Happy Ending!

[Crapaud]

A happy landing at last! A Europa enroute JER to EXT, with 2 SOB on board, experienced oil pressure loss whilst about 7 mls from Sark this afternoon. Pilot set course for Sark, which was the nearest land, but had total engine failure almost immediately. The Europa managed to reach Little Sark where it force landed in a field near the local hotel. Aircraft extensively damaged but pilot and passenger were able to evacuate and were unhurt but obviously shocked.

Good news for a change. :) :) :)

Crapaud

[wysiwyg]

Typical Jerseyman dumping his rubbish on the Sarnian bailiwick!!!!! :D :D :D

regards
wizzy
former resident of donkey land!

PS I always assumed it was spelt Crappo!

[ 14 October 2001: Message edited by: wysiwyg ]

[ShyTorque]

Crapaud,

Thank goodness for a safe outcome but what have these poor guys ever done to you?

To call them 2 SOBs is a bit harsh in the circumstances :D

ShyT

[poetpilot]

I think he may have meant Souls On Board.
That's how I took it anyway.

[Genghis the Engineer]

Bear witness all ye who think single engine IFR is a good thing!

G

[ShyTorque]

Er, Poetpilot,

Yes, he probably did....but in that case he said Souls On Board on board.

Because he said it twice, I just made a little joke about a possible alternative meaning i.e. Sons of Bitches on board.

Oh well, there's another little ripsnorter I'd best not put in these crackers I'm making for Christmas. :rolleyes:

I'll just sell it to Terry Wogan instead, tee hee.

ShyT :D

[Guern]

Full story here.
http://www.thisisguernsey.co.uk/news/news2.html

A TWO-SEATER plane crash-landed on Little Sark on Saturday. Its occupants escaped unhurt.

Paul and Mary Aston were en route from Jersey to Exeter when, shortly before 4pm, they smelt burning then the engine of their Europa cut out.
Air Traffic Control told them to head for Guernsey, but they knew they would not make it.
They decided instead to land on Sark, which does not have an airfield. Both have private pilot’s licences, but Mr Aston was flying the aircraft at the time.
He was able to set the plane down in a field near La Sablonnerie Hotel, where it crashed into a hedge.
Although shocked, neither lost consciousness in the impact and did not need medical assistance.
Mrs Aston said that all pilots were trained to cope in the event of such an emergency.
‘We knew what was happening and we talked it through,’ she said.
‘We knew we had a better chance of survival if we brought her down on land. At the speed we were travelling the plane would probably have gone nose down if we had ditched in the sea and we might not have got out.’ She added that the incident would not put her off flying again.
From the time the engine stopped the couple, who live in South Devon, had three or four minutes to set the aircraft up for a crash landing.
First on the scene was farmer Philip Perree, who owns the field. He had been digging potatoes in the next field.
‘I saw that its propeller wasn’t working when it flew over and I realised it was going to come down,’ he said.
Mr Perree’s wife notified the emergency services and he went to give assistance.
Sark’s Fire Brigade and Constables were called out and it is understood that the incident will be investigated by the Air Accident Investigation Branch of the Civil Aviation Authority.
It was only the second time in living memory that a plane has come down on the island. The last time was in 1942 during the Second World War.

[wysiwyg]

Genghis, if I get me a Lazair and a set of instruments from some dodgy geezer will you approve it for IFR? Go on, pleeeeeease!

[wysiwyg]

Sark’s Fire Brigade and Constables were called out...

Please somebody tell me what the Sark Fire brigade consists of these days. I can't help but think it must be one of those units pumped by 2 people working in opposition on either side and pulled along by an ox!!!

regards
wizzy
:D

[Fuji Abound]

Genghis - I am a bit confused out of interest why the flight was IFR in Jersey zone and indeed whether it was in IMC conditions. IMC is not permitted in a homebuilt, albeit maybe they were caught out by the weather. I am also not sure what difference being IFR and IMC over the sea makes on a single engine compared with VMC - in either situation there is only one way down and the surface is likely to be damp and at or about sea level with not to many obstacles in the way - always presupposing the cloud base is reasonable to set up into wind or across swell. In this case thank God everyone was OK and that Sark was in the right place.

[ 19 October 2001: Message edited by: Fuji Abound ]

[wysiwyg]

As the Europa is a homebuilt it is a requirement of its permit to fly to maintain VFR, so presumably they were the conditions at the time. However the weather can catch you out very quickly in the islands.

wizzy

[poetpilot]

Apologies for temporary humour failure Shy T.... (or was it just lack of lookout?)

What a silly RSOB I yam :o