[danielhv]

A 58-year-old Grapevine man died this morning when his low-flying, single-engine plane crashed in a rock quarry in Midlothian, Texas Highway Patrol officials said.
Emergency responders were called to the quarry, which is owned by a nearby TXI cement plant, around 9:15 a.m., said Senior Cpl. Charlie J. Morgan.
The man died on impact and his plane was destroyed, leaving debris scattered over a quarter-mile, he said.
It was not clear why the man was flying so low, or where he was going, Cpl. Morgan said.
The FAA will investigate.
It was the second plane crash in the area in as many days. Richard H. Johnson, 85, of Dallas died Wednesday afternoon when his glider crashed into a wooded area near Midlothian.

Another crash in Midlothian today... Not sure why there are so many lately... seems every day a plane crashes... Condolences to the family, lets be safe out there...

I'm kinda afraid the FAA wll change the regs as a result of so many crashes this year from GA aircraft... thoughts?

 

[Sam Buchanan]

This is tragic news and our thoughts go out to the families.

I'm kinda afraid the FAA wll change the regs as a result of so many crashes this year from GA aircraft... thoughts?

How could the regs be changed to prevent crashes? Ban general aviation?? Have there actually been more GA crashes this year than usual?

 

[danielhv]

This is tragic news and our thoughts go out to the families.



How could the regs be changed to prevent crashes? Ban general aviation?? Have there actually been more GA crashes this year than usual?

I dont have any statistics... just seems like ive seen more this year... could be cause im paying more attention to it tho.

As far as regs... I dunno... set an age limit? No Class B below 3k except t/o and landing? Require recurrent training every 6 months or every year, require all registered aircraft have some sort of recovery chute, etc? Who knows... I may be way off base here, just seems like they will only sit back and just wait for the next crash for so long... I dont want any changes, so dont think I'm trying to stir the bucket here, im just wondering if there is anything they COULD do if the GA keeps ending up in the news.

 

[Phil]

Agreed Sam...

We're dealing with some really dynamic weather in Texas right now. Dolly is bringing fast-moving bands of heavy rain and thunderstorms across the state. The conditions have been changing very rapidly.

Not saying this is a weather related accident, but it is a major factor is Texas Aviation this week. I've got a flight scheduled to go from Houston -> Lawton Oklahoma tomorrow. I'm just hoping Dolly moves far enough West to allow for the flight.

Our family's prayers are going out to both of the pilots and their families. I really hate it when this happens.

Stay safe....
Phil

 

[Webb]

No

This is tragic news and our thoughts go out to the families.


How could the regs be changed to prevent crashes? Ban general aviation?? Have there actually been more GA crashes this year than usual?

My condolences to the families for their loss.

*************************************************

According to AOPA, GA accidents are down 11% for the 1st quarter of 2008 with 32 fewer than in 2007. Also, the lowest in the last 40 years.

The GP's (general public's) impression is that we have thousands of GA deaths each day due to media reporting.

In 2007 there were almost 8.7 MILLION auto crashes with somewhere around 43,000 deaths.

The info below was pulled from an article on aviation safety - I am just the messenger.

There are 16 fatal accidents per million hours of general aviation. By contrast, the death rate for automobile driving is roughly 1.7 deaths per 100 million vehicle-miles. Considering that the average airplane accomplishes a groundspeed of at least 100 miles per hour, those million hours of flight push the occupants of the plane over more than 100 million miles of terrain. Comparing 16 fatal accidents to the 1.7 rate for driving, flying is no more than 10 times as dangerous per mile of travel. And since most accidents happen on takeoff or landing, a modern fast light airplane traveling a longish distance might be comparable in safety to a car.

Considering the recent thread about accidents in pattern, the last sentence above stands out to me.

 

[fstringham7a]

RE:AGE

Condolences to all effected...I sure hate to see these happenings but it is a fact of life,"bad things sometimes happen to good people"...

As to age. I am a good friend of a retired 747 Capt. who has past once again his first class physical.......CFII.....flys and or trains almost every day. He is just short of being 90................

Now I know he is the exception. Maybe annual flight reviews would prove more than some age level or some FAA "made in to a big thing" supposed physical disability.

Sorry to change the subject on such a somber thread but my notion is both these pilots would still fly even knowing the possibilities of our less than perfect hobby!!!!

Frank @ SGU ....RV7A....getting close.......

 

[asav8tor]

As gas goes up total number of GA hours goes down. Less GA hours will result in less GA accidents. The FAA, NTSB will pat themselves on the back due to the lower NUMBER of accidents. The RATE..... accidents, fatalities per 100,000 may go up or down. Doesn't matter you spin the numbers to make yourself look good until you can't. Since the total amount of GA flying will continue to decrease year over year as it has been doing the spin will be fewer accidents, hence no action required by the Feds.

 

[MacNab]

Richard Johnson was an icon in the soaring community. He was probably best known for his detailed flight testing of glider designs. If memory serves me correctly, he was also a builder. Very sorry to hear of his death, but my sorrow is tempered by the fact that he lived a very full life, and died doing what he loved to do.

Tailwinds and cloud streets, Richard.

 

[n5lp]

Richard Johnson was an icon in the soaring community. He was probably best known for his detailed flight testing of glider designs. If memory serves me correctly, he was also a builder...

Maybe most notably the RJ-5 that Dick co-designed and built and then broke the world distance record with in 1951. This flight demonstrated to the world the superiority of laminar flow airfoils for gliders.

http://daddybobphotos.com/Aircraft/Manufacturer/Arlington/Arlington.htm