GA crash video in cameron, California

[alph2z]

GA crash video in cameron, California


http://fox40.trb.com/
.

[brain fade]

Bit too heavy, maybe?

Damn shame.

[alph2z]

Also,

37 C. 8 knot tailwind. 1250 ft high airport. 5:1 appraoch slope.

Hitting the embankment was really bad.

I know an instructor that lost an eye and got pretty banged-up in a similar accident; the worst was hitting an embankment.

http://video.fox40.com/Global/Video/...clipid=1712544

also available as flash video to keep on HD.
.

[alph2z]

He probably took runway 31 with a tailwind and flew over the approach of 13.

KSAC 312153Z COR 22009KT 10SM SCT150 37/14 A2984 RMK AO2 SLP104 T03670139
KSAC 312053Z 23006KT 10SM CLR 36/13 A2985 RMK AO2 SLP109 T03610133 58013
KSAC 311953Z 18009KT 10SM CLR 35/14 A2987 RMK AO2 SLP113 T03500139
KSAC 311853Z 19008KT 10SM BKN150 34/15 A2988 RMK AO2 SLP118 T03390150
KSAC 311753Z AUTO 19004KT 10SM CLR 31/14 A2989 RMK AO2 SLP121 T03110144 10317 20222 53004 TSNO
.

http://www.airnav.com/airport/O61


runway 13
Obstructions: 40 ft. tree, 410 ft. from runway, 125 ft. left of centerline, 10:1 slope to clear
+4' TERRAIN 100' RIGHT.
RWY 13 APCH RATIO 5:1 TO DSPLCD THLD OVER 65 FT TREE 350 FT FROM DSPLCD THRESHOLD.
+65 FT TREE, 150 FT FROM EOR, 125 FT LEFT OF RWY CENTERLINE
.

[Shunter]

Density altitude of 4500ft+, full loaded plane, tail-wind, short(ish) runway. I don't even need to look at my POH to know that's a very bad idea. A sad event, but what's more sad is that it happens so often. I don't know why it isn't more firmly drilled in during PPL training: High temp + Low pressure = BAD.

[Sqwak7700]

Unfortunately there are a lot of people with more money than brains. This is the major factor behind many GA airplane's bad reputation. Like the Aerostar or the MU-2 rice-rocket. You get these people that go out there and don't treat them with respect.

I'm not saying this is the case in this crash, because a lot of the details
aren't out yet. There could have been engine problems by the sounds of one of the witneses in the FOX video. Then again, we all know how reliable witnesses can be sometimes .

I have a theory. If there is a profession dedicated to do something that I think I can do myself (barring simple little tasks of course), then I will use that professional to do it for me. For example, I'm not an accountant, so I pay for someone to do my taxes. I could very basically do them myself, but since my situation has many complications, I pay for someone to do them.

I am a professional pilot, so I feel fully confortable flying. If I wasn't, I wouldn't buy an airplane that requires a professional pilot who devotes his life to knowing everything he can about airplanes. You just can't jump into a complex airplane like you do into an automobile and go for it.

Again, I'm not saying that is the case in this unfortunate event. For all I know, this guy could have been a very competent airman. I'm just making an observation that there really is a lot of people with more money than brains.

[rab-k]

Flaps, anyone?

[Rainboe]

I was wondering if anybody else was going to notice- FLAPS! Guess this guy has some pretty heavy lawsuits headed his way!

[stevehudd]

BUT, Even with flaps in, wouldn't you need the extra engine power to push through the drag? If it was density altitude and lack of engine power?

[Tim Dawson]

The extra lift might have enabled them to clear the embankment though.

[moonym20]

very *rough* calculations from a Bonanza POH i have on copy suggest this gentleman will require around 4000ft (1219m) for a take off run and slight OCH as well...

[stevehudd]

Probably

[strake]

I was wondering if anybody else was going to notice- FLAPS! Guess this guy has some pretty heavy lawsuits headed his way!
I wondered that but looking at the video, it seems to be an A36 and if so, the POH does not require Flap for takeoff on some variants.

[englishal]

I am a professional pilot, so I feel fully confortable flying. If I wasn't, I wouldn't buy an airplane that requires a professional pilot who devotes his life to knowing everything he can about airplanes. You just can't jump into a complex airplane like you do into an automobile and go for it.

What rubbish.

