"Aluminum Overcast" damaged by gear collapse

After discussing the incident with my father, who served as Flight Engineer
during WWII, he mentioned that part of his job as FE (at least on his crew)
was to manually check and lock the gear after they were deployed even if the
pilot's indicator said they were locked. He said that on more than one
occasion they were not locked. Also I wonder if it's possible that on the
Aluminum Overcast only one gear "really" failed and the other then collapsed
because of unusual stresses. ?

"James Robinson" wrote in message
...
The B-17 bomber owned by the Experimental Aircraft Assn. was damaged
yesterday at Van Nuys airport when its main gear collaped.

From the videos on TV, you could see its tail wheel firmly on the
ground, when the main gear retracted, and the aircraft dropped onto the
runway. The crew must had had that sinking feeling about then. It slid
perhaps 50 feet or so on its belly.

The media seems to like to say it made a belly landing, or a rough
landing, but it was apparent that it had already landed, and was simply
completing the rollout, and was preparing to turn off when it happened.

Anyway, here's a link to their web site, where they have a short
description of the incident:

http://www.b17.org/

And a typical media story:

http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1...129868,00.html

I couldn't find the video clip, but I assume it will appear online
sometime today.

I hope they can get it flying again soon.

I found some photos of the resulting damage. There are also some
comments at the bottom of the page that suggest the screw jacks failed,
as they are both broken in half:

http://www.beechcraft.org/b17-accident/

Also a link to the local TV station video:

http://tinyurl.com/2njqf

muff528 wrote:

Also I wonder if it's possible that on the Aluminum Overcast only
one gear "really" failed and the other then collapsed because of
unusual stresses. ?

Anything's possible, but as I recall from the video, the aircraft
flopped down on the runway as a result of something happening to both
gear at the same time. You'd think if one failed, that the other would
hold things up for a time before failing itself. I don't recall that
happening. However, I only saw the video once, and might be mistaken.

Thanks for the links -- sickening though they were.

Boy, both gear just COLLAPSE -- apparently without any provocation. It sure
makes you wonder what could cause such a thing.

It going to require tearing down all four engines, four 3-blade props, and
untold hours rebuilding/replacing the ball and nose turrets to get that
beautiful old bird flying again. What a shame.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"
"James Robinson" wrote in message
...
I found some photos of the resulting damage. There are also some
comments at the bottom of the page that suggest the screw jacks failed,
as they are both broken in half:

http://www.beechcraft.org/b17-accident/

Also a link to the local TV station video:

http://tinyurl.com/2njqf

"G.R. Patterson III" wrote in message
...


Buff5200 wrote:

I watched the crash video frame-by-frame.

Got a URL?

Try this...
http://kcbs.dayport.com/launcher/2643/

It was listed on here...
http://cbs2.com/video/

In article d4dnc.7165$536.1423430@attbi_s03,
Jay Honeck wrote:

It going to require tearing down all four engines,

Are you really worried about a catastrophic failure when you've got
3 other engines?

--
Ben Jackson

http://www.ben.com/

In article ,
James Robinson wrote:

I found some photos of the resulting damage. There are also some
comments at the bottom of the page that suggest the screw jacks failed,
as they are both broken in half:

http://www.beechcraft.org/b17-accident/

Also a link to the local TV station video:

http://tinyurl.com/2njqf

It is more likely that the screw jacks failed as a result of an
inadvertant throwing of the retraction switch. It isn't the first time
that has happened, and probably not the last!

Are you really worried about a catastrophic failure when you've got
3 other engines?

Are you saying that they won't have to tear down those engines?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

In article PFqnc.57728$kh4.3413686@attbi_s52,
"Jay Honeck" wrote:


Are you saying that they won't have to tear down those engines?

I don't know about the Aluminum Overcast engines but the Nine O Nine hit
a runway sign (one of those big lighted ones made of heavy aluminum) at
Long Beach a couple of years ago with the #2 prop putting a little ding
in the prop. They dressed the prop and checked the crankshaft runout
and the FAA blessed 'em to keep flying...no teardown. Granted, the gear
collapse did more damage to the prop, but when the 909 hit she was still
at a pretty good power setting.

--
Dale L. Falk

There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing
as simply messing around with airplanes.

http://home.gci.net/~sncdfalk/flying.html

I don't know about the Aluminum Overcast engines but the Nine O Nine hit
a runway sign (one of those big lighted ones made of heavy aluminum) at
Long Beach a couple of years ago with the #2 prop putting a little ding
in the prop. They dressed the prop and checked the crankshaft runout
and the FAA blessed 'em to keep flying...no teardown. Granted, the gear
collapse did more damage to the prop, but when the 909 hit she was still
at a pretty good power setting.

I'm no mechanic, but looking at the video I would think that the weight of
the plane coming down on those prop blades, imparting such a bending force
on the prop hubs, would require a tear down.

Not to mention the cowlings being crushed into the bottom row of cylinders,
and the exhaust system being broken off.

Did 909's engine actually stop when it hit the sign, or did it keep running?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"