RV-12 in Homosassa FL

Ed Haywood

Ed Haywood

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Big Ed
Ed Haywood said:
Not much damage for a fatal off-airport crash. Looks like maybe it landed on a road and nosed over, crushing the canopy. Do RV-12's have a roll bar?

apnews.com

Executive of Tyler Perry Studios dies when plane he was piloting crashes in Florida

The president of Atlanta-based Tyler Perry Studios has died when the small plane he was piloting crashed on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
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The rollover structure is behind the pilot and passenger's heads. Depending on what the canopy lands on, how tight the belts are, and a million other factors, bad outcomes are possible.
 
not much of a rollover structure then.
 
Looking closer, appears to be considerable damage to nose and front seat area. Looks like it is resting on the rollover structure, but canopy forward of that is crushed.

Surprising how little damage there is to tail, wings, and gear.
 
The Flightradar track of the fatal flight is interesting. The last few minutes look to be a lot of maneuvering at low altitude. And slow.
 
hindsight2020 said:
for an RV-12 that's rather stipulated.
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Looks like he may have been trying to locate the airport. If he had a full tank, would he be low on gas? Maybe he confused a road for the runway and couldn’t get the runway lights on.
 
"Executive of Tyler Perry Studios dies when plane he was piloting crashes"

I hate it when guns shoot people and planes crash and kill people. I guess AI is a lot further ahead than I thought.
 
Ed Haywood said:
Not much damage for a fatal off-airport crash. Looks like maybe it landed on a road and nosed over, crushing the canopy. Do RV-12's have a roll bar?

apnews.com

Executive of Tyler Perry Studios dies when plane he was piloting crashes in Florida

The president of Atlanta-based Tyler Perry Studios has died when the small plane he was piloting crashed on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
apnews.com apnews.com
Click to expand...
I suspect the nose first impact that completely removed the engine from the airframe was violent enough to cause the fatal injuries, not the inversion.
 
Nighttime cross-country flight, six months after receiving private pilot certificate 6/8/2024.
 
If he was looking for Cross City, he was about 5 miles south. But looks like he turned straight north at the end, so either he figured out his error, or he was just sightseeing.

Screenshot_20241208-222455.png
 
NoHeat said:
Nighttime cross-country flight, six months after receiving private pilot certificate 6/8/2024.
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Pretty adventurous route for his experience level ... maneuvering out over the water at night.
 
Jask said:
Looks like he may have been trying to locate the airport. If he had a full tank, would he be low on gas? Maybe he confused a road for the runway and couldn’t get the runway lights on.
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2:10 flight originating from Cedar Key. No fuel available there. Flight prior was 2 hours from Atlanta. Total flight time was 4:10 with 2 takeoffs. Google says RV-12 endurance is 3.5 hours with 45 minute reserve.
 
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Ed Haywood said:
2:10 flight originating from Cedar Key. No fuel available there. Flight prior was 2 hours from Atlanta. Total flight time was 4:10 with 2 takeoffs. Google says RV-12 endurance is 3.5 hours with 45 minute reserve.
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Those numbers are convincing. I'm guessing that he suddenly realized that fuel exhaustion was imminent, given your fuel numbers, and the track. It looks like he was cruising on heading-mode auto pilot, then suddenly went off autopilot to descend and turn circles between 0' and 350' for about 10 or 15 minutes, consistent with looking for an off-field landing spot at night.

I found the crash site on google maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/wLX4zTHxLqZSyfZHA

In the StreetView screenshot below, you can see the same "enter" sign as in the newspaper crash photo. Notice the utility pole and wires, just feet from where the plane came to rest, maybe 50' from the big highway.

Screenshot 2024-12-09 at 4.17.56 PM.png


1733781502081.png
 
donjohnston said:
If he did run out of fuel, had he just kept flying north instead of all the maneuvering over Homosassa, he would have made it to Crystal River with no problem.
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Or if he had hopped over to Crystal River to gas up before wandering around at night.
 
Juan sounded stumped on this one. In for the tox reports on this one. That or was he simply buzzing some house? Strange flight.
 
bonefishpete said:
Juan sounded stumped on this one. In for the tox reports on this one. That or was he simply buzzing some house? Strange flight.
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IIRC he missed the no fuel in Cedar Key. There also seemed to be some inconsistencies in his experience in Juans video compared to this thread.

Given Ed's post on the probable fuel situation, I am starting to believe he was looking for an airport / crash site.
 
Bacho said:
IIRC he missed the no fuel in Cedar Key. There also seemed to be some inconsistencies in his experience in Juans video compared to this thread.

Given Ed's post on the probable fuel situation, I am starting to believe he was looking for an airport / crash site.
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Weather I believe was severe clear. I assume plane was gps equipped how could he not find the airport? His circles were well to the south of Crystal river airport.
Strange.
 
Jask said:
Looks like he may have been trying to locate the airport. If he had a full tank, would he be low on gas? Maybe he confused a road for the runway and couldn’t get the runway lights on.
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Most if not all RV12’s have a 10” Dynon display. Really hard to not be able to find a runway.
 
That road is very prominent with heavy traffic. Zero chance of mistaking it for a runway.

His flight path is bizarre, given his fuel status. If he had hopped over to Crystal River to gas up before sightseeing, he would be home with his family now.

Screenshot_20241212-095407.png
 
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