Co-pilot falls from plane

[I. M. Esperto]

From Ed Toner

http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/Southwest/11/18/pilot.plunge.ap/index.html
Co-pilot falls from plane


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Story Tools

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOUSTON, Texas (AP) -- The co-pilot of a single-engine aircraft plunged from the plane as it made a steep turn 9,000 feet over the Houston area.

The 45-year-old Houston man apparently jumped or fell from the plane Sunday afternoon near Prairie View, about 20 miles northwest of Houston, federal and local authorities told the Houston Chronicle for Monday editions.

An instructor pilot, the only other person on board, was concentrating on a steep turning maneuver when he heard a thump and saw the co-pilot's feet and legs leaving the airplane, Waller County Sheriff's Lt. John Kremmer told the Chronicle.

Kremmer said a search for the pilot in the area's pastures, woods and lakes was expected to resume early Monday.

Officials said the Cessna 152 had taken off 45 minutes earlier from David Wayne Hooks Airport in Spring. The pilot notified authorities about the incident before returning to the airport.

"The instructor and the aircraft landed safely," said Roland Herwig, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Kremmer said the co-pilot -- whose identity was being withheld pending notification of relatives -- had a pilot's license but could not fly alone because of an unspecified medical condition.

The instructor pilot told investigators that both men were strapped in when the small trainer aircraft took off from the airport.

"He just doesn't know at what point that changed," Kremmer said.

There was no indication the man had a parachute, Kremmer said.

[Squawk7777]

Hm, strange. Having instructed on the C-152 for a rather too long time (shiver) I don't think that the student just "fell" out of the airplane.

[B Sousa]

Sad situation but it sounds as if someone just wanted to end their problems.....9000' gives one time to think....

[Chocks Wahay]

Not so sure - anyone who's logged more than a few hours in a 152 has probably had a door come open on them at somepoint, it certainly doesn't take much to open a 152 door - add in a steep turn a touch out of balance, and the rest could be history.

Whatever, it's a helluva way to go :(

[Freak On A Leash]

A "co-pilot" on a 152? Sounds more like a pilot who lost his/her medical, went up with an instructor and decided to end it all. Very sad.:(
I`ve flown the 152s quite a bit, and you don`t just fall out of them. They`re hard to get into and even harder to get out of. Of course accidents can happen, and yes, those doors can sometimes pop open during any phase of flight.

[Tinstaafl]

They're bloody easy to get out of if you're not worried about doing so feet first.

Even easier if you're on the low side during a steep turn I should think.

[pigboat]

Unless the door latch also released the seat belt buckle, it looks like suicide to me.:(

[QNH 1013]

I seem to recall something similar in the UK about a year ago? A pilot (male) in the rhs of (I think) a 172 got out as they were a few miles short of the destination airfield leaving the pilot (female) in the lhs to continue the flight.
I'm just going on my rather hazy memory of this and if the AAIB have already published the report then I must have missed it.
No-doubt someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

[hobie]

....... talking about falling out of an aircraft .... this story was quoted recently ......

quote ...."Reminds me of a Twin Otter accident a few years ago in northern Canada, while in flight with no passengers on board, the Captain went back to clean out the cabin (a common practice), and when he opened the rear passenger door to sweep out the dirt, he fell out. As far as I know they never found the body"


........ moral of the story ??? .........

[PaperTiger]

Hobie What's that smell ? Bovine excrement, I think !

I take it all back. Found this reference while looking for something else __/__/198_ Ted Oliver Pilot DHC-6-__ Twin Otter. Fell out at 10,000 feet while fixing an in flight rear door latch failure near Lac La Marte, NWT.

[AerBabe]

Sadly you remember correctly QNH. I think it was the airfield was Farnborough? Or nearby?

[t'aint natural]

9,000 feet? In a 152? Why? Shome mishtake surely.

[Scudhunter]

Hobie,

If the Twotter pilot was the only one on board, how does anyone know that he was in the back cleaning the aircraft? :confused:

There was a case in December 2000 of a woman falling out of a Twotter over California during a corporate shuttle flight for Hewlett Packard.

