http://www.saflyermag.comHe did an amazing job of getting the
heavy aircraft on the ground and stopping
it in time with only one brake – by using full
opposite rudder and just enough brake to
keep straight. That takes some doing. And
when it was all over he still remembered to
let the turbo run down after the full-power
take-off – good man. But as the adrenalin
disappeared his brain relaxed so much that,
when the grass caught fire, he didn’t have
the sense to taxi away from it.
You may think that’s just doff, but let
me give you a couple of examples of very
competent pilots doing the same sort of
thing.
One of the worst taxiing accidents of all
time was on 27 May 1982. A 24 Squadron
SAAF Buccaneer landed safely at
Pietersburg after a hydraulic problem. The
pilot then decided to taxi – despite the QRH
(Quick Reference Handbook) saying ‘NO
TAXIING’ after hydraulic problems. All went
well until the hydraulic pressure expired
just as taxiway sloped down to where
four Impalas were parked. On impact, the
Buck and one Impala caught fire and the
rest were either written off or seriously
damaged. The ‘Bucc’ crew were so elated
to have landed safely, they stopped thinking
- and smashed five aircraft.
And now to Earnest Gann, of ‘Fate Is
The Hunter’ fame. If you haven’t read it you
should not be allowed to fly until you have - it is that good! Anyhow he did something
equally stupid. He had a fire in the hold of a
four-engine, propeller aircraft that was fully-
loaded with pax. They were above 8,000 of
cloud and he doubted that they had time to
do an NDB let-down.
By pure chance, as he flew over the
field he saw a 'lift-shaft' hole
in the cloud going all the way
down to the crossed runways.
He did a hectic spiral and got
safely on the ground. What
did he do next? He taxied
his burning aircraft to the
fuel bay!WHAT CAN WE LEARN?
Perhaps there are
only two lessons here:- Remember that
with a fuel-
injection engine,
the slightest
abnormality of
fuel flow during
take-off is a
strong warning
to abort if
you can do it
safely. - When the
dust has
settled –
don’t relax- keep
thinking. It
is possible
that the
fun is just
about to
begin.j
- keep
After a precautionary landing that went
awry, ZS-ASC caught fire because
the pilot didn't taxi away from burning
grass. It is now registered as ZS-SVY.BELOW - Earnest Gann executed a hectic
spiral descent to get his burning aircraft
safely on the ground - and then taxied to
the fuel bay.