Wednesday, September 09, 2020

Piper PA-28-181 Archer III, N4166Z: Fatal accident occurred September 08, 2020 and Incident occurred May 18, 2019

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.

Additional Participating Entities: 
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Nashville, Tennessee
Piper Aircraft; Vero Beach, Florida 
Lycoming Engines; Williamsport, Pennsylvania 

Lebanon Flying Club Inc


Location: McMinnville, TN
Accident Number: ERA20LA309
Date & Time: 09/08/2020, 1130 CDT
Registration: N4166Z
Aircraft: Piper PA28
Injuries: 3 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Personal 

On September 8, 2020, about 1130 central daylight time, a Piper PA-28-181, N4166Z, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near McMinnville, Tennessee. The pilot and two passengers were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The airplane was based at Lebanon Municipal Airport (M54), Lebanon, Tennessee. The pilot flew uneventfully from M54 to Warren County Memorial Airport (RNC), McMinnville, Tennessee. Review of security video at RNC revealed that the airplane landed on runway 23 about 1123. It then taxied back to the beginning of the runway for takeoff about 1128 and disappeared from camera view during initial climb about 1 minute later. A witness, who was walking in his backyard heard an airplane engine go silent, then heard the sound of an impact about 30 seconds later. During that time, he briefly saw the airplane through trees, but could not determine its attitude.

Examination of the accident site by Federal Aviation Administration inspectors and a representative from the airframe manufacturer revealed that the airplane came to rest upright in a field about 1,000 ft northwest of runway 23. All major components of the airplane were accounted for and remained intact. The engine was canted right and the left side of the empennage exhibited buckling. The cabin roof had been separated by first responders. Three lapbelts were cut by first responders, but their ends remained attached to the respective fuselage attach points.

Fuel remained in both wing fuel tanks and the fuel selector was found positioned to the right main fuel tank. Flight control continuity was confirmed from the cockpit to all flight control surfaces and the flaps were retracted. Measurement of the pitch trim jackscrew corresponded to a partial nose-down trim setting. Examination of the engine revealed that the No. 4 cylinder head was fractured circumferentially, exposing the top of the piston. The cylinder head was displaced horizontally from the crankcase such that the pushrods and pushrod tubes remained captured in the cylinder head, but were dislodged from the crankcase.

The engine was retained for further examination.

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: Piper
Registration: N4166Z
Model/Series: PA28 181
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built: No
Operator: Lebanon Flying Club
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: RNC, 1031 ft msl
Observation Time: 1135 CDT
Distance from Accident Site: 5 Nautical Miles
Temperature/Dew Point: 27°C / 17°C
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: 4 knots / , 200°
Lowest Ceiling: None
Visibility:  10 Miles
Altimeter Setting: 30.09 inches Hg
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Departure Point: McMinnville, TN (RNC)
Destination: McMinnville, TN (RNC)

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 Fatal
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: 2 Fatal
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 3 Fatal
Latitude, Longitude: 35.695278, -85.853611
 
Those who may have information that might be relevant to the National Transportation Safety Board investigation may contact them by email eyewitnessreport@ntsb.gov, and any friends and family who want to contact investigators about the accident should email assistance@ntsb.gov. 

Federal Aviation Administration investigators were in Warren County on Wednesday to examine a small airplane that crashed Tuesday, killing all three occupants. The plane reportedly crashed shortly after a touch-and-go landing at the airport nearby.


The three passengers who died in a Tuesday morning plane crash near Warren County Airport have been identified.

The victims, all members of the Tennessee Air National Guard, have been identified as Nolansville resident Lt. Col. Shelli Dawn Huether, 45, Murfreesboro resident Capt. Jessica Naomi Wright, 38, and Murfreesboro resident Master Sgt. Scott Alan Bumpus, 53.

All three worked in intelligence support. 

Huether was director of operations for the 118th Intelligence Support Squadron. Wright was assistant director of operations for the 118th Intelligence Support Squadron, and Bumpus was chief of current operations for the 236th Intelligence Support Squadron.

The three were onboard a Piper PA-28-181 Archer III that crashed at 11:30 a.m. in a 50-acre field off Airport Lake Road. 

The airport runway is visible from the crash site.

