Cattle contributed to fatal air crash

[Admin]

Could happen to any of us:

 

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10764641

 

 

[Deskpilot]

Not if you play by the rules. Landing with a tail wind is always fraught with danger. He should have completed another circuit and landed into wind instead of doing a 180 back to the strip. Another case of Pilot Error. Unfortunately, he paid for it.

 

 

[turboplanner]

The reduction of angles and extension of distances even with a slight tailwind should receive a lot more coverage than it does.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

It wasn't the tailwind that caught him it was the turn after the missed approach. I bet he left the carby heat on...

 

 

[turboplanner]

"On this second attempt to land, the plane was caught in strong crosswind and a tailwind, and did not touch down until more than half way down the airstrip"

 

He actually touched down F_T

 

 

[David Isaac]

Hmmm ... C172 ... 3 POB ... down wind attempt with an actual touch down = low enough air speed to touch down, then go around attempt ... sounds like a recipe for disaster and we don't even know the density altitude at the time.

 

A C172 with 3 up ... not exactly high performance. Why on earth would he attempt a down wind landing and being obvious that he would be touching down more than halfway down the strip, why would he persist? Sounds again like a classic 'cocked up' go around attempt ... decision to go around made way too late and not watching the numbers.

 

Even if there were mechanical issues that may have contributed to this accident, why would you put yourself in this position in the first place.

 

The cattle did not contribute to this accident; in my opinion it was a human factors accident, either not aware of the consequences of the down wind landing or simply poor judgment. It is an absolute tragedy that he paid the ultimate penalty.

 

This accident high lights how very lucky two individuals were in a similar go around accident in NSW. Thank God they survived unhurt, it would have been a very different outcome if they had hit an immovable object like this poor bugga did.