Tie-down block falls from light aircraft

[G-CPTN]

An investigation is under way after a concrete block fell from a plane onto a tennis court on Tyneside.
Members of the public spotted an object falling from a light aircraft on Wednesday morning.
The one-foot square slab landed at Northumberland Lawn Tennis Club in Jesmond. No-one was hurt but children were playing a short distance away.
It was later identified as a tie-down block used as one of a pair to secure light aircraft at Newcastle Airport.
In a statement, the Newcastle International Airport said: "Northumbria Police made contact with air traffic control on Wednesday concerning a concrete block which had been recovered from the Jesmond area that morning.
"The object was subsequently identified as a tie-down block which is used to secure light aircraft on the apron.
"It is thought to have originated form a Piper Cherokee Aircraft which departed from the airport at 0920 BST.
"The Civil Aviation Authority has been notified and a full investigation will take place."


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/6643891.stm

[No longer ATC]

BBC News reporting group of schoolchildren narrowly avoided being hit by "A block of concrete" that fell from a light aicraft nr Newcastle ?? WTF ?? Chocks? Tie downs?

[hetfield]

Bischtdu concret krass oderwas?

[markflyer6580]

:eek: how would you not notice? all the pa28's I fly struggle to get rolling on grass without concrete dragging along.....
I can sort of understand bending a prop on a towbar if you moved it after a pre flight,but taxying and flying with prob the best part of 20kg of concrete hanging off the wing is pure numpty of the highest order:rolleyes:

[Blues&twos]

Does seem to suggest the said block wasn't much of a "tie-down".....

[Patuta]

Would have never expected turkish-german slang from australia.

[topjetboy]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/6643891.stm

[RossEA]

Does seem to suggest the said block wasn't much of a "tie-down"..... Haha! thats a good one! :) :D

[Squealing Pig]

Some years ago I spotted a PA28 driver taxiing with a tie down under the left wing. I stopped him and pointed out his error and he replied ......'Ooh I wondered why it kept going left...........'

Duh!

yes some people will carry on regardless of the clues

[markflyer6580]

When it hit the tennis court was it on the line?

You cannot be serious:E

[hobie]

It's happened before .....

As the aircraft took off from Runway 25, the tower Air Traffic Control Officer observed an object dangling from the tail. The object was subsequently identified as a car tyre filled with concrete, which had been used to tie down the aircraft on the ground. The pilot was informed and he landed the aircraft safely after completing a normal circuit. After landing the aircraft was taxied clear of the runway and shut down before the tie-down weight was removed. A runway inspection was carried out before further use. The pilot reported that during the aircraft’s pre-flight inspection he had removed the tie down weights attached to the wings but had failed to notice the tie down weight attached to the tail.

source ..... http://www.aaib.dft.gov.uk/publications/bulletins/march_2006/beech_c23_sundowner__g_basn.cfm

[Noah Zark.]

Bearing in mind this is in a certain Mr. Draper's locale, if it landed on the tennis court, it's a wonder it didn't land in the Nettie!

[will5023]

looks like the ATC missed it as well, cleared for take off :bored: blocks away !!

Will.

[F900EX]

What an absolute PLONKER

[Codger]

I was just thinking, how could you miss a tie down during a preflight walk around.
Unfortunately the answer is obvious.

[Dave Gittins]

It must have felt kind of strange, first taxying (presumably with a tad more power than normal) and then taking off with a great weight hung right on the back. I guess he would have been well outside the W&B envelope.

Surprising he didn't notice it sooner.

Is the story accurate and he landed back still towing / carrying it ? .. or did part of it fall away over the inevitable school playground. ?

[Mariner9]

Possibly too busy reading his pre-flight checklist to properly pre flight the aircraft. Also check tie downs untied may not have been on the list :rolleyes:

If only 2POB, 20Kg on each wing shouldn't push W&B outside the envelope. Prolly a bit more power required to taxi but I suspect not a lot - once the static friction's lost there wont be a lot of dynamic friction from a concrete block on tarmac.

I would imagine the pilot's feeling pretty bad about it, and is no doubt in for loads of abuse on the various forums. But let those who are without sin cast the first stone (or concrete block even :E ) I for one know that not all my preflights are perfect, I once took off with the pitot cover still attached :O

[Farmer 1]

Do you think he noticed when it fell off?

[doubleu-anker]

Blues&twos


Agree with you.