[The mole]

9000 feet in a C152 after 45 minutes - was it supercharged? The highest I ever got was 8500 feet and it took over an hour! And I was flying solo!:eek:

Not the whole story here yet

[bluskis]

QNH
You remember correctly.The jumper was ex para or ex SAS, and I believe it was deemed deliberate.

Hatches and harness check is part of hazel, assumedly performed before manouvres, so seat belts should have held the passenger in the latest incident.

[hobie]

scud .... the story went ...... ". According to statements from the co-pilot, he reported hearing a loud bang, looked back to see the rear door open and the Captain was gone"

cheers .....

[av8boy]

Although the news reports appear to leave open the possibility that the "copilot's" departure from the aircraft was unintentional, a number of acquaintances overheard the subsequent conversation between the surviving instructor and the Center on guard freq, and indicate that the explanation tended to turn on the phrase "jumped out of the aircraft."

Yes, I did get this directly from those who heard it first hand, and yes, it still qualifies as a rumor.


Some additional data from the FAA's prelim report. Could have sworn they said 9000 first... now he's out at 9500. Also note that the FAA report uses the word "jumped..." The report says that the aircraft landed without incident, but that appears to be only half the story...

Dave



IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 4794P Make/Model: C152 Description: 152, A152, Aerobat
Date: 11/17/2002 Time: 1945

Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: None

LOCATION
City: HOUSTON State: TX Country: US

DESCRIPTION
ACFT LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT AFTER STUDENT PILOT JUMPED OUT OF ACFT WITHOUT
A PARACHUTE AT 9,500 FEET, HOUSTON, TX

INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 1
# Crew: 2 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:

WEATHER: DWH METAR 02111853UTC 23009KLT 10SM K\\SKC 19/05 A3020

OTHER DATA
Activity: Training Phase: Unknown Operation: General Aviation

Departed: HOUSTON, TX Dep Date: 11/17/2002 Dep. Time: 1900
Destination: HOUSTON, TX Flt Plan: NONE Wx Briefing: N
Last Radio Cont: NONE
Last Clearance: NONE

FAA FSDO: HOUSTON, TX (SW09) Entry date: 11/18/2002

[QuackDriver]

With those little buckle belts it's quite easy to knock them off. I've done it a couple of times reaching for the trim with a jacket on. Same with a pa28 but it has more of a 'step' out. c152 doors are notorious for popping open. "There I was ... " at about 5000' doing spin practice and it happened to me. :(

Quack

[rustle]

QuackDriver, same thing happened to me.

Spin-awareness training, C150(?) out of Bournemouth.

Door flew open, pathetic (old) seat belt came undone. I shat myself, lesson over :)

Real nice that this guy's been "buried" on this forum before his relatives have had the chance :(

[Scudhunter]

There's a Houston Chronicle report suggesting that the guy was being investigated over an alleged theft involving a NASA computer.

It also points out that there was apparently nothing wrong with the door-latch or seat-belt.

Believe what you will. The link is here (http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/1667680)

[poetpilot]

Something a bit illogical here.... why was the instructor practising steep turns? Should that not have been the student practising?

I'm always a bit jittery in a 150/152, cos it always seems like I'm about to fall out. Dont like those tinny doors one bit. Much much more secure feeling in a 172. Funny though cos I've flown cubs with all the glass opened out and I feel fine.

[newswatcher]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2002%2F01%2F11%2Fnbruce11.xml

[Check 6]

In 1991 in Southern Oregon, a charter pilot was flying a passenger from Roseburg to Illinois Valley in a C-182.

While on the downwind over Illinois Valley Airport, the pax opened his door and leaped out.

[Sensible]

Clearly wasn't looking forward to the base and final leg then!

[javelin]

I wonder if he got stable before he bounced :rolleyes:

[Loop... Hole]

There's that old joke...

