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)