Rocket crash

[PTK]

Why don't we wait for the official report from NTSB. Then we'll see what happened and we all can learn. But until that report comes out or our fellow pilot decides to share with us exactly what happened, any discussion on this is not above common gossip.

There's no educational value in gossip.

I fly to GED on a regular basis too. I'd love to learn what happened. Let's be patient.

[Alan Fox]

Pete , I can tell by the condition of the Prop , That prop was not under power at the impact , that's not gossip , I can also tell from the pic that the gear was extended at the time of impact , not gossip ,   The earlier post about hot wires and staying in the plane is not gossip.........

[PTK]

Alan, that's great! So what exactly happened! What can we learn?

[bonal]

While training is super important the most important factor (in my humble opinion) is how we react to an emergency and that is something that goes deeper than flight training. You must know your procedures but if you loose your head all the training in the world means nothing. I don't see any thing negative about this thread mostly we are just showing concern for the people involved. I don't know what can be learned we have all heard read about or seen just about every cause for an accident.

[scottfromiowa]

News flash...Rumplestiltskin awakens from one hundred year sleep and say " Ididn't know that power lines can kill you"

Your magic is weak...

[Marauder]

------- NTBS Accident 1 ------- Event Date 2014-05-18 Aircraft Make MOONEY AIRCRAFT CORP. Aircraft Model M20K Aircraft Serial Number 25-0090 Damage SUBS Probably Cause Prelimenary Narrative On May 18, 2014, at 0959 eastern daylight time, a Mooney M20K, N200DP, was substantially damaged when it collided with power lines and terrain following a total loss of engine power while on approach to Sussex County Airport (GED), Georgetown, Delaware. The airline transport pilot was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the flight that departed Woodbine Municipal Airport (OBI), about 0935.

 

The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. In a telephone interview, the pilot stated that his was one airplane in a flight of four to GED in order to purchase fuel and have brunch. He estimated the 40-mile flight would consume approximately 6 gallons of fuel and he estimated there was "15 to 20 gallons" on board at departure. The en route portion of the flight was flown at 4,500 feet and the pilot entered a left downwind leg for landing on Runway 04. The downwind leg was extended due to traffic, and while on downwind the pilot switched from the left fuel tank to the right fuel tank, lowered the landing gear, moved the propeller lever to "full," completed "landing checks" and turned to the base leg of the traffic pattern. According to the pilot, "I'm on base to final slowing to 100 knots, and I'm overshooting the runway centerline, I turned a little steeper, rolled level, added power and there was nothing there. The RPM was basically back to flight idle. The RPM just stayed around 1,000 rpm, I increased throttle, got no response, and switched tanks again. I saw the fence but I did not see the wires. I thought I had the field made, and I might have landed a little short of the pavement, but I still had 80-90 knots." The airplane collided with wires and terrain on the airport boundary.

 

The pilot held an airline transport pilot certificate with ratings for airplane multiengine, and a commercial pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single engine land. His most recent FAA third class medical certificate was issued on April 30, 2011. He reported 5,000 total hours of flight experience of which 400 hours were in the accident airplane make and model. According to FAA records, the airplane was manufactured in 1979. According to the owner, its most recent annual inspection was completed June 10, 2013, and the airplane had accrued 91 hours since that date. He estimated the airplane had accrued 3,000 total aircraft hours.

 

At 0954, the weather conditions reported at GED included a broken ceiling at 7,500 feet, visibility 10 miles, temperature 16 degrees C, dewpoint 6 degrees C, and an altimeter setting of 30.22 inches of mercury. The wind was from 010 degrees at 6 knots. The wreckage was recovered from the accident site and moved onto GED airport property where it was secured for examination at a later date. During recovery, approximately 7 gallons of fuel was recovered, but the exact amounts recovered from each wing tank could not be determined. Examination of photographs revealed substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, empennage, and tail sections.

 

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[scottfromiowa]

I think his fuel "estimate" was a little-off...Sump your tanks people. 7 Gallons left in tanks....NOPE.

[scottfromiowa]

I wonder why they couldn't determine the amount recovered from each tank? How hard is it to separate quantity when draining one tank and then the other? That would appear to be an important factor to determine what caused engine power loss.

[DrBill]

Sounds from the report that a local service moved the A/C for later inspection "The wreckage was recovered from the accident site and moved onto GED airport property where it was secured for examination at a later date.". They may have drained the tanks with disregard to quantity and location.

Bill

[aviatoreb]

He flew from KOBI 40 miles to KGED departing with 15gal in search of fuel.  Both airports have fuel - was cheaper fuel at KGED and he was hoping to save money?

[Marauder]

Fuel is cheaper at KGED and you get a tax refund on the fuel as well.

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[Hank]

Question: why change tanks on downwind? I've never switched tanks in the pattern. Unless he thought he was going to run out?

Yes, I know, select the fullest tank, but I like to do that away from the airport, just like I select the fullest tank for takeoff as soon as I start the engine, not at the Hold Short line. Seems like that's what bit him.

