Hay Copper! Plane crash - thoughts?
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the pilot radios the tower: “Reporting engine failure. It’s not working.”
There's some cross-talk followed by this from the pilot: “I don’t know what to do.”
While losing the engine like that, right after takeoff, his first thought should have been - "land straight ahead". That should have been drilled into him.
Every few flights his instructor should ask just after takeoff, "What would you do if you lost the engine now?". The answer should be immediately, "Land straight ahead". That is a no brainer. Those exact 3 words, every time.
The absolutely, positively wrong answer is turn around and land at the airport. That is known as the Impossible Turn. It is impossible because you don't have enough altitude or speed at that point and if you try to turn you will just burn your altitude and speed, then stall and crash.
Is that what happened? I have no idea, but that is the classic and the map seems to show him in position for this to happen.
How did he lose his engine? Unknown.
Is the instructor going to be asked some difficult questions by the FAA? Yes.
That guy really damned the instructor by saying "I don't know what to do".
Losing the engine is something that should be practiced. The correct thing to do is find a place to land and land. He shouldn't be flying solo without demonstrating his ability to do it.
Do students regularly say their instructor never told them something that the instructor told them many times? Yes. I hope this instructor can demonstrate that he reviewed this procedure. The student's log book should show it.
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"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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@George-K said in Hay Copper! Plane crash - thoughts?:
@Copper if he was taking off on Runway 22, and that's a big if, did he really have any alternative?
It looks like a heavily settled area, he probably didn't have a lot of great choices. It looks like there are a couple streets that might work, but there could be telephone poles or antennas or wires or trees.
This account adds a clue.
https://www.wisn.com/article/pilot-remains-in-critical-condition-after-wauwatosa-crash/40129339
Air Traffic Control: Are you a solo?
Pilot: I'm sorry I didn't have my flaps up.
He might have taken off with his flaps down by mistake. This wouldn't stop his engine but it would make the plane feel bogged down.
If he then put the flaps up, that would reduce drag, but it would also reduce lift and raise stall speed. That could contribute to a stall and loss of control.
I wonder if it is possible he didn't really lose his engine, but he thought he had reduced power because his flaps were down. The story at the link above says it was his first solo. If he took off with full flaps it would feel very different than what he was used to feeling. And if he then raised the flaps, that sudden loss of lift could contribute to a stall and crash.
The report is not on the FAA web site yet. You will see it here when it is posted, the final report could take months. https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-main-public/query-builder?month=5&year=2022
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Well, the article says the pilot crashed the plane and doesn’t say the plane crashed on its own so I assume the kid was white.
The Brad
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@LuFins-Dad said in Hay Copper! Plane crash - thoughts?:
Well, the article says the pilot crashed the plane and doesn’t say the plane crashed on its own so I assume the kid was white.
555