Warren County Sheriff Tommy Myers said the Federal Aviation Administration was on the scene Wednesday investigating the crash. Myers said the investigation is still in its early stages but it appears the plane did a touch-and-go landing at the airport and had just taken off.

The plane is registered to Lebanon Flying Club. A veteran local airplane pilot told the Southern Standard on Wednesday that touch-and-go landings are used to practice landing and then taking off without the plane ever coming to a stop.

The veteran pilot said the fact the plane is registered to a flying club and a touch-and-go landing was used Tuesday would suggest an inexperienced pilot was gaining flying hours. In speaking to the Standard, the veteran pilot emphasized his thoughts are pure speculation and he has no role in the official investigation.

He said the first thing crash investigators are going to try to determine is whether there is fuel in both gas tanks and whether the engine was still running at the time of the crash. Since the plane crashed near the runway, it indicates there was a problem during takeoff.

“The fact the plane did not catch on fire is a really good thing because that means there’s a lot of available evidence to evaluate,” said the veteran pilot, who also noted the lack of a fire supports the theory the plane had no fuel.

If the plane ran out of gas or stalled for other reasons during takeoff, the proper procedure is to keep the plane straight, the veteran pilot noted, and to point the nose down. A plane of that size is capable of gliding around two miles at just 1,000 feet above ground.

The thing not to do if the plane stalls is to make a sudden turn. If the plane stalled and a quick turn was made to try and return to the airport it could cause the plane to spin, which is similar to when a car spins out. If the plane did spin, it would create a situation where there’s no lift on the wings. This could cause the plane to fall straight down like an elevator.

Based on pictures of the crash, the plane looks like it almost did a belly flop, landing squarely on the ground in this type of scenario. The ground around the plane did not appear disturbed to indicate there was any sort of glide landing for several hundred feet.

“During takeoff, pilots are not thinking about what they’re having for lunch. They should be looking around and constantly monitoring the landscape. You have to be thinking if the motor quits, where am I going to land this thing? You have to push your nose down to get your lift back and you have to fly straight,” the veteran pilot noted.

While it might not seem like the case, altitude is a pilot’s best friend. When a plane is low to the ground, there’s not nearly as much time to recover from a mistake.

The plane was about 100 feet from landing on a farmer who was mowing his field on a tractor. The farmer, Jerry Wiser, had his back to the crash and heard it, but did not see it. Wiser said an eyewitness who helped him at the scene said he saw the crash and described the plane as “falling out of the sky.”

Emergency responders had to use the Jaws of Life to remove the top from the plane to free the three from the wreckage.

According to FlightAware, which tracks flights nationally, the plane took off Tuesday morning in Lebanon at 10:20 a.m. and made an 11-minute flight to Murfreesboro Municipal Airport. It took off in Murfreesboro at 10:53 a.m., according to FlightAware, and was last monitored at 11:18 a.m. near McMinnville. The 911 call of a plane crash came over the local scanner right at 11:30 a.m.

According to FlightAware, the plane was cruising around 1,800 feet and around 108 mph for most of its trip from Murfreesboro. That altitude is about the lowest that’s advisable to fly, according to the veteran local pilot.

According to FlightAware, that plane had been flown frequently in recent days. It was in the air on Monday and Saturday.

It can take months before airplane crash investigations are complete. 

Sheriff Myers said the plane was scheduled to be moved from the crash site and taken to another location for further analysis on Wednesday afternoon.

https://www.southernstandard.com


Captain Jessica Naomi Wright and Family

Investigators with the Federal Aviation Administration were in McMinnville on Wednesday to examine the airplane which crashed Tuesday in a field off Airport Lake Road.


The three passengers who died in a Tuesday morning plane crash near Warren County Airport have been identified.

The victims, all members of the military, have been identified as Nolansville resident Lt. Col. Shelli Dawn Huether, 45, Murfreesboro resident Capt. Jessica Naomi Wright, 38, and Murfreesboro resident Sgt. Scott Alan Bumpus, 53.

The three were onboard a Piper PA-28-181 Archer III plane that crashed at 11:30 a.m. in a 50-acre field off Airport Lake Road. The airport runway is visible from the crash site.

Warren County Sheriff Tommy Myers said the Federal Aviation Administration was on the scene Wednesday investigating the crash. Myers said the investigation is still in its early stages but it appears the plane did a touch-and-go landing at the airport and had just taken off.

