Two killed on beach when aircraft makes emergency landing.
The instructor made the radio call saying he was going for the beach and that's what he did.
Looking at the flaps and the way he was aligned in relation to the sea he had no intention of getting his feet wet.
Had he pulled it off then the aircraft could have been flown out or pulled to a safe place to remove the wings.
I suspect they were both arrested as the student has important info for the forthcoming trial.
Looking at the flaps and the way he was aligned in relation to the sea he had no intention of getting his feet wet.
Had he pulled it off then the aircraft could have been flown out or pulled to a safe place to remove the wings.
I suspect they were both arrested as the student has important info for the forthcoming trial.
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Far right of screen, at time :37
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GGNAn2p5BJc
Note: For the non aviation people, wind sheer near the ground can make a big difference to the planned un-powered aircraft touch down point.
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YouTube link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qf0zh8EUJDA
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Yes, but as I said, the Cova do Vapor beach did not have many people on it, so the chances of hurting someone there were much lower. I can't tell from the pictures or reports if he overshot the chosen beach or didn't reach it.
Someone once said and it may have been Yeager or someone else who knew about these things, hearing of the pilot wrestling with the controls to miss the school and the children was total bolo'
You do not see the children and probably not even the school you focus on the spot that will save your own skin.
The only people who should be criticising are the ones who have been in that situation, water landing and a Cessna is not a good option!
You do not see the children and probably not even the school you focus on the spot that will save your own skin.
The only people who should be criticising are the ones who have been in that situation, water landing and a Cessna is not a good option!
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The accident pilot was an instructor. He should know how to execute a forced landing. He should know and apply the concept of FORDEC/DODAR or whatever they call it this year.
And he should be familiar with one of the most basic rules of visual flight, now contained in SERA Europe-wide, but a pillar of every national aviation law before that:
SERA.3101 Negligent or reckless operation of aircraft
An aircraft shall not be operated in a negligent or reckless manner so as to endanger life or property of others.
SERA.3105 Minimum heights
Except when necessary for take-off or landing, or except by permission from the competent authority, aircraft shall not be
flown over the congested areas of cities, towns or settlements or over an open-air assembly of persons, unless at such a
height as will permit, in the event of an emergency arising, a landing to be made without undue hazard to persons or property on the surface.
An aircraft shall not be operated in a negligent or reckless manner so as to endanger life or property of others.
SERA.3105 Minimum heights
Except when necessary for take-off or landing, or except by permission from the competent authority, aircraft shall not be
flown over the congested areas of cities, towns or settlements or over an open-air assembly of persons, unless at such a
height as will permit, in the event of an emergency arising, a landing to be made without undue hazard to persons or property on the surface.
NB: This website here looks at the statistics of known ditching events. As usual, statistics derived from a (luckily) small number of samples are not too reliable, but it holds some surprises, especially ones concerning high-wing aircraft: http://www.equipped.org/ditchingmyths.htm
Slightly puzzled having looked at the video; that appears to be a downwind landing. At what height did the engine failure happen ? - to my thinking unless it was at very low height, attempting a downwind landing seems odd, unless the beach is far too crowded or stops to the upwind side.
An unusually nose high attitude too, though the aircraft had not touched down by the time it went out of sight.
I was always told that if any chance & control existed we should ensure our accidents don't involve other folk; that was part of the risk we took. Sadly it looks very much from that short piece of video as if the pilot thought he saw a safe spot which in fact didn't exist. (Or possibly overshot, as someone else said. Easy to do if attempting downwind.)
It all smacks just a bit of panic, not the cool thinking we'd all like to believe in and hope we'd be capable of.
A very sad event.
An unusually nose high attitude too, though the aircraft had not touched down by the time it went out of sight.
I was always told that if any chance & control existed we should ensure our accidents don't involve other folk; that was part of the risk we took. Sadly it looks very much from that short piece of video as if the pilot thought he saw a safe spot which in fact didn't exist. (Or possibly overshot, as someone else said. Easy to do if attempting downwind.)
