It's Just Been a Bad Couple of Weeks for Taylorcrafts!!!!Truelly Sad

[crispy critter]

A gentlman from the Atlanta,Ga. area came in to West Liberty about 10:30am this morning on his way from Ohio to Georga taking his newly purchaced t-craft home. He had managed to get himself a little lost and seen our little airport below him and decided to stop to require his bearings. Not used to what he called short runways(2400') and not know the runway he decided to land on was downhill on a 2% grade. Also this was his first stop after departing this morning and from what I understanf this was the first taylorcraft he had ever flown and was used to high-performance birds and had been flying a 180hp Swift. I watched in dismay as he attempted to land at what looked like cruise speed for the t-craft and he then tried to force it on the ground. He must have crow-hopped a half dozen times before he got it planted on the mains with less then 100' of runway left in front of him and then skidded off the end of the runway,over a steep(2/1 slope)30-40' bank,across the road stopping backward in a driveway off the end of the runway. The gentlmen is 82 years old,said he had been flying for 60 years,and admitted to making almost every rooky mistake in the book all at once. Very nice guy and not a bad looking t-craft. He did suffer what appeared to be some minor to moderate facial injurys because his teeth and jaw were very abrubtly introduced to the yoke but other then a pretty nasty cut lip and a few loose teeth he is fine(shoulder harnesses would have saved him from any injury at all!!!). Here's a couple pics. Hopefully this will end the dreaded 3 for a very long time.

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: It's Just Been a Bad Couple of Weeks for Taylorcrafts!!!!Truelly Sad

Sounds like the Taylorcraft Gods are trying to tell you to become a professional restorer. They strike your own plane with lightning and now they are delivering projects to your driveway! OK, not YOUR driveway, but he DID say he was lost.

I am just glad he wasn't badly hurt. If he wants to keep her maybe you can strike a deal to do a rebuild for him. Sure thing you do a good job.

Hank

[crispy critter]

Re: It's Just Been a Bad Couple of Weeks for Taylorcrafts!!!!Truelly Sad

Rebuilding it has been discussed but nothing serious. The FAA will be here monday morning to do thier thing and after that I will be able to open it up and see just how much damage is really there. From what I can tell so far there is quite a bit of tubing damage in some very critical areas. No dought most folks would simply total it or sell it as salvage but I kinda like a challenge. Here is a couple of pics that show a little more detail of the impact.

[M Towsley]

Re: It's Just Been a Bad Couple of Weeks for Taylorcrafts!!!!Truelly Sad

Thanks for sharing Kevin. What a waste, not to mention this guy had been flying higher performance airplanes???? Lucky he hadn't hurt himself or someone else prior to this.

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: It's Just Been a Bad Couple of Weeks for Taylorcrafts!!!!Truelly Sad

Higher performance does not equal harder to fly. I think this guy just proved that. If he had done this in a Bonanza or Mooney he would be dead.
Looks like there may be a number of planes to rebuild soon. Too bad the club couldn't buy the factory last time. We would have all the tooling and the jobs would be a lot easier.
Hank

NEVER total a Taylorcraft! ANYTHING including a burned up one can be rebuilt!

OK, if it sinks in the Atlantic and you can't find it, it could be quite a challenge.

[crispy critter]

Re: It's Just Been a Bad Couple of Weeks for Taylorcrafts!!!!Truelly Sad

Hank,
Whatever makes you think a burned up taylorcraft could be rebuilt???? LOL.....of course make damn sure after you do all that hard work that you use extreme caution when handproping alone!! and even if the unthinkable happens after all that, just take a little time to compose yourself,pickup the pieces and start over.....look on the brite side,this gives you a chance to perfect those little imperfections that bugged you about the first rebuild,lol.

[M Towsley]

Re: It's Just Been a Bad Couple of Weeks for Taylorcrafts!!!!Truelly Sad

Hank,

It scares me this guy was flying anything, let alone a 'high performance' aircraft. Do you realize how far this guy set back general aviation in Kevin's community? A plane in a driveway? I can hear the newsies now... "Thank goodness there were no kids playing basketball", etc., etc.