I have met many old timers in the USA who can fly an aeroplane like it is strapped onto them and into some really amazing places. I wouldn't fly into an unlit airport at night which has mountains next to downwind, mountains next to base and an unlit runway. I chatted to one old timer who used the lights of the gas station, and had done for the past 40 years.

Flying to some of these boys is second nature and they are often better pilots than many "professional" pilots who think they are god's gift.

[Pilot DAR]

Quote: "I am a professional pilot, so I feel fully confortable flying."

I am not a professional pilot. I was though, first licensed 30 years ago, and have 5000+ hrs since then. During all of that time, I have come to learn that for those very brief moments during which I feel fully comfortable flying, I'm probably not paying enough attention, and am missing something.

I continue to try to ward off complacency, by wondering what I'm missing as I fly. I hope that I never feel completely comfortable, just comfortable enough to be safe, and instill appropriate confidence in my passengers and insurance company!

Things tend to slip by those who satisfy themselves that they are fully "confortable flying".

Pilot DAR

[BeechNut]

There's a guy around here, PPL, with a Navajo painted black. The guy comes to our home field for breakkie or coffee from time to time, usually with some bird in tow.

He just hops, in, fires both up, taxies straight out, and blasts off. I've seen him at several local airfields and have never known him to do a run-up. Not even mag checks on the fly.

I just know he's going to get a big bite on the arse some day. One hopes it won't be fatal but will teach him something valuable about flying.

[Sqwak7700]

I have met many old timers in the USA who can fly an aeroplane like it is strapped onto them and into some really amazing places. I wouldn't fly into an unlit airport at night which has mountains next to downwind, mountains next to base and an unlit runway. I chatted to one old timer who used the lights of the gas station, and had done for the past 40 years.

Flying to some of these boys is second nature and they are often better pilots than many "professional" pilots who think they are god's gift.

Well, I have news for you. Flying isn't so much about skill and hand to eye coordination but is more about intellignece and good decision making.

I don't think manual ability had anything to do with this accident or a lot of GA accidents. Last time I checked, continued VFR into IFR conditions was the number one killer of GA planes.

There is a saying, don't know who the author is but it certainly applies here. "Good pilots use exceptional decision making to prevent them from getting into situations which require their exceptional skills to get out of." It is somthing like that, but you get the gist.

I've flown with many pilots who are not the best "manipulators" of the controls, but I would feel 10 times safer in their hands due to their decision making and sound judgement. It's not that both attributes can't co-excist, but I definitely think that decision making is more important.

And by the way, landing at a strip in the mountains at night with only lights from a gas station for guidance is what I would call a "bad decision". That is what the accident report would say if your friend, God forbid, had an accident. I can guarantee you that it would make no mention of the fact that he has done it safely for 40 years. It would probably start off with "The pilot excersised poor judgement blah blah blah"

[mark sicknote]

I regularly fly from a short strip in the Philippines. Here I often find myself contemplating the flaps/no flaps decision for departure. The POH suggests flap 10 for a short field departure for my 152. What POH doesnt take into account are the multitude of other factors. I usually default to flaps 10 but find the AC climbout performance degraded (esp when heavy) on climbout.

http://www.tc.gc.ca/civilaviation/sy...5/2-00/182.htm

All I can do is learn from incidents like this one and ensure I don't make the same mistakes.

[englishal]

And by the way, landing at a strip in the mountains at night with only lights from a gas station for guidance is what I would call a "bad decision". That is what the accident report would say if your friend, God forbid, had an accident. I can guarantee you that it would make no mention of the fact that he has done it safely for 40 years. It would probably start off with "The pilot excersised poor judgement blah blah blah"

My point was that a "good" pilot doesn't nescessarily have to be a "professional" pilot. My friend, and professional pilot with numerous licences hit a mountain on an IAP, killing 5. This was not the old boy I was talking to in the airport Cafe who knew his limitations.

Ever heard the urban story of two airline pilots who flew into the Barringer Meteor crater in arizona? They never came out again.

So becaue one is "professional" doesn't mean they are "good" or safe (IMHO) and it is stupid to claim such a thing. Knowing your limits is what counts......It would be stupid for me to barrel roll a 707, but to Tex Johnson it was a non event.

See what I'm saying?

[englishal]

I was looking for the temp in that Metar and couldn't see it....until I spotted the 42 Hopefully it cools off just a bit before I get there in October, we're going to see the wifes friend in Phoenix and flying from Long Beach......Maybe I should rent a turbocharged aeroplane....