I always have a bit of a grin when I see an A/C "tied down" with for eg., a couple of plastic cans filled with water or blocks of concrete. How will they secure an A/C in a good gale? 2 x 20kgs blocks of concrete would be about the weight of "half a pax". If the A/C fuel tanks were empty why not fill the tanks and throw away the blocks? There would be more weight.


Light A/C need to be secured with augers, stakes 2 at secured right angles, in the ground or blocks of concrete buried in the ground.

[ericferret]

I saw a Cessna 172 tied down with concrete blocks at Dar es Sallam, Tanzania. As an Air France 747 rounded a curved bit of taxiway he applied enough power to lift the 172 into the air which hovered for a few seconds before descending back to its marks. One of those things that makes you doubt your own eyes.

[jamestkirk]

I have seen people trying to taxi of with tie downs (in the ground) attached. Looking very bemused why the aircraft is not moving, so applying more power, more bemused, more power etc.

Maybe they were trying to catapult themselves off

[Final 3 Greens]

I hear a story (possibly urban myth) of an aspiring FAA CPL building hours by tieing down a PA28 at a remote desert airstrip and sitting there reading a novel whilst he did a long "x-country", with the O-360 running away at cruise revs.

[barit1]

Pa once pulled a concrete block or two out of the ground when taxiing from a sod parking spot - but the plane was so overpowered that he didn't notice it until checking aileron travel (high-wing a/c) before TO.

:ugh:

[IO540]

Sounds like an urban myth. Anybody can just fake a lookbook entry. The way to get caught is for somebody to check with the airport(s) in question.

I am not aware of any license/rating where there is a x/c requirement that can be met just by flying around aimlessly for hours and coming back to the same place. And I do know the requirements of the FAA CPL... I've done them.

[corsair]

Proves if anything how useless tie downs are for holding down aircraft in high winds. Sandbags on the wings are much better when the gales are expected. No surprise it's was a Piper Cherokee. It happens to low wing aircraft more often than high wing, except for barit's Pa:= :)

It also points to a rather less than adequate pre flight inspection.:= := Tsk tsk.

[fantaman]

Surely this should have been picked up by ATC? The tower should have picked this up when doing the last look checks on the aircraft? I work in military ATC but I cant immagine civil ATC dont have a look over an aircraft through a set of bino's prior to take off?

Or am I wrong :rolleyes:

[G-CPTN]

There were two people standing in the car park at the time. They heard an aircraft overhead and thought nothing of it. But a few seconds later there was a massive thud and a large cloud of dust about 40 yards away from them. They went over to the grassed area by the side of the carpark and saw this block. It was embedded in the grass about a foot down.
We had 50 children on a visit from schools using the tennis courts and playing at the time. It was a miracle it hit the grass. If it had been on the concrete it would have been like a bouncing bomb. It would have broken into pieces and that could have been nasty. Or it could have gone over the houses and on to Osborne Road.
It's a really lucky escape.

(From;- http://icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/chroniclelive/eveningchronicle/tm_headline=mid%2Dair-scare-for-tennis-club%26method=full%26objectid=19088167%26siteid=50081-name_page.html)

[perusal]

Surely this should have been picked up by ATC? The tower should have picked this up when doing the last look checks on the aircraft?


No I don't think you're wrong, however it is the pilot's responsibility to ensure he is free from obstructions etc before taxiing.

I'm not surprised at the tower not noticing it. Foxtrot is a significant distance away, and, I should think they've got other traffic to think about at 0930 on a weekday morning

[eyeinthesky]

QUOTE
it would have been like a bouncing bomb.
UNQUOTE
If only Barnes Wallis (sp?) had known that it was that easy he wouldn't have wasted all that effort trying to get the height, speed and rotatation just right. 1 lump of concrete falling off at the right time and the Ruhr would be under water!!!;)

[Final 3 Greens]

I once took off with 25 degrees of flap set and didn't notice it for 10 mins, but then again I'm not perfect like you Adam.

Give the guy a break will you?

[javelin]

I'm surprised nobody commented on the operator and colourscheme of the aeroplane - twas rather light blue and TUI I believe :E

[scooter boy]

Thank god no children were hurt.

This report is just more evidence for those members of the public who think all private pilots are idiots, can you imagine how it would have been if a child had been killed?

Can you imagine the charges that would have been brought against the pilot?

Doesn't bear thinking about...

