Walking the beach with your child and killed by a plane...

[hoosierdoc]

Man walking on beach with child, hit by plane; 1 dead

i am not a pilot and I can't relate to being in a plane that is not able to fly. That being said, I also can't imagine putting a plane down on top of someone to give myself a better chance at surviving.

Any my pilots have some input on this one? It seems like a LOT of light aircraft are going down lately.

 

[ATOMonkey]

Light aircraft go down all the time. Not really surprising since they use old unreliable tech (thanks FAA!!) and are maintained by amatuer mechanics who do this as a hobby.

Yes, very tragic, most likely a combination of everything going wrong at the exact wrong time. Very sad...

 

[T.Lex]

A true tragedy.

I am not a pilot, but grew up in a family of them, so I've been around aviation my entire life. I can tell you that when an aircraft is not in distress, pilots generally are supposed to keep a mental (sometimes physical) checklist of what to do in certain emergencies. So, if something bad happens, depending on what the problem is, the pilot is at least somewhat prepared for the emergency.

Usually, when something bad happens, there is a progression - a warning light, then a mechanical problem, then a catastrophic failure (as an example). Again, depending on what bad thing is happening, the situation might jump straight to failure, but pilots (in my experience) think of it in a progression like that.

That means that the pilot's decision tree at any given time is something like, "If there's a warning light, I know [whatever] is the closest airfield, so I'll head there. If there's a mechanical problem and I can't make it to that airfield, I can try to set it down [here] or [there]. If there is a catastrophic failure, I'm going to have to put it down [there]." If it is an immediate catastrophic problem - like complete engine failure or something - the pilot may not have ANY choice about where to put down.

In central Indiana, [here] or [there] are typically corn fields or highway medians or something like that. In Florida, I could see how a beach or waterfront would be a reasonable choice, if the pilot had any choice whatsoever.

Without knowing more about what the problem was, it is hard to say whether the pilot had a choice or not about where the plane went down. It sounds like he did have some control, so it is hard to say whether he made a "good" decision or not. From the pic, if he had control, I may have expected him to put it down further in the water, but it is hard to know if that would have prevented a tragedy or just made a different one.

I'm also interested in the perspective of any pilots.

 

[sonofagun]

Light aircraft go down all the time. Not really surprising since they use old unreliable tech (thanks FAA!!) and are maintained by amatuer mechanics who do this as a hobby.

Old tech but reliable. This aircraft is not an experimental aircraft so no amateur hobbyists are certified to maintain. The FAA has strict airworthiness rules the owner has to comply with.

People are very difficult to see from 800 ft or so as the pilot starts his landing approach. Without power, his attention is divided between flying and preparing for a forced landing. Coming in at probably 60-70 MPH last minute avoidance maneuvers are very difficult and maybe impossible depending on the time between seeing the people and avoiding them.

Fortunately, this type fatality is extremely rare. Also, the pilot was probably unaware the pedestrians were there until the last fraction of a second or so.

I'm new at flying though, with a little over 70 hours, but this my perspective.

 

[BE Mike]

Tragic. I can't agree about the unreliability of light aircraft. Without all the facts, it is unclear where the father and child were when the aircraft lost power. There is a chance that they didn't hear (surf noise) or see the plane coming in and were going out into the surf and walked in front of the flight path. It could also be that there were people in the surf at the time, making a water landing a hazard to people. There isn't much time to make a decision when an engine failure occurs at low altitude. When flying on the coast, a beach landing is usually a good option, unless packed with people. The pilot might not have seen the pair, until it was too late to maneuver. This is from an old news story about Volusia County (Daytona Beach) Florida: The Patricks, who have three other children, said they went to New Smyrna Beach regularly because it was close, and because they did not realize how often injuries occurred. County records show that more than 40 people have been struck by vehicles on the beach in the past five years.

