KAJO 152 off airport landing

Jeremy Billeaudeaux

Jeremy Billeaudeaux

Filing Flight Plan
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GEAUXFLY
Apr 19- Sounds like Closed traffic (doing "touchdowns"-see article) , and lost power on the X wind. Flipped over on landing. Area to the SW of KAJO of set down is riverbed, flood control, railway, and homeless encampents. Industrial, and some residential. Both survived one transported w/ moderate inj. UAS used to locate aircraft
https://www.pe.com/2020/04/19/2-men-injured-in-corona-small-plane-crash/
 
Spoke to the pilot and plane salvage person. Pilot said water in gas tank was the problem.
After 2 landings in pattern; pilot and passenger took off, at 200ft engine died, landed hard near dirt field, short of rock embankment.
Yoke broke off and the shaft nearly pierced the pilot's heart; he also hit his head and can't remember the crash. Passenger had broken thumb.
Plane is total wreck with only avionics recoverable.
There was 5 days of rains last few weeks, this plane had no hangar or cover.
Lesson here is pre-flight and sump the tanks.
 
Wow... lucky. H2O in the fuel... with all the recent rain, I could see how that could be an issue, whether it be from leaky storage, or outside parking. 200 AGL is split second thinking, especially in a climbout. Glad they're alive.
 
Peter Ha said:
Spoke to the pilot and plane salvage person. Pilot said water in gas tank was the problem.
After 2 landings in pattern; pilot and passenger took off, at 200ft engine died, landed hard near dirt field, short of rock embankment.
Yoke broke off and the shaft nearly pierced the pilot's heart; he also hit his head and can't remember the crash. Passenger had broken thumb.
Plane is total wreck with only avionics recoverable.
There was 5 days of rains last few weeks, this plane had no hangar or cover.
Lesson here is pre-flight and sump the tanks.
Click to expand...
The only emergency I ever had was water in the fuel of a flight-school 150, at about 50' AGL. Luckily I was using the 6,000 ft runway into a stiff headwind; I had plenty of room to put it back down. Sumped the tanks, and got more than a pint of water, but had got nothing in preflight.
 
Lotsa SoCal rain in the last month for sure. Here's Prado reservoir in a pic taken last Thursday, with KAJO at upper left. Decades ago in a biblical rain year, there was enough water to submerge the west end of the runway and flood many hangars.

I landed there that day and nearly had a bird strike in the pattern...flew right into the middle of about a dozen geese. Good thing I was only going about 75 knots at the time.

Glad to hear both pilot and passenger survived.

IMG_5062.jpg
 
Hoping for a full recovery, for pilot and pax.
 
Kenny Phillips said:
The only emergency I ever had was water in the fuel of a flight-school 150, at about 50' AGL. Luckily I was using the 6,000 ft runway into a stiff headwind; I had plenty of room to put it back down. Sumped the tanks, and got more than a pint of water, but had got nothing in preflight.
Click to expand...
150s have really flat-bottomed tanks that will do that. A bit of a low spot in the inboard center that can hold water away rom the sump drain. Perhaps they should have had an AD long ago to placard the panel and warn the pilot to tip the airplane back before sumping.
 
AJO Jan 2005. My hangar was near the large white roof. I hadn't taken my RV there yet but my tools were there. Not my photo but I can't for the life of me remember who took it.
rain_damage_recon_027.jpg

Nauga,
who sensed a pattern and relocated to higher ground
 
Dan Thomas said:
150s have really flat-bottomed tanks that will do that. A bit of a low spot in the inboard center that can hold water away rom the sump drain. Perhaps they should have had an AD long ago to placard the panel and warn the pilot to tip the airplane back before sumping.
Click to expand...
One good use for a cheap boroscope is to put it inside your gas tank filler from time to time to check for accumulated crud or water. I used mine recently to check the fuel vent check valve. The Amazon ones for $30 connect via WiFi to a smartphone and run on their own battery so you could even throw it in a flight bag and have it always to do a quick inspection. Overkill? Maybe, but a visual inspection of the tank after heavy rain (or dodgy FBO fuel) would eliminate any question of water.
 
The plane was available for sale and actually sold at auction for $30k the day before the final flight (unable to post link due to being a new member, but check ebay).

I had looked at the plane a few days earlier and the owner took me up for a go around the pattern. I didn't pursue the purchase further because my friend who's an A&P viewed the plane with me, recommending against it.

I spoke with the owner following the accident and best he can recall our flight together was the last one before the incident (but his memory is severely limited). Real shame, the engine just had a major overhaul (including crank replacement) about 3 hours prior and the plane was uninsured.
 
Here is a sad story as a result of water in a fuel tank

One of the local business owners wife was taking flying lessons in Hawaii. After her lesson the instructor and the next student invited her to ride in the back seat during the upcoming lesson. She took them up on the offer.

Engine quit after TO and an off airport landing was made. She suffered permeate spinal injuries and is now confined to a wheel chair. The instructor hit his head on the dash and is now blind.

Sump your tanks folks
 
Matthew Rogers said:
One good use for a cheap boroscope is to put it inside your gas tank filler from time to time to check for accumulated crud or water. I used mine recently to check the fuel vent check valve. The Amazon ones for $30 connect via WiFi to a smartphone and run on their own battery so you could even throw it in a flight bag and have it always to do a quick inspection. Overkill? Maybe, but a visual inspection of the tank after heavy rain (or dodgy FBO fuel) would eliminate any question of water.
Click to expand...

I have this borescope/inspection camera, and for the price it's amazing! This may be a dumb question, but can you stick it in the fuel tank area though to look around without risk of spark/fire/blowing up? I'm even leery looking around in there with a flashlight...
 
Mine is only battery powered and has tiny led lights and is waterproof, so I can’t see any risk of sparks. Static is possible, I guess, but by the time you are up there you are probably in contact with the airframe and grounded out.
 
Matthew Rogers said:
Mine is only battery powered and has tiny led lights and is waterproof, so I can’t see any risk of sparks. Static is possible, I guess, but by the time you are up there you are probably in contact with the airframe and grounded out.
Click to expand...

We probably have the same camera. Mine is waterproof as well. I'm curious to take a look with it as well, I've never thought of it.
 
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