Or simply a wet/soft turf runway that was more drag than his planned safety factor.
I flew my Maule MX-7-180 into and out of Basin Harbor Clubâs grass strip in 2007. I landed there in the afternoon on a Fall day with a cool temperature. I took off in the morning with a cool temperature. Density altitude wasnât a factor since the elevation is near sea level. The grass is kept mowed so drag shouldnât have been a problem. The runway is long and wide (for a Maule). However, there were thousands of seagulls on the runway. The guy mowing the grass scared them away long enough for me to take off but they came right back afterward.
The majority of accidents share a common contributing factor: Rushing and/or distraction. Having a family member along can be a huge distraction for a student pilot and should be recognized as such and allowance made for it. We may never know the definitive cause of this accident, but when things are âalmost routineâ thatâs when you need to pay special attention.
Big girls need love too. However, donât try to get a 160 warrior off the ground with full fuel, a hot humid day, and a short grass strip, with said lady in the seat next to you.
It can be done, i am living proof of that, but i donât recommend it. You might not get another chance to repeat the endeavorâŚ
I took off in my Cherokee 160 with 4 200+ pound guys at 5500 feet DA and purposely used up most of the 3600 foot runway flat climb to about 1800 ft and did a slow circuit of Clear Lake, CA. Of course I had less than half fuel.
âAccidentâ? This was no accidentâŚ
Your grandmother never heard of Chuck Yeager?
No one saw the takeoff and the accident airplane/crash cite was not found until 12 hours after departure??? And NO post crash fire??? No smoke column??? Could the plane have been missing something like fuel? Usually when there is no post crash fire, there is a reason. Just saying from 45 years of flying.
Post crash fires are somewhat rare in small airplanes. Some make and models have significantly above average post crash fire history. Somewhat contrary to most beliefs some of the fuselage tank airplanes such as Piper J3 and Aeronca 7AC have lower percentages of post crash fires than wing tank airplanes.
Once again this was not a runway environment accident. The location is stated as 1200 yards east of the runway and estimated 600â north of the approach end of runway 2. Departure was likely on runway 20.
There had been some rain but photos show vehicles in a farm field near the accident site.
This was not a high density altitude situation. Wind and turbulence may have been a factor.
This was not a Cherokee 140, 160 or 180. All Arrows have constant speed props which significantly improves acceleration compared to the Cherokee 180 with same 180 hp engine.
There is another possibility that I consider remote but must be considered. AD for cracked wing spars on this and other Cherokee series. A fatal crash in FL of an Arrow where the spar failed and the wing came off. The wing in VT accident is separated from the fuselage and laying in front of the fuselage.
Iâve been in and out of Basin Harbor in a 180HP Sundowner, a Sierra, and a Cessna150. Itâs not a confidence inspiring strip, as it often feels soggy and soft when everything else is dry. None of those planes achieved anything like Flight Manual performance on takeoff. After the first time I used soft field technique for all takeoffs. Iâm no fan of the âHershey Barâ tribe and wouldnât take one in there unless solo and light on fuel. Certainly not with 3 3/4 adults and only a little over an hour out of full tanks. The 200HP long wing Arrow does a little better, still not my cup of tea. I hypothesize an early over-rotation without a soft field flap setting and a sub Vx climbout, getting on the backside of the power curve (bad place for hershey bars) with predictable results.
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