Plane crash 1982 Roanoke Texas
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For the pilots amongst you: I need a helping hand in finding information on a plane crash which happened on 27 april 1982 in Roanoke and involved the death of two people.
One of the victims was my cousin. Rumour has it that he was a flight instructor during that particular flight.
The mother of my cousin (my aunt) is 95 years old now, but doesn't know much about the tragedy. I'm quite reluctant to bother her about her loss at this age, so any information (official, press, whatever) would be very welcome and will only be used for family history.
Thx in advanceWim
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This is where you find this: https://www.ntsb.gov/Pages/monthly.aspx
I'm having trouble finding this report because either the web app or the data is messed up
I ask for Apr 1982 and I get Apr 1983
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Got it
Filed under Roanoke TX, not VA I had assumed VA
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This is kind of familiar, not this particular incident, but the problem.
There were 2 people in the plane, a student pilot in the left seat and an instructor in the right seat.
I flew airplanes that could develop the problem that occurred here. It was well known and, to be honest, scary. The problem is that the front row seats slide forward and back to allow access to the back seat and to get the pilots in the correct position.
The seat is held in place by pins that slide down into holes in a metal bar. To adjust the seat you pull up the pins, slide forward/back, then drop the spring-loaded pins back into the holes.
What apparently happened is that the plane was climbing and the pins came loose. This forced the student pilot's seat to slide backward, probably way back. The student then grabbed the yoke and pulled it, a natural reaction, but also a very bad mistake. This caused the plane to go nose-up, stall, then spin into the ground. At such a low altitude there was no room to recover.
In the Findings #2 it says there was an improper pre-flight inspection. They say this because the seat was found in the full back position and the seat pin locking mechanism should have been inspected and tested before the flight. Testing this seat lock should have been on the pilot's checklist. I always performed this test with a very firm push/slam for reasons that should be obvious.
They also mention that the student delayed relinquishing control to the instructor. I assume this means that the student kept back pressure on the yoke while the instructor was trying to save the plane by pushing forward on the yoke. I'm not sure how they know this. But that is what I would have been doing if I was in the right seat and if there was any delay in relinquishing control I hope I would have been punching the student in the throat as hard as I could, there was no time to debate this.
The punch in the throat may sound harsh, but this is the kind of situation that instructors will talk about with each other. If the student locks-up you have to be ready to fix the problem. My plan for a panicked student that I couldn't overpower was the punch in the throat. A female instructor that I worked with told me that she had to do this one time to a big guy that she couldn't overpower.
