Pilot ditches Mooney after takeoff at Myrtle Beach

The Mooney roll cage is stout, but hey don't float. Pity to loose another, but glad the guy made it out OK.
 
I wonder if they'll recover the plane to inspect the damage? Would they leave it on the bottom so close to shore? I'd like to know what he hit that made it quit.
 
exncsurfer said:
I wonder if they'll recover the plane to inspect the damage? Would they leave it on the bottom so close to shore? I'd like to know what he hit that made it quit.
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I'd say keep it down there as a artificial reef or Scuba Diving activity...the fish need someplace to sleep. :)
 
Seeing as it (presumably) was laden with petroleum products in the form of AvGas and oil, I imagine the owner (or rather, his insurance company) will be paying a handsome fee to a salvage company to recover it at the insistence of the U.S. Coast Guard.
 
Poor guy, tried to go fly and had to go for a swim instead. I wonder if he porpoised?
 
I can see how ingesting an object (bird or drone piece) just at the right angle (high AOA on a climbout) could rip the fuel lines from both cylinders on one side, rendering the engine pretty much useless for sustained flight and creating the danger of fire, of course. Or a similar catastrophic scenario of engine damage after a small collision.
Heck, maybe even ingesting a bird into the intake ducting could ruin one's day (no idea on Mooney air intakes, just speculating here).

Glad the pilot is okay, the airplane can be replaced much easier than human life.
 
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