TBM Flat Spins 5 Die

I'm not aerobatic rated, but engine screaming maybe a sign of improper procedure or just last hope. Like you said, skidding or slipping (rudder control) or ice are the only things I know that can lead to flat spin. I'm sure their impact was awful.

 

PARE says power to idle. But I'd wait until the investigation before drawing any conclusions.

 

It was snowing and raining the day of the crash. Plane was in a flat spin coming out of the overcast, apparently. Also, apparently, full throttle.

The bodies were still inside.


DENVER: 5 bodies found in Colorado plane crash wreckage | National | The News Tribune

 

Are all GA pilots taught spin recovery techniques?

 

Used to be, not now. I'm going to do unusual attitude training after my private.

 

My VFR instructor did some upset attitude training with me. I found it fun, a "challenge".
Eventually I will take APS simulator training.

I never did any spins; just stalls & how to keep the wings level & keep out of a spin...which isn't guaranteed.

 

Rob- Thanks, wondered about that. Teaching it and demoing it are two different things. Must have been scary to be in a flat spin in IFR conditions and possibly not recognize what was happening. One thing the old Link trainers were good at teaching you was how to recognize various spins and out of control situations. Imagine the new sims are much better.

 

Not sure if Rob was referring to me, but it did happen to me back around 1988 when I was working on my PL in a C152. At the time, my FBO was only teaching spin avoidance and not spin recovery techniques. The FBO had a Citabria, but I had not flow it.

I botched a power on stall and used rudder to level the wings right just as the stall hit - stupid, stupid, stupid. Lucky for me, I had watched a Sporty's video about spin recovery and rembered enough of the technique to save my butt. Recovered, flew back to the FBO, parked the plane, and puked in the FBO's bathroom.

 

Pure specualtion, but if the spin was flat and in the clouds, the pilot may not have realized what was happening. He might have only noticed a rapid decent thinking he accumulated ice and that his instruments were not reliable. Thus, a possible explanation for the application of power - i.e., pilot hinking he needed power to out of the descent.

 

The 152 spin is pretty docile as I recall, but at the time the cow pasture below me looked like it was coming up fast Lucky for me I did not bend the plane on the recovery - I pulled pretty hard - lucky I did not hit a secondary stall. I will have to go look at my log book, but I think I had maybe 20 hours total time at that point.

 

I would agree, but:

But I'm witholding judgement until after the investigation.

 

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spin recovery in a Cessna 150/152 ... let go of everything... :=) it is counter intuitive but when it doubt ( in a 152 only )... it will do a turn and a half and be out of it... other wise follow normal spin recovery procedures

 

sounds like an inexperienced pilot... sounds like about all he had was a sign off for IFR, by the way he handled himself by getting into what ever he got into... typically what happens is that the pilot reverts to using his senses, is looking outside of the plane for help and not paying attention to what the instruments were indicating to make the necessary inputs...
back in the day... a half pint taped to the panel saved a lot bacon, still works today

 

I think you guys are jumping the gun a bit by assuming it was a flat spin. Maybe, maybe not, but I wouldn't base anything on what an eyewitness says.

 

I once witnessed a kid who pulled too hard coming out of a spin in a PT-19. He straightened it out and started an aggressive pullout that progressed into an abrupt stall that quickly went into a spin that continued into the ground. On my private ride, I had four spins; two were precision recovery on a prescribed point, one left and one right. The others were two and three rotations spins , left and right with recoveries on the starting point. Pullout from a spin must be firm but gradual. Learning and practicing deep full power-on rudder exercise stalls precipitated many spins when you lost directional control (lazy rudder) with the stick in your gut and full power on. A little busy but fun. Rob, you guys are so far advanced in what you can do now with the higher performance airplanes and high tech equipment. I doubt that I could cope with it.

 

Bob- Most of them are a lot easier to fly, but many are not too forgiving if they depart. Could probably put you in an F-15 and you could get her off the ground and back down without too many problems. Just takes more airspace and more runway.

 

Man, would I like to try that. I have dreamed of that forever and probably will until they turn the lights off.

 

Bob- To me, the F-15 felt like an F-111 with all the mass removed. I tended to overcontrol her flying formation until I got used to the light stick feel. Very easy to fly and still controllable at 100 knots if you kept the AoA down. More or less ballistic at that point.

 

Thanks, Taz. It sounds like wonderful fun and something to dream about.

 

I loved spin training in the Super D. Scary at first but then incredibly liberating to go slow and then do everything wrong. Stick back and hard rudder and try to recover on course. What a hoot. Everyone should do it. It makes slow flight much less scary.

 

Your post reminds me of flying the Stearman with a girl friend in the front. It was fun to pull back on the throttle and the stick at the same time and then when the airspeed was down to 50mph or less, feed in full rudder and see it break into a spin. Some girls froze and didn't like it, others yelled with excitement and always came back with , "Do it again." Always fun to kick it into a snap roll and hold it into a spin. I don't know if there is a more
'Funner" airplane than a Stearman. Didn't have to worry about breaking anything under 13 G.

 

I was.