It all smacks just a bit of panic, not the cool thinking we'd all like to believe in and hope we'd be capable of.
A very sad event.
Last edited by biscuit74; 6th Aug 2017 at 16:19. Reason: Add overshoot comment
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If you look on the map, there is a lot of sea and river. If he was over water trying to make land, he may not have been able to turn into wind because that would have taken him back over deep water. I also know from the few times that I have had to land with a significant tail wind component, touching down at a precise point in a confined space would be impossible.
Someone once said and it may have been Yeager or someone else who knew about these things, hearing of the pilot wrestling with the controls to miss the school and the children was total bolo'
You do not see the children and probably not even the school you focus on the spot that will save your own skin.
The only people who should be criticising are the ones who have been in that situation, water landing and a Cessna is not a good option!
You do not see the children and probably not even the school you focus on the spot that will save your own skin.
The only people who should be criticising are the ones who have been in that situation, water landing and a Cessna is not a good option!
As a committed low wing pilot of over 35 years experience that is one reason I have very low hours on Cessna's.
The odds are the instructor knew the fuselage would be submerged and escape would be a challenge.Once out of the door then it is a clamber under the wing to get to the surface.
As I have mentioned before ditching in the sea would also have destroyed the airframe.
You can make your own mind up.
Damned if yer do and damned if ya don't. If the pilot in command (PIC) had landed out in the ocean as some have suggested and the pax/student were killed then the PIC would be blamed for not using the clear bit of beach available - which were apparently what he aimed for though missed.
I wonder how much engine off performance training the PIC received or was required to receive. On many light aircraft a windmilling prop gives a speed brake effect where-as a stopped prop gives better glide. None of my 'forced' glider landing experience has been in a 150 type aircraft so i carn't opinion on this incident.
Nice to have an accident report to consider first...
Anyway, here's a drone shot of apparently the same beach: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sCFGks46IPU
Note at time 1:10 the hard to see people walking the beach. The drone is almost on top of them before they are identifiable as people.
At time 1:56 note the many beach umbrellas. Relavence is the pilot in command may be used to seeing from the air a large number of beach brollies that have few to no people around.
At time 2:50 note the sand 'island' just off the beach. Much the same is visible in the actual aircraft approach vid and is likely similar to the pilot view of approach.
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I wonder how much engine off performance training the PIC received or was required to receive. On many light aircraft a windmilling prop gives a speed brake effect where-as a stopped prop gives better glide. None of my 'forced' glider landing experience has been in a 150 type aircraft so i carn't opinion on this incident.
Nice to have an accident report to consider first...
Anyway, here's a drone shot of apparently the same beach: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sCFGks46IPU
Note at time 1:10 the hard to see people walking the beach. The drone is almost on top of them before they are identifiable as people.
At time 1:56 note the many beach umbrellas. Relavence is the pilot in command may be used to seeing from the air a large number of beach brollies that have few to no people around.
At time 2:50 note the sand 'island' just off the beach. Much the same is visible in the actual aircraft approach vid and is likely similar to the pilot view of approach.
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If there are grounds for criminal liability for the tragic deaths, then you can bet your bottom dollar a prosecution will follow.
As a former lawyer and flying instructor I would rather die myself than risk killing innocent members of the public. I justify this stance both ethically/morally and from a criminal liability standpoint.
As a former lawyer and flying instructor I would rather die myself than risk killing innocent members of the public. I justify this stance both ethically/morally and from a criminal liability standpoint.
There are many posts on this thread that I find quite disturbing. Unless we know the cues and information presented to and recognised by the crew then we cannot decide upon the possible courses of action that were available to them and, with hindsight, consider which was the best course that they should have taken. If their course of action was not what retrospectively was considered to be the one that would have had the best outcome then we would then need to try to ascertain why they took the course of action that they did. There will be many potential human factors considerations that may exonerate the crew totally. At the other end of the spectrum the actions that they took could have been reckless and constitute manslaughter. Both pilots are still alive and could give witness statements. However, to understand the reality of their actions such statements must not be admissible as self-incriminating documents.
