Dave Swartz
August 16th 03, 06:49 AM
There has been a lot written about spins and spin recovery over the
years. Yet, each year we continue to loose a few pilots to spins.
I'm aware of 2 Pitts S2B's (each with 2 aboard) that spun in this
April and an S2C that spun in last September (again with 2 aboard).
"http://www.ntsb.gov/NTSB/brief.asp?ev_id=20030506X00623&key=1"
"http://www.ntsb.gov/NTSB/brief.asp?ev_id=20030428X00580&key=1"
"http://www.ntsb.gov/NTSB/brief.asp?ev_id=20021002X05260&key=1"
I do not believe the Pitts S2B and S2C are any more or less prone to
spin accidents than other aerobatic aircraft - they are certainly used
more heavily in instruction which means that they will accumulate more
hours "at risk" with pilots still learning the basics of aerobatics
and spins.
One of the S2B's was on an instructional flight (spun out of a
hammerhead according to a witness quoted by a news article shortly
after the accident) and the S2C was piloted by a CFI that normally
used the aircraft for aerobatic instruction. By normal standards,
these aircraft were flown by experienced pilots. The same can be said
for many other spin accidents that have occurred here and abroad over
the years.
There have been discussions within the IAC from time to time
considering what (if anything) we should do as an organization to
improve the situation. The consensus has been that each pilot is
responsible for his own safety. I believe that pilots that fly
aerobatics without substantial training in all spin modes are at some
risk - much of which could be eliminated through proper training.
It is usually quite difficult to determine exactly what went wrong for
any given spin accident. It is possible to come up with flight
scenarios that can be probable causes for spin accidents. I've posted
an article with an admittedly yellow journalistic title of
"Unrecoverable Spins" at:
http://www.FlightFantastic.US/Spin_Training.htm//Unrecoverable_Spins.htm
Any discussion of the subject, even if it includes disagreement, can
bring the problem into stronger focus.
Dave Swartz
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
http://www.FlightFantastic.US
years. Yet, each year we continue to loose a few pilots to spins.
I'm aware of 2 Pitts S2B's (each with 2 aboard) that spun in this
April and an S2C that spun in last September (again with 2 aboard).
"http://www.ntsb.gov/NTSB/brief.asp?ev_id=20030506X00623&key=1"
"http://www.ntsb.gov/NTSB/brief.asp?ev_id=20030428X00580&key=1"
"http://www.ntsb.gov/NTSB/brief.asp?ev_id=20021002X05260&key=1"
I do not believe the Pitts S2B and S2C are any more or less prone to
spin accidents than other aerobatic aircraft - they are certainly used
more heavily in instruction which means that they will accumulate more
hours "at risk" with pilots still learning the basics of aerobatics
and spins.
One of the S2B's was on an instructional flight (spun out of a
hammerhead according to a witness quoted by a news article shortly
after the accident) and the S2C was piloted by a CFI that normally
used the aircraft for aerobatic instruction. By normal standards,
these aircraft were flown by experienced pilots. The same can be said
for many other spin accidents that have occurred here and abroad over
the years.
There have been discussions within the IAC from time to time
considering what (if anything) we should do as an organization to
improve the situation. The consensus has been that each pilot is
responsible for his own safety. I believe that pilots that fly
aerobatics without substantial training in all spin modes are at some
risk - much of which could be eliminated through proper training.
It is usually quite difficult to determine exactly what went wrong for
any given spin accident. It is possible to come up with flight
scenarios that can be probable causes for spin accidents. I've posted
an article with an admittedly yellow journalistic title of
"Unrecoverable Spins" at:
http://www.FlightFantastic.US/Spin_Training.htm//Unrecoverable_Spins.htm
Any discussion of the subject, even if it includes disagreement, can
bring the problem into stronger focus.
Dave Swartz
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
http://www.FlightFantastic.US