An airport friend of mine crashing his new
biplane (Easy Eagle, VW powered) on
it's maiden flight at my airport this
afternoon. He just got he airworthiness certificate today, and
when the weather cleared, he made the first (and
last) flight. Thankfully, I was too busy getting pages
from work to go out to
watch.
He managed to take off in
about the first third of the runway, but then was barely climbing. Rather
than set the plane back down, he tried to go around the pattern, but barely made
200 feet of altitude. He made two turns, and was heading downwind, but
when he tried to turn toward the airport, he lost enough lift that he sank into
the trees between a couple houses. The fuel tank split open on impact, and
covered him, and the plane with fuel, which then ignited. Amazingly, he
got himself out, and walked away from the plane, though still on fire, and
somewhat in shock. The first people on the scene ushered him into a large
mud puddle that he was standing right next to, and got the fire out.
He was taken to the USA burn center in Mobile by
Life Flight, and the news reported severe burns to more than 50% of his
body.
Suddenly, I don't feel so
foolish for wearing a Nomex suit for my real test flights (first flights, and
anytime I change anything significant).
I'm getting tired of hearing about friends crashing, and so
is my wife...
The lesson here is two fold- if it ain't right, put it back down when
you still have 2/3 of the runway remaining. Part two is wear protective
clothing. This guy walked away from the crash itself, but the burns will
ruin his life, if he lives at all. If we're going to be test pilots,
we need to take every precaution that test pilots take, and plan for the
unexpected. This guy was a good pilot, and flight instructor, but
didn't take enough precautions.
Sorry to rant, or preach, but I've watched him scratch build this
plane over the past couple years. He was always there, and always
working on it. I'm just sick about the whole
thing...
Rusty (not a good
day)