PA 28- 140 wreck

4300’ MSL, a tad warm at times too. Glad they made it, don’t care for funerals.
 
“Variable winds coupled with the plane's load are believed to be contributing circumstances to the crash.”

sure, let’s say light winds added to the problem.
 
bflynn said:
“Variable winds coupled with the plane's load are believed to be contributing circumstances to the crash.”

sure, let’s say light winds added to the problem.
Click to expand...

I've actually read that light winds attribute to more landing accidents than moderate winds. Something about pilots letting their guard down because the wind is light. Probably not the problem here.

Lets see a Cherokee 140 (a two person airplane most days) with four people, on a hot day, that didn't rotate until almost 10 mph faster than the pilot was used to, then wouldn't climb. Whatever could cause such a problem?
 
midwestpa24 said:
rotate until almost 10 mph faster
Click to expand...

Standard procedure for taking off in a plane that is over weight.

Not that I have any experience in doing that......:cool:

But yeah, sounds like density altitude plus weight may have played a big part in this accident. More importantly the folks inside the plane walked away to fly another day.
 
Zeldman said:
Standard procedure for taking off in a plane that is over weight.

Not that I have any experience in doing that......:cool:
Click to expand...

Been there, done that, but from the quote in the article it almost sounds like the pilot wasn't expecting it. Might have been his first time taking off in a fully (or over) loaded airplane.
 
Are the flaps down? Or is that from the crash? Happy out how intact the plane stayed (cabin, wings, etc.) and glad everyone got out okay.
 
Tantalum said:
Are the flaps down? Or is that from the crash?
Click to expand...
I was wondering the like a same thing. If they were that could have been the straw that broke the camels back, with extra drag. 4 adults in a 140 seems like a bad idea to me.

Had my *ss pucker with an over loaded plane going from NV to AK. When I landed in Twin Falls I off loaded about 150 lbs and mailed them to AK. I was moving and the plane was packed with all sorts of stuff.
 
AKBill said:
I was wondering the like a same thing. If they were that could have been the straw that broke the camels back, with extra drag. 4 adults in a 140 seems like a bad idea to me.

Had my *ss pucker with an over loaded plane going from NV to AK. When I landed in Twin Falls I off loaded about 150 lbs and mailed them to AK. I was moving and the plane was packed with all sorts of stuff.
Click to expand...
Damn!

yeah I wondered if maybe they had flaps down thinking it would add a little extra lift or if it was a last-ditch effort
 
Tantalum said:
Damn!

yeah I wondered if maybe they had flaps down thinking it would add a little extra lift or if it was a last-ditch effort
Click to expand...

Cherokee POH calls for first notch of flaps for normal takeoffs. Two notches for short/soft.
 
I've flown with three adults, averaging 180 lbs, in our pa28-140 on two occasions. That was more than enough to confirm the care that needs to be taken with w&b and fuel calculations.
 
I usually rotate at 55 in the PA-28-140 that I fly as per the POH, but it does have the 160hp engine so maybe that has an impact. just caught my eye when I saw in the article that eh pilot said his rotation speed was normally 70mph.

On a side note, I typically fly with my wife and one child. This week I took the wife up for a date night flight, just her and I and the plane was switched at the last minute to one she hasn't been in. Its not the prettiest plane the school offers but its still a 172 which is what we use most of the time when she flies with me. Afterward she commented that even though the plane looked worse aesthetically it lifted off sooner and climbed faster. I reminded her that we had one less person on board and actually less fuel than normal as it was only a 1 - 1 1/2 hour flight planned so I wasn't concerned when I saw we only had 3 hours of fuel. I think she now understands why I'm so big on getting accurate weights for everyone and then calculating how much fuel we need.
 
Four adults in a 140 in summertime? There go our insurance rates again...
 
To midwestpa24, I have a 1969 PA-28-140B and I do not see in the POH where it states standard procedure for takeoff is 1 notch of flaps. Flaps are used for short field and soft field only. Where did you see in the -140 POH 1 notch is used for standard takeoff?
 
midwestpa24 said:
...Lets see a Cherokee 140 (a two person airplane most days) with four people, on a hot day, that didn't rotate until almost 10 mph faster than the pilot was used to, then wouldn't climb. Whatever could cause such a problem?
Click to expand...

Will Kumley said:
I usually rotate at 55 in the PA-28-140 that I fly as per the POH, but it does have the 160hp engine so maybe that has an impact. just caught my eye when I saw in the article that eh pilot said his rotation speed was normally 70mph...
Click to expand...

I used to own a Hershey bar Cherokee 160. My preferred method for a typical zero flap takeoff with ample runway was to lift the nosewheel and fly it off at a constant pitch angle. If my Cherokee was allowed to accelerate to a higher than normal takeoff speed by deliberately holding the nosewheel on the runway it had a tendency to pitch up as the weight came off the main gear. Especially noticeable with any weight in the back seat. That required a deliberate push on the yoke to reduce the pitch angle or the plane had trouble accelerating.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top