V-Tail crash at my airport

n20junkie

n20junkie

Pre-takeoff checklist
Joined
Oct 21, 2005
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429
Location
Grand Island, NY
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Display name:
Grant Farmer
http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/407646.html

This is a small airport, known as North Buffalo Suburban. They were vacationing, and took off, got out of ground effect, then descended back down, then never got out of ground effect. They turned for the road that parallels the runway, took out a sign, and crashed. They pilot and passenger are alive.
 
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It happened 2 hours ago, but the DA is 2,500, a little high for here, winds vairable at 6.
 
Yah, but the description given fits overweight better than stall/spin. I suppose the two occupants could have been on the plus side.
 
steingar said:
Must have had a boatload of luggage to overweight a Bo!
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Assuming facts not in evidence. We don't know why he went down. Maybe his engine wasn't making full power for some reason. If he actually got out of GE and then came back down, it's interesting. We'll see what the accident report has to say.
 
Yea, from the airport managers statement, They bounced and tried to keep going, where if you had an engine, you would chop and be done with it. I have been at that airport for 4 years, and this is the second overweight off the runway incident in 2 years. The last kid (maybe 19-20) had his father, and two friends, plus golf bags for all in an Arrow, and ended up in the swamp at the far end. They pulled him out with a tractor, and he tried it again, making it on the second attempt. The airport is rough, and has 75 foot trees at the one end, and power lines at the other end, so its kinda boxed in. I really trust the managers statment, he is right on the runway with his office, and does nothing but watch birds take off all day, so he knows if the guy pulled the throttle off or not. I would be willing to bet he was watching to see if this guy would make it. Like us he can tell when a plane looks a little over loaded, as he is the guy that pumps the fuel.
 
Grant,
I don't see the manager's statement in that article. Did he make it to you?
 
dmccormack said:
Bounced on takeoff?

Hmmm.....
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as in a departure stall in ground effect?

that must have been one over weight plane. Glad they are okay, but Wondering how much luggage they managed to stick in there.
 
Well it was a real nice BO. Beautiful paint and interior, glass was perfect, engine compartment clean. But this is what is left of it, I took a trip out to the airport to see it.
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Both are ok, the woman has a bad back, that made it tough for her to get out of the acft, but other than that the seem ok. It hit the wing on the way down, so that kinda absorbed some of the velocity. From the ground scars, it looks to be a low velocity (both down and forward) accident, with the blades being bent back on the prop (clue in to the fact that it wasn't making too much power, cause if it was they usually curl forward).
 
"Investigators said the pilot was flying west when he began experiencing power problems, shortly after takeoff, veered left to avoid a field of trees and crashed on the side of Dunnigan Road."

Am I wrong in assuming from the investigator's statement in the newspaper, that the guy was flying and lost power? I think that is what he is saying. Anyway, what makes us think that he was overweight?
 
Maxmosbey said:
"Investigators said the pilot was flying west when he began experiencing power problems, shortly after takeoff, veered left to avoid a field of trees and crashed on the side of Dunnigan Road."

Am I wrong in assuming from the investigator's statement in the newspaper, that the guy was flying and lost power? I think that is what he is saying. Anyway, what makes us think that he was overweight?
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On first look, the accident seemed to fit the typical High DA, overloaded profile -- takes off, flies in ground effect a while, tries to climb out of ground effect before the fence/trees/whatever, stalls, spins, crashes.

That was purely speculation, of course, and the wreck doesn't look like the pilot stalled/spun it in.
 
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