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Old 17th Jun 2013, 21:32
  #28 (permalink)  
strake
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: South of France
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Coventry, November 1989. A PA28-180 suffered EFATO at 70ft. The pilot managed to get the aircraft down to the runway but was going too fast to stop. The aircraft went over the peri track, through the fence and across the main road coming to rest in a ditch. Eventually the two occupants managed to get out because the fuselage (the wings had been ripped off by the fence posts) was lying on the pilots side. Had it been lying the other way and the wings (replete with fuel) remained on - who knows..?
I used to own that aircraft as part of a group (before the accident) and when I looked at the wreck, decided that while I might fly a PA28 again, I wouldn't take my loved ones with me in one.
The math is very simple. If you do have a potentially survivable accident, your chances of escape from a heavy impact are 50% less than a two door a/c. So why risk it with the plethora of other types available?
And to those who think kicking a window out is a possible option - well maybe it possibly is but take a look at some images of medium impact crashed light a/c. In most cases, crawling out of the wreckage is the only option.
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