Beware the Sink Hole!

[Jeff_S]

Such a beautiful morning flight, dodging a few showers, getting an aerial rainbow, practicing engine-out landings.  And then my right main gear finds a sinkhole while backing into the hangar. Ah, Florida! You can see that the plane was being held up by the strength of the gear doors, and luckily it didn't sink in further because the hole actually extends much wider than the pics show. Extensive damage to both gear doors, but hopefully not the gear itself. We were able to jack it up and put a piece of plywood under the wheel to roll it out, so we didn't put any shear forces on the gear itself.  I sure hope the factory has some extra Ovation gear doors lying around!

 

[ArtVandelay]

Sorry to see this. But I would first try to see if you can straighten them out. Looks like you tried to cut the corner and got off the asphalt, this is why I hate when forced to go off roading when taxiing when you have the added risk of a prop strike should the nose find a hole.

[Yooper Rocketman]

34 minutes ago, ArtVandelay said:

 Looks like you tried to cut the corner and got off the asphalt, this is why I hate when forced to go off roading when taxiing when you have the added risk of a prop strike should the nose find a hole.

That's blacktop!!  You can see the blacktop goes that wide closer to the hangar and I can see the lip of the blacktop on the hole.  ARGH!

I too would attempt to repair the door.

Tom

[Gagarin]

Your landlord is fully responsible for fixing the hole and your plane. Show them the pictures.

[Jeff_S]

Yes, that really was blacktop, just with grass growing on top of it.  I will try to straighten the doors if I can, but I don't know if there is structural damage like cracks, etc.  We'll know once we dive in.  And the Airport Manager came over to help us get the plane out of the hole and he has already acknowledged that this is airport property and their responsibility...that just means the insurance companies will battle it out!

 

[OR75]

33 minutes ago, Gagarin said:

Your landlord is fully responsible for fixing the hole and your plane. Show them the pictures.

The hole is not in the asphalt though 

[Greg Ellis]

I would also have the airport look under that area of the asphalt that looks solid.  You never know if the base soil has eroded under the asphalt and more if your ramp will start collapsing in over time.

[EricJ]

+1 on repairing.   A good aircraft sheet metal shop could probably make short work of both of those.   Regardless, good luck with it and I hope it is resolved quickly!

[Marauder]

I would also have the airport look under that area of the asphalt that looks solid.  You never know if the base soil has eroded under the asphalt and more if your ramp will start collapsing in over time.

My airport is built on top of a ledge of bedrock with a lot of boulders and loose rock. Between the shifting of the rocks/boulders due to winter heaving or large trucks being allowed to drive on the ramps, you get this:



When I saw this while taxiing, I parked my plane and radioed a Piper behind me to avoid it. His response was that “I could have driven over it. It wasn’t that deep” Yeah right, with those wheel pants on...


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