Kelab Penerbangan 4B Malaysia:
January 2000 Newsletter
Compiled by JS
Aircraft accidents will always happen, but the majority of them are preventable.
In spite of the latest in technology, materials, design etc. being used, accidents and incidents involving aircraft do not seem to decrease. In the United States, for example, there are on the average 5 aircraft accidents every day. This figure is not an exaggeration.
It is analysed from statistics given by the National Transport Safety Bureau.
While the bulk of mishaps may not result in deaths, they may result in serious injuries. Frequently the aircraft are totally destroyed. When a report says that the aircraft `was consumed by post-crash fire’ it means that there was probably nothing much left of the aircraft or its passengers.
Investigating incidents involving aircraft may be easy, but this is not so when an actual accident takes place. The people entrusted with this may sometimes take months to literally piece together the cause of a particular crash. It is not, definitely, a pleasant job.
The subsequent release of the findings by investigators quite frequently reveals human error as one of the causes. It may be quite surprising to find that aircraft sometimes crash because they run out of fuel.
Beginning with this issue of our newsletter, we will include actual or edited versions of aircraft accident reports, taken from NTSB records of the United States. This may be of interest to those of us who have not seen such reports.
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Date
of accident :12.12.98.
Aircraft
Type :Taylorcraft BC
12-D. Single engine, 2 seater.
Registration
No :N43778
“ On 12.12.98, about 1530 Eastern Standard Time, the aircraft was destroyed when it collided with trees during landing practice at Greenville Municipal Airport, Pennsylvania, United States Of America. The accident occurred during the hours of daylight.
The student pilot received fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was filed for the local training flight, which was conducted under CFR Part 91 regulations.
According to a witness who was flying in the airport traffic pattern at the time, the accident airplane touched down in a grassy landing area to the right of, and parallel to Runway 15. It then appeared to veer to the left, crossed the paved runway, towards a large briar patch (bush). The witness thought the airplane would hit the patch, but it managed to fly over it, and continued towards the “wide open space” of a turf cross-runway. Then, instead of continuing toward the cross-runway, the airplane entered a steep left turn with a steep climb. It looked like it was in a stall attitude, and flying very slow. The witness then saw the airplane’s nose drop, and the airplane “go over”. A second witness saw the plane hit the trees and saw wood flying. A third witness’s attention was drawn to the accident aircraft when someone said “ Hope he makes it over the trees.”
Meteorological Information: Approximately 20 minutes after the accident, at an airport 17 nautical miles away, the observed weather included a broken cloud layer at 23,000ft above ground level and a visibility of 10 miles. The sun was in the southwest quadrant.
Wreckage Information: The wreckage was found approximately 800ft northeast of Runway 15 and 200 feet northwest of Runway 23. It was just inside the edge of a wooded area with 70-foot trees. There were cut tree branches commencing about 60 feet above the ground, in a descending 45- degree path. The airplane was found on its left side, with the left wing broken upwards. The wooden propeller was shattered, still attached to the engine, and wedged up against a tree trunk
Cockpit examination revealed that the mixture knob was full rich, and the throttle knob was full forward. The magnetos had been turned off by rescue personnel. The main and left fuel controls were on, and the right fuel control was off. Control continuity was established to the rudder and elevator, and within both wings. The right wing held about 2 gallons of fuel; while the left wing held only trace amounts.
Engine examination revealed the presence of fuel in the strainer. All spark plugs were greyish brown in colour except bottom number 2, which was saturated in oil. Throttle continuity was confirmed, and compression established in all cylinders. Magnetos were not tested due to impact damage, but appeared new. The carburettor heat was on.
Medical and Pathological Information: An autopsy was conducted on the pilot’s body on 13.12.98 by the Forensic Pathologist, Elwood City Hospital, Pennsylvania.
Toxicological testing was performed by the FAA Toxicology and Accident Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City. Results were negative for carbon monoxide, cyanide, ethanol and illegal drugs.
End
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Our
comment:
It is astonishing to find anyone as old as 79 still flying. What is important is that this pilot had a love for flying which spanned over almost half a century. We salute him for this.
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