 

[hoosierdoc]

I'm guessing the plane was silent as it probably had a total loss of power. It was probably a glider at that point

 

[ces6508]

Light aircraft go down all the time. Not really surprising since they use old unreliable tech (thanks FAA!!) and are maintained by amatuer mechanics who do this as a hobby.

Yes, very tragic, most likely a combination of everything going wrong at the exact wrong time. Very sad...

Most engine failures are cause by pilots who run out of gas. "amatuer mechanics" are not allowed to maintain aircraft.

 

[loudpedal]

I am a certified albeit dormant fixed wing pilot. And as others stated I don't know the details of the crash. T.Lex is absolutely right about the mental checklist or put another way just don't panic.

Always remember you haven't crashed until you run out of airspeed, altitude, and ideas all at the same time.

But a good pilot is always looking for a place to land, even when everything is going well, that is why altitude is your friend.

This accident was a terrible tragedy, but it may take a while before anyone can assess blame be it human or mechanical.

 

[Ericpwp]

I just had a friend put his plane in the drink at 90kts. He was on approach after a cross-country flight. He was coming out of a storm at night. He had a mental blip when a small issue popped up. Then he heard the prop hit. I'm just glad he's is okay.

It can happen to the best of them.

 

[forgop]

When you have that moment to decide where you're going, you pretty much pick a place and stick to it from where you're at after surveying the area. While on the best glide path to maintain altitude per manufacturer specs, you're running through an entire checklist to restart the engine, propping open your door, changing radio frequency, etc so more time is spent with eyes inside the cockpit while briefly checking.

Had one instructor pull the throttle on me and give the order to find a place to land. Got close enough to the ground we didn't have too much time left before he pushed it back in.

 

[CitiusFortius]

The pilot should of put it down in the water*. If anybody had to die the pilot should have made sure it was him and not two people walking on a beach.

*if mechanically possible

 

[Trigger Time]

This story is sad. I usually don't allow tragedys to trip my emotional trigger but this story did. Maybe because I'm a father with young daughter too. Also hearing the online post he made about meeting his wife 9 years ago just rocked me

 

[Leadeye]

Saw this on the news, the plane was a Piper Archer, modern, fairly up to date plane. Landing a plane dead stick is like a series of closing doors, what you do now permanently affects the choices you will have next. The pilot probably never saw the people under the nose of the plane and if the engine and prop were stopped it would not be making much noise at all.

 

[9mmfan]

Saw this on the evening news. Truly horrible for all involved. Hope lessons can be learned.
I cracked a tear on this one.

 

[Dirtebiker]

The pilot should of put it down in the water*. If anybody had to die the pilot should have made sure it was him and not two people walking on a beach.

*if mechanically possible

You're assuming he saw the people!?

 

[scrub buck]

What are the chances of this happening? Seems like it should of been avoidable.

 

[comanche]

as a Flight Instructor (CFII) we teach emergencies constantly...all certified aircraft are HIGHLY reliable with redundant systems on both electrical and fuel and yes, thanks to the FAA for that. Unfortunately it is reflected in costs. I have had several emergencies though the years (most caused by the students and one engine failure ). To speculate what happened is just that, a total guess. Depending on altitude. by regulation, he should have had enough to see if the beach was occupied. As a highly experienced pilot I can tell you this.....absolutely nothing. Yes, I can offer scenarios if this happened as in what could you do and offer what I would have done but again based solely on a scenario what if, but I was not there and do not have the information required. I have only seen what was put on the news and there was no information that could tell any experienced pilot what he could have done differently and at this point only the NTSB, FAA, along with the pilot are the only ones that have any idea as to the moments from failure to touchdown and their assessment of the situation.

 

[forgop]

^
Of is my favorite verb of all time.

 

[BE Mike]

The pilot should of put it down in the water*. If anybody had to die the pilot should have made sure it was him and not two people walking on a beach.

*if mechanically possible

You aren't taking into account that the pilot had a responsibility to his passenger.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

^
Of is my favorite verb of all time.

If you don't like grammar mistakes you shouldn't of joined the internet.