The plane is registered to Lebanon Flying Club. A veteran local airplane pilot told the Southern Standard on Wednesday that touch-and-go landings are used to practice landing and then taking off without the plane ever coming to a stop.

The veteran pilot said the fact the plane is registered to a flying club and a touch-and-go landing was used Tuesday would suggest an inexperienced pilot was gaining flying hours. In speaking to the Standard, the veteran pilot emphasized his thoughts are pure speculation and he has no role in the official investigation.

He said the first thing crash investigators are going to try to determine is whether there is fuel in both gas tanks and whether the engine was still running at the time of the crash. Since the plane crashed near the runway, it indicates there was a problem during takeoff.

“Fuel management is a common mistake among low-time pilots. The fact the plane did not catch on fire is a really good thing because that means there’s a lot of available evidence to evaluate,” the veteran pilot said.

If the plane ran out of gas or stalled for other reasons during takeoff, the proper procedure is to keep the plane straight, the veteran pilot noted, and to point the nose down. A plane of that size is capable of gliding around two miles at just 1,000 feet above ground.

The thing not to do if the plane stalls is to make a sudden turn. If the plane stalled and a quick turn was made to try and return to the runway it could cause the plane to spin, which would create a situation where there’s no lift on the wings. This could cause the plane to fall straight down like an elevator.

Based on pictures of the crash, the plane looks like it almost did a belly flop, landing squarely on the ground in this type of scenario. The ground around the plane was not disturbed to indicate there was any sort of glide landing for several hundred feet.

“During takeoff, pilots are not thinking about what they’re having for lunch. They should be looking around and constantly monitoring the landscape. You have to be thinking if the motor quits, where am I going to land this thing? You have to push your nose down to get your lift back and you have to fly straight,” the veteran pilot noted.

While it might not seem like the case, altitude is a pilot’s best friend. When a plane is low to the ground, there’s not nearly as much time to recover from a mistake.

According to FlightAware, which tracks flights nationally, the plane took off Tuesday morning in Lebanon at 10:20 a.m. and made an 11-minute flight to Murfreesboro Municipal Airport. It took off in Murfreesboro at 10:53 a.m., according to FlightAware, and was last monitored at 11:18 a.m. near McMinnville.

According to FlightAware, the plane was cruising around 1,800 feet and around 108 mph for most of its trip from Murfreesboro. That altitude is about the lowest that’s advisable to fly, according to the veteran local pilot.

According to FlightAware, that plane had been flown frequently in recent days. It was in the air on Monday and Saturday.

It can take months before airplane crash investigations are complete.

The three passengers who died in a Tuesday morning plane crash near Warren County Airport have been identified.

The victims, all members of the military, have been identified as Nolansville resident Lt. Col. Shelli Dawn Huether, 45, Murfreesboro resident Capt. Jessica Naomi Wright, 38, and Murfreesboro resident Sgt. Scott Alan Bumpus, 53.

The three were onboard a Piper PA-28-181 Archer III plane that crashed at 11:30 a.m. in a 50-acre field off Airport Lake Road. The airport runway is visible from the crash site.

Warren County Sheriff Tommy Myers said the Federal Aviation Administration was on the scene Wednesday investigating the crash. Myers said the investigation is still in its early stages but it appears the plane did a touch-and-go landing at the airport and had just taken off.

The plane is registered to Lebanon Flying Club. A veteran local airplane pilot told the Southern Standard on Wednesday that touch-and-go landings are used to practice landing and then taking off without the plane ever coming to a stop.

The veteran pilot said the fact the plane is registered to a flying club and a touch-and-go landing was used Tuesday would suggest an inexperienced pilot was gaining flying hours. In speaking to the Standard, the veteran pilot emphasized his thoughts are pure speculation and he has no role in the official investigation.

He said the first thing crash investigators are going to try to determine is whether there is fuel in both gas tanks and whether the engine was still running at the time of the crash. Since the plane crashed near the runway, it indicates there was a problem during takeoff.

“Fuel management is a common mistake among low-time pilots. The fact the plane did not catch on fire is a really good thing because that means there’s a lot of available evidence to evaluate,” the veteran pilot said.

