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N507RV "Sweet Escape" Engine Out

luv2flypilot

Well Known Member
I have not been on here a lot lately so have lost contact with a lot of great people I have met and spoke with along my journey of building N507RV. I am sad to say "Sweet Escape" suffered a loss of engine Sunday 9/20 while I was flying a local flight. I am very thankful to report me and my girlfriend walked away from the incident with minor scratches. I feel the 5 point Crow harnesses and the fact that I had a sliding canopy contributed a lot to our outcome. Here is the preliminary NTSB report that explains what I experienced: http://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20150921X31115&key=1

The NTSB is still in the process of investigating the reason for what I believe was ignition failure based on what happened. My LASAR magnetos were just recently rebuilt 6 months ago due to experiencing a gradual little rougher than normal engine run ups. The mags have appeared to be running strong for the last 20 hours or so of flight the last 6 months. I am not sure what the outcome is going to be with my insurance company as there is quite a bit of damage to the vertical stabilizer, left wing, fuselage, and canopy. I may end up having to rebuild another aircraft or find a project that someone has ready for an engine, panel, and paint to finish up since my time is very limited to involve anther 2,400 hours plus of build time. Again, I am very happy to walk away from the incident and happy the RV air frame is as strong as it was. I will always have many memories in this aircraft and will always treasure the many photos I have on my walls being sponsored and supported by GoPro.


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Sorry to see this. Glad no one was hurt. You built the first one, you can build another.
 
Sad to see such a beautiful ship end up this way. I sure am glad you 2 were OK. Clearly good harnesses helped keep you safe. How fast were you going when it nosed over? I was wondering a couple of other things. Did the front windshield and canopy break out on their own or did you do that to get out?

Just looking for a data point. Did you have the antisplat device on the nose strut?

Time to build another.
 
Sad to see such a beautiful ship end up this way. I sure am glad you 2 were OK. Clearly good harnesses helped keep you safe. How fast were you going when it nosed over? I was wondering a couple of other things. Did the front windshield and canopy break out on their own or did you do that to get out?

Just looking for a data point. Did you have the antisplat device on the nose strut?

Dan, I was able to slow the plan down to about 25-30 mph while on the rear gear only holding off the front gear until it finally came down. The field was very muddy and was doing all I could to keep the airplane straight using rudder control to prevent cartwheeling as we were fish tailing back and forth in the mud. It ended up being an alfalfa field they sock every night, however from the air looked like short crops such as strawberries. My front nose wheel was updated per the SB 07-11-09 nose gear service bulletin from Van's. The field was so muddy, unfortunately a tip over was pretty much inevitable. The canopy cracked on the top where it hit during the front tip over. I am grateful I had a sliding canopy as the frame of the slider served as a roll bar to protect me and my girlfriend. The tip up may have been a different story since there is no support around the plexiglass canopy. We were trapped under the airplane, however once I determined we still being supported by the tail, I was able to kick out the sides of the canopy and escape.
 
Ouch---------------but, planes are replaceable----------people are not.

Hope your insurance will fix it, it sure was a beautiful plane--------the photos dont do it justice.

Glad you are safe.

Mike
 
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Glad to hear you two were ok Bryon.

I can tell you from experience based on viewing your photos, the airplane is very repairable. Less visible damage than most...
 
Glad to hear you two were ok Bryon.

I can tell you from experience based on viewing your photos, the airplane is very repairable. Less visible damage than most...

I hope so. I have never had experience rebuilding a damaged aircraft and determining what is required to replace to insure it is as strong as when I first built her as new.

My insurance company is accepting offers if anyone is interested. I don't have the time with my full time job of running my company for the hours that would be involved and since they claim they will be paying labor it maybe my best scenario. PM me if interested in seeing more photos my insurance company took and are using to obtain estimate quotes.
 
Ouch---------------but, planes are replaceable----------people are not.

Hope your insurance will fix it, it sure was a beautiful plane--------the photos dont do it justice.

Glad you are safe.

