Possibly the worst pilot decision I have ever seen

Gives new meaning to the term "shaker-stick!"

 

The efficiency of a prop blade diminishes rapidly at the tip. Mostly the tip just generates noise, especially at high RPM. Hartzell has a Q-tip propeller where the blade tips are curled, although only about 2 inches versus 4-5 on this airplane. A Q-tip increases tip efficiency much the same way a winglet increase tip efficiency on a wing. So curling a blade back 4 inches would not be as dramatic as one might think.

In-balance would be a product of un-even curling or loss of material. Hard to tell from the picture how much of either occurred.

Note: In no way am I justifying the actions of the pilot, either aborting the landing or flying home.

 

I bet he needed the time to prepare his story or decide whether to just ditch it in the drink.

 

There is also the idea of climbing from it in front of everyone who just saw you do it and the fact that once it stopped it ain't going nowhere until it is fixed.

Dumb as it was at least now it is home.


Putting it in the drink? Been done before but tough with all those witnesses and a custom paint job. Takes a little planning too if its going in deep water. Got done once to a Mosquito for insurance money.

 

I'll bet he considered it.

 

Holy crap!

I've got a couple thousand hours in an Aerostar, and I think it's "reputation" is thoroughly undeserved. I'd rather be in an Aerostar than almost any other piston twin if you lose an engine, provided it is being flown properly. As always, speed is everything.

That, however, has got to be one of the stupidest things I've ever seen done in any aircaft.

Mind you I do remember seeing a C210R taxi in and park at our local airfield with a prop looking much the same for the same reason as this guy.

Usual case of a private pilot with far more money than ability.

 

the A-star balances nicely on the mains with the nose (wheel) up, allowing to bleed off speed for a short roll or keep speed up on long runways

 

Maybe the pilot thought he was in a Lake Buccaneer!

It is not unknown for a absent-minded Lake pilot to lower the landing gear for a water landing.

 

Not unknown for any amphib pilot. Once had an immaculate 206 amphib that two wks after we sold it was upside down in a river in Alaska. Landing wheels down on water is much more dramatic than wheels up on land.

 

OMG.....

Very lucky....

 

Here's a belly landing you don't see every day.. for very different reasons though and good outcome.

https://www.facebook.com/OfficialPilotsLounge/videos/vb.236827433109815/431465090312714/?type=2&theater

 

That LOT airplane was a victim of incompetence as far as I'm concerned and the fact that it was written off is also stupid. The old Boeing AOG crew would have had that bird in the air in probably less than thirty days.

 

Brian Williams was ON THAT PLANE!

 

oh!

ok.. I looked it up. Story here describes issue as detected hydraulic leak 30 min after takeoff.. they proceed to Warsaw from Newark LOT Polish Airlines Flight 16 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I see it is described as still under investigation, what was the incompetence at play here?

 

The circuit breaker for the alternate landing extension system was popped and not checked. If it had been checked and reset, the gear would have extended. Theses days are different, I guess ,when it comes to mechanical skills. That LOT airplane could have been fixed. We replaced the entire belly from aft of the nose to the 46 section, landing gear, struts, engines, and lower wing skins on several 707-320's in the 60's and they were back in the air in 30 days. The AOG crew cut the entire bottom end off the airplanes and rebuilt them IN THE FIELD. It appears that those men and their skills are gone now. I'm glad that I was a part of it.

 

Seems incredible thing to miss.. if not a "sensible" check.. then on a checklist.. if not then they would/should have been in touch engineering support all the time and THEY would have ideas/checks.. just wow then.

I think a LOT (pun intended) of things are becoming more "throw away/buy new" mentality in general.. very sad on several levels.

 

The question I have - was the Boeing AOG team even consulted? I think the aircraft could, and should, have been repaired, and it may be LOT's fault for not even trying.

 

The airframe, or structure, is not the over riding consideration in maintenance and operation of a commercial airliner. You should see some of the 777's that are being scrapped.

 

Best excuse I have read in a long while....

Gear-Up Mishap Was Botched Go-Around - AVweb flash Article


Not sure about the order of his control inputs...Fire wall throttles AFTER gear up ???

 

Seems like a plausible explanation.... It could have had a much worse outcome...happy it didn't.

 

I guess in his case, pulling the gear up after positive rate didn't apply to his way of thinking!
Gary Bobileff

 

At 87, it may be time to give up flying at least without someone in the right seat.

 

Even though I am 89, for all practical purposes, I can fly every bit as well as I could when I was 20...in my head. I can go through the commands to my feet hands, and eyes but, for some reason, the arrival of the signals are not getting there at precisely the same time and the the coordinated application of inputs does not happen. The commands get there but the resulting maneuver sometimes is late, jerky, and not pretty. To get back to acceptable performance would take a lot of practice in what used to be student level exercises and even then there would be instances where peripheral influences are missed and picked up later than they should have been. But other than that, I can fly just like I used to 70 years ago.

 

Man, I feel sorry for that dude!

I can't imagine the ignominy of being laid bare before the world at 87 like this guy has. For all we know he's had 5000 hours of accident-free flying since he was 15 years old and now none of that matters. Of course, I don't know, but still...I wouldn't want to be wearing his fuzzy slippers and terry cloth jump suit.