172 down in Iceland

Kyle N said:
Website for the pilot of the airplane: https://volcanopilot.com/
Click to expand...
The UNC student also had a photography business. It was so successful he dropped out of Chapel Hill to pursue it. He was making good money and traveling the world. A promising life cut short.
 
Really sorry for your loss, Michael
 
The pilot was the president of Iceland AOPA. R.I.P. to all.
 
It's rough when tourists die in aircraft accidents. Something that's supposed to be fun and adventurous turns into tragedy for the survivors.

I always hate reading about these things.
 
3393RP said:
It's rough when tourists die in aircraft accidents. Something that's supposed to be fun and adventurous turns into tragedy for the survivors.

I always hate reading about these things.
Click to expand...

Same with me.
 
I don't know how their accident investigation system works, but I wanna know the W&B numbers with four in a 172. I did it once, and they were four skinny people (as I once was skinny.)
Not that it may have mattered.
 
Kenny Phillips said:
I don't know how their accident investigation system works, but I wanna know the W&B numbers with four in a 172. I did it once, and they were four skinny people (as I once was skinny.)
Not that it may have mattered.
Click to expand...
I kind of wondered that myself. Give it a generous 780lb useful load with 30 gallons of fuel and you have 600 lbs left. 150 each person.
 
Jeff767 said:
I kind of wondered that myself. Give it a generous 780lb useful load with 30 gallons of fuel and you have 600 lbs left. 150 each person.
Click to expand...
There's a pretty wide variety in 172s... Just sayin' and this probably wasn't the first time up with four people. The plane clearly got to the crash site, so I'd suspect something other than weight issues, even if they were above the legal limits.
 
Jeff767 said:
I kind of wondered that myself. Give it a generous 780lb useful load with 30 gallons of fuel and you have 600 lbs left. 150 each person.
Click to expand...

I’ve seen 172s with an over 1000lb useful load.
 
Kenny Phillips said:
That would be a rare thing, without an STC. Ours had right at 900 lbs.
Click to expand...

How do we know it didn’t have an STC?? I would guess that pretty much anyone who wants to carry 3 pax in a 172 would have the Air Plains or Penn Yann 200 pound increase w/ the 180hp upgrade.
 
Last edited:
Setting aside the limits of the POH, we all now that the limits decrease with density altitude

By the same calculation, allowable loads go up with negative density altitude. Alaska bush pilots have been benefiting from that performance boost as long as airplanes have been up there.

I would expect the density altitude at the time of the accident was well below the standard temperature of the ratings. This does not consider structural issues, just horsepower available, and airspeed required to provide the needed lift.

I am inclined to believe that something other than over gross was the cause. Maneuvering for optimum picture angles comes to mind, as I have done this, but at well below gross limits.
 
My 172N with the Air Plains 180 hp STC had a useful load of 763 lb. If I'd limited the flaps to 30° it would go up to 1013 lb useful -- that's 773 lb of people with full 40 gallons of fuel. Snug, but do-able for 4. I'd think density altitude is not much of a problem in Iceland.
 
DavidWhite said:
How do we know it didn’t have an STC?? I would guess that pretty much anyone who wants to carry 3 pax in a 172 would have the Air Plains or Penn Yann 200 pound increase w/ the 180hp upgrade.
Click to expand...
It may well have, as EASA/FAA have an agreement regarding those, and Iceland is under EASA. And likely Icelanders aren't as fat as we are in the USA.
 
Was there any info on how it went in? Giving them all the benefit of the doubt, wondering if this could have been as simple as a random engine failure, and a ditching that didn't work out well. Getting four people out of a 172 in the water doesn't sound easy in warm weather. In the cold, it sounds kinda terrifying.
 
My 172P with 180hp conversion had about a 1,000lb useful load.
 
Did the flight take place at night? The article says the aircraft was discovered at 11pm, but it wasn't clear what time of day the flight took place. At this time of year, I expect night fall starts very early there.
 
A relative asked me about this accident? I don’t see much info? Yes, the plane flew to the accident site, cool temps & low elevations would help.

How was the weather? Possibly a little heavy with maneuvering flight? Not saying what happened, just wondering.
 
One of the passengers was a skateboarder, big time Youtuber. Looked pretty skinny in the photograph. Former UNC student probably was too, young guy. Pilot didn't look like a big guy in his photo. You can take four skinny people in a 172, works just fine.
 
Albany Tom said:
Was there any info on how it went in? Giving them all the benefit of the doubt, wondering if this could have been as simple as a random engine failure, and a ditching that didn't work out well. Getting four people out of a 172 in the water doesn't sound easy in warm weather. In the cold, it sounds kinda terrifying.
Click to expand...
Even if they get out [and one report suggests that all four did] the water temperature isn't conducive to swimming for more than a few minutes. I'm assuming they didn't have PFDs.
 
Kenny Phillips said:
Even if they get out [and one report suggests that all four did] the water temperature isn't conducive to swimming for more than a few minutes. I'm assuming they didn't have PFDs.
Click to expand...

That's exactly it. Cold water is a dangerous thing. Even with flotation jackets and warm clothing, you don't have much time in near freezing water.
 
At 41 degrees water temp, a typical person would be hypothermic in 10 minutes or less.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top