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Today I witnessed an aircraft accident....

Latintan

Well Known Member
I always wished that I would never see this. Fortunately, both pilot and passenger were Ok. As I was taxing to runway 23 in Willinston, FL (X60), I heard a Bonanza calling for left downwind Runway 22. I corrected him that it was 23 (no biggie). I watched him on downwind as I was taxing to 23 myself when he entered base but then from base to final the pilot entered at what appeared a 45 into final. I figured he was doing a short approach. He seemed fast but aligned himself with the runway. Then the mains hit. I remember I was going to congratulate him on that landing because I thought it was "cool". Seconds later, he bounced a bit and floated. As he came down, I noticed he was drifting to the left more than I expected. Sure enough he departed the runway and took almost a perpendicular path into the bush and towards the trees. Then the front end struck the ground and dust came out of everywhere. It was like a movie scene developing in front of my eyes- in slow mo. It scared me. I did not know if I was to witness injuries or worse. Fortunately, everybody was ok. I got over to them and I swear the pilot was calmer than me. Perhaps he was in shock. It was a beautiful Bonanza F33A. I think the expenses will be costly, but it is fixable and better yet, no injuries. What a shame and what a close call. There was a lot of energy on that landing. I hope I never witness anything like this again. But for me it was a reminder of how we are all at risk when things go wrong and to never become complacent in this business.
 
Manny,
Years of professional aviation safety prompt me to urge you to reflect on what you saw.

Considering solely what you witnessed (and without conjecture regarding what may or may not have been going on in the cockpit...you weren't there), what up-front lessons have you gleaned from this event?
 
As a kid we lived on an airpark on an island in the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It was a moderately sized grass strip with the bay at one end and a ditch, a road, and power lines at the other end. In the 2 1/2 years we lived there I saw three crashes. Two where the power lines reached out and grabbed the airplane and one where the airplane failed to become airborne and hit the ditch then flipped over.

All resulted in extensive damage to the airplanes, but only minor injuries. Our house was located closest to the power lines and my Mom was a nurse, so my parents were pretty much always the first responders.

Even as a kid that never kept me from want to fly whenever possible, but when I grew up and began flying myself I sometimes think back on those crashes (particularly when I have to land on a runway close to power lines) and ask myself what I have to do not to repeat what I saw.

I always try to learn from the mistakes of others, it is too expensive to make them all myself.:)
 
Manny,
Years of professional aviation safety prompt me to urge you to reflect on what you saw.

Considering solely what you witnessed (and without conjecture regarding what may or may not have been going on in the cockpit...you weren't there), what up-front lessons have you gleaned from this event?

Excellent advice.
 
Sid..

What I learned, or reminded of was not to become complacent, keep training, be professional about aviation and move forward. No different than automobile accidents. I've seen my share in over 43 years of driving but I still drive ( and have NEVER had an accident either!).
 
Yes it is true. You learn from it and go forward. When I trained and before my checkride, I was practicing for slow flight alone and I made a mistake that stalled the airplane and got into an incipient spin. I got out of it and immediately went to mental church! I knew that if I dwelled on it I would not land so I continued doing maneuvers for a while. When I landed, I faced two options: Quit or learn form it and move on. 4 years later, I have almost 1000 hrs, have had two airplanes and started building another. It was the best decision of my life but with a **** of a lot of respect for the business.....

As a kid we lived on an airpark on an island in the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It was a moderately sized grass strip with the bay at one end and a ditch, a road, and power lines at the other end. In the 2 1/2 years we lived there I saw three crashes. Two where the power lines reached out and grabbed the airplane and one where the airplane failed to become airborne and hit the ditch then flipped over.

All resulted in extensive damage to the airplanes, but only minor injuries. Our house was located closest to the power lines and my Mom was a nurse, so my parents were pretty much always the first responders.

Even as a kid that never kept me from want to fly whenever possible, but when I grew up and began flying myself I sometimes think back on those crashes (particularly when I have to land on a runway close to power lines) and ask myself what I have to do not to repeat what I saw.

I always try to learn from the mistakes of others, it is too expensive to make them all myself.:)
 
After what you saw, would you say your perception of approaches and go-arounds has changed, been reinforced, or remained the same?
 
My perception of go-arrounds haven't changed a bit. I perform them regularly when things are not right for me. In this case, the pilot was mumbling something about that the airplane did not feel right. That his son (I assume the passenger) was telling him to go around but he had some trouble with the plane. He was mumbling about the coordination with the plane. He might have been in shock. And of course, I don't know what was wrong with the plane but he did not indicate a problem while in the pattern. The engine was running and he had plenty of altitude when he was on base. We'll see what the NTSB final report says.

After what you saw, would you say your perception of approaches and go-arounds has changed, been reinforced, or remained the same?
 
I think the go around is one of the best tools in a pilot's toolbox, though way too seldom used. If it isn't right, go around & try it again.
 
Some of the best advice I've ever heard was to treat every approach as a go-around, and then land instead if everything is as it should be. It's kept me out of trouble a few times.

