Archerfield Lancair pilot "disoriented" says report...
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Archerfield Lancair pilot "disoriented" says report...
Could be good news for Experimental category after no faults were found with the aircraft engine or control systems.
Pilot in fatal crash 'disorientated'
A KIT plane that crashed just metres from a busy Brisbane road, killing the pilot, had no mechanical defects but the pilot was disorientated, a report says.
John Savina, 51, was killed when his two-seater Lancair 320-VH-BST crashed on March 31 this year.
It went down on land bordering Kessels Road and the Queensland Health Scientific Services Facility at Coopers Plains, in Brisbane's south.
Mr Savina, who had obtained his private pilot's licence a year earlier, was flying his amateur-built Lancair from Townsville to Archerfield aerodrome when he crashed 4km short of his destination.
At the time, police hailed his courage for managing to keep the aircraft away from homes, traffic and businesses in the area.
The investigation is ongoing, but an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) report released today found no structural or flight-control defects with the plane.
The ATSB said Mr Savina had told the Archerfield Aerodrome controller he was having trouble finding the aerodrome in rain and low cloud just moments before the crash.
Ten minutes before he died, Mr Savina had contacted the controller and said he was new to the area and would appreciate some help.
After following direction from the controller, Mr Savina said he believed he could fly visually to Archerfield.
Four minutes later he inquired about cloud conditions before telling the controller he had not yet seen the aerodrome.
"The controller asked the pilot if he had the aerodrome in sight. The pilot said that he did not, adding, `I feel I've overflown it'," the report said.
"The controller advised that radar information indicated that the aircraft was north of the aerodrome and he suggested that the pilot continue to turn left."
The pilot acknowledged the transmission but crashed less than a minute later.
Pilot in fatal crash 'disorientated'
A KIT plane that crashed just metres from a busy Brisbane road, killing the pilot, had no mechanical defects but the pilot was disorientated, a report says.
John Savina, 51, was killed when his two-seater Lancair 320-VH-BST crashed on March 31 this year.
It went down on land bordering Kessels Road and the Queensland Health Scientific Services Facility at Coopers Plains, in Brisbane's south.
Mr Savina, who had obtained his private pilot's licence a year earlier, was flying his amateur-built Lancair from Townsville to Archerfield aerodrome when he crashed 4km short of his destination.
At the time, police hailed his courage for managing to keep the aircraft away from homes, traffic and businesses in the area.
The investigation is ongoing, but an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) report released today found no structural or flight-control defects with the plane.
The ATSB said Mr Savina had told the Archerfield Aerodrome controller he was having trouble finding the aerodrome in rain and low cloud just moments before the crash.
Ten minutes before he died, Mr Savina had contacted the controller and said he was new to the area and would appreciate some help.
After following direction from the controller, Mr Savina said he believed he could fly visually to Archerfield.
Four minutes later he inquired about cloud conditions before telling the controller he had not yet seen the aerodrome.
"The controller asked the pilot if he had the aerodrome in sight. The pilot said that he did not, adding, `I feel I've overflown it'," the report said.
"The controller advised that radar information indicated that the aircraft was north of the aerodrome and he suggested that the pilot continue to turn left."
The pilot acknowledged the transmission but crashed less than a minute later.
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This tragic accident opens a whole bunch of questions about training of pilot's decision making processes.
choice of aircraft for a low time pilot
decision NOT to land at Gympie, Maroochy, Caloundra, Caboolture, Redcliffe when faced with increasingly poor weather
R
I'm afraid I have to ask the question, are Lancairs a forgiving aircraft? Thats the third one in three years. I lost a friend when one went in on the Bellarine Peninsula.
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http://www.atsb.com.au/publications/...200601640.aspx
From the sounds of it in the ATSB report he stalled it and entered a spin at low altitude, he had no control over where the a/c landed, these police are as bad as journos! 
He was coming from townsville, and crashed 4nm NE of the field, so he was short.
How he managed to think he had overflown the field with 3GPS units is beyond me (1 fixed and 2 portable)
Poor bloke must have been VERY disoriented.
And to Sunfish, yes i believe that the Lancair would be very unforgiving, i havnt flown one but it has a clean stall speed of 67kts IAS, so getting out of any other light a/c and into the Lancair could be dangerous.
From the looks of the report he may have tried to slow the a/c to search for the field and stalled it, very unfortunate accident.
Turbz
He was coming from townsville, and crashed 4nm NE of the field, so he was short.