Mike

Thanks Mike. We are very thankful and blessed we walked away.
 
Accident

First and most important, you two are ok.
Second, nice job of taking care of the first.
I'm sure you will fix her up good as new.
 
Glad you guys are safe. Sounds like you executed very well.

The one takeaway I have from the report is that it took 25 minutes to egress. Was that all the time it took to break the canopy away? I definitely want to add a canopy breaker to my cocpit. I have always been afraid of not being able to crack the canopy.
 
Glad you two are OK.

Repairs aren't as difficult as they look. Just start cleaning, taking parts off and drilling out rivets til you get to stuff that isn't bent, then build it back up from there. I sure hope the plane can be fixed! She was beautiful.
 
Glad you guys are safe. Sounds like you executed very well.

The one takeaway I have from the report is that it took 25 minutes to egress. Was that all the time it took to break the canopy away? I definitely want to add a canopy breaker to my cocpit. I have always been afraid of not being able to crack the canopy.

Yes, I will also be adding a canopy breaker to my cockpit in the future. Once I knew the engine was not going to restart, I turned the fuel off and even powered down my panel on short final to the field to try and avoid and fire or sparks on impact. It took a while to even pull the seat backrest hinge pins after we were able to release our harnesses in order to make enough room to get leverage to kick out the sides of the canopy.
 
Yes, I will also be adding a canopy breaker to my cockpit in the future. Once I knew the engine was not going to restart, I turned the fuel off and even powered down my panel on short final to the field to try and avoid and fire or sparks on impact. It took a while to even pull the seat backrest hinge pins after we were able to release our harnesses in order to make enough room to get leverage to kick out the sides of the canopy.

Good for you guys. Glad it was a safe ending to the story for sure!
 
Dear Bryon,

Susie, Audrey, Tate and I are all profoundly relieved that you and your girlfriend walked away from this with only minor scrapes and bruises. Thank you for sharing with us the experience (and future repair) of your beautiful airplane.

If there's any way that you think I can help, please don't hesitate to ask.

Again, so very thankful that you both are okay.

The Reeves family
 
Dear Bryon,

Susie, Audrey, Tate and I are all profoundly relieved that you and your girlfriend walked away from this with only minor scrapes and bruises. Thank you for sharing with us the experience (and future repair) of your beautiful airplane.

If there's any way that you think I can help, please don't hesitate to ask.

Again, so very thankful that you both are okay.

The Reeves family

Thanks Doug for your kind words. I have a lot of paperwork and waiting ahead on the insurance company to decide what my next step will be. I hope to be able to repair her back to how she was a few weeks ago, but if not I assure you I will be working on another RV soon. Thanks again!
 
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Wow! Really glad you and your gf are ok! I used to grow Alfalfa and your pretty lucky that alfalfa was short. Mine usually got belly high when it was ready to cut. I dont want to start a debate, but I'm curious if you think you might have made it with a tail dragger?
 
Wow! Really glad you and your gf are ok! I used to grow Alfalfa and your pretty lucky that alfalfa was short. Mine usually got belly high when it was ready to cut. I dont want to start a debate, but I'm curious if you think you might have made it with a tail dragger?

Hard to say, but think I would have had a better chance of keeping her off her back. Based on the fiend conditions a roll over in a nose dragged was pretty much inevitable.
 
Yes, thankfully you had a slider canopy

because my 7-A is a tip up and when I ended up in that position, the damage to both pilot and passenger was a bit more significant. Fortunately, I had good insurance and was able to have a reputable company restore the plane.
I've been through all the paperwork with insurance, FAA, and NTSB, so if I can help answer any questions, contact me off-line.
Again, so glad you both weren't hurt.
 
because my 7-A is a tip up and when I ended up in that position, the damage to both pilot and passenger was a bit more significant. Fortunately, I had good insurance and was able to have a reputable company restore the plane.
I've been through all the paperwork with insurance, FAA, and NTSB, so if I can help answer any questions, contact me off-line.
Again, so glad you both weren't hurt.

