beach?

-harry
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Look for the wake of a boat and hope they have extra beer. :D
 
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