wrecked the Fairchild today

Tom-D

Tom-D

Taxi to Parking
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Feb 23, 2005
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Tom-D
Doing touch and goes at BVS and she got away from me. Ground looped and tore the gear off and it went down on the belly.

She is probably totaled. we will wait until the insurance company evaluates, then make our decisions.

pretty easy guess, pilot error. I got distracted at touch down, and allowed it to touch in a skid, from there I was along for the ride. No excuses, simply my fault.

no injuries, except to my ego, feeling pretty bummed. :(

second accident in 58 years.
 

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Sorry to hear about that- Time heals all wounds.
 
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so sorry, TD. that just sucks.
 
DeeG said:
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so sorry, TD. that just sucks.
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You know the old adage? any landing you can walk away from is a good one?


IT's a LIE
 
bent metal, torn fabric, broken wood, but no skin was lost, we be good to go do it again.
 
infotango said:
Those pictures bring me pretty close to tears Tom. We all know how much love you put into that airplane.
Really sorry to hear about that.
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Here is a lesson for every one who reads these messages.

Stay proficient.

at the cost of fuel and other priorities, I have not been flying the 24 as much as I should, and in one blinking second she got away from me.
 
Tom:

I grieve for this, because of the love and toil, and the incredible art, of your restoration.

Sorry for this to have happened.

Glad you are not hurt.
 
Oh, that looked such a pretty plane. Sorry for your loss! =(
 
Okay, the words that escaped my mouth:
"Oh, F*ck! Merde!"
Tom, I'm so sorry. I know you had a lot of sweat equity in that bird.
 
Guys $ Gals, I appreciate your thoughts, but my next thought turn to what the FAA and ntsb will do.

we await monday, lets see what they say.
 
Shi- Happens, what doesn't kill ya just makes you smarter.
 
BTW, did you have Ed Lane as a DPE? LOL








(trying to inject some humor!)
 
Just think, If I must restore it again, I will not have to do the wings, horizontal, elevators, interior, engine, cabin box, wires. hoses, engine, I will have to do the fuselage lower section, and gear legs.

we will see what the insurance company says.
 
Tom-D said:
Shi- Happens, what doesn't kill ya just makes you smarter.
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Hang in there. Sorry you have to deal with this Tom. Life happens.

My grandpa always said; "If you don't screw up once in a awhile you ain't living."

That is what insurance is for.
 
Man, sorry to hear that. That is a sick feel - ask me how I know.

You'll have her back flying in no time!
 
Sorry to hear this Tom, and to see those pictures. If anyone can make that plane like new again, it is you. Glad you are OK.
 
Best of luck with the FAA/NTSB, Tom. If you get away from them unscathed, then you can focus on putting Humpty Dumpty back together again :). I know you feel terrible for letting your airplane down, but like everyone has said, everybody screws up once in awhile, but a lot of times we don't get caught.
 
Really sorry to hear Tom. Other than the prop strike, how did the Warner fair?
 
Wow sorry to hear about that Tom. My friend ground looped his RV-4 and with all the money from the insurance got a new engine overhaul. Sometimes these things turn out pretty good.
 
Sorry about your loss, Tom; and best of luck with FAA, NTSB, and the insurer.

-Rich
 
I remember the build and videos of test flights etc. you put a lot of love and sweat into that plane. Sorry about the ground loop yet am relived that you are un harmed. Hang in there.
 
Velocity173 said:
Wow sorry to hear about that Tom. My friend ground looped his RV-4 and with all the money from the insurance got a new engine overhaul. Sometimes these things turn out pretty good.
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Yea, considering the check should cover what it costs to hand the plane to someone and say "fix it", and Tom is going to do the work himself, he should come out pretty well in the money department.

The question is what will he have to do as a pilot, to keep flying. I don't know what the rules are about pilot error and your license.
 
Such a pretty bird,hoping for the best outcome Tom,glad you're all right. Focus ahead,not behind you
 
That hurts! Glad you are OK. Guess, if you want, you have a new project.

Gary
 
Tom-D said:
Guys $ Gals, I appreciate your thoughts, but my next thought turn to what the FAA and ntsb will do.
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There is nothing the NTSB will do other than investigate, and they'll probably delegate that task to the FAA, which means an Inspector from the local FSDO.

As to what the FAA will do in addition to investigating on behalf of the NTSB, as a general rule, a landing resulting in aircraft damage not due to mechanical failure means a 709 ride on landings for the pilot involved. Expect a letter within a couple of weeks after they do the investigation giving you 30 days to complete that ride with an FAA Ops Inspector or have your pilot certificate taken from you and held at the local FSDO (effectively suspending your pilot privileges) until you do. Since this involved a tailwheel plane, that ride will have to be done in a tailwheel plane if you want to retain tailwheel privileges. In addition, it would be unwise to show up for that ride without first obtaining some training on landings from a qualified instructor in the plane in which you intend to take that ride.

