Crash this weekend at my airport.

[hitech]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xU2HxqXUtk

What the film does not say is also there is a big pilot screw up. That runway has a 500 foot displaced thresh hold. The pilot was landing well short of the end of the runway.

The road is the reason for the displacement.

http://maps.google.com/maps?z=14&q=33.0498447+-97.2322375&ll=33.0498447+-97.2322375&iwloc=near


HiTech

[Oldman731]

Had the same thing happen at KLOM in about 1980, although I believe it was a Navajo.  Plane made a fine landing.

- oldman

[kilz]

wow

i think there was error in both parties. the people driving should have been able to hear that plane coming in.

i also see what your talking about with him trying to land way short of the runway

[ghi]

I'm a trucker not a pilot, from the driver point of view, maybe i would have missed a poorly marked stop sign like this also ,especially in low light conditions, night, wet road reflections or snow covered.

[hitech]

wow

i think there was error in both parties. the people driving should have been able to hear that plane coming in.

i also see what your talking about with him trying to land way short of the runway

I agree , also I have never thought about it, but the markings are sorta written in pilot speak, I.E. hold short line. As a pilot of course you stop and look for planes on final before crossing the runway. Almost impossible not to look both ways when crossing a runway. But the thought of looking for a plane on final would be very foreign to a non pilot.

A few years ago this happened at the other end of the runway.

http://www.airport-data.com/images/aircrafts/small/180/180913.jpg
No one was injured.

After which they finally cut down the trees that blocked your view when taking the runway for take off.

HiTech

[Triton28]

Wow.  Glad nobody was seriously injured.

To me, it's new pilot + clueless drivers = near disaster.  I think there's enough blame for all of them to take.

[whiteman]

has anyone thought of putting an actual stop sign and secondary sign with it that warns of planes landing? i live close to an airport, i've had jets come over my head while driving and only saw them because i have t-tops. i can see it being easy not to hear that plane.

[LilMak]

I disagree about hearing an idling airplane coming in. They can be really quiet with the power pulled to idle. In a car with the windows up, you'd be hard pressed to hear it. There are usually signs around roads where they cross the approach end of runways (caution low flying aircraft) and, if there wasn't in this case, it's an airport management fail.

The news story says he was a student pilot on a solo. His wife being @ the airport with video running tells me he was based there. This tells me he should've been aware of the displaced threshold and the reason it was there. Pilot error IMO unless he was going to hold a long flair till he passed the threshold which would make it a show off type thing and also pilot error. Can't remember an FAR that states the minimum altitude above a displaced threshold though so he can argue he wasn't going to touch down till he was past the marker.  

Maybe he wasn't really ready to be a solo pilot in which case it would be an instructor fail.

I tend to put more blame on everyone that wasn't in the car but the stop sign was painted on the road for a reason.


Looking at the sat image on Google, there's no way he should've been that low with the threshold that far out.

[B4Buster]

Doh! We have the same discussion going in the O'club.

I agree Mak - if he was flying solo, he should of had a knowledge of airport markings, especially at his home airport, and that is the point I made in the other thread. I too looked at google earth and the pilot was most definitely way too low, barely dragging it across the threshold (or what he thought was the threshold). Hopefully that is not what his instructor taught to be a "stable approach".

[pembquist]

That must have really sucked for the pilot and the instructor. What a defeat for the pilot if it was his first solo.  Didn't like the airport manager instantly getting in the face of the driver, good way to make sure you get sued.  Its a stupid setup, is it the usual: development encroaching on a small field? 

[B4Buster]

That must have really sucked for the pilot and the instructor. What a defeat for the pilot if it was his first solo.  Didn't like the airport manager instantly getting in the face of the driver, good way to make sure you get sued.  Its a stupid setup, is it the usual: development encroaching on a small field? 

Probably not his first solo as the article mentioned he has left the airport envoronment (first solo cross-country). nonetheless, it still sucks.

[colmbo]

the people driving should have been able to hear that plane coming in.

Not very likely.  Short final the power is going to be way back, probably idle.  The only real noise will be wind noise off the airframe.  Windows in the car up, music on and you'll never hear it.

That being said, folks need to use the peripheral vision a little bit.

[Guppy35]

Reminded me of the stories my mom told of riding in a car out in the middle of nowhere in South Dakota during WW2.  The training pilots would come along and roll their wheels along the roof of the car and then land in front of the car and take off again.  probably couldn't get away with that today

What a lousy way to end a flight for that pilot and the folks in the truck

[skorpx1]

A few years ago this happened at the other end of the runway.

http://www.airport-data.com/images/aircrafts/small/180/180913.jpg
No one was injured.

After which they finally cut down the trees that blocked your view when taking the runway for take off.

HiTech

How does someone manage to do that? I'm not a pilot or an expert on landing a plane, but to me it seems like you'd have to be a complete idiot to do such a thing.

[B4Buster]

How does someone manage to do that? I'm not a pilot or an expert on landing a plane, but to me it seems like you'd have to be a complete idiot to do such a thing.

Without reading the NTSB report, I would guess the red plane taxied out while the plane on top was in his flare just about to touch down.