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: It's Just Been a Bad Couple of Weeks for Taylorcrafts!!!!Truelly Sad

Oh I realize! I am just glad no one was killed. I am pretty sure the owner figured (at least subconsciously) that if he could fly a fire breathing high performance plane a little Taylorcraft would be a piece of cake. He probably even reached for his nav aids without thinking when he realized he didn't know where he was. (Don't throw stones too quick, we ALL make really dumb mistakes!)
My old boss flew A-4 Skyhawks, A-6 Intruders, S-3 Vikings, Bonanzas, a Barron and a Mooney but he agreed that he had to get a full check out and sign off before he could get in my Taylorcraft. It isn't that a Taylorcraft is HARD to fly, but it IS DIFFERENT!
Hank

And is sure isn't just the tail wheel!

[dewhitaker]

Re: It's Just Been a Bad Couple of Weeks for Taylorcrafts!!!!Truelly Sad

This accident would have been avoidable had this individual got some dual instruction prior to departing! There have been several magazine articles recently trying to help the hot shot heavy metal flyers understand that light sport aircraft are different. Avemco is tearing their hair out over accidents like this! The flight instructor my wife Judy used to get her sport pilot license is a 10,000 hour plus, in both rotary wing and fixed wing. But he is a model of humility and graciousness. Each year he asks to fly our T-Craft and have me go along as a check pilot while he get re-aquainted with it. Why can't others use some common sense?

Sorry for the vent, but I just can't stand to see what looks like a beautiful airplane be destroyed by stupidity.

[M Towsley]

Re: It's Just Been a Bad Couple of Weeks for Taylorcrafts!!!!Truelly Sad

David,

I wholeheartedly agree. At his age, if he has been flying for awhile, he should have flown similar aircraft sometime in his life. I think there is a lot of misplanning here. Landing to find out where he was at??? When I picked up Ms. Scarlett in Mississippi last year I planned that flight over and over, especially in a 'new' to me T-Craft. Overconfidence, perhaps, is a part of this equation?

[crispy critter]

Re: It's Just Been a Bad Couple of Weeks for Taylorcrafts!!!!Truelly Sad

Guys I agree with everything said but sometimes we all make mistakes. This one certinly could've & should've been avoided however it did happen. I don't feel the guy is a bad pilot or a bad guy or stupid....he just messed up regaurdless of the reason. I have flown enough different types of airplanes from hi-performers to ultralights and I know you have to fly the airplane you are in like none other. I have been my own test pilot and know enough to make the best call possible at that time to attempt the best outcome for a bad situation. However it was very hazy in east ky that day,the weather was closing in much earlier then anyone had forcasted,he was having trouble with his GPS,and was not familure with the terrian or the airplane....part of that is poor planning and part is just bad luck but either way I don't feel the need to put the guy down for one inncident after 60 years worth of flying. The guy is 82 years old,still has a medical,was still in good shape for someone half his age,and was a pretty sharp nail to talk with. I think he just got a little confussed which was obvious after talking to him that confussion and surprise in an airplane was not something he was accustume to. I think we should use this as an example that it can happen to any of us at anytime no matter what our experience is. We just need to stay sharp and always try to plan ahead for anything. I'm sure these are mistakes this gentleman will not make again.

[resojames]

Re: It's Just Been a Bad Couple of Weeks for Taylorcrafts!!!!Truelly Sad

David,

I wholeheartedly agree. At his age, if he has been flying for awhile, he should have flown similar aircraft sometime in his life. I think there is a lot of misplanning here. Landing to find out where he was at??? When I picked up Ms. Scarlett in Mississippi last year I planned that flight over and over, especially in a 'new' to me T-Craft. Overconfidence, perhaps, is a part of this equation?

Did you get that T-Craft in the Jackson area? If so, I know that plane.

