Plane down in water off Perth beach today

[Desert Flower]

VH-JTW (TB-20) went for a swim yesterday. Apparently only in the air for twenty minutes before suffering engine trouble & ditching. Pilot & passenger escaped unharmed - plane is a mess though.

DF.

[Ex FSO GRIFFO]

Pilot did an XLNT job of ditching at City Beach about 10 m or so off shore onto the waves.

Passenger reportedly told the 'Press' that the beach itself was not an option due to the many beachgoers on the beach, and 'they would not have heard the approaching aircraft with the engine stopped'.
The aircraft's tail broke off on impact. The aircraft was later recovered and removed on a flatbed for further assessment.....

A job WELL DUN in difficult circumstances!

Cheers

[Atlas Shrugged]

Wasn't that one of Jim Westwards old Trinidads from AFTS? I seem to recall it as a bit if a hangar queen in the mid-nineties at BK...... it had yellow stipes on the tail , blue stripes along the side and a horrible yellow spinner.... if my 59 year old memory serves me correctly.

[B2N2]

Awwww…poor thing


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/800x400/1636937954_536cdf92ca00884236c376aced4c7cebbf7540f6.jpeg
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-13/wa-light-plane-crash-city-beach-perth/100618720

[Stationair8]

Witness says pilot switched engines before forced landing.

[B2N2]

Witness says pilot switched engines before forced landing.


How would you do that in a single ?

[ACMS]

Witness says pilot switched engines before forced landing.

impressive abilities……

[Lead Balloon]

In fairness, the witness is quoted as saying what the pilot said. Either the witness misheard the pilot stating that he tried switching fuel tanks, or the pilot was a bit confused...

Or maybe the reporter misheard or misquoted the witness...

[Oodnadatta]

He may have been trying to switch to the Backup Thronomister Motor but unless there was sufficient Chemtrail he would not have been able to maintain height.
It's just a theory but others have been caught out before.

[Clare Prop]

According to the ABC, this is a five seat military trainer.

I'm sure Geoffrey Thomas will be able to tell us exactly what happened, though I suspect a faulty flux capacitor.

[Oodnadatta]

Spot On Clare, I had forgotten that this model has had problems in the past with stuck flux capacitors.
He did a good job steering away from the local school, hospital and orphanage.

[Lead Balloon]

It's more likely to have been a reversal of the polarity on the discharge condenser: one of those 'gotachas' on Socata TB20s (apart, of course, from the -5 variants with the schvetzer valve).

[runway16]

A TB-10 with two engines! I missed the second in my check list. Could it have been the rubber bands not having enough twist in them or the Chipmunks were not peddling hard enough.

But at the end of the day it was a good forced landing. The gear-up helped it for a smooth landing and then to step on the wing and onto the shore. More beer can material in the making.

[Stationair8]

Will the French Ambassdor scurry back to France after this French aircraft was sabotaged?


On a serious note, nice work by the pilot.

[Squawk7700]

Quite the impact, you don’t often see tails snapping off, so lucky to get out ok!

[Jetstream67]

Quite the impact, you don’t often see tails snapping off, so lucky to get out ok!

Probably the tail touched the water first which instinctively is a good idea for many reasons and it likely slowed things down a lot before coming off.

Good result in the situation

[ShyTorque]

That fuselage damage looks like a very clean cut, almost like a prop strike. Maybe the second engine was in the back on a pallet and trying to switch to it caused the damage. :E

[chimbu warrior]

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/14/us/florida-sinking-plane-rescue/index.html

I think this one qualifies as the ditching of the day; didn't even appear to get his feet wet.

[thunderbird five]

Hopefully the pilot was a LAME and therefore suitably licenced to switch the engine.

Good job though in difficult circumstances. Everyone walked away. Well, swam, I guess.

[gerry111]

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/14/us/florida-sinking-plane-rescue/index.html

I think this one qualifies as the ditching of the day; didn't even appear to get his feet wet.
Looks like the tail on that one also got a bit forked..

[Jetstream67]

In fairness, the witness is quoted as saying what the pilot said. Either the witness misheard the pilot stating that he tried switching fuel tanks, or the pilot was a bit confused...

Or maybe the reporter misheard or misquoted the witness...
He'd have been doing a lot of switching in the time he had, plans? magnetos?, tanks? fuel pumps?, frequencies?, into bathing trunks ?

Happily we should hear first hand soon . .

[The Banjo]

Just reported-engine had flooded carby...

[Lead Balloon]

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/14/us/florida-sinking-plane-rescue/index.html

I think this one qualifies as the ditching of the day; didn't even appear to get his feet wet.
V35 N87565. (Only a few hundred serials away from V35 VH-CFK, Gerry111.)

The reason the pilot isn't wet and doesn't have a life jacket on is that the aircraft is sitting on the bottom. The waters off Cedar Keys Florida are very shallow.

[Progressive]

Just reported-engine had flooded carby...

On an Injected 540?

