C152 crash at Exeter
 

Hi guys, there was a bit of an incident today that ended happily in an instructor and student walking away from a potentially nasty accident.

At about 1300 (local) a C152 of Exeter Flying Club suffered an engine failure over Honiton, about 12 miles east of the field. I am not sure of their height, but they managed to glide towards the field but unfortunately they didn't reach the runway and landed in a field about 200 feet before the threshold for 26.

I believe the noswheel dug into a soft patch of earth and flipped the plane over, but the instructor and student managed to clamber out, fortunately there was no fire, but the fire crews were on the scene immediately, and Devon Air Ambulance based at Exeter quickly flew the short distance to the site.

Not sure when its going to be moved, I suppose the AAIB will have to be on site before that happens.

I don't know at the moment who the instructor was, but he did a great job, and if it wasn't for the 10knot tailwind, would probably have made the runway.

Know the area well, I did my PPl at Dunkeswell a long time ago, and had a light twin based at Exeter for a while as well.

Sorry, but there's 2 points that are worth mentioning here.

1. Why would a TAILwind prevent reaching a runway, I would have expected it to help.

2. Honiton is indeed about 12 miles from Exeter. Dunkeswell is about 5, and has a nice long tarmac strip that would not be a problem for a 152.

Maybe gethomeitis was a factor here, but I can't help thinking that a no incident landing at Dunkeswell would have been a lot easier to sort out than trying to stretch a glide to Exeter.

OK, the RFF service at Dunkeswell is not the same as Exeter, or maybe they were not 12 miles out from Exeter, so Dunkeswell wasn't an option. On the info in the original message, sorry, but it doesn't quite add up.

and marginally closer to Honiton than Dunkeswell is Farway Common. Slightly less than 600m of grass but any port in a storm....

A 12 mile glide? Honiton is more like 8 or 9 nm from Exeter but even with a 10 knot tailwind that is some glide. I don't know what the lift/drag ratio is on a 152 but let us assume 9:1, he probably should have been able to make it if he was above, say, 6500' (all other things being equal)

Obviously, I have no idea what happened here so no criticism is intended or implied.




[This message has been edited by Cahlibahn (edited 19 April 2001).]

So what did happen?? Hpe PL wasn't the instructor again!! Only joking Paul, what's the score was it NF, LK, FZ or what??
Let us all know.
:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

There is a link to a picture of an upside-down G-BILK here http://www.thisisexeter.com/page.asp...20News&ID=8155

Dunkeswell is (or was) the highest licensed airfield in the UK. I don't think that 'LK could have reached it. She doesn't glide uphill all that well! Farway Common is not always so easy to find - just ask pilots who attend fly-ins there! It is splendidly kept however.
Perhaps heading towards Exeter Airport (getting closer to the Airport's RFF all the time) was the best option available.

Yes, EGTE is right. The engine actually failed at West Hill, virtually on the extended centreline.

I spoke with "PL" at the Exeter Flying Club this lunchtime. Yes, it was indeed he! Spookily enough "P" was with the same student that he had the similar incident with G-BXRN in June 2000. At least they both knew what to expect! The 'photo of G-BILK on the Club Noticeboard (resplendant in the new Flying Club livery) has now been pinned upside down. I understand that 'LK is a write-off.

There should be a further news report on http://www.thisisexeter.com/page.asp...20News&ID=8238


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It's hard to soar with the Eagles when you work with Turkeys!

That answers it.

Some of the info was a bit off :)

West hill is certainly not Honiton, not even close, and it's not that far out from EGTE, like outer marker or there abouts, so no way to get to Dunkeswell, there probably wasn't anything like the height or anything else to do anything other than try to make 26.