"Aluminum Overcast" damaged by gear collapse

G.R. Patterson III wrote:

Buff5200 wrote:


I watched the crash video frame-by-frame.



Got a URL?


Sorry, no URL, just TiVo.

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.

Being radial engines, the situation is different. They may indeed not require
an overhaul, but rather only an inspection. Because the engines 'hit' at low
r.p.m., there may not be any damage. This has happened before on similar
nose-overs stoppage of T-6/SNJ aircraft engines. The engine shops call the
shots on the requirements usually.
VL

"Ben Jackson" wrote in message
news:NLenc.1443$pY1.126737@attbi_s51...
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?

On a 747 flight to Europe, the pilot came on the PA and said "Folks, we've
lost an engine, but we have three other engines, so it will merely take
another hour to reach our destination.". Later he comes on again and says,
"Folks we've lost another engine, so it'll take two more hours." Still later
he comes on and says "Folks, we've lost another engine, so now it'll take
four more hours." A little old lady in back of the plane spouts out "Boy, if
we lost another engine were going to be up here ALL DAY!"

George,

CAF is already saying the copilot pulled the gear up when he went for
the flaps, despite being told to keep his hands off the flap switch
until off the runway. On that B-17 the switches are within inches of
each other and the gear switch is not guarded.

Shades of the old Bonanzas.

sigh

All the best,
Rick

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

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.


Am I the only one who finds it a bit "suspicious" that both main gear
collapsed on this bird? If I recall correctly, they are two
independant systems. The common link would be in the cockpit... right
next to the flaps switch.

According to the Pilot Training Manual, the gear activation switch is located between
the recognition light switches and the landing light switches. It is not particularly
close to the flap switch. The flap switch is isolated, is not part of a row of
switches (as is the gear switch), and it has side guards to make it easy to
differentiate between it and other controls. Personally, I think the LG switch should
be the one that's isolated and guarded, but ....

Anyone else think that perhaps the gear
were inadvertantly retracted (pilot attempting to retract flaps)
rather than a mechanical failure...???

I doubt it. I think an electrical problem is much more likely on a 60 year old plane.

George Patterson
If you don't tell lies, you never have to remember what you said.

In article ,
Rick Durden wrote:

CAF is already saying the copilot pulled the gear up when he went for
the flaps, despite being told to keep his hands off the flap switch

I just went through some mail and realized that on the day of the gear
collapse I got two fliers for this summer's Aluminum Overcast tour. I
guess I don't need to add those dates to my calendar.

--
Ben Jackson

http://www.ben.com/

Jay Honeck wrote:

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

Because the gear doesn't completely retract, the cowlings can't ever hit the ground
on a B-17. This is also the case with the DC-3. Looking at the damage photos, the
cowlings appear to be intact.

George Patterson
If you don't tell lies, you never have to remember what you said.

Being radial engines, the situation is different. They may indeed not
require
an overhaul, but rather only an inspection. Because the engines 'hit' at
low
r.p.m., there may not be any damage.

That is indeed great news!

Thanks for sharing the wisdom, Vlado.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On a 747 flight to Europe, the pilot came on the PA and said "Folks, we've
lost an engine, but we have three other engines, so it will merely take
another hour to reach our destination.". Later he comes on again and says,
"Folks we've lost another engine, so it'll take two more hours." Still
later
he comes on and says "Folks, we've lost another engine, so now it'll take
four more hours." A little old lady in back of the plane spouts out "Boy,
if
we lost another engine were going to be up here ALL DAY!"

*groan*

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Putting it simply, "Something broke." Rapid drop to the ground. Too bad. I
have flown on her. I hope they get her back in the air.
--
Jim in NC


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This was a real shame...I was back from a two hour training flight and
was in the traffic pattern when this happened. The tower controller
announced that there was a B-17 on two mile final for 16R so that we
could all enjoy seeing this bird come in. I was abeam the B-17's
touchdown spot when she landed, from 1000' up I didn't see the gear
collapse, it just seemed to stop rolling very quickly. I had a feeling
something was up when all of us in the pattern were issued go-arounds,
Van Nuys has two runways, but they closed both for Emergency vehicle
access. After about 10 minutes I was cleared to land on the the other
runway and rolled past the B-17. I hope they can fix her up, she is
even more beautiful in person then on video.

Greg King
N2957F


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.