[Traffic_Is_Er_Was]

Spin
The situational awareness and quick actions of the Marine Interdiction Agents and Sheriff's Deputies prevented a possible human tragedy," said Michael Matthies, Deputy Director of Marine Operations. "We are thankful we have the proper resources and trained personnel to perform when incidents like this present themselves.
Reality
We completely missed seeing an aircraft crash nearby on a perfectly clear and calm day, then happened to accidently come across it, and were able to get close enough to pull the pilot who had rescued himself on to our boat.

[Traffic_Is_Er_Was]

The reason the pilot isn't wet
He looks pretty soaked to me.

[Ex FSO GRIFFO]

Oi rekkon OI'd be a fair bit 'soaked' in the next hour or so tooo.....

Cheeerrrsss...... (Hic)

[Checkboard]

On an Injected 540?
Sense of humour failure there.... :D

[YRP]

He may have been trying to switch to the Backup Thronomister Motor but unless there was sufficient Chemtrail he would not have been able to maintain height.
It's just a theory but others have been caught out before.

Pilots often forget to check the chemtrail flux meter in flight. It really ought to be emphasized more in training.

[Oodnadatta]

Now that the finest “Aviation Experts” in Australia (Except GT) have suggested the most likely cause of this event I was wondering if those in charge have been able to download the contents of the “Black Boxes” from the aircraft. This would help stop the speculation and the media could report the actual cause.

Cheers, Oods.

[megle2]

‘Oodna’, I’m surprised that your unaware that the black box has in fact been analysed at the ATSB’s Oodnadatta depot. It’s probably sitting on a bench just round the corner from your place.

[vne165]

This was a turboencabulator failure, without doubt. Usually it's fretting on the prefabulated amulite base.
Classical symptoms.

[Oodnadatta]

Geez Megle2, I dropped the ball on that one. Not many corners around here but I know where you mean.

I was distracted trying to figure out why a WA couple got bogged in the Simpson Desert.

The Oodnadatta refueller can give you the full story.

Cheers, Oods.

[Pinky the pilot]

This was a turboencabulator failure, without doubt. Usually it's fretting on the prefabulated amulite base.

Doesn't that cause, amongst a few other things, to make both the fuel dump and the chemtrail dump valves jam open?:confused:

[aroa]

Unlike the pilot who probably did a weather check before flight, the Simpson campervanner obviously did not.
Bit of a transcontinental shift in thread … from surf to sand. Van recoverable, Tobago beyond it.

[gerry111]

Unlike the pilot who probably did a weather check before flight, the Simpson campervanner obviously did not.
Bit of a transcontinental shift in thread … from surf to sand. Van recoverable, Tobago beyond it.
The Simpson campervanners admitted to "pressonitis" due to having insufficient fuel to return to their point of departure. That would never happen in GA.

[Ex FSO GRIFFO]

GeeeeSus Gerry , I think you've GOT-IT.
"That would NEVER 'appen in GA"

......Well.....Hardly ever...????
Cheeerrrssss

[Desert Flower]

Unlike the pilot who probably did a weather check before flight, the Simpson campervanner obviously did not.
Bit of a transcontinental shift in thread … from surf to sand. Van recoverable, Tobago beyond it.

Although campervan might be recoverable, methinks it will be totally stuffed too.

[vne165]

Doesn't that cause, amongst a few other things, to make both the fuel dump and the chemtrail dump valves jam open?:confused:
Pinky, it's true that can happen as a result, more usually though it's failure of the spurving bearings that is the root cause.

Simply, the modern replacements are not up to the standard of the original General Electric versions.
I've attached a data sheet which highlights the high quality units that we once enjoyed. Sadly, not everything new is better.

[tail wheel]

"According to the ABC, this is a five seat military trainer.

I'm sure Geoffrey Thomas will be able to tell us exactly what happened, though I suspect a faulty flux capacitor."

I wish this site had a Like button!! :ok: :} :} :}

[Fark'n'ell]

I'm sure Geoffrey Thomas will be able to tell us exactly what happened, though I suspect a faulty flux capacitor."

Are you sure Taily,
I thought it was the hydrochloric fossilator

[aroa]

The real reason will never be known because once the hydrochloric fossilator is exposed to salt water it dissolves and thus cannot be blamed as the fault.
I believe Chinese made hfs have a salt water resistant coating.

[Mike Flynn]

Typical West Australia humour on this one. Having lived there and with Australian helicopter and fixed wing licences I can tell you this is just a story for next weekends barbie. From what I hear it was a hangar queen that suffered an engine failure in the warm waters off Perth. Another space left for a single in Jandakot.👍😀

[Pinky the pilot]

I believe Chinese made hfs have a salt water resistant coating.

I checked that with a Shanghai born Friend of mine, name of See Ling Fan, who works as a LAME here in South Aussie.
He confirms your post but told me that since the flare up of the disagreement between 'Can'tberra' and the PRC, the Chinese made hydrochloric fossilator is no longer available.

[aroa]

Drat that CCP. They really are flexing the penile power muscle regarding free trade.
Oz should deny them imports of some of those complex valves other people talk about.