I really appreciate it Chuck.
 
Great news that you all were not hurt. As someone said already, planes are replaceable. You obviously did a fantastic job getting the plane to what seemed to be a good field. It's tough to tell even when you are low and just checking out the area. Great job piloting and God bless.
 
Bent tin, but saved the bacon

It is sad to see the bent tin, but I'm glad to hear you are ok!
I work for the ATSB (Australian version of the NTSB) and it s funny, I only gave a presentation to my local chapter (Chapter 15 Brisbane) last night about managing partial power loss, and ultimately total loss of power. One of the points I kept harping on about was to fly the aircraft...maintain speed and attitude etc to within the aircrafts and your limits.
From what I see here is you did a perfect job! You stayed in command of your machine and got yourselves down safely!
Well done, congratulations, and I'm extatic that you are here to post on VAF!!!
 
Rollover

Bryon, glad to see you and your girlfriend are ok. I hate seeing this sort of thing. Hope everything works out fine.
 
Open Canopy?

Bryon,

So glad you both walked away. In hindsight, should opening the canopy on short final be part of the emergency extremely-soft-field landing procedure?

Thanks,
Ryan
 
like all the sentiments posted here, glad you two are ok!
I've been following you on instagram and your flying exploits have been wonderful and inspiring. Hope to see you in the air sooner than later!
 
Nice flying

It's been said but again, superb job flying the airplane and maintaining control all the way till she flipped! That's the way to do it. Really glad you are both came out of this unharmed.
 
Bryon,

So glad you both walked away. In hindsight, should opening the canopy on short final be part of the emergency extremely-soft-field landing procedure?

Thanks,
Ryan

Ryan, I always practice landing on the mains and keeping my nose up as long as I can just about every time I land in the event this ever did happen to me. I also practice periodically simulated emergency landings over my airport and go through emergency procedures in my head for different emergency scenarios as we can never be too safe. As far as opening the canopy as part of my scenarios I think through periodically, I remember an EAA meeting we had a few years back when an emergency coast guard rescue member indicated that it would be a good idea for a water landing. I like the fact that the canopy protected me since the frame worked as a roll bar. If you look at the photos of my plane sitting in my hangar, you will see that the canopy frame took a bit of the impact and saved our heads in my opinion. Maybe others have an opinion on this as well that can chime in.
 
like all the sentiments posted here, glad you two are ok!
I've been following you on instagram and your flying exploits have been wonderful and inspiring. Hope to see you in the air sooner than later!

Thanks Moll780

I have enjoyed every minute in this aircraft. Van's are in my mind the most versatile and fun airplane to fly. I have had a great time working with GoPro, my aerobatic instructor, and most of all fellow pilots, EAA members, & Van's builders along the way.

My Instagram photos may not quite be as exciting with my baby in the hangar waiting for the insurance and NTSB to sort things out. I would love to share my exploits and follow others that are here on Instagram. Feel free to follow me if your on there. My user name is the same as it is here luv2flypilot.
 
Ryan, I always practice landing on the mains and keeping my nose up as long as I can just about every time I land in the event this ever did happen to me. I also practice periodically simulated emergency landings over my airport and go through emergency procedures in my head for different emergency scenarios as we can never be too safe. As far as opening the canopy as part of my scenarios I think through periodically, I remember an EAA meeting we had a few years back when an emergency coast guard rescue member indicated that it would be a good idea for a water landing. I like the fact that the canopy protected me since the frame worked as a roll bar. If you look at the photos of my plane sitting in my hangar, you will see that the canopy frame took a bit of the impact and saved our heads in my opinion. Maybe others have an opinion on this as well that can chime in.
I?m not sure how much the canopy frame would help you, I suspect what did help you the most is the actual roll bar, on a slider it?s in front of your head so on a nose over your head is up hill from the roll bar and the ground, on a tipper the roll bar is behind your head so in a nose over in a tipper it?s going to crush everything on a straight line between the top of the cowl and the roll bar. At the very least I think you will have more room to maneuver inside the plane after this kind of event in the slider verses the tipper.

