Forced landing somewhere in the Midlands?

[AerBabe]

Just caught the end of a story on the local news. There was a v-tail aircraft (Beech Bonanza?) on the beach, and someone (the pax?) saying there had been a bang, and oil was all over the windscreen. Does anyone know what happened? Was everyone okay?

[Keef]

A Bonanza out of Shoreham, catastrophic engine failure followed by forced landing on the beach.

The Press, of course, say it was a "crash landing" but I bet it wasn't!

[Final 3 Greens]

Well done that pilot

[foghorn]

Spoke to a Worthing resident - he says that the aircraft looked fully intact - hope everyone is OK, and well done that pilot!

foggy.

[enq]

Crashed plane to be removed

A plane that crash landed on a beach in Worthing will be removed later today. Three people miraculously escaped injury after the pilot managed to bring the plane down safely - a mile west of Worthing Pier. The aircraft developed engine problems soon after take-off and smoke billowed from the cockpit - and the pilot had no option but to land it on the beach.

--> Not exactly a "miracle" in my book but obviously a very good job by the pilot. Regards all. Enq.

[sennadog]

Well done to the pilot! I was doing PFLs yesterday and I hope that I never have to do the real thing - sounds like a good bit of flying to me.

[FlyingForFun]

A forced landing on a beach doesn't sound too hard - undershoot or overshoot and, well, you land on a different part of the beach! :D

Ok, seriously, well done to the pilot - I hope I never have to contend with "smoke billowing from the cockpit," and I know there's no such thing as "easy" under that kind of pressure.

Actually found a very small article on this in The Sun yesterday - the editor seemed to think that playing with the idea of a Beech landing on a beach was more important than any details about what actually happened. :rolleyes:

FFF
---------------

[Who has control?]

The pilot did very well. From what I can remember about the beach at Shoreham, its quite a steep shingle bank, but there are groynes at about 5Oyd intervals running down to the water. Each groyne consists of a line of posts about 1 foot square supporting large planks. The build up of shingle against the groynes can be maybe 3 feet, so hitting one of them can make your eyes water.

Wasn't there another incident within the last 2-3 years of a Piper????? forcelanding on Shoreham beach? Or is my memory playing me up again?

[BRL]

This from the local paper, The Evening Argus.

How safe is this airport?
by Lynn Daly


Sunday's crash - the third in a year on Sussex beaches


The plane which ditched on Worthing beach at the weekend was the seventh to come down flying into or out of Shoreham in just over six years.

For the beachcombers enjoying the burst of spring sunshine, it was a heart-stopping moment.

One minute they were relishing a peaceful stroll. The next a light aircraft came spluttering through the clouds, heading straight for the shoreline.

The scene, reminiscent of a movie, has been replayed three times in Sussex in the last year.

On Sunday, pilot Christopher Linton battled to steer his single-engine aircraft clear of crowds after the engine exploded at 2,000ft.

Miraculously, Mr Linton managed to avoid the afternoon sunbathers and made a bumpy but otherwise safe landing on the pebbles at Worthing.

But this latest drama has raised questions about the safety of planes flying into and out of Shoreham airport.

Two other planes have crash-landed on beaches, one ditched into the sea near Hove Lagoon and one hit a house in Shoreham. The others came down in fields near the airport.

Despite the recent spate of accidents, Shoreham insists its safety record is top flight.

Manager John Haffenden said its safety record was comparable with similar airports in the UK.

He said: "We have an average of 70-75,000 movements a year and we have had probably five to six incidents in five to six years. That's one for every 75,000 movements and I'd say that's not bad."

Mr Haffenden said although the sight of a plane landing on a beach was dramatic, it was exactly the right thing to do.

"Pilots are trained for just this eventuality - the unusual incident. If they suffer catastrophic engine failure, as Sunday's plane did, they have to put the aircraft down in the safest possible place.

"If they put down in the sea, it is like slamming the plane into a concrete wall. It comes to a dead stop or it could turn over.

"Shingle on a beach acts like sand at the bottom of a hill for a car - it slows it down.

"Pilots will always look for a stretch of land or beach where there are no or few people and try to bring the plane down in the safest way possible."

Last April, Donald Campbell's light plane dropped out of the sky and on to the home of Helen Monahan in West Street, Shoreham.

