Lancair Propjet Down in Portland

"Morgans" wrote in message
...

"t pagotie" wrote

I flew through that area about the same time. The ceiling was only about
1500msl and there were rain squalls with 1/4 mile visibility that were
several miles wide. I was not enjoying the ride, and actually landed in
a private strip to wait out the line of squalls to go by. tom

Anyone know if the pilot was instrument rated?
--
Jim in NC


Whew,

I just got done talking with one of his flight instructors. He was
apparently VERY good on the gauges, and VERY well checked out in his
aircraft. The aircraft was pretty high performance, as you would expect of
a 700hp 4 place, and he has been flying it for a little over 2 years.

The instructor that checked him out in the airplane used to command a U2
squadron for a living. The Instrument instructor I talked with said that he
spent the extra time with the factory, and with our U2 friend, making sure
he was on top of his game. He spared no expense for safety.

He was current, qualified, and skilled. He had his family on board, so let's
add motivated.
He had a beautiful aircraft in top shape, with the performance to get out of
trouble, what more could you want?

He will be missed, and my condolences go out to his friends and remaining
family.

I will be very interested in the outcome of the investigation.


Al G

("Al G" wrote)
He was current, qualified, and skilled. He had his family on board, so
let's add motivated.

He had a beautiful aircraft in top shape, with the performance to get out
of trouble, what more could you want?

He will be missed, and my condolences go out to his friends and remaining
family.

I will be very interested in the outcome of the investigation.


In an odd way I hope it was:

A bird strike
An aneurysm, etc
Windsheer
An in-flight breakup
An EgyptAir scenario (God forbid)

Anything ....other than something spatial, or otherwise (suddenly)
overwhelming to the well trained pilot.

Why?

The others are more tangible, the latter less so.


Paul-Mont

AlphaPropellerhead wrote
One witness said he thought somebody was racing up the street and then
realized that nobody could be going that fast, and another said they
heard the engine sputtering. (Which means it might have been at
idle.)

A turboprop sputtering? :-)

Bob Moore

("Bob Moore" wrote)
A turboprop sputtering? :-)


"The engine stalled..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compressor_stall
Oh wait. They do.


Paul-Mont

"Montblack" wrote in message
...
("Bob Moore" wrote)
A turboprop sputtering? :-)


"The engine stalled..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compressor_stall
Oh wait. They do.


Paul-Mont


Well, axial compressors do stall; but turbines that small usually have
centrifugal compressors--and I have no idea whether they stall in a similar
manner or whether they do not.

OTOH, eye witnesses are capable of filling in the sounds that they "know"
are there. My personal favorite, in a goulish sort of way, remains the
Southern Airways Flight 242 crash in 1977; in which a witness heard the roar
of the jet engines as the DC-9 glided past--even though both engines had
been inoperative for some time due to FOD.

"AlphaPropellerhead" wrote in message
...

The victims were the pilot, his wife and their 12-year-old grandson.
Still no explanation. There's not much left but the crater and some
scattered debris.

PORTLAND - Authorities have identified the three people killed in a plane
crash Friday in southwest Portland as a Douglas County couple and their
12-year-old grandson.

The plane crashed Friday morning in a residential neighborhood near Tryon
Creek State Park shortly after takeoff from Hillsboro.

The victims were identified as 64-year-old William Shepard, his 63-year-old
wife Jeaninne of Idleyld Park and their grandson Benjamin Shepard of Aloha.
William Shepard was the registered owner of the experimental plane.

The plane was destined for Twin Falls, Idaho. There has been no
determination yet as to the cause of the crash.

"Peter Dohm" wrote in message
...
My personal favorite, in a goulish sort of way, remains the
Southern Airways Flight 242 crash in 1977; in which a witness heard the roar
of the jet engines as the DC-9 glided past--even though both engines had
been inoperative for some time due to FOD.

I have never had an engineless DC-9 glide past me, but I have had lots of
engineless sailplanes zoom past me and guess what? They sound like jets, only
not so loud. I imagine that flamed-out DC-9 going by at 100+ knots also sounded
like a jet, only not so quiet.

Vaughn

"Vaughn Simon" wrote in message
...

"Peter Dohm" wrote in message
...
My personal favorite, in a goulish sort of way, remains the
Southern Airways Flight 242 crash in 1977; in which a witness heard the
roar
of the jet engines as the DC-9 glided past--even though both engines had
been inoperative for some time due to FOD.

I have never had an engineless DC-9 glide past me, but I have had
lots of
engineless sailplanes zoom past me and guess what? They sound like jets,
only
not so loud. I imagine that flamed-out DC-9 going by at 100+ knots also
sounded
like a jet, only not so quiet.

Vaughn


As does a Cessna 150 with 40 degrees of flaps, at a level between the other
two.

However, my point is that what the observer believed he heard was not what
he really heard--from which I am making the inference that we have little
reason to presume whether the Lancair was suffering a series of compressor
stalls.

Peter
Just pointing out one source of the problems with news stories.

"Peter Dohm" wrote in message
...
However, my point is that what the observer believed he heard was not what
he really heard--from which I am making the inference that we have little
reason to presume whether the Lancair was suffering a series of compressor
stalls.

Agreed.

Vaughn

On Jun 18, 8:42 pm, "Peter Dohm" wrote:
"Vaughn Simon" wrote in message

...





"Peter Dohm" wrote in message
...
My personal favorite, in a goulish sort of way, remains the
Southern Airways Flight 242 crash in 1977; in which a witness heard the
roar
of the jet engines as the DC-9 glided past--even though both engines had
been inoperative for some time due to FOD.

I have never had an engineless DC-9 glide past me, but I have had
lots of
engineless sailplanes zoom past me and guess what? They sound like jets,
only
not so loud. I imagine that flamed-out DC-9 going by at 100+ knots also
sounded
like a jet, only not so quiet.

Vaughn

As does a Cessna 150 with 40 degrees of flaps, at a level between the other
two.

However, my point is that what the observer believed he heard was not what
he really heard--from which I am making the inference that we have little
reason to presume whether the Lancair was suffering a series of compressor
stalls.

Peter
Just pointing out one source of the problems with news stories.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Regardless, a compressor stall would not cause the airplane
to drill a crater into the ground. This accident sounds to me like a
total loss of control, either through spatial disorientation leading
to a spiral that may or may not have resulted in structural failure,
or a structural failure arising out of extreme turbulence encountered
in the thunderstorm.

Dan