I hate seeing these kind of photos, very happy you guys are ok!
 
I?m not sure how much the canopy frame would help you, I suspect what did help you the most is the actual roll bar, on a slider it?s in front of your head so on a nose over your head is up hill from the roll bar and the ground, on a tipper the roll bar is behind your head so in a nose over in a tipper it?s going to crush everything on a straight line between the top of the cowl and the roll bar. At the very least I think you will have more room to maneuver inside the plane after this kind of event in the slider verses the tipper.

I hate seeing these kind of photos, very happy you guys are ok!

Have to agree Russ. I guess I am thankful for our outcome and was able to walk away so I am just glad on what I had to protect us. Very true that the drawing a line from the vertical stabilizer to the spinner would be the most accurate since the vertical stab is the highest point. The canopy frame was bent, but likely because if you draw this line, it was in the same path. I am sure the tip up model is safe as well as it just depends on the scenario of events. Luckily I was able to keep the front gear up for quite some time and slow the plane down prior to the flip over.
 
I too am glad you two came out OK. For me the best part is that you are able to tell the story after the fact. Many of us think how easy it would be to land with an engine out but there have been many accidents that did not involve a debrief afterwards. Many seemingly simple engine outs progress into stalls with no after event stories from the pilot or passengers. Kudos to you Bryon and I hope my future possible event comes out as well.
 
Please keep us posted as to the causal findings of the investigation. I am glad you are ok.

When I was flying RC and there was a crash of somebody's beloved airplane, the common wisdom was to bring the wreck home and not look at it for several days, so the emotion could eb away (meaning so you would not scream and yell and jump on it!). Then one could make an objective assessment of the work required. I think so much of the time involved in building an airplane is scratching your head, trying to figure stuff out, that a repair should take quite a bit less time than a build. You already know where all the hoses and wires go. You just have to replace the bent stuff and put them all back. I hope you do because its a nice airplane.
 
Really happy you guys were able to walk away safely. I can only think that your experience in your plane really helped you have the best outcome you could.
 
Anti-Splat?

I couldn't find that you had mentioned this elsewhere in the thread. Is there an anti-splat on that nose strut? Interesting either way.

Dave
RV6a
OKB
 
I couldn't find that you had mentioned this elsewhere in the thread. Is there an anti-splat on that nose strut? Interesting either way.

Dave
RV6a
OKB

Dave, My front nose wheel was updated per the SB 07-11-09 nose gear service bulletin from Van's however I did not have an anti-splat on the nose strut. The field I ended up landing in consisted of 12" deep very soft mud under the short alfalfa crop, so I am not sure how much it would have prevented a tip over. I will say that my rebuild will consist of installing the anti-splat on my airplane.
 
Ryan, As far as opening the canopy as part of my scenarios I think through periodically, I remember an EAA meeting we had a few years back when an emergency coast guard rescue member indicated that it would be a good idea for a water landing.


If you look at the recent video of a 7 dead stick landing near a beach in Europe, following an airshow mid-air, as soon as the gear hit the water and the AC decelerated, the canopy slamed shut.
 
Battery Switch

I'm curious why you have something that looks like a marine battery switch on your firewall? Can you tell us what this is for?

Skylor
 
If you look at the recent video of a 7 dead stick landing near a beach in Europe, following an airshow mid-air, as soon as the gear hit the water and the AC decelerated, the canopy slamed shut.

One recommendation from the Grumman pilots is to stick your headset over the canopy track just before a crash landing so the canopy sliding forward won't jam in a stuck closed position.
 