[M Towsley]

Re: It's Just Been a Bad Couple of Weeks for Taylorcrafts!!!!Truelly Sad

I picked it up in Pontotoc, MS. Had spend most of the last 20 years in that area.

Kevin,

I somewhat agree, you obviously have more information than any of us have. However, it seems like all those little issues- weather, gps problems, poor flight planning, unfamiliarity with the plane... didn't turn out to be a little ground loop, it was a potentially fatal situation that could have taken other innocents out of the picture. I hate to see anyone hurt, and I hate seeing the Taylorcraft hurt over all of those little mistakes. Though I hope to be as 'young' at his age, this may be a clue that he needs to be not so confident in his abilities. I think that is what makes me be a little more careful while flying. My intention is not to personally attack him, just to point out the whole wasteful situation. I think sharing this with the forum makes many of us rethink how we fly.

[dewhitaker]

Re: It's Just Been a Bad Couple of Weeks for Taylorcrafts!!!!Truelly Sad

Kevin,

I agree it is great that the fine old gent is out doing what he loves at his age. May we all be so blessed. However, he had a grevious lapse in judgement. The point of my posting was that this pattern is repeated far too often, and possibly there is a basic attitude problem that shows up whereby certain personalities look at our "little planes" as being so simple that they can just jump in them and fly away based on their many years of flying high performance heavier aircraft. As a consequence, accidents are occuring at an alarming rate. This is happening in the new light sport catagory all to frequently. Brand new aircraft are being wrecked by folks going out without proper transition training and being trashed.

The first two accidents in our group of three were heartbreaking. I read those and thought "there but for the grace of god go I" This last one I got the sense from your original posting that this individual mentally minimized the risks of ferrying his new airplane whilst being over confident in his abilities. I recognize in myself that overconfidence in an airplane can be the start of an accident chain. I am not sure where I got it from but I keep the following picture close by to help keep me focused.

[crispy critter]

Re: It's Just Been a Bad Couple of Weeks for Taylorcrafts!!!!Truelly Sad

Marty & Dave,
I did not really mean to defend the guy with reasoning...You are both very correct and I agree 100%. The guy screewed up, not just once, but a series of rookie mistakes that could've and certinly should've been avoided. I just hate to bash him about it when he's down. He admitted to his mistakes and did not try to find any other cause,justification,or faults in the matter...he knew he had messed up more then once. After talking to him and listing to what he had to say I firmly believe he has learned from those mistakes all at once and luckily lived to learn from them and didn't hurt anyone else. I'm sure the FAA will have a few words with him and hopefully will give him another chance to apply from those hard lessons he has learned. If this was a pattern for him,if he had cracked up other airplanes from wrecklessness or if he just didn't seem to care, or was trying to find other reasons to the cause like blaming the weather,airplane,airport,wind,etc then I would help nail his ass to the wall....but he didn't. He was very open and very hurt over the fact that he let himself get into any and all the situations that lead to the accident and he admitted and took full responsibility for all of them. He knew he had really made a mess of things and was very upset at himself for that and over tearing up his new airplane. I was the first one to him,I watched everything from the time he entered the pattern until he disappeared over the bank at the far end of the runway,I spent about 4 hours with him and gave him a ride to catch a flight on home....I was first to him when he arrived and the last one to see him when he left. Had I not spent time with him and seen how he felt and reacted to everything I would probably be giving him hell too because this never should have happened from any pilot,especially from an experienced one.....however I think anyone who can mess up and admitt thier wrong doings,no matter how bad, deserves at least one second chance. I'm not at all happy with the fact that a nice little taylorcraft is setting on my trailer in pieces waiting for the feds to come look at it. It's such a shame that could have easily been avoided,but it happened and that's that. I'm not going to put the old guy down for it.....unless he starts trying to find something other then himself to blame for this mishap,lol. I hope you understand why I am not joining the linch mob on this one....I guess it really can be different when you're on the inside looking out,lol.