I wonder how the NTSB on this one will read...

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory...olitan/2888090

Plane lands in field near runway

A two-engine plane landed on its belly in a grassy field next to the
runway at Weiser Air Park in northwest Harris County on Saturday. The
pilot was able to land the plane after the left-wing wheel fell off,
according to the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department. No one was injured
in the landing.

KEYQ in Houston is Weiser

Dave

"Dave S" wrote in message
ink.net...

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory...olitan/2888090

Plane lands in field near runway

A two-engine plane landed on its belly in a grassy field next to the
runway at Weiser Air Park in northwest Harris County on Saturday. The
pilot was able to land the plane after the left-wing wheel fell off,
according to the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department. No one was injured
in the landing.

KEYQ in Houston is Weiser

Dave


I would think Grass is better than the pavement with no wheels or one
missing

"NW_PILOT" wrote in message
...

"Dave S" wrote in message
ink.net...

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory...olitan/2888090

Plane lands in field near runway

A two-engine plane landed on its belly in a grassy field next to the
runway at Weiser Air Park in northwest Harris County on Saturday. The
pilot was able to land the plane after the left-wing wheel fell off,
according to the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department. No one was injured
in the landing.

KEYQ in Houston is Weiser

Dave


I would think Grass is better than the pavement with no wheels or one
missing

Some disagree - saying you can skid on hard surface - grass/turf allows
something to dig in and coming to a dangerously quick halt rather than
dissipating energy over more time.

On Sun, 7 Nov 2004 06:54:55 -0800, "NW_PILOT" wrote
in ::


I would think Grass is better than the pavement with no wheels or one
missing

Better for what? While a gear-up landing on grass may result in less
aluminum loss, it increases the hazard of flipping.

"NW_PILOT" wrote in message
...


I would think Grass is better than the pavement with no wheels or one
missing

It is much worse. Grass can hide potholes and rocks. The nose of the
airplane can dig into the soft dirt and flip the plane over. A wing can dig
in and cause a ground loop. Dry grass is just one more thing that can catch
fire.

Airplanes that land gear up on pavement usually suffer minimal damage,
especially if the engine is stopped and the propeller is horizontal. Damage
is often limited to some scrapes on the belly and wingtips.

C J Campbell wrote:

Airplanes that land gear up on pavement usually suffer minimal damage,
especially if the engine is stopped and the propeller is horizontal. Damage
is often limited to some scrapes on the belly and wingtips.

I've seen the results of people landing Navion's on dry pavement. If
you keep the wings level you pertty much just loose the step, the flap
hinge and whatever antennas are sticking out the bottom.

In article ,
Ron Natalie wrote:


I've seen the results of people landing Navion's on dry pavement. If
you keep the wings level you pertty much just loose the step, the flap
hinge and whatever antennas are sticking out the bottom.

Over the years I watched aircraft Cardinals and Arrows up through King
Airs, C-82s and 727s land gear up on pavement. Not once was there a
fire or extensive damage to the aircraft. There was another King Air
that landed gear up. The decision was made to blow snow back onto the
runway for him to set the airplane down in. Bad idea. It damage the
engine intakes, ripped panels of the wing and belly, lots of damage
compared to something landing on pavement.

If it happens to me I'm finding a long, wide strip of pavement somewhere
to put the airplane.

--
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

Dale wrote:

If it happens to me I'm finding a long, wide strip of pavement somewhere
to put the airplane.


Also, there was that DC-9 that did a beautiful gear up down in Texas
(Houston?) when they forgot to turn up the hydaulics. (At least in
the Navion you can't move the lever when you forget to turn the hydraulics
on).

"NW_PILOT" wrote in message I would think Grass is better than the
pavement with no wheels or one missing

No. The grass and dirt under you are not uniform in density. The airframe
will slide over a section of soft dirt and sink. Then the airframe will
slide into a section of hard dirt and stop suddenly. Sudden deceleration is
your enemy. Hard surfaces are much better for belly landings. Most
fire-rescue departments don't foam runways anymore to keep the slide to a
minimum so you don't slide off the side of the runway into the grass.

D.

On Sun, 07 Nov 2004 13:00:25 GMT, Dave S
wrote:
A two-engine plane landed on its belly in a grassy field next to the
runway at Weiser Air Park in northwest Harris County on Saturday. The

KEYQ in Houston is Weiser

Isn't TwinCo-Michael flying out of Weiser?

Regards
Tobias