SB

[IO540]

I concur with SB; I think taking off with too much flap (or no flap) is one thing (and as they say let the man without sin cast the first stone etc etc) but taking off with concrete tiedown blocks is quite something else. Just how dim does a pilot have to be to do that??

However, I'd like to know how recently he got his PPL and (if recent) who the instructor was. Might be quite interesting.

[Piltdown Man]

Considering the insignificant weight of the blocks that various plonkers attach to their aircraft when tied down in the UK, I'm not surprised that the presence of this one was not noticed.

PM

[Pilot DAR]

Yes, this does show some shortcomings! It's not the first time though! A Cessna 150 was reported completing a circuit with a pail of concrete hanging from the tail. I guess that C of G envelope is a bit bigger than the book says...

The Cessna flight manuals sometimes make reference to a minimum of 700 pounds per tiedown for adequate restraint. I'm sure a Piper would be similar. If the 700 pound restriant were to be used, this would not happen - the plane would never move, much less get airborne!

Doggie screw in tiedowns did not hold my dog, I certainly would not trust them for my plane. I've seen several planes on their backs, still tied to these, whose spirals still held bits of sod!

Pilot DAR

[False Capture]

A few years ago, the owner of a PA28 had a strange system in which he used two traffic cones in conjunction with two tie-down ropes to secure his aircraft to a tie-down line.

Whilst doing a bit of instrument flying with an instructor, they found themselves carrying out a go-around following an ILS at Farnborough. The Farnborough controller said "... what are those orange things you seem to be towing around the skies?"

The instructor and student quietly made their way back to White Waltham. Once they'd parked their PA28 at their original starting position they discovered a tie-down rope with a traffic cone still attached to one of the aircraft's tie-down points.

They never did find the other one.:sad:

[RatherBeFlying]

In not too many years time, tiedown blocks will require attachment of a mode S transponder:}

[rogcal]

Just thinking, had said blocks been painted white with black spots, could this have been the ultimate in "fluffy dice"?

But as the flight originated outside Essex, it's not likely!;)

[jamestkirk]

If you flew around with 25 degrees of flap, so what. you are right, we all make mistakes.

BUT, flying off with tie downs attached is a pretty poor show of airmanship. From the posts, i get the impression there was an instructor on board. IF this was true then it's pretty unforgivable.

[aw8565]

"They never did find the other one" (Traffic cone)

I believe it landed on the M25. Only place a road cone could turn up that wouldn't look out of place.

Or maybe a students' dorm room...

[contrail]

Was A/C outbound to Cranfield by any chance?

[BoeingMEL]

Well Farmer 1...let's sse now....
1 He didn't notice it on his walkaround..
2 He didn't notice it when he taxied
3 He didn't notice it during take-off
4 He didn't notice it in the climb

I think you're beginning to see where I'm comig from here :ugh:

(Bet it resulted in an interesting change of pitch tho!!) bm

[martinidoc]

Scooter Boy:
"This report is just more evidence for those members of the public who think all private pilots are idiots"
Are you sure it was a private pilot? I think we need to wait and see what the AAIB abd CAA come up with before we attribute this to a PPL.
Wonder where the other tie down landed?

[GonTek]

The whole point has been missed by all but Javellin, This was not a PPl but may have been a supposedly professional pilot and not a school aircraft as some may think as they are all hangared and never tied down.

Who did the walk round "Stevie Wonder".....

Having just read Martinidoc's post I amended the above.
Flak awaited

[TheGorrilla]

A good pilot walks around his aircraft at least twice. Not because he's being thorough, simply looking for a way to get into the machine.

[1946]

Gorilla, was that not an old dog joke, why dose a dog turn round twice when they lay down, because one good turn deserves another!!!!!!
Hat--wellies--exit stage left.:D

[sailing]

Confession time!
1. As a very new student I was starting the Tomahawk when I glanced across at the instructor and noticed he was smiling slightly. Thinking he was having a nice day, I gave a taxi call and opened the throttle....a bit more and she should start to roll....just a bit more...then the penny dropped.
I shut down and got out to undo the tie-downs, then noticed the row of smiling faces in the aero club window. The instructor didn't say anything, and he didn't need to, it was the best lesson I could have had!!