She had left only minutes earlier to collect her children from school.

Mr Haffenden said: "In this case, the pilot was not aiming for the houses. He was trying to get to an open space beyond but the wing clipped the house and took the roof off."

He said injuries were unusual in the majority of incidents of this kind, and that the number of accidents compared favourably with road crash figures.

He said: "I can assure people we have a very robust safety management system at Shoreham."

David Learmount, operations and safety editor of Flight International magazine, said most light aircraft were single-engine planes.

He said: "Because of the careful checks pilots and engineers do, and the design of the engines themselves, engine failures are rare. But the thing every pilot dreads is having failure when he is too far away to glide back to an airfield.

"In that situation the drill is to find somewhere flat, wide and clear and put the plane down so as not to harm a soul, including the pilot. Beaches fit the bill entirely."

Mr Learmount said a new era of quieter, more reliable light aeroplane engines was beginning.

However, such reassurances do little to calm the nerves of people living around the airport.

Kathlyn Simmons who lives at Willowbrook Park, Lancing, said living in the flight path was "nerve-wracking".

She added: "On a bad day, at the weekends, a plane goes over about every minute between 10am and 7pm.

"Apart from the noise, it is very worrying. We've had three planes come down now in the last 14 months. It's getting a bit much and they are too close for comfort.

"If they came down here, these houses are made of timber and they would split apart like matchsticks."

Mrs Simmons and her neighbours have written to MP Tim Loughton and Mr Haffenden asking them to move the flight path away from their homes.

http://www.thisisbrightonandhove.co.uk/brighton__hove/images/planecrash.jpg

For the beachcombers enjoying the burst of spring sunshine, it was a heart-stopping moment. One minute they were relishing a peaceful stroll. The next a light aircraft came spluttering through the clouds, heading straight for the shoreline Note: It was a clear day as stated above, the beachconbers enjoying the burst of spring sunshine......so where did these clouds suddenly come from then? the jurnos head bt the looks it.Kathlyn Simmons who lives at Willowbrook Park, Lancing, said living in the flight path was "nerve-wracking". The others came down in fields near the airport Lancing has fields to one side. NIMBYism at its worst. :mad: :mad:

[FNG]

Well done, pilot bloke. One question for Aerbabe re the thread title: where are the beaches in the Midlands?

[AerBabe]

We have a few round some of the reservoirs.... :)

[Skylark4]

Well done Christopher Linton.
From the picture, it would appear that Mr Linton approached from the sea at right angles to the shoreline thus giving a rather short landing area. No doubt the shingle bank he has stopped on will have stopped him pretty smartly but as there is no apparrent damade to the u/c. he must have been pretty well stopped by the time he got there. Power pilots are not used to landing without engine power and few have ever tried a PFL with the engine actually stopped. I think he did an excellent job. Once again, well done Christopher Linton.

Mike W

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

Now that - gentlemen - is an excellent forced landing. I don't envy those conditions or that aircraft one bit.

Round of applause.

WWW

[LowNSlow]

Was the tide out at the time? From the pic it looks like he landed on the sand and rolled onto the shingle given that the flaps are down and (apparently) undamaged. I would assume that if he had gone across the shingle the undercarriage and the flaps would look a trifle more tattered :eek:

Good driving Mr. Linton to walk away from an incident like this is great. To leave an aircraft that has suffered minimal damage over and above what caused the unscheduled stop is a big bonus :D

[matspart3]

Very impressive! The remarkable feat of airmanship sadly overlooked by the local rag's report which chose to concentrate on how dangerous little aeroplanes are!

Mrs Simmons and her neighbours have written to MP Tim Loughton and Mr Haffenden asking them to move the flight path away from their homes.

I hope Mr Haffenden and MP Tim Loughton write back and ask Mrs Simmons and her neighbours to move:D

[knobbygb]

Well done Mr Linton - food for thought for us trainees.

OK - plenty of the usual sensationalism in the newspaper article, but at least she took the time to talk to someone who knew the score, and actually managed to put several paragraphs of common sense facts in there as well! Thanks must go to Mr Haffenden for standing up for GA - it's a good job someone does!

Having said that - it's the first time I've actually seen the reality of the situation explained to the public - these facts are usually ignored by the journalist. She'll never get a job with a major national rag until she sorts herself out and concentrates on the hype...

