Mooney Accident in Texas

[Hank]

Saw this on POA. Hope it wasn't anyone that we know! Apparently no injuries other than to the plane.

 

https://www.facebook.com/RedWingAerialPhotography/posts/875968682428614

 

Yeah, I know, I'd much rather have a news article than an FB post, too.

[Hondo]

Local news  http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Plane-s-crash-landing-narrowly-misses-Little-5468694.php

 

It was an Acclaim.

[Danb]

Now if he only had a parachute like the previous thread. Really the pilot did a great job, another example of our tough planes with that strong one piece wing...

[PTK]

"Photos of the wreckage revealed a small white plane that did not appear to have much damage to its frame; however, a nearby tree was knocked down by the aircraft."

Mooney 1, tree 0 !

Can this be considered a TKO? I imagine it could!

Mooney waited for tree to get up but tree was out!

[PTK]

"The baseball coach at the game said he helped the man cool off inside a truck because it was hot outside.

The coach described the pilot as a 'hero' for managing to crash-land the plane away from the baseball field and avoid the kids."

Indeed our fellow pilot and Mooney driver is a hero. He made the best of a bad situation.

It's also refreshing to see, as evidenced by the coach's reaction, logical people understand and move on. Not jump to demonize GA! A plane crash landing near little league field during a game easily could!

Play ball!!

[Oscar Avalle]

I know the pilot. He is really a hero and a good friend! He was planning to fly his mooney down to Guatemala... Thanks God he is shaken, but OK. Hopefully ready to fly soon again. 

Oscar

[fantom]

From the report, sounds like he ran out of fuel. A very lucky outcome for everyone!

[TWinter]

Glad he was okay...As former police accident investigator I find it kind of interesting looking at the scene that there appears to be no impact marks on the ground, no skidding or sliding marks in the dirt. Glad it got stopped before the washout/ditch area. Could all be from the perspective of the aerial picture though.

[Hank]

Glad he was okay...As former police accident investigator I find it kind of interesting looking at the scene that there appears to be no impact marks on the ground, no skidding or sliding marks in the dirt. Glad it got stopped before the washout/ditch area. Could all be from the perspective of the aerial picture though.

 

I noticed that, too. The outfield fence is unbroken, the yellow on top shows up clearly. The news article clears this up:

 

Seconds later, a single-engine aircraft bound for the Stinson Municipal Airport soared over the field, barely making it over the outfield fence before crashing at the edge of a creek between Flores Street and Roosevelt Avenue.

 

It appears to be the pilot trying hard to miss the kids; had he been stretching the glide, the descent angle would either have been shallower, or he would have stalled and hit nose-first. At least the fence along the "river" was a stout one! Look how both wingtips are bent forward.

 

I don't see any indications that he ran out of fuel, other than that he "lost power on approach." Time and the report will tell.

[fantom]

 

I don't see any indications that he ran out of fuel, other than that he "lost power on approach." Time and the report will tell.

 

No fire, no reported fumes, and nothing leaking, are some indications, but the report will tell.

 

 

"A San Antonio Fire Department hazmat crew was at the scene to make sure no fuel was spilling out of the plane.

Roussel said nothing appeared to have leaked."

[Marauder]

No fire, no reported fumes, and nothing leaking, are some indications, but the report will tell.

"A San Antonio Fire Department hazmat crew was at the scene to make sure no fuel was spilling out of the plane.

Roussel said nothing appeared to have leaked."

Must have bladders...

[fantom]

Must have bladders...

Notoriously inaccurate when near empty, and most likely collapsed after being sucked dry.

[scottfromiowa]

I have been black and blue on my shoulder from taking a bad hop at third...I am guessing pilots shoulder has "a mark"...Man that is a lot of energy coming to a halt in a hurry there...Glad he walked away and no kids/folks on ground were injured...

[kerry]

Looks like a few more feet into that embankment could have been bad.  Very lucky.

[jetdriven]

Look closely at that photo. He got it really slow and dropped it in from several feet. That explains the crushing of the wing and the total lack of skid marks.

 

The fuel tanks dont appear compromised so I'm not surprised it wasnt leaking if there was fuel onboard.

[FlyDave]

Wow! That's both good flying AND good luck!

I guess the Cirrus guy that deployed the parachute had only one of those....

[DS1980]

So the distance from impact to the airplane stopping is a few feet?

[jetdriven]

Looks that way. The problem with tha kind of landing is the possible departure from controlled flight IE a spin entry, or a high sink rate which can cause spinal injuries.

[DaV8or]

I wonder if this Acclaim had the seat belt airbags? Weren't they standard on the Acclaim?

[LANCECASPER]

N563JK  a 2008 ACCLAIM - not sure if the Amsafe seatbelts were standard then - they are now on new airplanes being built

 

http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=563JK

[rbridges]

Notoriously inaccurate when near empty, and most likely collapsed after being sucked dry.

 

acclaims aren't lucky enough to have bladders.  

[Piloto]

Looks like the pilot may have pulled on the mixture instead of the throttle when he was focused on the runway ahead. On later models the mixture knob and the throttle knobs have push buttons and fine tune rotary knobs. On earlier models the throttle had no push button or fine tune just push-pull. If he pulled on the mixture and at low speed the prop may have stopped and the engine would not run again even he pushed it back.

 

The above can happens to anyone. Just make sure your hand is on the right knob.

 

It is kind of hard to ignore the LOW FUEL annunciator panel warning unless the seat is set too high. 

 

 

 

José 

[DS1980]

Byron-was it you that said something about 33 feet was the magic number for surviving the typical forced landings? Might not have been you but that # stuck in my brain.

[201er]

Looks like the pilot may have pulled on the mixture instead of the throttle when he was focused on the runway ahead. On later models the mixture knob and the throttle knobs have push buttons and fine tune rotary knobs. On earlier models the throttle had no push button or fine tune just push-pull. If he pulled on the mixture and at low speed the prop may have stopped and the engine would not run again even he pushed it back.

I'd imagine you would have to pull the mixture and leave it out 5-10 seconds for this to happen. Hand is still on mixture knob so most logical course of action when performing this gaff is to push it back in. Had a time when I'd done this accidentally just after landing and the engine sounds like it's about to quit but there's always enough time to react and get it back in. And that's at even slower than flying/windmilling speed.

That said, has anyone ever stopped a mooney prop in air?

[PTK]

I'd imagine you would have to pull the mixture and leave it out 5-10 seconds for this to happen...

More like 2-3 sec Mike! Not nearly enough time. And the prop is not helping, it most likely stopped.

I think piloto's point is right on.

I've cut the mixture in cruise. It's a nonevent. Starts right up because the prop carries momentum.