2. Years later, having recently completed my homebuilt Fisher 'Classic' 2 seat biplane, I was experimenting with the prop pitch. This involved dismantling the blades from the hub and re-assembling with different pitch blocks. Having carefully re-torqued everything, I started up and attempted to taxi out. She seemed reluctant to roll on the grass, so just a bit more throttle...and we slowly reversed! The hub was able to be used with left or right handed blades, and I'd assembled it @rse about!
In my defense, I also had a microlight which used the same type of prop as a pusher, so I was used to seeing it that way around. Very embarrassing though.:bored:

Why is it that these things always have an audience, but perfect landings are never noticed?

The moral of the story? There's always time for a good pre-flight. "Better late in this world than early in the next".

[False Capture]

Why is it that these things always have an audience?That reminds me, we enjoyed another occasion where the student only undid one of the tie-down ropes during the pre-flight checks with the Deputy Chief Flying Instructor.

I can't remember how much of a circle they did because we were too busy laughing.:}

[Al Smith]

The car tyre filled with concrete incident happened in Ireland and of all things on boxing day. Maybe he was a little hungover?

[SLFguy]

Tennis court in Tyneside...Mwaahaaaha

[BHenderson]

I think it is the ground staff being a bit proactive in securing the aircraft after a Zenair flipped in strong winds during the Winter. The pilot, probably not used to tie-downs, simply didn't notice them. It probably wasn't even windy enough to require the use of tie-downs.

[davidatter708]

Reminds me of a particularly blustery day at leicester a few weeks earlier a C150 had crashed unfortunately and was a right state and was never to fly again it was that bent. Next to the maintanance shed with blocks of concrete and various other things attached to tail to keep damaged nose wheel of the ground. After the storm the aircraft had moved about 4ft and there were no scratches from the concrete block so u can prove people wrong it did fly again
David

[jlaherty]

When I first started flying gliders as a kid in Benalla (North East Victoria, Oz) we had an ES52B Kookaburra sitting beside the strip and noticed a willy willy coming across the field in a straight line for the Kooka. The Duty Pilot yelled a warning and a couple of us threw ourselves onto the a/c, one guy across the fuselage at the tail and me across the downward wing tip. The willy willy arrived amongst lot of dust and I had a sensation of flying through the air and came down rather solidly with the wind completely knocked out of me on the ground on THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GLIDER. The a/c had a wingspan of 15 metres so I was thrown at least 20 metres and an observer said I achieved an altitude of at least 5 metres!
:eek:

I have had a healthy respect for the lifting power of aerofoils ever since.

[radicalrabit]

I am going to bed now with tears of laughter yet again , you know you really ought to put some of this forum in print .:ok::D

[TommyOv]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/7140972.stm

Pretty small block, fairly significant hole...:ooh:

------------------------------------------------------------------
Edit: Rats, littco beat me to it!

[GonTek]

All jokes aside boy's and girls, is this guy still flying and why after something as blatant as this.
after reading the extract from the paper it would seem that life is worth about £1700,fine and cost's. Would it be different if someone had got hurt.

Gontek

[Dave Gittins]

A tad harsh I fear. People make mistakes .. and hopefully learn from them.

I admit to once taking off with the pitot cover still on. If we didn't make mistakes and learn there would be no "I learned about flying from that".

If in a moment of inattention I mounted a kerb in my car ... oops no harm done nothing further happens but it's a wake up call.

If there had been a bus queue there and I'd killed 3 kids of course it would have been different.

:confused:

[PPRuNe Radar]

As Dave says, he's made a mistake.

The law has prosecuted him and he's paid the statutory penalty placed on him by the judge. No doubt the CAA have also offered him 'appropriate' advice and he's been placed under no illusions about the seriousness of the offence and what he has to do in the future to ensure his own safety and the safety of others.

If we took everyone's licence off them after a mistake had been made, there would be NO ONE still flying. Every mistake is potentially one which could lead to endangering someone, but fortunately in most cases the circumstances mean that this does not happen.

Aviation safety improvement only works if there is a 'just' culture, where genuine errors are addressed in a manner where people are not afraid to report things. The 'hang them high' brigade have no place in that culture and are just as much of a danger to aviation safety. If there is negligence or deliberate flouting of the rules, then the law can come in to force. Which is what happened here it seems.

[bookworm]

A tie down is typically a cube of a couple of feet, which will usually kill any third party whom it hits in freefall. Statistically it is likely to fall randomly from an aircraft into an uncongested area. We can be reasonably certain that the pilot did not deliberately flout the law but made a mistake. He paid £1700 in fines and costs.

