Tragic accident ; unusual speculation as to cause!

[Marc CYBW]

"Marmots may have caused Vernon plane crash, pilot says"

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/07/09/bc-vernon-plane-crash.html

 

[pbramlett]

I had to look up Marmot.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Marmot-edit1.jpg

groundhog, woodchuck, whistle pig.

I think a .22 rifle could fix this issue.

 

[airguy]

This piece of data at the end of the article carries much more weight with me as possible indication of the true cause than the "marmot theory".

People close to the pilot say he modified his aircraft to make it safer, including increasing the size of the tail to improve directional control and stability in the event of an engine failure.

That raises the question of control problems leading to the crash.

 

[gismo]

This piece of data at the end of the article carries much more weight with me as possible indication of the true cause than the "marmot theory".

People close to the pilot say he modified his aircraft to make it safer, including increasing the size of the tail to improve directional control and stability in the event of an engine failure.

That raises the question of control problems leading to the crash.

I think there's a good chance that this is a misinterpretation by the media about the installation of VGs.

 

[Threefingeredjack]

But did the marmot file a flight plan???

If, as the skydiver stated, the plane veered to the left on take off I'm tempted to put my money on power loss in #1. I've never flown an Apache, but I've been told they are not overly powered. Given the short legs that marmots have, getting the most out of your rudder in a engine out scenario would be problematic.