Parowan midair?

SSA contest report indicates that 2 gliders made contact on the first
day. If the gliders are identified correctly then one continued to
win the day and the other returned to the airport missing part of one
wing and so far has no log posted.

Any more information available?

Andy.

No information, but the thought of a 75 mile flight with 5 feet of
wing missing is not something I'd like to face.

-John

On Jun 16, 2:48 pm, Andy wrote:
SSA contest report indicates that 2 gliders made contact on the first
day. If the gliders are identified correctly then one continued to
win the day and the other returned to the airport missing part of one
wing and so far has no log posted.

Any more information available?

Andy.

On Jun 16, 12:02*pm, jcarlyle wrote:
No information, but the thought of a 75 mile flight with 5 feet of
wing missing is not something I'd like to face.

-John

On Jun 16, 2:48 pm, Andy wrote:



SSA contest report indicates that 2 gliders made contact on the first
day. *If the gliders are identified correctly then one continued to
win the day and the other returned to the airport missing part of one
wing and so far has no log posted.

Any more information available?

Andy.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

What about completing a contest task, and winning it, with unknown
damage to the fuselage?

Andy

There's several words to describe that - "competitor" and "big brass
ones".

-John

On Jun 16, 3:08 pm, Andy wrote:
What about completing a contest task, and winning it, with unknown
damage to the fuselage?

Andy

On Jun 16, 12:34*pm, jcarlyle wrote:
There's several words to describe that - "competitor" and "big brass

Actually, I'd call it pretty irresponsible. That glider could, at any
moment have a system failure due to weakened structure. The only
smart response is to land IMMEDIATELY, and definitely avoid overflying
any people on the ground.

Just checked the rules, and there's nothing in there regarding a
pilot's responsibility after a collision.

But several years ago, at a national contest, there was some heated
debate at the mandatory meeting about what a pilot should do in such a
case. If I recall correctly, an immediate landing for inspection was
mandated, with one or two vocal "I'm here to WIN!!!" dissents.

Nothing bad happened this time. But what if someone had been hurt or
killed due to a system failure while the pilot continued to soar?
What would be reported in the media? What would the NTSB response be?

-Tom

On 6/16/2010 10:20 PM, 5Z wrote:
On Jun 16, 12:34 pm, wrote:
There's several words to describe that - "competitor" and "big brass

Actually, I'd call it pretty irresponsible. That glider could, at any
moment have a system failure due to weakened structure. The only
smart response is to land IMMEDIATELY, and definitely avoid overflying
any people on the ground.

Just checked the rules, and there's nothing in there regarding a
pilot's responsibility after a collision.

But several years ago, at a national contest, there was some heated
debate at the mandatory meeting about what a pilot should do in such a
case. If I recall correctly, an immediate landing for inspection was
mandated, with one or two vocal "I'm here to WIN!!!" dissents.

Nothing bad happened this time. But what if someone had been hurt or
killed due to a system failure while the pilot continued to soar?
What would be reported in the media? What would the NTSB response be?

-Tom
Not only was this irresponsible, but it was most likely a violation of
the FARs:

49CFR § 830.5 Immediate notification.
The operator of any civil aircraft, or
any public aircraft not operated by the
Armed Forces or an intelligence agency
of the United States, or any foreign
aircraft shall immediately, and by the
most expeditious means available, notify
the nearest National Transportation
Safety Board (Board) field office when:
(a) An aircraft accident or any of the
following listed incidents occur:
(1) Flight control system malfunction
or failure;
(2) Inability of any required flight
crewmember to perform normal flight
duties as a result of injury or illness;
(3) Failure of structural components
of a turbine engine excluding compressor
and turbine blades and vanes;
(4) In-flight fire; or
(5) Aircraft collide in flight.
(6) Damage to property, other than
the aircraft, estimated to exceed $25,000
for repair (including materials and
labor) or fair market value in the event
of total loss, whichever is less.
(7) For large multiengine aircraft
(more than 12,500 pounds maximum
certificated takeoff weight):
(i) In-flight failure of electrical systems
which requires the sustained use
of an emergency bus powered by a
back-up source such as a battery, auxiliary
power unit, or air-driven generator
to retain flight control or essential
instruments;
(ii) In-flight failure of hydraulic systems
that results in sustained reliance
on the sole remaining hydraulic or mechanical
system for movement of flight
control surfaces;
(iii) Sustained loss of the power or
thrust produced by two or more engines;
and
(iv) An evacuation of an aircraft in
which an emergency egress system is
utilized.
(b) An aircraft is overdue and is believed
to have been involved in an accident.

It is hard to see how you could meet the requirements of this section if
you 1st finish flying the contest.

--
Mike Schumann

jcarlyle wrote:
There's several words to describe that - "competitor" and "big brass
ones".

-John

On Jun 16, 3:08 pm, Andy wrote:
What about completing a contest task, and winning it, with unknown
damage to the fuselage?

Andy


I imagine an accident investigator would have called it reckless operation.

Brian W

On 6/16/2010 12:08 PM, Andy wrote:
On Jun 16, 12:02 pm, wrote:
No information, but the thought of a 75 mile flight with 5 feet of
wing missing is not something I'd like to face.

-John

On Jun 16, 2:48 pm, wrote:



SSA contest report indicates that 2 gliders made contact on the first
day. If the gliders are identified correctly then one continued to
win the day and the other returned to the airport missing part of one
wing and so far has no log posted.

Any more information available?

Andy.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

What about completing a contest task, and winning it, with unknown
damage to the fuselage?

Andy


An amazing ability to put the crash out of his mind, and focus on the
contest task.

I must wonder if he used his motor to get back to Parowan or thermaled
his way back with 5 feet of wing missing...

Ramy

On Jun 16, 12:02*pm, jcarlyle wrote:
No information, but the thought of a 75 mile flight with 5 feet of
wing missing is not something I'd like to face.

-John

On Jun 16, 2:48 pm, Andy wrote:



SSA contest report indicates that 2 gliders made contact on the first
day. *If the gliders are identified correctly then one continued to
win the day and the other returned to the airport missing part of one
wing and so far has no log posted.

Any more information available?

Andy.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

On Jun 16, 9:39*pm, Ramy wrote:
I must wonder if he used his motor to get back to Parowan or thermaled
his way back with 5 feet of wing missing...

Ramy

[snip]

A scary scenario but I'd want to be feeling *really* comfortable about
how the ship is handling before extending the prop/running the engine.
If something is wrong you may make it worse, and if it gets worse you
may seriously impair your ability to bail out. You need to retract the
engine again, which normally involves closing the throttle and turning
off the ignition and flying slow enough to be able to use the prop-
stop then retract back the mast. If the 26E got uncontrollable under
power you would need time to do something like close the throttle,
turn of the ignition and retract the mast far enough for the prop to
strike the fuselage so the running or windmilling prop does not chew
you up on exit... and you hope anything still hanging out there does
not get in the way of your egress. Enough armchair quarterbacking from
me, the pilot involved is very experienced on type so it will be
interesting to see what he did to pull this off. Fantastic that he
made it back safe.

The notion of a glider being allowed to attempt to complete a task
after a mid-air does not sit well with me. It is just the wrong
inducement for pilots involved. And given all the other SSA rules
focus on things like start safety etc, this just seems out of place. I
hope the rules committee look at this.

Darryl