The Tiger Moth instructor questions tyro:

"All right laddie, let us say that you have been honored by having his royal highness in the front as a passenger, and while showing orf your hopeless attempt at a victory roll out falls good King George. Now my lad what is the very first thing you do once you're back level eh?........ RE TRIM!"

[Airbubba]

Pilot Who Jumped Faced NASA Probe
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


Filed at 9:40 a.m. ET


HOUSTON (AP) -- A man who apparently jumped to his death from a single-engine plane at 9,000 feet was the target of a federal investigation involving the theft of NASA technology, authorities said.

Russell Edward Filler, a 47-year-old engineer for a NASA contractor, became a suspect when federal authorities traced a NASA laptop computer to his home. The computer disappeared Oct. 25.

He was contacted by federal authorities Thursday.

On Sunday, Filler went to Hooks Airport because he needed more hours to renew his pilot's license.

Filler turned the controls of the single-engine Cessna 152 over to his flight instructor, then asked him to turn the plane sharply so he could get a better look at the ground, Waller County Sheriff Randy Smith said.

Smith said Filler then opened the cockpit door and unfastened his seat belt as the plane flew over a rural area about 45 miles northwest of Houston. The instructor looked away for a moment, and when he looked back he saw Filler's feet going out the door. Filler's body has not been found.

Filler told authorities last week that he bought the computer for $500 through an ad posted in a grocery store, said Harris County sheriff's Capt. Robert Van Pelt.

Van Pelt said Filler turned on the computer and saw that it had some non-sensitive NASA software on it, but he kept the computer. Filler admitted he knew the computer was stolen, Van Pelt said.

Filler worked for United Space Alliance since 1996 in the contractor's integrated test and verification group, which does ground testing for the international space station.

Waller County Sheriff's Lt. John Kremmer said officials are not officially calling the fall a suicide, but "there was no accidental exit from the aircraft.'' There was no indication he had a parachute, he said.

Federal officials inspected the Cessna, but found nothing wrong with its cockpit door latch or with the seat belt, Smith said. The investigation and the search for the body were continuing, authorities said.

[QuackDriver]

Going back to the SAS guy who jumped.

A while back - about 10 years ago (swings lantern for effect) - I was taking to some of the folks from the Rgt and we got to discussing parachute failures and what to do. Their plan was to 'fly' the body to the largest body of water they could see and then the skim the water to kill the vertical speed.

Me, I'd just assume the inverted ball position and kiss a** good bye.

Are there any psycologists around who would like pick the bones out of that one?

Quack

[QDMQDMQDM]

Flt. Sgt Nicholas Alkemade fell 19,000ft out of a burning Lancaster and landed in a snowdrift in a pine forest. He woke up three hours later, dusted himself off and walked away with no injury apart from cuts from the pine branches which had broken his fall. The Germans were so amazed that when they found his parachute in the wreck they gave him a certificate to verify the occurrence.

Cue -- other amazing tales of survival after falling from aircraft?

QDM

[Bubbette]

Yes, a Russian woman fell from around 10,000 feet (she's still alive) You can search it here on pprune, or google it and you should get the story.

[BRL]

Ok, that will do for this one.
A bloke has leapt to his death in despair. This thread shows little or no sympathy at all instead it goes off onto miraculous escapes, old wives tales etc, etc.
I am not closing this but please, if you want to discuss people jumping out of planes and living and other stuff like that then someone start a seperate thread on it. Also, no-one knows for sure wether it was an accident or not, just speculation so far and gossip.
Give the guy, a fellow pilot too lets not forget, a bit of respect at least.

[QDMQDMQDM]

BRL,

It's your party and you make the rules, but the idea that a discussion about this subject could have anything other than prurient interest is a bit far-fetched. This place bills itself as a 'rumour network' and yet as soon as anything unfortunate occurs it suddenly becomes as sanctimonious and prissy as a cathedral. The stench of hypocrisy tingles the old olfactory organ...

Your party, though, like I say.

