Ditching in Irish Sea. Pilot Rescued

[dublinpilot]

A light aircraft ditched in the Irish Sea today off the Wexford coast. Pilot has been rescued (no one else on board.)

RTÉ News: Man ditches plane off Wexford coast (http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0811/wexford.html)

pilot has been airlifted to safety after his two-man aircraft crashed into the sea of Co Wexford.

The light aircraft, believed to have been flown from England, went down shortly before 5pm.

The pilot, the only person on board, was winched to safety by a rescue helicopter after he was spotted on the wing of the Avid Speedwing single-engine aircraft.

It is understood he was suffering from shock and hypothermia.

The Department of Transport said the alarm was raised by someone who saw the plane ditch into the sea near Tuskar Rock.

'The pilot's injuries are not life-threatening,' said a spokeswoman.

'He was safely winched off the aircraft at around 5.25pm this evening.

'He was met by an ambulance at Waterford Airport and transferred to hospital.'

It is believed that the man was flying from west Haverford in England to Wellington Bridge in Wexford.

The wreckage was secured by coastguard crews and towed in to Rosslare Harbour.

The Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) said two inspectors were sent to the scene to examine the aircraft and determine the cause of the crash.

'We don't have any idea yet why it crashed,' said a spokesman.

[dublinpilot]

Some interesting footage here. (http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0811/9news_av.html?2593027,null,230)

Higher quality here, but with this one you'll have to skip to 12:22 or so. (http://www.rte.ie/player/#v=1053506)

[IO540]

We're sorry but RTÉ player is currently only available to viewers in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

........................ :)

[stickandrudderman]

Lucky, lucky man!

[Mariner9]

Or unlucky man depending on your point of view ;)

[Molesworth 1]

'We don't have any idea yet why it crashed,' said a spokesman.


Surprising, especially as the pilot is alive and apparently reasonably well, and the only possible reasons I can think of are engine failure or fuel exhaustion.

Other reasons?

Pilot fell asleep? ran into a flock of seagulls? flew too low and hit a rock? High flying dolphin?

[UV]

Comprehensively covered tonight on Channel 5 news. Videoed from guys rowing around the UK, who he ditched next to. Was standing on what was left of his Avid.
Then winched into SAR helo.
Not even wearing a life jacket from what I could see ....:ugh:
UV

[jamestkirk]

glad he is ok. but i saw no evidence of a life jacket. if true then he was VERY lucky.

i cannot wait for someone to come back at me saying a life jacket over water really is'nt needed or the irish sea is a tranquil pond. there must be one of you out there.

[Keygrip]

james - I'd be pleased to help.

a life jacket over water really is'nt needed or the irish sea is a tranquil pond

[jamestkirk]

you should have emphasised the is (a tranquil pond) so there is no confusion.:)

[Captain-Random]

BBC NEWS | UK | Pilot airlifted from sea after crash (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8196551.stm)

showing the airlift and it looks like he is wearing a life jacket

[Hyph]

I was really quite shocked by this news story.

RTÉ News: It is believed that the man was flying from west Haverford in England to Wellington Bridge in Wexford.

Where in where? :\

[jollyrog]

That's OK. I think England owns Wales.

[jollyrog]

I've been to West Haverford/Haverfordwest recently.

Lovely aerodrome. They made me tea because the cafe was closed. Fuel was cheap too.

Good place to go.

[RatherBeFlying]

Kudos to the Avid Speedwing designer and the builder for a plane that floats:ok:

The Grumman Yankee, Cheetah and Tiger are other good examples.

Makes it a whole bunch easier for the SAR folks as well as for the occupants.

It sure beats dragging out a raft, inflating it, hoping it doesn't blow away and the boarding the thing from the water.

[IO540]

He was very lucky.

Does this type of plane float naturally?

[Molesworth 1]

Interesting story in The Times

British Orchid oarsmen hailed as heroes after saving pilot John O’Shaughnessy (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6793919.ece)

[Mariner9]

Does this type of plane float naturally?

Apparently so. My Pioneer 300 will float too (so I'm told by Alpi following a couple of ditchings in the Med).

Hopefully, I'll never get to test the theory though.

[corsair]

The Grumman Yankee, Cheetah and Tiger are other good examples.
I remember one overruning a runway and 'plunging':uhoh: into a river. It floated downstream until hitting a bridge, whereupon the pilot, who I know, disembarked barely getting his feet wet. They are floaters.

I was amused by the some of the comments in the Times article bemoaning the waste of the British taxpayers money in rescuing him and the rowers previously. In fact it was the Irish taxpayers money that was wasted and the RNLI is not funded by the taxpayers of either juristiction.

[Rod1]

There was a case of a Robin DR400 which was ditched in a Norwegian fiord. The occupants sat on the back and were rescued by a fishing boat which then towed the aircraft back to port and it was manhandled out of the water to eventually fly again. In all it stayed up for 2 hours, but it did have empty fuel tanks…

I would be very wary of assuming any type of aircraft will float. It must depend on a lot of factors like sea state, fuel, the amount of damage, etc. All the PA28’s that I know about have all sunk, if that is any indication of one to avoid, especially as it only has one door.

Rod1

[IO540]

I think that if one takes the empty weight in kg, and compares it with the only possible sealed buyoant volume which is the fuel tank volume in litres (assuming empty tanks which is often the case ;) ) one will find that most metal types will sink - by a big margin.

For example the TB20 has an empty weight of ~900kg and the tank volume is about 320 litres (and these are BIG tanks) so it is about 580 litres short of being able to float.

[Mariner9]

I'm suspect the upper wing and tailplane surfaces of most a/c would have numerous trapped air pockets that would provide sufficient buoyancy, for a while at least.

[IO540]

For a few minutes, yes.

[dublinpilot]

Looking at the video linked above, why didn't he just get into the boat? Why wait for the ASR?

[liam548]

I wonder if he did indeed have a lifejacket on or not. Does not look like it from the video.
How anyone can fly over water without wearing one is beyond me.

Wonder if he had an ELT too? Good job the lads were there and able to get to him to report the position, if he didnt have an ELT/lifejacket and a sinking plane things could have been very different.

[ronnie3585]

http://i491.photobucket.com/albums/rr278/hugoj_air/G-BTMScrash100.jpg

Doesn't look like he was wearing either immersion suit or a lifejacket.:ugh: