Another LSA Crash in Monroe, Michigan

[Runtoeat]

A Kitfox LSA piloted by an 84 year old crashed today in Monroe, Michigan. The passenger, who was the pilot's Grandson, took the following video of this crash. Both are OK due perhaps to the plane crashing into a corn field which may have cushioned their crash? This was at a private grass strip and was the second airplane crash in this area this year. A previous crash at Custer airport killed all three occupants aboard a Piper single engine.

My link

[Jim Meade]

A Kitfox LSA piloted by an 84 year old crashed today in Monroe, Michigan. The passenger, who was the pilot's Grandson, took the following video of this crash. Both are OK due perhaps to the plane crashing into a corn field which may have cushioned their crash?

 

I doubt if the corn field had much cushioning effect. Power lines around here are about 20' to the bottom wire, so if the top wire is another 4' above that, the drop wasn't that far in the first place, and the plane probably had a lot of energy absorbed by stretching the wire before it became disentangled.

 

 

 

 

 

This was at a private grass strip and was the second airplane crash in this area this year. A previous crash at Custer airport killed all three occupants aboard a Piper single engine.

 

 

 

This sort of reporting always drives me nuts. I don't see any relationship between the two crashes, which weren't even at the same place. The inclusion of the second crash implies some sort of relationship and creates the impression that crashing must be common or at least frequent. Why do we do this to ourselves? I have to fault the reporter also for not including the phrase that no flight plan had been filed. We all know that causes crashes!

[FlyingMonkey]

This sort of reporting always drives me nuts. I don't see any relationship between the two crashes, which weren't even at the same place. The inclusion of the second crash implies some sort of relationship and creates the impression that crashing must be common or at least frequent. Why do we do this to ourselves? I have to fault the reporter also for not including the phrase that no flight plan had been filed. We all know that causes crashes!

 

Assuming the pilot was flying under sport pilot rules, they also didn't report the pilot did not have a valid medical at the time of the crash, another obvious cause...journalistic malfeasance!

[FastEddieB]

As I've stressed before, I try to plan my approaches so I can be at full flaps and idle at 50 to 100 feet. And I still pretty regularly throw in a bit of a slip at the end to "get 'er down".

 

In general, steeper approaches are safer approaches.

[Runtoeat]

I agree with your lament about "sensationalizing" these crashes. There is a hesitation by me to even put this on our forum but it is hoped that this information will be educational for others here. Unofficial information is that the pilot mostly flew alone in his Kitfox and that the grandson weighed 200+ pounds. Perhaps, what would have been his normal altitude going over the wires may not have been enough with the extra weight of the grandson causing a faster sink rate than what the pilot may have been accustomed to? Perhaps there may have been mechanical problems or engine problems? I always fight complacency and strive to stay alert and sharp but it only takes one lapse in concentration or for one to become overconfident or cut some corners regarding normal personal limits and the end result can end up being what we see here. I know that these incidents could happen to me and my hope is that posting this helps other pilots stay sharp and to always be ready for the unexpected.

[FredG]

Eddie,

Thanks for your thoughts about safe approaches. I have read some pilots recommend against slipping lower than 100 feet while pilots I respect often slip to less than 50 feet. Is there a common recommendation about slipping on short final and the point at which the approach should become stabilized? I fly a CTsw, but I suspect the recommendations will be similar for most small airplanes.

Fred

[FlyingMonkey]

Eddie,

Thanks for your thoughts about safe approaches. I have read some pilots recommend against slipping lower than 100 feet while pilots I respect often slip to less than 50 feet. Is there a common recommendation about slipping on short final and the point at which the approach should become stabilized? I fly a CTsw, but I suspect the recommendations will be similar for most small airplanes.

Fred

 

I have slipped a Tecnam down to just above the flare. Just straighten it out, which will slow the decent, and ground effect will cushion even more. Not sure how advisable that is in a CT, but you can slip all the way down if you need to.

[FastEddieB]

Eddie,

Thanks for your thoughts about safe approaches. I have read some pilots recommend against slipping lower than 100 feet while pilots I respect often slip to less than 50 feet. Is there a common recommendation about slipping on short final and the point at which the approach should become stabilized? I fly a CTsw, but I suspect the recommendations will be similar for most small airplanes.

Fred

 

I feel comfortable holding the slip right until the beginning of the roundout, and my rule-of-thumb for beginning the roundout is more or less one wingspan. So I do hold it below 50'.

 

The key is to be comfortable with it. For me, I do them nearly every landing. I had a Citabria 7ECA with no flaps and once at idle slips were the only way to increase rate of descent.

 

There's nothing inherently risky about slipping. In fact, every crosswind landing is (or should be) made in a slip. Admittedly a side slip compared to a forward slip, but they are aerodynamically identical.

 

I'll look later to see if I have a video that shows my routine slip on final.

[FastEddieB]

I think this approach over tall trees into Blue Ridge Skyport shows it off best.

 

You can fast forward to about one minute in.

 

 

You can see a slight slip (inclinometer ball at the top center of the panel) from when I roll out on modified final, then a full slip once the trees are cleared, held pretty much to the flare.

[Jim Meade]

People hold a crab all the way to the "kick out" stage where the upwind main touches down just as the plane straightens out. It would seem to me that slipping all the way in is OK as long as the pilot is comfortable in the transition to the landing orientation.

[FredG]

Thanks for your responses. As you inferred, I was asking about the more aggressive forward slip used to loose altitude on final (in comparison to the side slip used to align the airplane with the runway during landing in a crosswind). I realize that, aerodynamically they are identical, and differ only with respect to the path of the airplane with respect to the ground, but one is typically done more aggressively than the other. Slips to manage crosswind on landing must be done until the mains touch, of course. I am comfortable with both slips, I just didn't know if the forward slipping to the flare (or just before) was considered poor practice.

[Runtoeat]

My friend frequently side slips if there's a X-wind or forward slips his CTLS right down to where he's a few feet above the runway. The final few feet where he brings his CT out of the slip and levels out and touches down is a fluid and beautiful thing to experience. This ballet is normally carried out with 35 flaps so the nose is decidedly down until leveling out and it seems like all is being done in slow motion. I'm not there yet but I'm learning from one of the best.