ATSB Report on Tiger Moth stall/spin fatal accident
 

Another Tiger Moth stall/spin fatal accident. There have been a few of these in the past decade. None of these Tiger Moths had auto slats installed; their owners having removed them to decrease maintenance costs. These stall warning devices were very effective with their loud clacking as the slats moved in and out when the aircraft was approaching the stall.

In the accident concerned, the loud stall warning noise would have alerted the pilot to the impending danger in time for him to take recovery action and at least force land under control, rather than be caught by surprise and stall/spin at low altitude. As the old age says, if you think flight safety is expensive, try an accident.

How much would it cost owners of Tiger Moths to re-install auto slats as a safety measure?
https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications...r/ao-2015-150/

Looking at the aerial view of the flight path of the aircraft in the ATSB report, why did he attempt to turn left when a gentle right turn would have put him over a clear paddock, and maybe not have resulted in a stall ?

Aggressive forward stick would have been required. The pitch over needed to be aggressive to unload the wings and minimise speed loss. This was no time to look into the cockpit. Eyes on the target!. At the very least, a landing straight ahead, into the trees/scrub, could have been achieved at a modest ground speed.
The poor fellow might not have, during his type training, grasped the absolute importance of performing an aggressive pitch over, followed by a low speed accident into wind.
I vote in favour of Handley-Page auto slats. In addition to the noise, they provide the pilot with a wonderful visual depiction of stall development.

Whenever the conversation touches Tiger Moths and spins I can't help thinking of this photo:
https://www.waggabiketyres.com/The%20Canon%201.jpg

How the hell did he survive that?!

For Race 15. Is that what they call a straight -in approach ?

Folks,
That was one of three that flew formation aeros from the Tiger Club, based at Redhill, Surrey, UK in those days. The Canon, Deacon and Bishop. Maybe they had God on their side??
In about 1963, at Biggin Hill. somebody spun a Tiger in, on the field doing aeros overhead, both pilots survived, just bruises and cuts and scratches. --- the steel tube fuselage, really good harnesses and very slow speeds ---- it's Vsquared wot gets ya!!
Tootle pip!!

Stall warning systems were not a feature on British aircraft, if Auster & Chipmunk were any guide. Fail to see why Tigers should have slats fitted, they were a buyers option after all. Military probably fitted them as a make work item for ab initio training, instilling cockpit check procedures. We had similar make work items imposed during ab initio, no flap landings if a flag was flying beside the runway van, canopy open at certain stages of flight, both for no good reason, other than to instil discipline.

The aircraft in the OP's link had slats, you can see the left plainly extended.


With only a little over seven hours in the Tiger, the pilot would have had little experience with the aircrafts characteristics, low power, high drag, small speed range, factors pointed out in the report. Was he even aware of the slats "clacking", I certainly don't recall it now from my nearly six decades ago experience, it certainly wasn't a subject of the endorsement.

Thanks Megan. First time I have seen that photo and you are right it did have slats fitted. Obviously owner option.
That would suggest that whoever certified the pilot as competent to act in command on the TIger Moth neglected to ensure all the factors you mentioned were adequately covered.
The following extract is of interest from the book by Stephen Slater called De Havilland Tiger Moth 1931-1945 (all marks) Owners' Workshop Manual. Page 49-50 refers.
Quote:
"The upper wings of the majority of Tiger Moths are fitted with a further ingenious device to improve low-speed handling. Aerofoil-shaped slats (or 'slots') on the upper wings are held against the leading edge of the wing by air pressure in normal flight, but at speeds below around 60 mph(100kph) they progressively extend by 3in (75mm), encouraging the airflow to remain attached over the top surface of the outer wing, thereby slightly delaying the stall and making it more gentle when it occurs.

The slats which can be manually locked closed by a control on the right side of the rear cockpit, to avoid sudden deployment during aerobatics or unnecessary wear and tear when taxiing - were developed by another British aircraft designer, Sir Frederick Handley-Page. In addition to the cost of the slats and their controls, de Havilland had to pay a royalty of 38 pounds eleven shillings and sixpence on every set fitted as an extra cost option on pre-war Tiger Moths. However, all RAF-specification aeroplanes had them fitted." Unquote.

I have several hundred hours in the Tiger Moth and all of them with the slats locked. If the lack of wind in your face does not give you an idea of speed and the view does not tell you something about the AoA then you probably should not be flying one.

It was Lewis Benjamin I think, still writes in the Moth Club Magazine. He did spend some time in the hospital, apparently denying the newspaper reports he was killed in the crash.
Reading his exploits I reckon the guy has nine lives.

Me too. Military and civil. Because they go unreported, you will never know how many lives have been saved because of their aural and visual warning characteristics. Good insurance and well worth any additional expense.

Agree it's really moot Cloudee. Stall/spin accidents feature regularly in accident reports, and that's with modern aircraft fitted with stall warning systems. The US had 2,015 stall accidents between 2000 and 2014, and stalls account for nearly 25% of fatal accidents.

Unfortunately too, spin training is no longer part of the curriculum, few aircraft are cleared for spinning.

https://www.aopa.org/-/media/files/a...spin.pdf?la=en

Not stated to date is that, as I recall, the pilot, although a new graduate to the Tiger Moth, had recently flown a Cirrus SR-22 around the world.

A big difference in the handling of a DH82 Tiger Moth and a Cirrus CR-22.