iscover
Smooth form of private transport or killer in disguise? The answer lies totally in how the aircraft is flown. While a high angle of attack combined with low airspeed at minimal altitude might look impressive, it is also a quick means of ending one’s time on earth. (Bill Lines)
Air Safety — They Can Turn and Bite
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They Can Turn And Bite
The fatal general aviation accident at Walgett in northwestern Nsw late last year in which four lives were lost is still under investigation by the Bureau of Air Safety and the official report is yet to be released. But the Bureau’s likely findings on the cause of this needless tragedy that took place during a local airshow should not be hard to predict. The aircraft, a “push pull” Cessna 337A, made a high speed pass over the runway at extremely low altitude, zoomed up into a rapid climb and, when steeply noseup with the speed obviously falling off, rolled to the left as though about to execute a wingover or a stall turn. Instead, its nose dropped sharply and, with the speed quickly building up again, the aircraft dived vertically into the ground. The consequences were inevitable — for the Cessna and all on board.
A review of accidents involving high wing Cessnas over the years that have been operating in Australia shows that time and again when spur of the moment liberties of this sort are taken at comparatively low altitude, hapless pilots have been caught out by a sudden, completely unanticipated, and obviously total loss of control, resulting in a near vertical dive to disaster.
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