Chris
 
Chris,
My view as well.

This is an excellent thread. Manny, those are good lessons learned.
 
Doggone it. The Beech salesman said these things practically land themselves. I'm calling my lawyer...wait a minute... I am a lawyer.
 
Everyone reacts to stressful situations differently. Working in ER and Trauma for 15 of my 26 years in medicine, I've witnessed all manner of responses and realized one thing. People will panic at different levels of stress. Panic is the state where all ability for self help is neutralized. This is where good flight instructors can challenge students. Place them in stressful situations to desensitize them and increase their chances for self help in extreme situations. Then it's up to us to practice those responses until they are no longer thought but reaction.
BTW, There's a guy at X60 who is the best interior guy I've met and honest as the day is long. His name is Enrique ( but goes by Henry) and owns Enrique's custom interiors there at the airport. (shameless plug for a deserving fellow).
 
I love the "banana" base to final approach and nothing is more satisfactory for the pilot and "cool" looking from the ground. I have also witnessed several near accidents from overshoots, carrying too much speed, improper airframe alignment, etc....
There is a reason a squared pattern to a stabilized final approach is taught, even for a short approach albeit boring.
Boring is good flying.
 
Lot's of talk about go-arrounds. Of course that is the best preventive medicine. What none of us know is if there was indeed an aircraft mechanical problem like the pilot was trying to say after the accident. Although he appeared confused and perhaps trying to save his reputation and could very well be his fault, nobody could disregard the possibility of a mechanical failure and a go-arround may not be possible. We just don't know. I will be monitoring the NTSB until a final report comes out on this one.
 
Lot's of talk about go-arounds. Of course that is the best preventive medicine. What none of us know is if there was indeed an aircraft mechanical problem like the pilot was trying to say after the accident.

It happens. This one involved a popular pilot from my town:

http://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.a...fee0-432a-9f13-0a0b094cf181&pgno=1&pgsize=100

However, the issue in both cases seems to involve skills and decision-making. Sometimes a particular performance standard is required, and sometimes a go-around is a bad decision.

The subject of the linked report was dealing with an engine problem, specifically a single bad cylinder. The landing attempt was precautionary. What the report doesn't say is that this particular pilot based his airplane at a 9000 x 150 runway, and rarely took time away from a very full life to practice anything out of the ordinary...like spot landings at a 3000 x 75. When crunch time came, he was (1) long and hot, (2) made the poor decision to go around on a sick powerplant, (3) and failed to execute a correct go-around procedure.

I submit that in this case, the correct response was to land long, and accept that he was going into the grass, through the fence, and across the road. The correct secondary decision would have been to retract the gear after leaving the pavement.
 
Stable Approach

The words that cry out to me from your description are, "Stable Approach." Which means get your final approach, on course, on speed with correct RPM and trim. This was said over n over during basic landing training and IFR training as the CFII kept telling me get stable on final as you follow the needles. I'm not sure what a "banana" approach is but the way you describe him coming in at an angle and bouncing off the runway to the side sounds like there was some lateral motion in short final. Even a circle to land still needs a short final that is straight and stable.
 
The words that cry out to me from your description are, "Stable Approach." Which means get your final approach, on course, on speed with correct RPM and trim. This was said over n over during basic landing training and IFR training as the CFII kept telling me get stable on final as you follow the needles. I'm not sure what a "banana" approach is but the way you describe him coming in at an angle and bouncing off the runway to the side sounds like there was some lateral motion in short final. Even a circle to land still needs a short final that is straight and stable.

Quite correct Steve. That is what it looked like to me. My suspicion is that when he went airborne again after the mains touched, he as out of alignment pointing sideways and to the left of the runway. Perhaps he was already in trouble before he was able to go around. He probably tried to save the landing which ended up to be a huge mistake. Only speculation but I think it is a true statement that that approach was absolutely not a stable one from my perspective on the ground.
 
This is a sad story.

The FAA has recently issued an advisory circular to all flight instructors emphasizing the importance of being stabilized by 300 feet AGL. The pros do it. Maybe if more people trained and flew set go around criteria, we would have less incidents.

300 on profile and especially on speed solves most problems. FAA still sets loss of control on takeoff and landing as one of the number one safety dirty dozen cause of accidents.

If it's been a while since you have been up with a CFI , grab one and get some good practice in. It can be fun and avoid unfortunate stories like this one.
 
This is a sad story.

The FAA has recently issued an advisory circular to all flight instructors emphasizing the importance of being stabilized by 300 feet AGL. The pros do it. Maybe if more people trained and flew set go around criteria, we would have less incidents.

300 on profile and especially on speed solves most problems. FAA still sets loss of control on takeoff and landing as one of the number one safety dirty dozen cause of accidents.

If it's been a while since you have been up with a CFI , grab one and get some good practice in. It can be fun and avoid unfortunate stories like this one.

Good advice!
 
For what it's worth, I know the pilot of the Bonanza. He says during his base to final turn something jammed the rudder and no amount of stomping on the ball could re-center it. He landed fast because he retracted the flaps thinking something with them could be causing the problem. From his telling of the story it seems to me that a go around would have been very risky and putting it on the ground was the best option.
 