How he managed to think he had overflown the field with 3GPS units is beyond me (1 fixed and 2 portable)
Poor bloke must have been VERY disoriented.
And to Sunfish, yes i believe that the Lancair would be very unforgiving, i havnt flown one but it has a clean stall speed of 67kts IAS, so getting out of any other light a/c and into the Lancair could be dangerous.
From the looks of the report he may have tried to slow the a/c to search for the field and stalled it, very unfortunate accident.
Turbz
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Lancairs are a very high performance single, definatly not recommended for a low time PPL... cruise speed approaching 200 Kts or more, and some models capably of cruise in Flight levels.
i have not flown one, but have heard they are very difficult in the stall and low speed regeim. but being a low time pilot in bad weather, sounds like he suffered the fate of many a untrained pilot when entering cloud. (if he was not IFR rated)
i have not flown one, but have heard they are very difficult in the stall and low speed regeim. but being a low time pilot in bad weather, sounds like he suffered the fate of many a untrained pilot when entering cloud. (if he was not IFR rated)
I was only a few km away from the accident site(on the ground) when it happened. Around that time I was caught in some of the heaviest rain i've experienced. At one stage I reakon the vis would have been less than 100metres. Certainly not the best weather to be stooging around in when your not sure where you are.
I took have never flown one but spoken to people that have, and they all commented that they can bite like the best of them if not treated right.
I took have never flown one but spoken to people that have, and they all commented that they can bite like the best of them if not treated right.
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I always thought a "very high performance single" was something where you open the tap too quickly and you black out... like, I dunno, an F-16 or an F-104.
The Vs of the C210 must be about the same as this Lancair. I'm sure the stall characteristics are more docile but that doesn't stop the pilot approaching the stall. Getting out of a Cessna (even a 152) and into the "dangerous" Lancair?
With the comparatively much higher cruise speed of the Lancair, it'd be just as unlikely to approach the stall, maybe even less so.
The Vs of the C210 must be about the same as this Lancair. I'm sure the stall characteristics are more docile but that doesn't stop the pilot approaching the stall. Getting out of a Cessna (even a 152) and into the "dangerous" Lancair?
With the comparatively much higher cruise speed of the Lancair, it'd be just as unlikely to approach the stall, maybe even less so.
Sarcasm uncalled for, Lord Snot - the combination of a machine with a faster stall speed than the usual lightie and unforgiving stall characteristics, and the setup of bad wx, unsure of position and close to the ground, not to mention inadvertent IMC, could easily be enough links in the chain to cause this.
GPS telling you the airfield's nearby but can't see it, horizon obscured by low cloud and / or rain, distracted, poor attitude control, speed dribbles back, stall and wing drop, what the f*ck, there you go.
Not inevitable, of course, but certainly a gotcha for some, and maybe more so if their training in low speed handling / bad vis situations hasn't been extensive.
Not that many low cloud, scud-running days in Townsville.
GPS telling you the airfield's nearby but can't see it, horizon obscured by low cloud and / or rain, distracted, poor attitude control, speed dribbles back, stall and wing drop, what the f*ck, there you go.
Not inevitable, of course, but certainly a gotcha for some, and maybe more so if their training in low speed handling / bad vis situations hasn't been extensive.
Not that many low cloud, scud-running days in Townsville.
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May be more than you would think! Especially this year - actually quite a few serious IFR days (like yesterday!).
I learnt to fly at YBAF - but its probably the last place I would be heading to VFR down there in bad weather (particularly from the north down the light aircraft lane), or even to get fuel in good weather.
This one would appear to be a tragic case of "got-to-get-there-itis".
BC
I learnt to fly at YBAF - but its probably the last place I would be heading to VFR down there in bad weather (particularly from the north down the light aircraft lane), or even to get fuel in good weather.
This one would appear to be a tragic case of "got-to-get-there-itis".
BC
As much as they were both Lancairs Sunfish, one was a 2 seater piston engine and the other was a high performance turbine powered 4 seater with extensive modifications and a known savage wing-drop flown by 2 persons contrary to the experimental C of A that was issued to it; but agreed tragic.
Those that haven't flown a Lancair aren't really qualified to comment I'm afraid. Not many light 2 seater aircraft come over the fence at 90+ knots.
Those that haven't flown a Lancair aren't really qualified to comment I'm afraid. Not many light 2 seater aircraft come over the fence at 90+ knots.
