AW609 tiltrotor prototype crashes during test flight

[Vertical Freedom]

another Aviation tragedy.....Rest in Peace
Om

yet another for the tilt-rotors.......when will they learn; rotating nacelles are not ever gonna do well, certainly not civil
Om

[Lonewolf_50]

Originally Posted by Vertical Freedom

yet another for the tilt-rotors.......when will they learn; rotating nacelles are not ever gonna do well,

The thousands of hours of V-22 operation do not agree with your uncharitable observation. This particular prototype aircraft is reported to have flown over 500 hours.

Furthermore, these two pilots were out there as part of making something new happen, just like their "forefathers" in flight testing for the past century or so. With your attitude, Igor would never have pursued his successful rotary wing designs ... but let us save the esoteric arguments for another venue, please. These two men gave our community a lot, and sadly we lost them.

[Vertical Freedom]

Lonewolf50 when I did my theory training back in the mid eighties my teacher SD quoted that we'd all be flying these by the time we got a license. Now 30 years later there is still no civil certified version (still testing) & the military, well they do what they like....If they really were so good, so superior? then we'd all be flying them by now to the top of Everest

[megan]

The aircraft has a customer

UAE Picks AW609 for Tiltrotor Requirement

[SansAnhedral]

If they really were so good, so superior? then we'd all be flying them by now to the top of Everest

You can blame modern certification complexity for an entirely new aircraft type, combined with the cost of something for a market (civil) where additional speed is not typically the main driver for profitable operations.

Otherwise, we would also be witness to a plethora of supersonic commercial airliners...don't you remember those promises in the 1980s as well?

[Lonewolf_50]

Originally Posted by Vertical Freedom

If they really were so good, so superior? then we'd all be flying them by now to the top of Everest

Also recall that since the 1960's we've been about 15 years from getting fusion reaction sources of energy ... so maybe not every prediction you ever heard is what you should compare reality and complexity to.

[atakacs]

567h in nine year - about 5 hours per month... I have no real expertise here but is that the typical test schedule ?

[riff_raff]

yet another for the tilt-rotors.......when will they learn; rotating nacelles are not ever gonna do well, certainly not civil

Vertical Freedom,

What evidence do you have that this crash was caused by rotation of the nacelles?

There are news reports of witnesses on the ground stating the aircraft was on fire just prior to crashing. Based on the reported length of time the aircraft was in the air and the distance traveled, it must have spent most of the flight in airplane mode (ie. with nacelles locked in a horizontal position).

[Lonewolf_50]

Originally Posted by atakacs

567h in nine year - about 5 hours per month... I have no real expertise here but is that the typical test schedule ?

Do recall that the program went from Texas to Italy somewhere in the middle of that as Bell signed over their portion to AW.

[jcozine]

AW609 update

Has anyone heard anything about what caused the AW609 crash back in October yet? For a program that was supposedly so close to the finish line I'm surprised not much has come out about it.

[Lonewolf_50]

This thread is a good place for your question/post.


http://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/456...ighlight=aw609

[pilot and apprentice]

Not a thing there, not even a post since the accident

[The Sultan]

In Italy a crash is treated as a crime. In thi case homicide. Nothing will get out until the govt releases it.

The Sultan

[riff_raff]

Some news on the AW609 accident.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/ar...-aw609-422670/

[gmrwiz]

Following the accident of the AW609 occurred last October in north Italy near the Agusta plant, on Thursday May 19th the third prototype, ready to be transferred to the Agusta plant in Philadelphia after the completion of the ground tests in Cascina Costa , has been sequestrated by the magistrate.

[atakacs]

I know that Italy has a fairly ...shall we say... unusual legal system but is this "normal" procedure ?

[SansAnhedral]

They probably want to measure the tail area

[atakacs]

They probably want to measure the tail area

Are you referring to something specific here ? If so it eludes me...

[aerolearner]

Interim Report issued by the Italian AAIB (Agenzia Nazionale per la Sicurezza del Volo, ANSV).

http://www.ansv.it/cgi-bin/ita/AW609...mendations.pdf

[SansAnhedral]

They probably want to measure the tail area

Originally Posted by atakacs

Are you referring to something specific here ? If so it eludes me...

Originally Posted by N609AG interim statement and safety recommendations

...with the new configuration of the rear fuselage and tail fin modifications

Q. E. D.

("augmented dutch roll" due to yaw instability from a modified vertical stabiliser?)