If the plane ran out of gas or stalled for other reasons during takeoff, the proper procedure is to keep the plane straight, the veteran pilot noted, and to point the nose down. A plane of that size is capable of gliding around two miles at just 1,000 feet above ground.

The thing not to do if the plane stalls is to make a sudden turn. If the plane stalled and a quick turn was made to try and return to the runway it could cause the plane to spin, which would create a situation where there’s no lift on the wings. This could cause the plane to fall straight down like an elevator.

Based on pictures of the crash, the plane looks like it almost did a belly flop, landing squarely on the ground in this type of scenario. The ground around the plane was not disturbed to indicate there was any sort of glide landing for several hundred feet.

“During takeoff, pilots are not thinking about what they’re having for lunch. They should be looking around and constantly monitoring the landscape. You have to be thinking if the motor quits, where am I going to land this thing? You have to push your nose down to get your lift back and you have to fly straight,” the veteran pilot noted.

While it might not seem like the case, altitude is a pilot’s best friend. When a plane is low to the ground, there’s not nearly as much time to recover from a mistake.

According to FlightAware, which tracks flights nationally, the plane took off Tuesday morning in Lebanon at 10:20 a.m. and made an 11-minute flight to Murfreesboro Municipal Airport. It took off in Murfreesboro at 10:53 a.m., according to FlightAware, and was last monitored at 11:18 a.m. near McMinnville.

According to FlightAware, the plane was cruising around 1,800 feet and around 108 mph for most of its trip from Murfreesboro. That altitude is about the lowest that’s advisable to fly, according to the veteran local pilot.

According to FlightAware, that plane had been flown frequently in recent days. It was in the air on Monday and Saturday.

It can take months before airplane crash investigations are complete.


All three passengers onboard a Piper PA-28-181 Archer III plane died Tuesday when the plane crashed in a field at the doorstep of Warren County Airport.  The identities of the passengers, all out of town residents, have not been released. Families have been notified. Two women and one man, all members of the military, were onboard the Piper PA-28-181 Archer III plane, according to Sheriff Tommy Myers. The plane is registered to Lebanon Flying Club. It crashed at 11:30 a.m. in a 50-acre field off Airport Lake Road. The field is owned by Jerry Wiser, who was on a tractor mowing at the time and heard the plane crash behind him.

“I really didn’t see anything,” said Wiser. “I heard a crash, a really loud crash. When I turned around there was a plane sitting right behind me. I didn’t expect to see that at all.”  The plane crashed about 100 feet directly behind Wiser’s tractor. He said a person who was working on a nearby barn jumped a fence and rushed to the wreckage with him.  “It was smoking a little when we first got to it,” said Wiser. “I called 911 and was using my knife to cut the seatbelt off one of them when first-responders arrived.”  First-responders used the Jaws of Life to remove the top of the plane to get the occupants out.

Wiser’s property joins Warren County Airport property and the runway is clearly visible from the crash site. The National Transportation Safety Board was called to investigate and is expected to arrive Wednesday.  According to FlightAware, which tracks flights, the plane took off Tuesday morning in Lebanon at 10:20 a.m. and made an 11-minute flight to Murfreesboro Municipal Airport. It took off in Murfreesboro at 10:53 a.m., according to FlightAware, and was last monitored at 11:18 a.m. near McMinnville.

What could have caused the plane to crash is open to speculation. According to FlightAware, the plane was cruising around 1,800 feet and around 108 mph for most of its trip from Murfreesboro. That altitude is about the lowest that’s advisable to fly, according to a veteran local pilot.  The plane crashed in a field and didn’t appear to strike any objects, which is what you want to happen if forced to make an emergency landing. You want to find a large, open area, if forced to make an emergency landing, the veteran pilot noted, and avoid hitting anything such as trees, cows or hay bales.

It’s not known if the engine stopped or ran out of fuel. If the engine did stop, it’s possible for the plane to glide safely to the ground provided it doesn’t lose too much speed. If the plane goes too slow, it prevents proper airflow across the wings, which is what keeps the plane in the air.  If this happens with a plane, proper airflow over the wings stops. The plane can then drop straight down like an elevator. It’s possible to recover from such a spin out, the veteran pilot noted, but not at 1,800 feet.  According to FlightAware, the plane has flown frequently in recent days. It was in the air on Monday and Saturday.  The  National Transportation Safety Board can take months to complete a crash investigation.










Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Alabama and NW Florida

May 18, 2019: Made a hard landing in a field near Shelby County Airport (KEET), Alabaster, County, Alabama.

Vagabond Air LLC

https://registry.faa.gov/N4166Z

Date: 18-MAY-19
Time: 16:37:00Z
Regis#: N4166Z
Aircraft Make: PIPER
Aircraft Model: PA 28 181
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: UNKNOWN
Activity: UNKNOWN
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
Operation: 91
City: ALABASTER

State: ALABAMA

30 comments:

  1. If you notice in the photo of the nose of the aircraft the prop blade that is visible in undamaged. I believe that it had lost power on takeoff and stalled the airplane. While an Archer is very difficult to spin accidentally, it will come down like a rock if it is stalled and heavy.

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  2. No evidence of any ground disturbance around it. Flat spin, straight down.

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  3. Airmen database has Shelli Dawn Huether as a certified private pilot, no match on the two others.

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  4. Membership club, limited to 36 people.

    2000 Piper Archer III (PA-28)
    - Aspen EFD1000 PFD
    - Garmin GNS430W and GNS430
    - STEC autopilot with altitude

    http://www.lebanonflyingclub.org/info

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Panel photo of N4166Z included in sim discussion:
      https://forums.x-plane.org/index.php?/forums/topic/179095-archer-iii-questions/&tab=comments#comment-1655922

      Delete
  5. One of the more difficult reads in recent memory here on KR. Especially the photo of Capt. Wright which I assume is with her husband and young children in front of their home. The stories are always sad, but photos of victims in their lives during happy times really sends the tragedy home. What in the world happened here. We'll just have to wait. So sorry for their families and their friends and associates they were surrounded with in life.

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  6. The Aspen EFD1000 PFD does not record flight and systems data, so no data can be recovered from the PFD for review of the accident flight.

    https://aspenavionics.com/pdfs/Evolution-PFD-Series-product-sheet.pdf

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  7. Sad for the loss of great people. The cockpit didn't look all that bad.The cabin looks like it was cut off by first responders. It always amazes me how some people survive a total torn up plane and others do not in case like this.

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    Replies
    1. These types of photos of a relatively intact cabin in extreme vertical descent accidents are deceiving. It's all about how the Gs hit the body and how quickly at what force. Dale Earnhardt's race car cabin was intact too.

      Delete
    2. see comment below about fuselage deformation and return

      Delete
  8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwHJ8bI-FT0

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  9. I worked with Scott at a previous assignment. A good man with a long career back to Desert Storm deployment.

    As far as the crash, the propeller tip does not appear bent, suggesting it did not strike the ground. The engine and cowl appear to be dug into the ground somewhat, and, coupled with the wrinkling of the skin over and behind the wings, indicates a slightly nose-down impact. This is consistent with head/neck trauma in an otherwise intact cabin. This is just my speculation; I do have several decades of automobile crash investigation experience.

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  10. Both women, or at least one, seem to be current as pilots according to the airman registry. The man wasn't and had an expired medical and only a PPL issued in 2007.
    There's 2 names for Jessica, one with no qualifications and one with a CPL.
    That means no students in there.
    Every takeoff is a race to put as much altitude you can as quickly as you can so you have that energy to replace an engine failure with. Sometimes it just happens you will have too little of it no matter what.

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  11. ditto the flat spin, as there appears no ground scar, or scraping of the earth

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  12. I don't see a flat spin in this scenario. With hundreds of hours instructing PA28s I see an engine failure at maybe 300-400 feet AGL at normal climb A/S. When that happens you have to really physically lower the nose to keep what little speed you have available. Now you're headed towards the ground at a very steep angle and you don't have a lot of energy to play with. If you pull the nose up to flair too abruptly then you get an accelerated stall and you're done. Flat into the ground.

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    Replies
    1. for what purpose was PIC at "300-400 feet AGL at normal climb A/S ?"

      Delete
    2. From the information above namely "Myers said the investigation is still in its early stages but it appears the plane did a touch-and-go landing at the airport and had just taken off."