In situations such as this workload is very high and spare capacity for assessing external cues and decision making is reduced. I find it very scary that so many who have posted on here are judge and jury and, frankly, appear to have very little understanding of human performance and limitations with respect to operating aircraft.
In situations such as this workload is very high and spare capacity for assessing external cues and decision making is reduced. I find it very scary that so many who have posted on here are judge and jury and, frankly, appear to have very little understanding of human performance and limitations with respect to operating aircraft.
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We are not talking here about some low-time PPL holder who flies once every two months. This would make it a lot easier to understand those human limitations. Instead we talk about an "experienced" (as the media reported) instructor who is based locally. And no, repeating your sentence, in this respect I have no understanding for the kind of human performance limitations shown here.
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[QUOTE=Crosswind Limits;9853614]If there are grounds for criminal liability for the tragic deaths, then you can bet your bottom dollar a prosecution will follow.
.[/QUOTe
Following prosecutions have a habit of being derailed over there. Dépends on the interest. One of the really bad ones was the death of some children in a water park.
I lived there from '75 to '04 and I hope the law has tidied up a bit...It tended to favour the better off.
.[/QUOTe
Following prosecutions have a habit of being derailed over there. Dépends on the interest. One of the really bad ones was the death of some children in a water park.
I lived there from '75 to '04 and I hope the law has tidied up a bit...It tended to favour the better off.
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No. You can't sacrifice any number of uninvolved persons in order to save those onboard, no matter how many there are. They climbed on board an aeroplane knowing there is a risk involved. That was their decision alone and they alone must bear the consequences. Not sunbathers on the beach.
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"what next" - So what about the Student pilot? Wasn't he also innocent?
We know nothing about this case yet, was this maybe the Students first flights? Who knows. But he was in the care of the PIC too.
Nobody deliberately lands wanting to kill someone.
I have had similar discussion regarding similar situation during night flight with SEP, if people would try to land on a motorway instead of into a black hole in the ground.
Not all are born Kamikaze pilots, most people have a survival instinct, and aim is to survive for all.
Video shows pitch on aircraft was pretty high, so they would not have had good vision ahead.
We don't know exactly what happen, if people was unlucky when they tried moving away, and they was at the wrong place at the wrong time, tragic I agree. In aviation we sometimes will be faced with difficult situations, with little time to decide what to do, and maybe plan A did not work out, plan B or Plan C, might not have been ideal, as people got killed.
What would people have said if Captain Sully had hit a boat as he tried landing in the Hudson? Once he committed there was a chance something unexpected could have happen, he could not have worked out all scenarios.
Or had the aircraft broken up and people died, people would have said he should have tried returning to the runway.
We know nothing about this case yet, was this maybe the Students first flights? Who knows. But he was in the care of the PIC too.
Nobody deliberately lands wanting to kill someone.
I have had similar discussion regarding similar situation during night flight with SEP, if people would try to land on a motorway instead of into a black hole in the ground.
Not all are born Kamikaze pilots, most people have a survival instinct, and aim is to survive for all.
Video shows pitch on aircraft was pretty high, so they would not have had good vision ahead.
We don't know exactly what happen, if people was unlucky when they tried moving away, and they was at the wrong place at the wrong time, tragic I agree. In aviation we sometimes will be faced with difficult situations, with little time to decide what to do, and maybe plan A did not work out, plan B or Plan C, might not have been ideal, as people got killed.
What would people have said if Captain Sully had hit a boat as he tried landing in the Hudson? Once he committed there was a chance something unexpected could have happen, he could not have worked out all scenarios.
Or had the aircraft broken up and people died, people would have said he should have tried returning to the runway.