QDM

[boeingbus2002]

I remember a similar incident happening over Brize a year or two ago. Two pilots at night, one fell from 5000' into field. Cant remember what aircraft tho. Female pilot and male pilot. Male fell into field

[BRL]

QDM Thanks for your valued opinion. Point taken.

[Hersham Boy]

I believe the incident QNH refers to was an a/c suffering from icing making a Pan/Emergency landing at Benson. Chap concerned was ex-forces, a bodyguard and a well-known sky-diver.

I had a door open on me on my first solo... gave me a shock but not much more. Was well harnessed in!

Hersh

[poetpilot]

At the risk of offending the moderator, & in no way dishonouring those poor departed souls who have lost their lives unintentionally, for anyone who wants to explore the tragic but sometimes quirky world of unplanned exist from aircraft, there is a website devoted to the subject.

http://www.channel1.com/users/html/public/users/ghp/fffolder/ffresearch.html

As a (sometimes) very nervous pilot, particularly when flying C150s for some reason, I take comfort in the fact that there's just a small chance that I may survive if that door comes open....

[mutt]

I've had a friend skydive out of a C150 from 4000 feet, while it was easy to open the door, it was extremely difficult to force it open far enough for the jumper to exit the aircraft. I therefore fail to see how someone could fall out accidentally.

I also trust that as this happened in the good old USA, Cessna will be sued as the Airplane Flight Manual does not have a section on departing the aircraft with or without a parachute.

Mutt.

[t'aint natural]

Big Red L:
I don't want to be too cynical but you have to live in the real world. An estimated 200,000 people die every day on this planet, in a variety of different and sometimes curious ways. I feel equally gutted for all of them, but it would be false, not to say mawkish, sentimental and inane for me to claim to have an ounce of genuine feeling for this chap.
Let's leave the emotional incontinence to the Americans.
I still don't believe it was 9000 feet.

[Check 6]

FROM AVWEB:

PLUNGE FROM PLANE A MYSTERY: Authorities have found the body of a Texas man who is thought to have jumped from a Cessna 152 last Sunday.

Authorities say Russell Filler wasn't wearing a parachute when he
exited the plane from 9,000 feet near Waller, Texas, leaving a startled flight instructor, Benito Munoz, alone in the cockpit.

Harris County Sheriff's office spokesman Robert Van Pelt told the Associated Press that Filler, an engineer for a NASA subcontractor, was about to be charged with theft for having a NASA laptop computer that Filler said he bought secondhand.

Authorities said they don't know if the circumstances are
linked.


:)

[MLS-12D]

The AvWeb post also contains this interesting link, "The Hewlett-Packard Incident: Employee Falls (?) From Company Plane" [http://www.avweb.com/newswire/news0051a.html], which is from Dec. 18/00.

For what is is worth, I second QDM's 19 Nov. post.

BRL, you're certainly not accountable to any of us, but it's a bit off that you purport to be Mother Morality just because you feel that people are not showing due respect for the fellow's decision to commit suicide. Let's remember that his stupid action has probably traumatized the poor old instructor, as well as added to the public's fear of flying in light aircraft. I have no sympathy for him. "Fellow pilot" indeed!

[BRL]

Yes ok, point taken(again), chill out, take a pill.... :rolleyes:

[Steepclimb]

I read a story in a book on aviation mysteries, Ralph Barker or someone like that.

Essentially a man who had been drinking earlier boarded his 150 for circuits from a Scottish airfield one winter night. Only for the aircraft to disappear forever, not him though. A few weeks later his body was found on a heathery hillside. After a post mortem he was found to have some injuries but in fact had died of exposure???? Of the aircraft there was no sign.

The only explanation they came up with was that he had been drunk when he took off and had not secured the door or the seatbelt. At some point perhaps he had leaned on the door only to depart stage left. The aircraft unburdened but probably in trim climbed away to the nearby ocean to ditch once it ran out of fuel and disappeared.
Incredibly it seemed he survived the fall, soft heather and a slope might have helped in this. Only to die of the cold on the hillside.

Of course he may have jumped Quite a story!