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Written by Wally Anderson
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Tuesday, 31 January 2006 |
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It’s been a long hiatus for this report mostly due to the lack of newsletters. We have new editor this year so the newsletter should return to a normal schedule. I will endeavor to do my part & submit this column monthly. The purpose of this column is to disseminate information about accidents & incidents in the hope it will add to our collective knowledge & thereby improve our safety record. The quality & quantity of information found here depends largely on information I collectively receive from you, so please keep forwarding any information on incidents or accidents. Also remember that you can file accident reports on SFBAPA.ORG. It is, of course, club policy to keep names & other private information confidential. I am aware of three recent incidents lately. Fortunately none of these resulted in injury although all certainly could have. Two occurred during frontal activity & one apparently during an intentional (aerobatic??) maneuver. I’ve summarized what I know below, but the information may not be totally complete or verified.
A P-3 pilot was attempting to launch off the 300’ at Ed Levin in 15mph gusty conditions coming from the extreme left (SE). He inflated OK but a gust picked him up, backed him up & set him down on the flat behind his launch point, at which time the canopy dropped back, he lost control & was dragged back to the windsock. The glider went on one side of the pole & he went on the other, probably preventing him from being dragged over the back to the road & beyond. The glider was torn in two places at the trailing edge but fortunately the pilot was OK. The storm was a strong one & it was already raining hard in the north bay that day. The winds on the top were reportedly SE-ESE at 30mph. Sudden changes in velocity/direction can occur in any front. This coupled strong winds aloft, vertical mixing & the wind rolling across the ridge & possibly even wrapping around from the back side of the mountain.A P-4 pilot was flying Mission when he noticed the sky darkening whereupon he tried to head for the LZ but had difficulty penetrating & descending. Ears & spirals were ineffective & clouds were forming below him as well. He elected to try to out run it & flew back towards Mission Peak As he turned into the wind to land the turbulence had become quite severe causing two major collapses, the last one fortunately was just 10’ over soft muddy ground. After landing he became completely enveloped in cloud & rain. Apparently the visibility was quite bad as he initially started to hike in the wrong direction & it reportedly took him three hours & some phone help from the rangers to make it down the mountain (he didn’t have his GPS with him). The causes here are, as above, self evident. Needless to say we should be very careful of weather in our slow moving craft. I received just a quick verbal account of this last incident. Apparently a very experienced pilot was flying the dump & did a low level high speed spiral type maneuver & didn’t or couldn’t recover in time before he hit the ground. He got quite lucky as he was over the beach & hit w/o any major injuries & was able to walk out with some assistance from fellow pilots. It was doubly amazing as there has been almost no beach in most places lately because of the annual erosion & winter high tides. Remember, altitude is safety, keep a good landing zone within easy reach & practice aerobatics under a controlled environment (maneuvers clinic). That’s all for now critters. Watch the weather & conditions & fly safely. |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 02 April 2006 )
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Safety Director's Report