Shoreham Airshow Crash Trial
this case isn't "Galloping Ghost". On blacking out, which follows grey out for positive g, the elevator input would have decreased only with some certainty at the point of losing consciousness, but the term blacking out does not itself indicate the loss of consciousness. On G-LOC, a loss of consciousness, and the aircraft would have reverted to a flight path as a consequence of the trimmed speed from the THS at the time that the aircraft was last in trim. What was the story that the jury heard?
For many G-LOC cases, if the aircraft is at a high bank angle, the speed stability (AOA stability) will result in increasing loads as the spiral tightens. In this case, the wings were level, and the aircraft would pitch to achieve the in trim speed one way or the other, without intervention by the pilot. However, the pitch angle at initial ground contact suggests that there was someone pulling strenuously on the controls at that time, and that means the pilot would most likely have been conscious at that moment. The exact condition would be determinable by measurement of the stabiliser actuator if it remained anywhere near intact.
For many G-LOC cases, if the aircraft is at a high bank angle, the speed stability (AOA stability) will result in increasing loads as the spiral tightens. In this case, the wings were level, and the aircraft would pitch to achieve the in trim speed one way or the other, without intervention by the pilot. However, the pitch angle at initial ground contact suggests that there was someone pulling strenuously on the controls at that time, and that means the pilot would most likely have been conscious at that moment. The exact condition would be determinable by measurement of the stabiliser actuator if it remained anywhere near intact.
The following users liked this post:
hmmm; Jimmy Leeward was pretty experienced on the aircraft and RARA, he had flown over many years in the 80s and 90s, and then taken time off for10 years. The elevator tab problem had occurred before, but wasn't fatal to the other aircraft. The NTSB did consider the wear of the system made it susceptible to flutter. So, yes, that was a bad call. However, I've flown Boeing jet airliners that had enough flex in the ailerons to have LCO in level flight and within the envelope of the aircraft, so am not sure that it is justified to have called Jimmy unprofessional, he would have been well advised to have little or no slack in the flight control systems however.