For what it's worth, I know the pilot of the Bonanza. He says during his base to final turn something jammed the rudder and no amount of stomping on the ball could re-center it. He landed fast because he retracted the flaps thinking something with them could be causing the problem. From his telling of the story it seems to me that a go around would have been very risky and putting it on the ground was the best option.
Wow! That will be a very serious investigation. Control jamming in a certified airplane, especially in a such a common and popular model, is going to get a lot of attention.
 
agreed!

Wow! That will be a very serious investigation. Control jamming in a certified airplane, especially in a such a common and popular model, is going to get a lot of attention.

Interesting though, that common, popular, certified models with zillions of hours in service, are just as subject to things like flashlights left in the tailcone, or water bottles rolling under the pedals.
...just an observation, not a commentary on this incident.

I personally noticed after landing that I had dropped a roll of electrical tape, and it had migrated to the footwell area. Thankfully not a big factor with hanging pedals.
(Someone was just trying to teach me a lesson I think!)
 
Murphy's law: "A misplaced object will go to where it can do the most amount of damage in the least amount of time." :eek:
 
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All I can say is that I was glad nobody got hurt, at least physically. I heard from guys at the airport that the Feds ruled this one an incident instead of an accident because of the amount of damage or injury did not qualify as an accident. I am also glad to hear this for the pilot. It will still be an expensive repair as it was a prop-strike (and who knows what else).
 
I did a go-around on my flight review...

...yes, Go-Around should be an immediate "tool" on pilot's hand on approach. The circumstances of this aircraft incident may be different, but on a recent flight review, my check pilot asked me to simulate a landing assuming that there is a 50 ft obstacle at the beginning of the runway. I maintained the altitude to clear the runway threshold at the required height, but instead of aiming for a point down the runway on stabilized descent, it tried a steep descent after the threshold is crossed (obviously not a stabilized approach down to flaring). The speed was very low and before my check pilot could ask, I did a go-around. It was the right thing to do for me. I have 780 hrs of flight time, but these things happen and need to be ready every single time.


vj
 
Wow. Great to hear everyone is ok. I'm not sure how I would react with the same circumstances. Jammed control is definitely an emergency situation. Not sure I would attempt a go around either.

I had a jammed stabilizer once and that was one of the scariest flights I had ever had. Google Alaska 262.

Glad everyone is ok.
 
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Go-around works most of the time

The go-around is a great tool when things aren't working out for single engine planes which is what most folks are concerned about, including me. Landing on a short strip with trees all around, you really have to be on your toes as you really only have seconds to make the decision and survive.

Being a part-time twin driver, I learned an important lesson during twin training about VMC, especially during a go-around. We had a Barron attempt a go-around by apparently fire-walling the throttles on landing to avoid a glider. Plane VMC and rolled over on its back. My doctor perished in that accident in addition to two other fine aviators. Twin drivers have to be very careful on the go-around procedure. Get the airspeed too low and the number of options available diminish.

I wonder if the Bonanza driver got behind the curve with possibly a crosswind and the passenger's foot restricted rudder movement? Who knows. I do know that I learn something everything these situations are discussed and hashed out.

Thanks for sharing!
 
The go-around is a great tool when things aren't working out for single engine planes which is what most folks are concerned about, including me. Landing on a short strip with trees all around, you really have to be on your toes as you really only have seconds to make the decision and survive.

Being a part-time twin driver, I learned an important lesson during twin training about VMC, especially during a go-around. We had a Barron attempt a go-around by apparently fire-walling the throttles on landing to avoid a glider. Plane VMC and rolled over on its back. My doctor perished in that accident in addition to two other fine aviators. Twin drivers have to be very careful on the go-around procedure. Get the airspeed too low and the number of options available diminish.

I wonder if the Bonanza driver got behind the curve with possibly a crosswind and the passenger's foot restricted rudder movement? Who knows. I do know that I learn something everything these situations are discussed and hashed out.

Thanks for sharing!

I can attest that there were no crosswinds that day. It was a very nice calm morning. As for the rest of what happened, who knows. The pilot made the decision not to go around for whatever reason... and he lived. It might have been the right decision after all.
 
The comments about loss of rudder control got me thinking. I'm not saying that my experience mirrors what happened to the Bonanza pilot, but i had a sketchy moment in a Piper Cherokee that I rented from a flight school shortly after my BFR.

I was on final approach with a bit of crosswind (maybe 4-5 kt) and I noticed that I didn't seem to have rudder control. The plane started to veer left a little, so I instinctively started pressing on the right pedal, with no reaction. Pressed harder...still no reaction. Harder still...finally, a bit of rudder input. I landed on the left edge of the runway with heart rate elevated but no damage to person, plane or property.

The problem? My right foot had slid too far right on the right pedal, so the sole of my shoe was pressing on the pushrod that actuates the master cylinder, not the pedal itself. A good lesson to double-check that your feet are properly on the pedals.
 
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