what went wrong here ?
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 70
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From: LONDON, UK.
a cessna 172R going down.
overloading?.
http://noticias.canalrcn.com/media/ultimoavion.wmv
ps: hope this is in the right place....
overloading?.
http://noticias.canalrcn.com/media/ultimoavion.wmv
ps: hope this is in the right place....
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 692
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From: Blairgowrie,Scotland
It looked like a medevac flight with an oxygen cylinder in the back,along with a crying patient. Also he seemed to steer right to avoid the people at the end of the runway. Possibly overloaded on a short strip,and not enough flying speed on lift off.
All speculation of course,but I don't think it was a joking matter as in Wyler's post!
All speculation of course,but I don't think it was a joking matter as in Wyler's post!
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 739
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From: Dallas, TX USA
My first guess is the plane was overloaded. It looks like it had no ability to climb out of ground effect. I'm not sure there was an aft CG problem as it doesn't appear to me that there was a pitch control problem.
The plane was in a short field configuration with the flaps down for takeoff, which requires good power, so it's possible a power problem caused the lack of climb performance.
The plane was in a short field configuration with the flaps down for takeoff, which requires good power, so it's possible a power problem caused the lack of climb performance.
Joined: Jul 2005
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From: Ankara, Turkey
seems to be the CG may have been too far aft, as can be seen by the nosewheel strut being very high up, and aircraft being very tail low. It also seems they were airborne in ground effect, and didnt stay in ground effect to gain airspeed, they continued to try and climb, and then being in the region of reverse command....brought them down..


Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,320
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From: Switzerland, Singapore
Agree. Also wrong short field tactics: You have to keep the nose wheel down until you rotate, so you can accelerate as long as possible on the ground. If you see that it doesn't climb, do not climb, try to catch up some speed und trade it later into height (departure patch was clear of obstacles).
And if you think that you are short of runway, air and power, don't take three people with you! A take off calculation wouldn't do any harm eighter...
Dani
And if you think that you are short of runway, air and power, don't take three people with you! A take off calculation wouldn't do any harm eighter...
Dani
Joined: Jun 2001
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From: Surrounded by aluminum, and the great outdoors
Maybe wrong tactic for short hard surface, but rough unimproved surfaces require getting the nosewheel clear early to avoid it bogging down, "soft field" which uses more ground roll...which is why tail-draggers are preferred for these ops....
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 113
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From: Netherlands
The video quality isn't all that good, but I think I see the elevator deflected up to attain the nose-high attitude. This would point to high load and/or density altitude rather than (only) aft cg.
At an extremely aft cg, the aircraft would still perform well, but the pilot would run out of elevator authority to stop the nose from coming up. You'd expect more something like a steep climb until a wing drops and the aircraft coming down in an incipient spin.
Erik.
At an extremely aft cg, the aircraft would still perform well, but the pilot would run out of elevator authority to stop the nose from coming up. You'd expect more something like a steep climb until a wing drops and the aircraft coming down in an incipient spin.
Erik.
Joined: Aug 2005
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From: pietralunga
If 3 died, one survived and they were carrying an oxygen cylinder it may well have been pretty heavy for a 172. I have always wondered about the 172 and ground effect. I have about 150hrs in a few different versions. Sometimes it seems to get airborne soon enough but need a couple of seconds acceleration before a positive climbout starts. Any thoughts?
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 238
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From: Europe
Watching the smoke colomn after the crash we can tell there was a fair amount of crosswind.
The nose wheel arrangement doesn't look to extended, if the CG was to aft it will show a much higher position on the ground, so, in my opinion, not a problem of CG.
it looks that he tries to get of the ground to early, with litle control the wind starts pushing the aircraft to the side , and he doesn't crab in to the wind to avoid drift,then he sees himself very close to obstacles , pulls to avoid them and stalls.
Sad, cause he had a bit more runway left to accelerate before rotation.
€fully agree with the previous post, nose off the ground asap for soft field, rotate and accelerate on ground effect as near to the ground as you safely can then climb out
Will be interesting reading the investigation report (when there is one)
The nose wheel arrangement doesn't look to extended, if the CG was to aft it will show a much higher position on the ground, so, in my opinion, not a problem of CG.
it looks that he tries to get of the ground to early, with litle control the wind starts pushing the aircraft to the side , and he doesn't crab in to the wind to avoid drift,then he sees himself very close to obstacles , pulls to avoid them and stalls.
Sad, cause he had a bit more runway left to accelerate before rotation.
€fully agree with the previous post, nose off the ground asap for soft field, rotate and accelerate on ground effect as near to the ground as you safely can then climb out
Will be interesting reading the investigation report (when there is one)
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 167
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From: UK
Couple of thoughts to add. First, as we all know, the "ground effect" for the Cessna is limited compared, for example to a PA28. Second, everyone seems happy to be running around in warm weather clothes, so the climb performance would have been further degraded in the heat.
In any event, it is impossible to say from the video if the aircraft was over / wrongly loaded. What can be said is the idiots at the end of the r/w prevented the pilot from using the full length.
So, to add to the adage that there is nothing more useless than r/w behind you on landing / take-off, it is r/w in front that has arseholes on it.
My only critisism at this stage would be that he did not check his speed on the roll. And if he did, he ignored rather important data that could have saved lives.
The Wombat
I have just watched this again and even more annoying than the idiots at the end of the r/w is that there was a VERY considerable clearway beyond.
In any event, it is impossible to say from the video if the aircraft was over / wrongly loaded. What can be said is the idiots at the end of the r/w prevented the pilot from using the full length.
So, to add to the adage that there is nothing more useless than r/w behind you on landing / take-off, it is r/w in front that has arseholes on it.
My only critisism at this stage would be that he did not check his speed on the roll. And if he did, he ignored rather important data that could have saved lives.
The Wombat
I have just watched this again and even more annoying than the idiots at the end of the r/w is that there was a VERY considerable clearway beyond.
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 415
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From: LGW
The people weren't on the runway. Pilot gets nose up very early and slow, then immediately veers to the right, off the runway. As a consequence of the persons proximity to the runway, he cannot nose down to gain speed.
Very sad end to a series of errors.
RIP those who perished.
Very sad end to a series of errors.
RIP those who perished.




