Talking about disappointment!!

[aelkins]

I sometimes browse the salvage listings just to pass time.
At http://www.aigaviation.com/salvage/N...vageN5779.aspx
there is a 1997 RV6A listed that the pilot reported a nosegear collapse on landing causing the aircraft to veer into nearby trees.
Recalling the recent thread here pertaining to the -A models appearing to suffer nosegear failures, I decided to read the NTSB report on this accident.
http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?e...13X01779&key=1
(Interesting reading.."The pilot reported 196 total hours of flight experience, 7 hours of which were in make and model. He also reported that there were no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane.)
The sad part is, it 'appears' that this plane was recently purchased and it was his first attempt at landing it at his home airport.
Can you image searching for just the right plane, finally finding it.. grabbing some transisition time, and suffering a total loss on the first landing at home.

This is an eye-opener to remind me to get transistion time that INCLUDES landings (and take-offs) on airstrips that are more challenging than my home airstrip. (2500' grass). That way, when I find that special plane, I'll feel comfortable bringing her home.

P.S.
If the above accident pilot is reading this.. I'm glad you made it out safe, and best-of-luck on your next RV..

[pierre smith]

I Quote:

While landing the 1,500-pound RV6A, the pilot closed the throttle at touchdown on the upslope, crested the rise, and climbed "much higher than my previous aircraft." The airplane remained airborne a greater distance down the runway than usual, and a "strong crosswind blew it" off the south side of the runway where it landed and subsequently struck a tree.

I see a couple of really avoidable mistakes here (I also saw the airplane on AIG's website). 1. With only 7 hours in the airplane and an attempt to land on an undulating, 2600' runway?? Most transition training students generally use that much runway to start off with and as they get more accustomed to the airplane, they practise shorter and shorter landings at bigger airports and then measure the rollout distance before going into this kinda airport.

2. The winds were reported as 5 gusting to 14. An RV will easily handle that but many pilots can't. A go-around could have saved the day, IMHO.

You're correct in that good transition training will help. What it can't control however, is a pilot's judgement after that training. A well thought out, methodical approach to landing on short runways is to practise a lot and become very good at maintaining precise airspeed that you know you need to land short. If you're 5-10 MPH faster in these slick little airplanes, you could double your rollout/landing distance.

My .02c

[f1rocket]

2600' of grass sounds like more than enough to get down in time. I suspect the pilot may have carried too much airspeed onto final, which caused him to fly off the bump. Yes, a go around sounds like the reasonable action.

With these machines, it's all about airspeed control. Ten extra knots will just eat up runway like crazy.

I agree, too bad this had to happen so soon after purchase. I think back to RIck Gray losing the engine on his newly purchased Rocket and I just feel so bad.

[Rick6a]

Originally Posted by f1rocket

.......I suspect the pilot may have carried too much airspeed onto final...............

We can't really know what happened in this particular case but to avoid that potential "woulda, coulda, shoulda" scenario, I am a firm believer in the AOA system. When my sensory cues would have me believe I might be getting a bit too slow on final, the AOA system is always there to remind what the margin really is....and as often as not tells me its okay to slow down even more.

[az_gila]

Originally Posted by pierre smith

......
A well thought out, methodical approach to landing on short runways is to practise a lot and become very good at maintaining precise airspeed that you know you need to land short. If you're 5-10 MPH faster in these slick little airplanes, you could double your rollout/landing distance.

My .02c

Pierre ... his previous plane was a Grumman Cheetah IIRC... they suffer from similar landing speed/distance problems as the slick RVs.
When the Grummans first came out, most of the landing accidents were at the far end of the runway...
This pilot thought the gross weight difference was a major factor (blown sideways easier?)... Stall speeds are probably very similar...

gil in Tucson