SAFETY ALERT

On 8/22/2011 5:50 PM, Cookie wrote:

- Show quoted text -

Ramy do you really need "reminding" to realize that low passes are
dangerous?

So a guy gets killed doing a low pass....Do you need the SSA, FAA,
NTSB, and whoever else to tell you "Don't do that".

It's not obvious to me the low pass was the cause of the Idaho fatality,
and given the cursory investigation the FAA can afford, we might never
know. Was it

* a medical problem
* a mechanical failure
* hypoxia
* malfunctioning airspeed indicator
* pilot incompetence with pattern turns

I'm sure others can think of more factors that would have led to
spinning in, even if the pilot did not do a low pass beforehand. And
that is part of the problem with the SSA coming out with "generic"
advice immediately after an accident: it may completely miss the cause,
and lull us into an unfounded complacency.

Cookie and others suggest "Don't do low passes", but that's generic
advice not yet supported by this accident. That advice can stand on it's
own without this accident. We should still strive to understand this
accident, though it will be difficult, instead of assuming it was just a
botched low pass.

We can't do a full investigation ourselves, but we can at least consider
those factors I mentioned. Can we rule out a medical problem? Will
someone inspect the glider for mechanical malfunction? Did he have
oxygen left in the tank, a functioning delivery system, an oximeter,
experience in using oxygen? Is the airspeed system potentially
over-reading? Could he always fly a good pattern, or did he
over-rudder/under-bank at times? Was his glider (HIS glider, not BG's in
general) well tested and benign (no surprises) in it's handling?

There are many ways for things to go wrong, and even after 35 years of
"trying", I still - more infrequently now - discover new ones.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)
- "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation Mar/2004" Much of what
you need to know tinyurl.com/yfs7tnz