Steve Ayres summarises and comments on accident reports from around the world and looks at a dry suit for those over-water adventures…
12 May 2021
The pilot normally flew this aircraft from the left seat. However, as he was flying with an experienced passenger, who had also been his instructor, he ‘elected to fly’ as the aircraft commander from the right seat. This meant his hands were transposed on the control column and throttle lever from their usual position.
During the landing, at approximately 5ft to 10ft agl, the pilot felt the aircraft descending more rapidly than he had intended. To correct the rate of descent, he instinctively pushed the control column forward rather than the throttle, which resulted in a hard landing during which the landing gear collapsed.
The Ikarus C42 primary flight control consists of a control column mounted on a centre console between the pilot seats.
There are two throttle levers pivoted on the cockpit floor directly in front of the seats between the pilot’s legs.
Comment Having spent much of my flying switching seats and swapping hands on controls I was initially surprised by the severity of the outcome from a relatively benign situation.
That is, until I saw a photo of the C42 cockpit layout! It shows a central control stick and control column for
a throttle between the legs of each crew member.
Surely something to confuse the best of us in the heat of the moment…
The pilot took off from a farm airstrip near Rogate, West Sussex, for a local flight and reported that the initial climb performance and engine rpm were normal. On reaching 900ft agl the engine speed fluctuated, and the pilot heard a flapping sound as the propeller drive belt started to fail.
The pilot reduced the throttle setting and the drive belt snapped. He then closed the throttle and the engine stopped abruptly. The pilot set up an approach to a grass field but as he descended the glide deteriorated and the aircraft undershot into a very narrow field, coming to rest against a willow bush. The pilot stated that drive belts of improved quality were now available from the aircraft kit importer.
Comment The life of the original drive belt was only 100 hours, which suggests there wasn’t much of a safety margin built in. Let’s hope the new design of the belt is more robust and lasts more than the 44 hours of the failed one. Small satisfaction for the pilot though as he also ended up with a seized engine, probably resulting from an overspeed as the belt snapped.
The pilot and passenger departed Snohomish County Airport, Paine Field, Everett, Washington, on a flight to Langley, Washington. A witness reported that the aeroplane was turning from the base to final leg of the airport traffic pattern when its nose dropped and it rolled to the left. The aeroplane subsequently entered a steep dive and spun into the trees. The passenger reported that, during the turn from base to final, the aeroplane’s left wing was down, and it ‘fluttered’ like it stalled. It then descended like a ‘lawn dart’.
The aeroplane was equipped with a Garmin VIRB onboard camera, which was mounted just aft of the front seat behind the pilot’s right shoulder and captured the accident flight. Review of the footage revealed that the pilot initiated a left turn from the downwind to base leg of the airport traffic pattern at an altitude of 540ft msl and a ground speed about 77kt. About six seconds later, the sound of the engine’s power sharply decreased, and the pilot’s hand movement was consistent with a power reduction. The aeroplane’s elevator control surfaces were consistent with the pilot commanding positive pitch to the aeroplane.
Comment We shall never know exactly what turned this aeroplane into a ‘lawn dart’. The front seat pilot in command had more than 1,000 hours flight time and the back seater, some 200 hours, and yet the actions of the pilot seem irrational. The wind was calm and visibility greater than 10km. The downwind to base leg turn was, however, flown at 270ft above airfield datum; not a good place to be if you get distracted or mishandle the aircraft.
The accident pilot had been performing touch-and-go landings with several trike pilots when he decided to land and talk to another trike pilot on the ground. After landing and setting the parking brake, he exited his Rotax-powered trike with the engine still running, to go and talk to the other pilot. When he returned to his trike, it had started to move, and he ran after it. As he neared the trike, he attempted to reach around to the right rear strut with his left hand, to stop it. However, the pilot did not see the rear mounted propeller, and his left-hand fingers were struck by the propeller and he was seriously injured.
“His aeroplane had started to move, and he chased after it…”
Comment Sadly, accidents such as this are not without precedent and are no respecter of age or experience. If your aircraft can move it probably will. And if it does, stay out of the way and warn others. It is going to end badly, so why add yourself to the list of casualties. From the outset, stop it and chock it!!
The pilot took off from paved Runway 20 at Roanne aerodrome for a local training flight. After completing two touch-and-go circuits, he set up for a glide circuit with idle power.
Downwind, he performed the checks from memory and declared his intention to carry out a touch-and-go.
On final he performed his pre-touchdown checks which included ‘gear locked down with greens’. Subsequently, the aircraft touched down with the gear retracted and skidded to a rest on the runway.
At the time of the accident the pilot had logged approximately 175 hours of flight time, including about 50 on the accident aircraft. The two preceding flights were on the accident aircraft although the pilot says he originally booked a fixed-gear aircraft before changing his reservation just before the accident flight after seeing F-HTTC was available. He explained that during the approach his attention was focused on the trajectory, speed and aim point.
He also said that he was not familiar with glide circuits on runway 20 and that the right-hand approach to Runway 20 does not provide a natural visual on the left wing on which the pitot probe is fitted with a mirror reflecting the nose wheel. He considers that these factors, together with an ‘insidious’ fatigue linked to his personal situation, may have caused him to forget to extend the landing gear.
Comment Having presumably operated the undercarriage normally for the two preceding circuits it only took the added pressure of focusing on making good his glide ‘landing’ to distract him from the only other thing he had to remember in order to stay safe. We all know ‘task fixation’ is an almost unavoidable human condition and occurs when aspects of the task are unfamiliar and demand concentration. Going through the ‘what ifs’ in the peace of your home before setting off would have helped – avoiding the impromptu, last minute ‘good ideas’. Swapping a fixed undercarriage aircraft for one with retracting gear would, for me, fall into that category!
In order to take aerial shots of a music festival organised at Barcarès over several days, the event organiser called on a drone video production company, Fly Art Prod. The shooting was carried out by two people – a video cameraman and a remote pilot operating the drone. The objective was to take pictures of the audience (a few thousand people) in front of the stage. The drone performed movements between the left side and above the stage. On the fourth round trip and as it returned to the remote pilot, the drone quickly lost altitude and collided with a post to the left of the stage. It then gradually descended towards the front of the audience. It ended up hitting several people and creating a crowd movement. A festival-goer threw the drone to the ground, thus managing to immobilise it.
“The drone clipped a post then descended into the audience, hitting several people”
Comment Although there is plenty of regulation in place to ensure this sort of accident does not happen it relies on observance of that regulation. As it was, the drone operators altered their plans without approval, ignored no-fly and high risk areas and ultimately wiped any digital data from their devices making proper fault analysis impossible. Causing panic and injury was the outcome. Not a great advert for professionalism in the industry.
With lockdown easing, international travel looking likely soon, water temperatures rising and weather improving, what better time to start planning those flying adventures again?
The Typhoon Ezeedon 4 Drysuit is a favourite choice for a lot of aviators needing to cross significant stretches of open water and can be purchased at competitive prices from boat chandlers.
Highly breathable and waterproof it is quick and easy to don, lightweight and flexible. As a result, mobility around the cockpit is not overly restricted. Don’t forget to wear the included lightweight undersuit fleece which provides the warmth an extended immersion may require.
