Messerschmitt 109 Ground Loops in Berlin

[FireLight]

An Me-109 ground loops at the Berlin Airshow. The right undercarriage folds up, the right wing touches the runway and when the wingtip gets in the grass the plane skids around to a stop. Fortunately the pilot is okay.

Video here: http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2008/05/27/vo.germany.plane.skid.ap

It's a shame to see something like this happen. I hope she's not too badly damaged so she can get back in the air soon.

[aviate1138]

Mmmmm....

The undercarriage collapses, gently, then the ground loop happens. Not the same as losing directional control, ground looping and the u/c collapsing as a result. Pilot was a passenger not the instigator IMHO.

[VfrpilotPB/2]

how sad , however speed seems to have been low enough, just hope they have enough spares hidden in a bunker some place!

Peter R-B

VfrpilotPB/2

[chiglet]

To be [really[ pedanti, it's actually a BF109........
watp,iktch

[Cubs2jets]

I realize that it is hard to really tell, but was the right hand gear fully down and locked? I know the gear is at an angle when fully down and locked, but look closely to the segment before touchdown. Isn't the right gear at a more acute angle than the left?

C2j

[treadigraph]

C2J I got the impression from another forum that the pilot was aware of a problem and carefully tackled the landing accordingly...

He also had to land gear up in a different 109 fresh out of rebuild several weeks ago after a problem manifested itself during a test flight - that rebuild followed a groundloop by another pilot which trashed the aircraft several years ago.

Notwithstanding the propensity to swap ends, the airworthy 109/Buchon population has been plagued by terrible luck over the last year few years.

[Kitbag]

Looking at the footage the right main gear is definitely not locked, it folds up as the aircraft touches down, but I think in response to Aviates comment this pilot did what a pilot should do and worked to minimise the inevitable damage. IMHO he was in no way a passenger here.

[Fareastdriver]

Possibly the undercariage legs were built during the war by skilled slave labour, craftily modified to collapse at the wrong moment.
I remember a book called 'The Fall of Fortesses' where they dug a cannon shell out of a pilot's seat to find it empty with just a note written in Czech, 'This is all we can do'.