One other point -- expect a close examination of the aircraft's maintenance records by an Airworthiness Inspector in addition to the investigation of the flying end of the event by an Ops Inspector.
 
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Mafoo said:
Yea, considering the check should cover what it costs to hand the plane to someone and say "fix it", and Tom is going to do the work himself, he should come out pretty well in the money department.

The question is what will he have to do as a pilot, to keep flying. I don't know what the rules are about pilot error and your license.
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I don't know how well this will turn out, it was only insured to about half what it was worth.

And I don't think I am willing to repair it my self.

We will see what happens as this progresses.
 
Ron Levy said:
There is nothing the NTSB will do other than investigate, and they'll probably delegate that task to the FAA, which means an Inspector from the local FSDO.

As to what the FAA will do in addition to investigating on behalf of the NTSB, as a general rule, a landing resulting in aircraft damage not due to mechanical failure means a 709 ride on landings for the pilot involved. Expect a letter within a couple of weeks after they do the investigation giving you 30 days to complete that ride with an FAA Ops Inspector or have your pilot certificate taken from you and held at the local FSDO (effectively suspending your pilot privileges) until you do. Since this involved a tailwheel plane, that ride will have to be done in a tailwheel plane if you want to retain tailwheel privileges. In addition, it would be unwise to show up for that ride without first obtaining some training on landings from a qualified instructor in the plane in which you intend to take that ride.

One other point -- expect a close examination of the aircraft's maintenance records by an Airworthiness Inspector in addition to the investigation of the flying end of the event by an Ops Inspector.
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I'm not worried about the maintenance records, but getting a tail wheel aircraft to ride in might present a problem.

I'll wait and see what the NTSB says, This may be placed as an Incident, not an accident.

I talked to the NTSB last evening, and will again on monday. He stated he would be coming up to see the aircraft and do the investigation. And yes, he will be accompanied by a FSDO rep. probably my PMI.
 
Tom-D said:
I'm not worried about the maintenance records, but getting a tail wheel aircraft to ride in might present a problem.

I'll wait and see what the NTSB says, This may be placed as an Incident, not an accident.

I talked to the NTSB last evening, and will again on monday. He stated he would be coming up to see the aircraft and do the investigation. And yes, he will be accompanied by a FSDO rep. probably my PMI.
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I feel your pain. A year ago, it was also a quick lack of attention (I can only suppose), that buckled my RV's landing gear. The C/S prop also got it. It ended up as an incident. I only carried liability ins.
 
I am so sorry Tom. Those photos just about tore my heart out. This is the worst thing I've seen here in a while.

Landing any aircraft is a frighteningly complex business, an antique tailwheel aircraft doubly so. We're only human, and we will bollux the job from time to time.

I sincerely hope it turns out all right in the end.
 
Yeah, but it doesn't feel like it at the time. Sorry it's bent, glad you're not.

Tom-D said:
Shi- Happens, what doesn't kill ya just makes you smarter.
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My first airplane, a Stinson Voyager (108-3) got away from me on an icy runway and ended up on its back. Met with FSDO, he listened to my story then commiserated with me on the woes of big tails and little rudders. Classified it an incident and bid me a good day.

Best wishes for an equally good outcome and a quick repair.
 
Ron Levy said:
There is nothing the NTSB will do other than investigate, and they'll probably delegate that task to the FAA, which means an Inspector from the local FSDO.

As to what the FAA will do in addition to investigating on behalf of the NTSB, as a general rule, a landing resulting in aircraft damage not due to mechanical failure means a 709 ride on landings for the pilot involved. Expect a letter within a couple of weeks after they do the investigation giving you 30 days to complete that ride with an FAA Ops Inspector or have your pilot certificate taken from you and held at the local FSDO (effectively suspending your pilot privileges) until you do. Since this involved a tailwheel plane, that ride will have to be done in a tailwheel plane if you want to retain tailwheel privileges. In addition, it would be unwise to show up for that ride without first obtaining some training on landings from a qualified instructor in the plane in which you intend to take that ride.

One other point -- expect a close examination of the aircraft's maintenance records by an Airworthiness Inspector in addition to the investigation of the flying end of the event by an Ops Inspector.
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One issue could be if the FSDO wants to do the 709 ride in the aircraft type. I am not sure what the basis is, but there was a guy recently at MYF that ground looped his Great Lakes and apparently the San Diego FSDO wanted him to do the 709 ride specically in the accident airplane after it was repaired. Got to be a real pain as the FSDO was breathing down his neck and the repairs were taking quite a bit longer than originally anticipated.
 
sorry to hear of your situation. Glad you are well.
 
Sorry about the accident, but like others said I'm glad you walked away unscathed except for your ego. And Geico nailed it.
 
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