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-   -   5 RV Accidents in the last Month (April/May 2019) (https://vansairforce.net/community/showthread.php?t=171789)

gmcjetpilot 05-23-2019 02:42 PM

5 RV Accidents in the last Month (April/May 2019)
 
In the last month April to May there have been five RV accidents.

5/18 Ohio RV-6 (1 fatal) - takeoff possible loss of power on takeoff (witness stated engine slowed then surged)
4/29 Washington RV-6 (2 fatal) - in flight impacted water 1000' south-southeast of runway 31 (no witnesses)
4/26 Oklahoma RV-6 (non-fatal) - landing nose over on grass (tail wheel)
4/18 Oregon RV-8 (2 fatal) - in flight "loss of control"
4/12 South Dakota RV-12 (non-fatal) - takeoff on snow covered runway veered off runway, nose gear folded.

In a month period 5 reported accidents, 3 fatal. :( Please be careful.
2 In flight
2 Takeoff
1 Landing

N941WR 05-23-2019 03:38 PM

George, for comparison, any idea how many Cessna's crashed in the same period?

SabreFlyr 05-23-2019 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by N941WR (Post 1348451)
George, for comparison, any idea how many Cessna's crashed in the same period?

I understand what you’re trying to say but that’s not the point. This is our community and we need to be concerned about a serious uptick in accidents. Let’s not be satisfied if our accident rate compares favorably, or even close to, any other pilot group.

Sorry to make such a post and then go offline. I’m about to board a commercial flight (God save me! :)).

sglynn 05-23-2019 04:45 PM

Reliability
 
But there is value to reading these. I've just started flying my recently finished RV-7A. I've got 10 hours on her. I've flown Piper Cherokees for 20 years and have grown a feeling of reliability for the Cherokee. I just don't wonder if anything mechanical will break. it won't. It's reliabile. I do not yet have that comfort feeling on my RV. I built it. Did I get it right? Will nuts back off, will things loosen up? What's going to go wrong? I'm not concerned about pilot error, that could happen on any airplane. But I'm hoping my confidence in my RV will go up and become as assured as I am for the Cherokee. So far it is doing great. I read the accident reports looking for possible mechanical failures, fuel filters being plugged, control rods coming loose, but I really don't see any.

I wonder how many hours flying it will take until I "feel" confident the RV machine is a solid, reliable performer?

Ironflight 05-23-2019 04:53 PM

It’s good to remind folks to have a look at accident reports becasue that is where the value lies - knowing WHY an accident happened - just knowing that it did doesn’t help you prevent another one, except to up your vigilance.

The sad truth is that this is the time of year when we always see an uptick in the stats. I get a monthly report on Experimental accidents as part of my work on the EAA Homebuilt Advisory Council, and you can see the bump in April and May every year as folks get their airplanes out of storage and try to brush off skills that have become rusty over the winter.

If there is any good news, we are still under our record from last year.....

Yen 05-23-2019 05:50 PM

It may help prevent accidents if we post anything that could easily be missed.
I lost the cap to my brake fluid reservoir in my RV4. I put a Davis drain valve in as a temporary fix and locked it open. Somehow the temporary, became permanent. One day on takeoff I had a nose down pitch, but thought I was just overpushing the stick to lift the tail.
Weeks later I landed and gave the brakes a dab, just to check they were OK and continued the roll out, but as the speed dropped and the downthrust on the tail lessened the tail came up to near vertical.
I think what happened is that the Davis valve must have got to a closed position. When I dabbed the brakes the pressure in the reservoir dropped and air got round the Davis valve as if it was a non return valve. I released the brakes but they were still applied.
Lesson learnt is you have to think of even the most obscure possibilities.

BillL 05-23-2019 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sglynn (Post 1348471)
I wonder how many hours flying it will take until I "feel" confident the RV machine is a solid, reliable performer?

My first confidence jump was after annual (condition inspection). I did find a couple of important bolts low on torque, but I am sure that one of those was just missed. A spar bolt was at half torque. I had them in and out three times and used a half then full torque each time, so I am sure that one was on me. I rechecked every spar and control bolt for torque.

scard 05-23-2019 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sglynn (Post 1348471)
I wonder how many hours flying it will take until I "feel" confident the RV machine is a solid, reliable performer?

It took me about 450hrs before I started to accept that we built a proper machine that wasn't going to kill us in the next 30sec. That was a long time ago, and oh the places we've been since...

Mark Dickens 05-23-2019 06:47 PM

Taking the RV-12 out of the mix because of the nature of the accident, I wonder how old the rest of the planes were...3 RV-6s and a RV-8. I'm not saying that older planes are less safe, but I do wonder if complacency and a sense of comfort set in when you've flown a plane for years and no-one is looking over your shoulder when you go through the condition inspection. Just a thought.

Bugsy 05-23-2019 08:39 PM

Thanks
 
Appreciate the reminder. The math may say we are safer than others.

Statistically the N of 1 that equates to my butt in the seat needs a reminder to be safe.


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