      Delete
    3. I stand corrected on why the low AGL; still wonder why apparent no ground scare or scraping ?

      Delete
    4. If the heading of the aircraft as observed after it came to a stop indicates the flight path, getting there from a touch and go included a turn.

      The News4 video showing where the plane landed relative to the southwest end of the runway has a statement that "A witness reported seeing the airplane attempt to return to the airport when the crash occurred."

      By comparing to video, here is a pinned map location:
      http://maps.google.com/maps?t=k&q=loc:35.695408+-85.853215

      Here is the News4 video (best views start at 00:57):
      https://www.wsmv.com/news/warren_county/3-killed-in-airplane-crash-near-mcminnville-airport/article_1be532b2-f1fa-11ea-b2ab-8f35b9567b91.html

      Delete
  13. Low time pilots that I've instructed, during a simulated engine failure, there seems a tendency to pull back on the yoke without monitoring airspeed. If the prop had stopped at a very low altitude, airspeed would have bled off rapidly..

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  14. Those low wings piper have the best glide characteristics of a brick thrown out the window as the joke goes. Maybe 4:1 on a good day and competing with those guys base jumping in wings suits not far behind at 3:1.
    I lived through a piper arrow's engine failure and lucky me I was at 3000 and within glide of an airport. The nose had to be kept aggressively down to keep that control. Here the effects of an engine failure right at takeoff would have been catastrophic if the speed bled instantly below stall.

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    Replies
    1. Yep not much glide time especially after the prop stops..

      Delete
    2. "Maybe 4:1 on a good day..."

      No. An Archer has a glide ratio right around 10:1.

      "I lived through a piper arrow's engine failure..."

      If you really did, which is questionable, you would know an Arrow's glide ratio is slightly more than 9:1.

      "Here the effects of an engine failure right at takeoff would have been catastrophic if the speed bled instantly below stall."

      Archer Vy is 76 kt. Vs is 59 kt. Best glide speed same as Vy, 76 kt. Obviously you're not going to lose 17 kt "instantly".

      Delete
  15. The FAA provides the following example:
    @ https://www.boldmethod.com/learn-to-fly/maneuvers/the-impossible-turn-should-you-turn-back-or-land-straight-ahead/
    "Consider the following example of an airplane which has taken off and climbed to an altitude of 300 feet above ground level (AGL) when the engine fails. After a typical 4 second reaction time, the pilot elects to turn back to the runway. Using a standard rate (3 degree change in direction per second) turn, it takes 1 minute to turn 180 degrees. At a glide speed of 65 knots, the radius of the turn is 2,100 feet, so at the completion of the turn, the airplane is 4,200 feet to one side of the runway. The pilot must turn another 45 degrees to head the airplane toward the runway. By this time, the total change in direction is 225 degrees equating to 75 seconds plus the 4 second reaction time. If the airplane in a power-off glide descends at approximately 1,000 fpm, it has descended 1,316, feet placing it 1,016 feet below the runway."

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  16. Go back and watch the old videos of NASA dropping Pipers from test towers after the flood damage in Pennsylvania many years ago. High speed photography shows those aluminum fuselages flatten like pancakes and then spring back to normal shape almost instantly. So after the initial impact, the wreck looks survivable.

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  17. Power loss from engine failure. The #4 cylinder head failure described in the preliminary report will be an interesting analysis to review.

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    Replies
    1. Examination of the markings on the failed cylinder casting will provide a quick check against casting manufacturer part number and serial numbers identified in Airworthiness Directives as being at risk for cylinder head separation from the barrel

      Lycoming-sourced cylinders have not been impacted by AD's for this type of failure. With the accident aircraft being a year 2000 production, the 2006 and 2009 AD's are of interest. In 2016, another AD impacting Continental Engines was issued.

      Will be interesting to learn the details of the accident aircraft's cylinder casting pedigree and whether the head separation was a one-off failure or belongs to a casting identified in applicable AD's.

      2006 AD:
      https://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgad.nsf/0/076cbe0678c2d2398625718500504687/$FILE/2006-12-07.pdf
      2009 AD:
      https://rgl.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAD.nsf/0/fd1c80194ba0b8da8625769d00695ada/$FILE/2009-26-12.pdf

      Delete
  18. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wPQ_6OwF0k

    ReplyDelete