A motor car is typically a cuboid of several hundred cubic feet, which will often if not usually kill any third party whom it hits at typical speed. Statistically it is more likely to encounter such a third party as such third parties tend to be more densely populated than average close to roads. A driver who deliberately flouts the speed limit can expect a £30 fine.

[Dave Gittins]

Just going on a little bit from what I said earlier ... I read one of the "That Worst Day" things in Flyer the otehr month.

Gist was it was a perfectly OK pilot of mature years in a C172 or such, retired heavy metal driver and such high credentials and but on (or under) whom the nosewheel collapsed during a perfect greaser of a landing.

What had he done wrong ???

Ans = nothing other than use an aeroplane that somebody had previously "wheelbarrowed" but was afraid to own up to.

Cost £1700 not a chance .. engine, prop and front fuselage stripdown and rebuild or replace ... try nearer £10,000.

:}

[GonTek]

Life is harsh and death is fatal.
I see both your points,but the fact is this could have been far worse and only luck has prevented something far worse happening.

Was this person a ppl or worse a commercial pilot and what cost another moment of not paying attention. a couple of hundred people, few million quid in aircraft.....

I am by no means perfect and do walk round twice,but that is to make sure the door is where I left it.

Flak awaited

[bookworm]

but the fact is this could have been far worse and only luck has prevented something far worse happening.

which is a sentiment that could be echoed on almost every road journey undertaken, when a driver does something careless or stupid -- and most of them do every trip. It's neither appropriate nor acceptable to do safety management (and its enforcement) on the basis of perceived risk.

[smith]

An aquaintance of mine actually did it. He is an ATC as well. Said he got distracted in his walkround by someone talking to him (not an excuse). Took off from an uncontrolled field but on landing controller said "whats that hanging from your aircraft?". He said it didn't feel particulary different. I would imagine even a 20ib lump of concrete bouncing along a runway you might feel something and /or even bounce into the hull and cause damage.

From that day he has never flown since. Says he realised he came too close to meeting his maker, to ever go up again.

[snchater]

''Cost £1700 not a chance .. engine, prop and front fuselage stripdown and rebuild or replace ... try nearer £10,000''
I wish!!
Not much change out of £20k for my propstrike :{

[GonTek]

Living involves risk
Minimise it.


£1700 pounds were fine and costs nothing to do with repairs to aircraft.

Bookworm : Opening the car door involves risk as does everything we all undertake on a daily basis,vigilance is less costly than negligance :ugh:

[bookworm]

Bookworm : Opening the car door involves risk as does everything we all undertake on a daily basis,vigilance is less costly than negligance

Yes, and as someone who cycles, I wish more motorists were given 4-digit fines for negligently opening car doors, because in reality the probablity of killing or seriously injuring someone that way is considerably greater than by allowing a concrete block to fall randomly from an aircraft.

[frontlefthamster]

...and just to keep things in balance... :mad:

As someone who drives, I would love to hear of just one cyclist being prosecuted for riding without lights, or doing any of the other hazardous things which seem to the cycling community to be routine, but which although negligent would make no difference to the prosecution of any car driver involved in an accident... :cool:

[bookworm]

but which although negligent would make no difference to the prosecution of any car driver involved in an accident...

Really? That would be disappointing. I would have thought that a cyclist breaking the law by failing to display lights would make it very difficult to prosecute a motorist involved in such an accident unless their behaviour was also negligent.

The only accident I've been involved in was one in which a driver pulled out in front of me from the left and I went over the bonnet, leaving me with a nasty facial injury. It was under street lights, I was wearing a high-vis vest and displaying lights. The driver was not prosecuted (with my agreement) on the basis that a prosecution would serve no significant purpose -- lesson learnt. I doubt our tie-down pilot will make the same mistake again, either, but it seems the ARE has more time on its hands than the CPS.

[davidatter708]

dont even start on bike lioghts cause how many people check their car lights often enough the amount of cars i have seen recently with one head light or brake lights or badly earthed brake lights on normal cars is huge it is a huge hazard please everyone check ur car lights.
David

[GonTek]

On a slightly different track speaking of bikes (I hope you recovered quickly Bookworm) A friend in Edinburgh was parked lights on, well lit street,Cyclist runs in to him. He gets out offers help to cyclist,rings the man's wife and takes him to his home,he gives the man his name and adress and notes the cyclists, and informs his insurance company.
Weeks pass and he recieves a claim for compensation from said cyclist.

Cyclist turns out to be Polish doctor working in local hospital and recieved £1500 in compensation.

Justice ?