Plane down in Polzeath, Cornwall

[The_Pink_Panther]

Well done BBC, none of the usual journo drama, and they avoided calling it a crash landing as seems to be reporting norm:

Pilot lands plane after propeller falls off at 2,000ft - BBC News

Would be interested in the story at the building site where they found the prop.

[rgsaero]

Great flying! But nothing new from the "emergency services" then! Just six fire engines in rural Cornwall? Three would have been too many. Hope no-one local set the chip pan on fire.

I recall some years ago popping up to Elstree to check something on my aeroplane. When I arrived at the car park I found four fire engines, two ambulances two police cars and three police motorcycles! On the runway was a Baron with a collapsed right u/c leg, covered in foam. Presumably a major emergency with multiple occupants at risk of death, I thought.

But no! The a/c had been away for maintenance..on the undercarriage. On return, ferried by a solo professional (rather than PPL) the right leg had hung up. After many orbits to run manual lowering and checks plus fuel burn-off, and of course emergency declared, it approached, right engine shut down on short final and a very gentle landing with minimal damage.

"No wrecks, nobdy drownded etc"

As I was leaving about 20 minutes later and at least 30 minutes after the "event" I commented to the three motorcycle cops still standing doing nothing that it would be a great day to rob a bank in Watford as all the police were at Elstree doing not a lot of patrolling...; they threatened to arrest me for "insulting behaviour" but I pointed out that I was simply stating the truth.... The facts wouldn't look very good in court etc. Their minds changed, I left.

Nothing changes....

[9 lives]

Just six fire engines in rural Cornwall? Three would have been too many. Hope no-one local set the chip pan on fire.

Thread drift.

Speaking as a 24 year volunteer firefighter (as well as 39 yer pilot), and having just returned from driving one of four fire trucks to a car accident call, I defend the choice of the emergency services to dispatch as many trucks as they could possibly think they could need at a call of unknown severity! In the history of our fire department, before I was a member, it is told that everyone responded to a car accident call, with the rescue truck, to find the driver trapped in a burning car, with no fire truck. He burned to death, as the fire fighters had nothing more than hand held fire extinguishers. Since then, everything rolls, until it is not needed, even if it only blocks traffic for the safety of the scene. There is certainly a plan in place for the response to a second call for service in the mean time.

Were you to be in the midst of a burning plane on a motorway, with other injured people around, you would not be counting fire trucks, other than to hope there are enough to provide you prompt and total service you suddenly want.

Remind yourself that depending upon how the trucks are run, there may only be one firefighter per truck (ours are nearly always just one). So three trucks might mean only three firefighters, might you want more? More trucks. When I pull up to the fire hall to get a truck, I can take a fire truck, or drive my personal car to the fire call. I'll get there faster and with more safety in a marked lighted fire truck, and might have that one additional needed piece of equipment aboard when I get there.

So give us firefighters a break, and a kind wave of hello, rather than criticizing, and trying to out think how we should provide emergency services...

Rant over, return to the topic.....

[SpannerInTheWerks]

So give us firefighters a break

Absolute, unwavering respect for firefighters and all they do!

[Planet Basher]

rgsaero, I am sure the OIC of, say Tenerife, would fully agree with your sentiments.

The reason that many trucks show up is because someone has assessed that many would be needed to support operations in case something went wrong.

Planet Basher, retired Firelighter, 32 years. oops, meant Firefighter, always got those two mixed up, used to get me into awful trouble at times.

[creweite]

It would not take very long for that aircraft to land from 2000 feet, so were the folks told to evacuate the area after it landed safely?


Years ago I made an emergency landing on a golf course. Was invited into the club house bar by the secretary, and as I entered carrying my helmet and goggles there was a concerted chorus "Has he paid his green fees!!"

[Echo Romeo]

Step Turn, I see you're in Canada. There is no way a fire appliance would be sent to an incident in this Country with a sole driver/fire fighter onboard.

[9 lives]

There is no way a fire appliance would be sent to an incident in this Country with a sole driver/fire fighter onboard.

Yes, my visits to UK fire stations has always shown that they are well staffed. Though, I allow for the possibility that more rural UK stations might dispatch with one only. We are rural, and dispatch driver only, because it could be five minutes before the second volunteer arrives at the station to leave with that truck, and really you would like that second firefighter to take a second truck anyway. I have taken a pumper truck, and been applying water to a fire alone, before the next firefighters arrived to help - rare, but it happens....

The theme is (thread drift aside) that the emergency services will plan well what a response should be based upon the call, and then more overwhelm than underserve, and we would hope that citizens would appreciate that, rather than criticize it!