[N601RX]

I have alway selected the fullest tank some time before entering the pattern. One day I got vectored around some before being told to turn for a long final. I side slipped most of the way on the down wing tank. It started sputtering before I reached the airport. I immediately swapped tanks and turned on the boost pump. It took several seconds for it to completely catch back up.

I thought the fullest tank still had around 10 gallons in it and this was verified when I refilled on the ground.

[Wakeup]

For guys like me that don't have fuel flow monitors I just wish they had a fuel stick indicating exactly what's in the wing vs my generic one. If they do have one let me know where to buy. Thanks. Troy

[Hank]

My generic stick was calibrated by the previous owner to read for this plane. All it takes is an empty tank and some patience. Add 2 gallons, make a mark; add 2 more gallons, make a mark; repeat until full. Then use an etcher or rotary tool and make the marks permanent, with numbers, then add the marks that you skipped. I'll take a picture next time I'm at the airport (tomorrow?).

[triple8s]

Question: why change tanks on downwind? I've never switched tanks in the pattern. Unless he thought he was going to run out?

Yes, I know, select the fullest tank, but I like to do that away from the airport, just like I select the fullest tank for takeoff as soon as I start the engine, not at the Hold Short line. Seems like that's what bit him.

Things always happen when a change is made if I am going to switch to the fullest I do NOT wait till I am low,slow and in the pattern, I always do that before I am at pattern altitude and I never cut myself close on fuel. Unless there is a weight issue the only time you have too much fuel is if you're on fire!

[hindsight2020]

I thought mooneys had better usable fuel than your typical cessna/piper, which can have almost 3 gallons unusable fuel per tank on certain installations. I'd think 7 gallons on board on a mooney wouldn't cause you to flame out, unless the pilot lost track of his "fullest tank" and actually switched into the empty tank in haste.

 

What is unusable fuel on a 20K? Isn't it like less than one gallon per tank?

[aviatoreb]

Fuel is cheaper at KGED and you get a tax refund on the fuel as well.

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Could it be a case of trying to save a few cents on fuel leads to an expensive bunch of bent metal and dangerous to life and limb?

[Hank]

I thought mooneys had better usable fuel than your typical cessna/piper, which can have almost 3 gallons unusable fuel per tank on certain installations. I'd think 7 gallons on board on a mooney wouldn't cause you to flame out, unless the pilot lost track of his "fullest tank" and actually switched into the empty tank in haste.

 

What is unusable fuel on a 20K? Isn't it like less than one gallon per tank?

 

It varies significantly by model. Someone posted R, S & TN to be 3 gal/tank; my C is about 0.6 gal per side, but I would never try to cut it that close.

 

My closest ever fuel was a 2-hour flight stretched to 4.4 by headwinds, and a short deviation to avoid reported ice in southern WV a couple of Mays ago. I ran one tank as dry as I was comfortable over E. KY, with lots of finger-counting and clock watching. Upon landing and filling up, that tank had 20 minutes left and the other still had a solid hour.

 

But I also stick the tanks during pre-flight, and learned quickly that I can't visually estimate how much is there unless it's either nearly full or nearly empty.

[PaulB]

This discussion makes me question whether or not I should get some sticks to measure fuel level. I've got wing sight gauges though. What is everyone's thoughts on using those alone?

[yvesg]

I usually switch tanks in the vicinity of an airport... lets say while doing this I break something while turning that lever and shut off all fuel supply... I will be able to glide and land safely.

Yves

[bonal]

I always get enough fuel to make my planned stops before we leave and then buy fuel every time we stop. I guess if you fly a big Bonanza then fuel cost becomes a bigger issue or how about a Baron yikes! Our little c just don't drink enough fuel that 50 cents a gallon plus or minus really matters. I have a universal fuel stick but I only use it to tell me which side has more. Then I go put gas in it and try to balance the amounts left to right. I'm not sure what the total for my bladders is I only know the usable amount.

[PMcClure]

God bless the guy. I hope he recovers 100%. 

 

There are many reasons why he may have elected to fuel up 40 miles away. Several times in the last few years, I have had FBO's run out of fuel. Maybe he was meeting up with someone, or just wanted to reward the FBO with good fuel prices. I got to say, I have taken off 20-25  gallons of fuel many times to fly over to another local (20-30 miles) airport for the reasons above. 

 

I guess the important thing is to know how much fuel you really have. In our F, my partners told me that we had a useable of 50. I believed that and ran a tank dry showing 4 gallons (burning 8gph). I switched tanks and sweated out the next 10 minutes because I thought I had 30 minutes on the other side, but could not be sure now. 

 

 I think the only option is to use the sight gauges and keep up with the fuel burn and remaining. 

[Marauder]

If he is the same guy some of us met, he is definitely over 40. Wonder why his medical was a full year overdue.

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[Marauder]

As for the fuel, their current price is $5.89/gal with a .10 per gallons discount if you ate at the restaurant and another .23 per gallon back if you use the Delaware rebate. Makes it one of the cheapest places in the area to fill up.

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