RV-6 down in CA

BrickPilot · #1 08-28-2006, 06:48 PM

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...AGR8KQNVS4.DTL

Bummer. I heard about this just after it happened - my plane is in for annual at the Gnoss field in Novato, CA, from where (apparently) the RV-6 took off shortly before the crash. I had heard that it was a 6A, and another rumor has it that it was a transient flyer, not based at Gnoss.

BrickPilot · #2 08-29-2006, 08:20 AM

The pilot was Terry Tevis.

http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/p...03/1033/NEWS01

Lux Wrangler · #3 08-29-2006, 12:39 PM

Here is an article with some additional information and pictures:

http://www.marinij.com/marin/ci_4254494

robertahegy · #4 08-29-2006, 03:33 PM

Very sad!!!

Roberta

prporter · #5 08-29-2006, 03:44 PM

You can already see the biased slant in the articles towards experimental aircraft.

robertahegy · #6 08-29-2006, 05:01 PM

I did not notice any bias against experimentals in the two articles posted. Could you point any bias out?

Roberta

rv9aviator · #7 08-29-2006, 05:22 PM

Me neither Roberta. I noticed they actually noted a few positive facts about kit built planes that you usually don't see.

robertahegy · #8 08-29-2006, 05:35 PM

Maybe he meant good bias?

Roberta

brianwallis · #9 08-29-2006, 07:30 PM

Well... my heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends. It seems that when they use the term handcrafted... it convays a sense of pride and quality. I'm glad they got Mr Krugers view's from Vans... I wonder what the real cause was... no time of crash was determined. I belive it was at night. I dont believe they filed any sort of flight plan either. I'm also wondering if there was an ELT signal. In the last 4 annuals I've done... I've had to send the ELT's out because nobody seems to be doing the proper G-switch checks and also they are not making proper power. No names.... but when these cheap elts were first made... 6/8 would fail testing right from the factory... I know they have gotten better but I'm still concerned.
Keep flying safely!
Brian
AA-1A Driver
N357BW Reserved

gmcjetpilot · #10 08-30-2006, 03:45 PM

From article:
-------------------------------------------------
Tom Corda, a fourth-generation dairy farmer, said he was not surprised by the crash.

The dairy is under a flight path used by flyers following the Petaluma River, he said.

"Airplanes fly low here frequently to try to get away from the fog," he said. "I knew it was just a matter of time. Flying 110 mph, it doesn't take you long to find dirt."
-------------------------------------------------

The above was not a spacific comment on experimental aircraft, but he does imply there is scud running going on by local pilots to get under the marine layer with rolling hills. There may be some truth to his comments but who knows what happened here. The pilot was a local pilot from what I read, so he should have known the terrain.

Sadly I gather from reading the other article, another plane crashed nearby on the same property about 10 years ago, with similar CFIT appearances (Controlled Flight Into Terrain).

Again thoughts and prayers to the families, and my above comments are in no way reflection on what actually happened, since I don't know, just comments on the articles.