[vintagemember]

I am the owner and pilot of the aircraft involved in this incident. A Mayday was declared on the Newquay Approach frequency and subsequently cancelled (via relay with another aircraft) once I'd landed.

Yes, there did seem to be a large response by the emergency services, maybe disproportionate to the size of the aircraft, but that wasn't a matter over which I had much control. I managed to speak to as many of them as possible whilst in attendance, giving them my thanks for turning out so promptly. They were all true professionals and only too pleased that their services were not required. Once again I offer my heartfelt thanks to all who were involved.

In my professional capacity as a TRE/TRI and CRMI I urge my peers to always consider the unexpected 'what ifs?' and appear to have inadvertantly created another case study for a CRM recurrent on Monday! The reason for the crankshaft failure has yet to be established and no doubt the AAIB and LAA will comment in due course.

[UV]

Yes, there did seem to be a large response by the emergency services, maybe disproportionate to the size of the aircraft, but that wasn't a matter over which I had much control.

Absolutely. The Fire Services normally receive the first calls from the general public who are well known for making mistakes. How are they to know what is really involved in the heat of the moment?

It is therefore SOP to respond to an aircraft incident with a preset number of appliances. Any surplus ones can then return, if not required. Far safer all round.

Nothing changes....

regsaero...perhaps you now see the point...

[2 sheds]

It is therefore SOP to respond to an aircraft incident with a preset number of appliances. Any surplus ones can then return, if not required. Far safer all round.

A valid approach - up to a point. In my experience, some fire brigade management is too hidebound by this theory and, in ATC, we sometimes really wonder if it is a waste of breath telling them that there are only 2 POB, the aircraft will not be landing for another half-hour and the problem is such that it will still land at the aerodrome. "Far safer all round..."? - not for the local community that has its emergency services depleted. I appreciate that this argument did not apply in this case where the scale of the potential problem could not be assessed from the initial calls.

2 s

[Gertrude the Wombat]

in ATC, we sometimes really wonder if it is a waste of breath telling them that there are only 2 POB, the aircraft will not be landing for another half-hour and the problem is such that it will still land at the aerodrome

So there are places with ATC but no airport fire service? And/or when you think the airport fire service is going to be busy you tell the fire brigade anyway as a backup? Or what?

[Wassat Noyze]

Something else to consider - the PDA (pre-Determined Attendance) requirement for a light aircraft potentially crashing into an open field is quite different to that required for the same light aircraft potentially crashing into a clubhouse full of people.

Just a thought....

[2 sheds]

Quote:
in ATC, we sometimes really wonder if it is a waste of breath telling them that there are only 2 POB, the aircraft will not be landing for another half-hour and the problem is such that it will still land at the aerodrome
So there are places with ATC but no airport fire service? And/or when you think the airport fire service is going to be busy you tell the fire brigade anyway as a backup? Or what?

You are not serious, are you? I was quoting a situation that prevailed for an aircraft accident imminent. For such a classification, as well as for a situation termed a full emergency, the local emergency services will always be in attendance to backup the AFS.

2 s

[squidie]

No one these days forgets to take a selfie:

http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/624/c...pellerpaul.jpg

[Avitor]

Journo's have to make a living, emergency services are there to protect us....I refrain from extracting the urine, what anyone else does is up to them.

[Genghis the Engineer]

Vintagemember - where there any particular changes to the handling and performance of the aircraft, or the cockpit environment (which presumably got a bit quieter!), once your aircraft was lacking a propeller? Always interesting points to pass on when teaching PFLs !

Well handled by the way.

G

[Curlytips]

Genghis, when my old 0-300 seized (it's a long story why), it was exceptionally quiet, and the lack of windmilling prop (it just seized solid but was still there) meant I seemed to glide considerably better than in PFLs. Managed to get four and half miles from 2500 feet (with a good tailwind) and that got me to a suitable runway, and the MoD were awaiting with fire crew. Good job there were there as I needed a push after that..............

[vintagemember]

It was all serene and rather beautiful gliding down in silence. The lack of propeller drag contributed to an ROD of about 500 FPM and it took about 5 minutes to reach the ground. Thank you for your comments about good handling of the situation; this was undoubtedly aided by two simple facts. Firstly, I regularly practice stalling, steep turns and glide approaches all the way to the ground; secondly, I fly pre-planned routes which have decent terrain below. Cornwall is very pretty but certain areas are not suitable for single engined overflight. Small fields and dry stone walls make for ****ty forced landings!

[Mach Jump]

I regularly practice stalling, steep turns and glide approaches all the way to the ground; secondly, I fly pre-planned routes which have decent terrain below.

I just thought that this was worth repeating in bold letters, and underlined.

What were the aircraft type and engine?


MJ