Oops, darn it...

[amoxness]

I posted a version of this to facebook, so to help clear some of the air I'll post my version here.

I was at the Hood strip shoveling my spot out and saw the take off and climb out and was first on scene to the crash. It was a normal take off but then his pitch attitude kept increasing. I've seen a lot of zoom climbs in cubs off the strip, but this did not look like a hot dog climb out. It was straight up like the controls got jammed full aft. I could see the entire top of his fuselage from behind. It reminded me of an aerobatic routine where a plane hangs from the prop. He got to around 150-200 feet before stalling. I wasn't able to see it, but based on another witness he was able to flare a bit right before the crash which was evidenced by a divot in the runway maybe 50 feet before the wreckage. That flare likely saved his life. The pilot was able to self extract but needed assistance balancing - clearly a concussion of some sort. He was solo with a full belly pod and quite a bit of fuel. There wasn't that much in the back, but there was a large duffel in the back seat. And the back seat stick was in. It does not appear that CG was the issue. Some sort of controls jamming is my best guess.

The controls were rigged correctly and it was making full power. I believe the full forward trim was an effort to get the nose down. Based on my photos, the flap on the other side is set at 1 notch, so somewhere in the crash the flap cable got disturbed, so the setting in the media photos is not necessarily the setting that the flaps were at. The left wing broke off from the fuselage and was spilling quite a bit of fuel.

 

[DENNY]

Depending on training and preference a lot of pilots up here regardless of weight full nose down trip on all takeoffs just out of habit. As usual we will most likely have to wait for the official story to come out. If the elevator controls were correct then I would suspect blocked controls at the rear stick, like a bag or backpack got in front of the stick. The good thing is the pilot appears to be OK, I hope I do as well on my next one.
DENNY

 

[FatCub300]

Sounds like he kept his wits about him managing to dissipate some energy before a hard hit, making a bad situation a little better. Gotta take your hat to to him….i hope he heals quick and back in the saddle!!

Steve

 

[mvivion]

New member of the flip flop flyers.
An experienced pilot flipped a 182 after landing hot at Cougar Ranch, Idaho, around 12:30 pm. Cougar Ranch is a new-ish airport on the Middle Fork.
Fortunately, no injuries, not even bruises from the seatbelts.
We surmise the wind was flipping back and forth up and downstream, which is pretty typical after 10 am.

No fight plan. Found on a mere 2 hits from the 406 MHz ELT. While upside down, the pilot turned off the ELT, then activated his SPOT.

Turns out that is not a good plan, because the SPOT team called Custer County sheriff, who ended up calling Idaho Aeronautics. ID Aero had already heard from the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at least an hour before. The ID Aero director knew a Husky pilot staying at Flying B, called him up, and the pilot was found walking around within 2.5 hours from the accident. It doesn’t get faster than that.

Some lessons:

• Don’t turn off your ELT until you’re sure someone is coming for you. ID Aeronautics airplanes have DF gear, to track the 'final mile'.
• Include that you are in an aircraft, it’s type, N-number, and color in the satellite tracker SOS message field. The satellite tracker companies deal with everything from rafters, hikers, to parents tracking their kids. The satellite tracker companies call the local sheriff, not ID Aero or the AFRCC. The local sheriff needs to know it is an aircraft.
• It doesn't get any faster than 2.5 hours, ever. Be prepared to take care of injuries for at least 6 hours, and to stay overnight if the accident gets called out after, say, 6 hours before sunset. ID Aeronautics rarely searches after dark, even with NVG.
• If available, hook up GPS to your ELT. Without it, the AFRCC has at best a 4 mile radius, which is a lot of area.

View attachment 106323

 

[mvivion]

Another reason to leave the ELT active for at least a few hours is that every “hit” AFRCC receives from an ELT improves the accuracy of the location. Depending on your location, the Satellites pass your location every 30 minutesto an hour. So, turn on the ELT if it didn’t activate, and leave it on.

 

[BC12D-4-85]

How do you manage to get there on takeoff??

Rear stick installed backwards. Preflight?

Gary

 

[mvivion]

Rear stick installed backwards. Preflight?

Gary

Hmmmm, one would hope that a proper pre flight controls check (wipe out the cockpit) would have caught that one. Dang!

 

[BC12D-4-85]

About the only option is reduce power and hope the CG brings the nose down. I once had gear in the front seat rear pocket in my Citabria. Stick prevented from full forward throw on takeoff. Decided to abort on ski strip and adjust. Once was enough. Edit: I removed the rear stick and installed a Bellanca Scout rear cover over the exposed stub - and a cover over rear throttle quadrant.

Today any abort once on the runway will result in the tower contacting the FSDO regarding the "Occurrence" via a MOR. See Appendix A, 7. Airport Environment, (e) page A-2.

Gary

 

[akavidflyer]

Rear stick installed backwards. Preflight?

Gary

the good ol boy network up here seems to come up with creative ways to cover incidents when those involved are L.E. How many cubs have they wiped out in the last hand full of years? Pretty sure that brings it to 5 or 6 and those "incidents" seem to disappear REALLY fast from any public media.

 

[Paul Heinrich]

What's the survival percentage of low level stall accidents? However serious his injuries are; he beat the worst odds in aviation. I hope he has a full and speedy recovery.

 

[FatCub300]

Man…. That’s dis-heartening to read. I always think an aborted takeoff is a sign of good judgment and quick responses even if something doesn’t feel quite right…. You’d think they want to encourage that.

Three weeks ago I aborted a takeoff due to a rather large yellow jacket storming the cockpit just as the tail came off the ground.

Let the extra passenger out, searched for any other stowaways and went about my business….

I guess I deserve to be in trouble for those abhorrent acts….


S

 

[BC12D-4-85]

A couple thoughts:

The compressed belly tank and landing gear/tires on that Cub probably absorbed a lot of energy that would have otherwise caused even more physical damage to the operator.

A preflight will catch these things if we pay attention. Edit: Notice the pilot seat folds forward. Might have allowed for less interference with the rear stick if the interference was known and there was time to lean forward.

The Manditory Occurance Report (MOR) response can be handled in most cases. Probably (my opinion) best to not say much via tower tapes just request a return to parking and reassess. Then contact via phone if asked. Have an honest reason for the rejected takeoff later also if asked. We've all had spiders/venomous insects/seat belts out doors/alarmed passengers/birds ahead/and alligators/water debris about that required an abort. It happens and safety comes first.

Gary

 

[rsrguy3]

Wouldn't lack of forward stick be evident when raising the tail?

 

[mvivion]

the good ol boy network up here seems to come up with creative ways to cover incidents when those involved are L.E. How many cubs have they wiped out in the last hand full of years? Pretty sure that brings it to 5 or 6 and those "incidents" seem to disappear REALLY fast from any public media.

Actually, the FAA/NTSB are not necessarily invited to investigate these accidents. This MAY have been “Public Use” category, in which case the agency does its own investigation. Even if they’re not Public Use, often the NTSB/FAA. Defers to agency investigation.

 

[mvivion]

Wouldn't lack of forward stick be evident when raising the tail?

Yes, if he tried to raise the tail.

But, the salient question is: Why didn’t he discover a blockage when he “wiped out the cockpit” during runup? Obviously, he skipped that step….
I’ve caught two blockages in the thousands of times I’ve done pre flight checks. It happens…..easy in a Cub type.