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Old 6th Sep 2015, 09:18
  #516 (permalink)  
notapilotbut
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: shoreham
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Realising exit height too low?

I don't think anyone has yet mentioned how well the pilot knew the terrain before flying it? The A27 road bridge runs across the Adur river around 70 feet above it at the point of the crash, the hills of the downs at around 280 feet are to the east and the west with the pinnacle of the Lancing College church adding to the height, 3 bridges cross the river including that of the A27. Downdrafts or curl over from the hills would need to be considered, lack of buoyancy from air at up to 29c on that day, ese breeze at about 12mph. It's a complex picture without trying to fly upside down and in the seconds he had to consider how to recover, there simply wasn't enough time having initiated the manouevre very low. He may have been at 200 feet asl, but that leaves him only around 130 feet at a guess between him and the road at the point at which he initiated the climb.
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