Body of Pilot found in Tennesse

[Blind Squirrel]

...inadvertent negative G manoeuvre?


Body of student pilot who fell from small plane is found (http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/30/body-fell-plane-found/2038495/)

[flyawaybird]

Sad News
It was reported on USA Today that a Pilot Student fell 2500 feet when his Zodiac 601 nose dived and canopy opened. The Pilot did not have a seat belt on. The Victim fell 2500 feet to his death. The body was found in Tennesse, in a line of trees.

Apparently he had purchased this particular aircraft and was learning how to fly it.

Very very sad indeed.:sad:

[27/09]

I'm surprised these aircraft aren't grounded, they have horrible handling characteristics. In my opinion certainly not an aircraft for a student pilot

[patowalker]

He wasn't flying it on his own, there was an instructor on board.

['Chuffer' Dandridge]

Am I missing something, or does not wearing a seatbelt and then falling out of an aeroplane to your death indicate a lack of intelligence? A special commendation to the 'Instructor' who should check these things..

That's why aeroplanes have harnesses:rolleyes:

[Squeegee Longtail]

"Am I missing something, or does not wearing a seatbelt and then falling out of an aeroplane to your death indicate a lack of intelligence?

That's why aeroplanes have harnesses"

I am guessing the descent from 2,500 ft is long enough for the poor guy to have been contemplating that!!

[sharpend]

Oh dear! Then my Uncle Derek was rather dull then:

Apparently my uncle was a boisterous young man (bit like me really when I was young!). It was these high spirits that led to an almost unbelievable incident in Feb 1942. On a training flight in a two-seater Stearman bi-plane, the plane suffered negative G. Having forgotten to fasten his seat belt, this catapulted my uncle out of the plane and high into the sky, many hundreds of feet above the ground. He flailed in the air for a few horrifying seconds and then started to plunge towards Mother Earth.

But by some amazing chance, he landed on the aeroplane’s tail!

As he clung on for dear life, his horrified instructor signalled my uncle to jump off. Unfortunately our wretched student was not wearing a parachute and thus the instructor was forced to make an emergency landing with Derek Sharp Senior clinging to the rear of the aircraft for his dear life.

This is a true story!

[mary meagher]

Several interesting points in the article; the INSTRUCTOR wasn't wearing a seatbelt either......

The builder of the Zodiac, 82 year old (!!!!!!) Clarence Andrews, was killed in December in a different plane - wonder if he built that one as well?

Harriet Quimby, as some of you may recall, was giving a joy ride to the Mayor of Boston over Boston Harbor; he was quite heavybuilt, and no doubt they were out of balance - tipped out of the aircraft, they died when they hit the water in front of a large crowd. Seatbelts unheard of back in those days.

Harriet hoped to win fame by flying across the Channel to France in a Blierot monoplane; but unfortunatly the Titanic sank that night, and grabbed all the headlines....

[fernytickles]

Has anyone looked at the Zodiac forums?

Canopy opening in flight is apparently not an unheard-of issue. When it has happened before the nose pitched down about 60'.Lets say that happened in this situation, it's opens up to 70', he unlatches his seatbelt to reach up & grab it etc, etc, etc.

Just horrible, poor folks :(

[Pilot DAR]

I participated in initial flight testing of the first Zenair 601. I was unimpressed. That airplane, while being flown by my colleague to an aviation event, completely lost it's canopy (which is also the windshield). He landed without it.

I can't imagine why flying with no seatbelt, but I sure can imagine loosing the canopy on one of those, an a resulting loss of control!

[flyawaybird]

Mary Meagher

I am not sure whether Clarence built Zodiac CH 601, although it is said that Chris Heintz designed the original Zodiac.:confused:
And yes, Clarence Andrews died in an airplane he had built, Cassutt was the name.
In his Eulogy, it was stated that he was an accomplished pilot and aircraft builder. He built two airplanes and that he was a successful Mechanical Engineer who graduated from Auburn and also worked with US Air Force from 1951 to 1955 as a crewman, where he developed his love for flying.

[flyawaybird]

27/09

Shouldn't this type of airplane with a canopy be flow by aircrew? Just asking, because often in the Media one hears, an airforce guy ejected from his plane before the pane crashed.:confused:

[smarthawke]

Some of the pictures of the aircraft after the event show a forward hinged canopy still attached although damaged along its back edge....

Authorities search for flight student thrown from an experimental airplane because his seat belt wasn't fastened - USA-UK News Online (http://www.usaukonline.com/latest-news/9127-authorities-search-for-flight-student-thrown-from-an-experimental-airplane-because-his-seat-belt-wasn-t-fastened.html)

[patowalker]

The builder of the Zodiac, 82 year old (!!!!!!)

He was 78 years young when he finished it.

FAA Registry - Aircraft - N-Number Inquiry (http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=999NA)

That would have been one frisky steed with a Jab 3300 up front.

[Maoraigh1]

NTSB report: ERA13LA183 (http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief.aspx?ev_id=20130330X85743&key=1)

I can understand how easy this could be.

[patowalker]

These aircraft can be flown safely with an open canopy, if you follow the instructions in the POH, basically "slow down and don't attempt to close it".

Here is a video of what happens in a SportCruiser, similar to to Zenair CH601. I know how similar they are, because I built one of each.

Canopy Open During Flight - YouTube