[twistedenginestarter]

Mr Learmount said a new era of quieter, more reliable light aeroplane engines was beginning.

Well that's good news. Top bloke that Learmount fellow.

(ps what the hell is he talking about?)

[Skylark4]

There can`t be too many Haffendens around and when I used to work at marshalling through the Rally, a John Haffenden was a, and possibly the chief, Air Trafficcer.

Mike W

[cblinton@blueyonder.]

Thankyou to all who have congratulated me.
I am the pilot of the B 35 Bonanza forced to land on Worthing beach.
It was a great shame as I have only owned the aircraft for five weeks.
I am relieved it wasn't my woman and child that were passengers as it would probably have put them off for life.

It was a nasty experience especially the avoidance of the people on the ground.

[Fujiflyer]

cblinton@blueyonder

Well done for the obvious! :D

Is there much damage? Presumably the engine needs replacing now. I understand Jade are doing the work (they look after our Fuji 200).

Hope I could handle the situation as well, if it happened to me,


Fujiflyer

[cblinton@blueyonder.]

Yes Jade are doing the work.
There is substantial damage to the under carriage and wing.
Thanks again.

[Skylark4]

Mr Linton
Once again, well done.
Now give us the full story. Don`t be shy.
Sorry to hear that the a/c was damaged but then, that`s why we pay insurance.

Mike W

[LowNSlow]

Well done Mr. Linton. Shame about the damage but at least;

a) You all walked away from it.
b) It's repairable.

Hope you're flying the Beech ASAP and that this acci/incident hasn't put you off.

I for one would appreciate learning from your experience if you would care to describe it here.

If any journo types read it it may help them realise that we aren't risk taking thrill seekers. Like they'd publish that. Mmm

"Pilots discovered to be sensible people after all."

Now there's a headline to grab the attention :D

[BRL]

Hi cblinton@blueyonder and welcome to PPRuNe. :)

Well done for getting down in one piece. I live just along the coast from there and know how hard that must have been for you as well as being scary heading towards people sunbathing. You done a good job there. I agree with the other posters here about you telling us how it all happened, that would be very interesting indeed. Well done once again.

[cblinton@blueyonder.]

Well here goes.
After a night in france we flew back on Sunday and stopped at Shoreham due to low cloud base.
Took off to route back to Kemble 60 secs airborne BANG followed by oil over the canopy and smoke filling the cabin.
Mayday call was made which worked incredibley well as the emergency services were on the scene very quickly.
After opening the door to clear smoke from the cabin a quick decision had to be made whether to go for the sea or the beach.
I spotted a gap in people further down the coast so selected gear down and full flaps. Then turned off electrics etc.
As we approached a few people were in the spot that I had intended to be on the touch down point. I managed to prolong the glide and dump it down just before a Shingle mover (JCB)
We evacuated the aircraft and to what seems like seconds the Firecrew were on the scene.
Here is the link to our website where you can view photos etc.
Regards to all C L
http://uk.geocities.com/gatsrsyndicate

[cblinton@blueyonder.]

Unfortunatley due to costs of new engine and other faults that have cropped up not covered by insurance we might have to srap G-ATSR and take an insurance payout.
We will be looking at purchasing another Bonanza.
We will be looking for 2 new syndicate members. Anyone interested? To be based at Kemble:) :confused:

[sennadog]

Not interested in the Flight Syndicate due to location but a massive well done in getting down like that. Very impressive.:)

[cblinton@blueyonder.]

Thanks sennadog !!

[Grim Reaper 14]

Can add no more praise than has already been (deservedly) heaped on your shoulders, but I just wanted to join in congratulating you. Absolutely fantastic effort!

Did it seem to take forever, or was it over in a flash?

[knobbygb]

AAIB report here (http://www.aaib.dft.gov.uk/bulletin/apr03/gatsr.htm) . Well done again.

[GATSR Survivor]

As brother of the pilot (Chris Linton), and even after all this time (nearly a year ago now), I still thank my lucky stars that he handled an extremely tricky crash landing with true skill and professionalism especially considering the circumstances. His recent award from the CAA is certainly justified. I'm now looking forward to my maiden voyage in the newly restored Beech Bonanza with its smart new engine ...actually it'll be the first flight since the crash...phew....