REPAIRABLE

HI BRYON, Glad you are ok and your friend, think about buying the aircraft from the ins. co. take the money they give you and find someone to rebuild it,
it will be a lot cheaper than a new one ,
I am rebuilding a rv6 that went off the airport runway, more damage than you plane, you have to work backwards, and have a plan to put it back together and not lose your alignment, the engine may be ok , but I would still take it to an engine shop for a teardown insp. cheap ins, I am a retired airline a&p and as a hobby , rebuilt several wrecks , nothing like a bus mans holiday.
the trouble with vans nose gear airplanes is the nose gear is weak and tire to small plus design of the nose gear itself, next time at airport look at Cessna's and piper , beech, the anti splatter reinforcement for the nose gear is good, until the airplane flips over , it will cause more damage, the stress has to go somewere. it seems there is a lot of flip over's with the nose gear rv's they dig in real easy, thank you for your time. A1
 
NO FUEL

P.S. SOUNDS LIKE AFTER THE ACRO , YOU LOST FUEL, ENGINE SPUTERING. MAY STILL HAVE HAD IGN, WHEN YOU FIND OUT , WILL YOU POST IT. A1
 
P.S. SOUNDS LIKE AFTER THE ACRO , YOU LOST FUEL, ENGINE SPUTERING. MAY STILL HAVE HAD IGN, WHEN YOU FIND OUT , WILL YOU POST IT. A1

I had done only a a few aileron rolls. Then level flight and clearing turns for at least a minute with no issues. The first thing that came up on my panel was the electronic ignition going into back-up mode followed by rough engine. I had approximately (9) gallons of fuel per wing. I switched to other fuel tank as well going through my procedures prior to engine finally completely going off with prop windmilling. Not saying it was not fuel, just does not seem the events may have happened the way it did.
 
Glad the outcome was what it was. Nice.

Didnt happen to have the go pro filming did you??

No I did not Rick. I had the cameras in photo burst mode at the time connected to my remote in the cockpit. I did not even think about changing them to video mode then letting them record since I was too busy going through my emergency procedures and looking for a good place to put here down.
 
I'm curious why you have something that looks like a marine battery switch on your firewall? Can you tell us what this is for?

Skylor

This is a battery disconnect so that my airplane does not draw any current and run down my battery while in the hanger for a period of a month or so during the winter time. I have a Vertical Power VP-200 installed, which always draws off the battery since it has a remote control that allows you to wake up the airplane power and remotely test your strobes, landing lights, etc. Its a millamps draw, however over a period of time my Odyssey PC680 battery would not have enough power to start my plane. The LASAR ignition also requires quite a bit of battery draw on start up.
 
Canopy open?

If you look at the recent video of a 7 dead stick landing near a beach in Europe, following an airshow mid-air, as soon as the gear hit the water and the AC decelerated, the canopy slamed shut.

A number of years ago in VAF I read of an RV-8 that lost the engine and ditched somewhere between Hawaiian islands. I'm pretty sure that pilot opened the canopy (pre-impact) and it slammed violently shut upon water impact. His "lesson learned" was therefore to unlock it, but leave it closed until all motion stopped, and then pull it open and egress.

Doug
 
Be thankful that you both walked away. That's really all that matters and you did all the right things nice job saving both of you. I fly an Aviat Husky as well as the RV7 and the protection in the RV definitely concerns me in an engine out failure. Mine is not a slider
 
Be thankful that you both walked away. That's really all that matters and you did all the right things nice job saving both of you. I fly an Aviat Husky as well as the RV7 and the protection in the RV definitely concerns me in an engine out failure. Mine is not a slider

You are correct Robb. We are both very grateful and blessed. The outcome could have been different and the location of where it happened. I was very familiar with the area near my home airport which helped quite a bit. This could have easily happened on a cross country flight over mountains or rugged terrain.
 
Engine out landing

Very good landing! I wish more pilots would land like you did when their engine drops dead.
You did well.
Take care and enjoy life, the airplane is just metal that can be replaced.
 
Be thankful that you both walked away. That's really all that matters and you did all the right things nice job saving both of you. I fly an Aviat Husky as well as the RV7 and the protection in the RV definitely concerns me in an engine out failure. Mine is not a slider

Could you elaborate a little as to why you are not satisfied with the potential protection the rv7 offers or were you specifically speaking in regards to the tip up?
 
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