Close call (non GMC) [message #91402] |
Wed, 07 July 2010 11:35 |
Oldngray
Messages: 544 Registered: August 2009 Location: Punta Gorda Florida
Karma: 0
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Coming up to our Turn off this morning, observed a small BiPlane descending really fast and coming straight at me. There was a Tractor trailer about 1/2 mile in front of me. The airplane disappeared in front of the truck, the truck swerved to the left side of the road and the airplane then climbed over the truck and touched down (dead stick) right in the middle of the road. I had stopped by then, the Pilot lost control, ran off the road and spun around after hitting a small fence pole.
We got to the Pilot right away, he was ok. Slight damage to the left Wing leading edge.
The Pilot (about 80 years) said he lost fuel pressure, turned on his aux pump and the engine ran about 30 seconds then he lost pressure again.
Light traffic, dry road. I asked him if he had seen the power line that he missed by about 50 feet. He said what power lines?
Whew.
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/
Richard MacDonald
Punta Gorda, Florida
Sold our TZE April 2015
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Re: Close call (non GMC) [message #91471 is a reply to message #91402] |
Wed, 07 July 2010 20:54 |
Ken Burton
Messages: 10030 Registered: January 2004 Location: Hebron, Indiana
Karma: 10
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Oldngray wrote on Wed, 07 July 2010 11:35 | Coming up to our Turn off this morning, observed a small BiPlane descending really fast and coming straight at me. There was a Tractor trailer about 1/2 mile in front of me. The airplane disappeared in front of the truck, the truck swerved to the left side of the road and the airplane then climbed over the truck and touched down (dead stick) right in the middle of the road. I had stopped by then, the Pilot lost control, ran off the road and spun around after hitting a small fence pole.
We got to the Pilot right away, he was ok. Slight damage to the left Wing leading edge.
The Pilot (about 80 years) said he lost fuel pressure, turned on his aux pump and the engine ran about 30 seconds then he lost pressure again.
Light traffic, dry road. I asked him if he had seen the power line that he missed by about 50 feet. He said what power lines?
Whew.
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/
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We had a guy flying parallel to our 7000 foot runway crash in a field about 1 block south of the airport. He cleared a 75 foot set of wires, hit the adjacent field field and got it stopped in about 400 feet. At about 425 feet was the start of a forest. I never knew how he did it is such a short distance.
The joke of the whole thing was the visibility was about 100 feet and he never saw the power lines or even knew airport was right there. He just flew it right into the ground. He and his passenger walked away from the crash to go get help from a farm house about 3 blocks away.
When interviewed his passenger said "We were just flying along and all of a sudden there was this big bump and we were stopped in a field."
Ken Burton - N9KB
76 Palm Beach
Hebron, Indiana
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