Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 18

Thread: Student Pilot Falls Out of Aircraft

  1. #1
    Banned
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Posts
    1,718

    Student Pilot Falls Out of Aircraft

    This is tragic but also a headscratcher. In all my 39 years of flying I have never heard of such an event. And with an instructor on board, hard to fathom.

    Buckle up folks!

    http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/03/30...ll-from-plane/

    Addendum: Another more recent report says he was not a student but in fact an experienced pilot who was being checked out in the plane he had recently purchased.
    Last edited by Floatsflyer; 03-30-2013 at 09:17 PM.

  2. #2
    David Pavlich's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Mandeville, LA...humidity central
    Posts
    139
    Tragic, indeed, but bizarre. I wonder how long it will be until they release any details? David

  3. #3

    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    40
    Turbulence? seatbelt? Aerobatics? Seatbelt? When I was in A&P school a student pilot brought a C-150 back with a broken and mostly missing back window. His claim was a brief case that had been in the baggage compartment must have hit the window and broken it. A forceful interrogation revealed the student pilot had been out practicing aerobatics in the 150 when the window blew out. Not implying any subterfuge here, just sayin' there must be a lot more to this story!

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    New Hampshire
    Posts
    1,342
    Funny things can happen in airplanes. Every once in a while the results are tragic.

    A somewhat more humorous story - A number of years ago, I recall that there was maybe a NJ ANG F16 driver who went to use the "piddle pack" and somehow snaggeg the stick in his flight suit or harness. I believe that I recall the story as the airplane started rapidly rolling and the pilot could not get untangled. Essentially lost control of the airplane and finally ejected to avoid being part of the crash. Probably had to suffer through a lot of commentary back at the ready room.

    Fly safe,

    Wes
    N78PS

  5. #5
    Jim Heffelfinger's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Sacramento, California, United States
    Posts
    416
    http://news.yahoo.com/body-pilot-fel...195402250.html

    NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Reuters) - Search crews in rural Tennessee have found the body of a man who fell an estimated 2,500 feet to his death after the cockpit canopy of his airplane opened, officials said on Saturday.
    "They found him in a tree line, not too far off the road," about a half-mile from a volunteer fire station, said Bob Gault, spokesman for the Bradley County Sheriff's Office.
    Gault said he would have to wait until the National Transportation Safety Board completes an investigation before confirming reports that the man was not wearing his safety harness and that the plane had gone into a nosedive at the time of the accident late on Friday afternoon.
    Emergency personnel from Bradley County as well as a Tennessee Highway Patrol helicopter were called into the search for the missing man after his co-pilot was able to fly the plane back toCollegedale Municipal Airport after the accident, according to Gault.
    Local reports said that man who died was an experienced pilot who was being trained to fly the plane, which he had recently purchased.
    Gault said the single-engine aircraft left Collegedale Municipal Airport just outside Chattanooga between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Friday. The flight path took them over southern Bradley County, a rural area with many farms and few communities.
    "There were two pilots on board," Gault said. "At some point during their flight, the canopy on the aircraft malfunctioned and, as a result, one of the pilots was ejected."
    Search efforts from the air and on the ground were unsuccessful Friday night and resumed on Saturday morning. Gault said the fact that the body was in a tree line probably kept it from being spotted from the air.
    The names of the pilots involved have not been released. A worker at the airport who asked not to be identified said both men were experienced pilots and "real nice guys."
    (Editing by Nick Carey and Gunna Dickson)

  6. #6
    Jim Heffelfinger's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Sacramento, California, United States
    Posts
    416
    all other notes on the web are rehash of the same assumed wire service notes.

  7. #7
    Joe Delene's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Wisconsin
    Posts
    327
    One possible reason that may make sense is if he unstrapped & tried to close the canopy. The other guy that was with him should know some details.

  8. #8
    Banned
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Posts
    1,718
    Quote Originally Posted by Joe Delene View Post
    One possible reason that may make sense is if he unstrapped & tried to close the canopy.
    The canopy of the Zenith hinges at the front and opens from the back to a forward position. Unless there was a complete mechanism failure and the canopy just blew off, seems to me that the slipstream would of held it in a downward position somewhat which would not have necessitated unstrapping.

  9. #9
    rwanttaja's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Seattle
    Posts
    2,947
    Quote Originally Posted by Floatsflyer View Post
    The canopy of the Zenith hinges at the front and opens from the back to a forward position. Unless there was a complete mechanism failure and the canopy just blew off, seems to me that the slipstream would of held it in a downward position somewhat which would not have necessitated unstrapping.
    Note that the top-fuselage shape is that of an airfoil, so there's a lot of lift forces at work. The canopy will rise until the drag overcomes the lift.

    Here's a video that shows the pilot of a similar airplane deliberately opening his canopy in flight.... it opens surprisingly wide.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGv0JqKJse4

    Add additional "lift" from 180 pounds of wetware hitting it, and I'm figuring it'll open wide enough for exit. Note how wide one of the commenters in vhe video said *his* opened.

    Ron Wanttaja

  10. #10
    some one could figure out what chapter is local and call'm,,, someone has to know these guys,,,

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •