How not to do it

[zenonie]

A Blast from the Past

 

The following article is provided from the RAAF archives and intended to present those old and bold readers with a touch of nostalgia. It is an example of the way some accident summaries used to be reported by investigators.

 

Whoever said that those who conduct and review aircraft accident investigations need to be a dour, humorless bunch?

 

Date: 21 Nov, 1946

 

Aircraft: Mustang

 

Location: Williamstown NSW

 

Degree of injury: One (uninjured)

 

Nature of accident: Airscrew struck runway during landing run.

 

Cause and remarks: This must have been well worth watching.

 

As we write we have at our elbow an eyewitness who supplied us with a graphic account.

 

It appears that the pilot approached too fast and covered half the runway in a series of elegant bounces.

 

At the top of each bounce he seemed to move the stick sharply forward and then darted towards the runway at an angle which became steeper and more horrifying with each bounce.

 

At the third attempt the inevitable happened and a perfect three pointer ( two wheels and the airscrew ) was made. The airscrew bit into the runway throwing lumps of asphalt right, left and into the radiator which was badly punctured.

 

Showing a magnificent regard of everything, the pilot now taxied back to dispersal leaving a long trail of glycol smoke behind then, completely undaunted by the fact that smoke had reduced the local visibility to about two yards and that one blade of the airscrew was only just clearing the cowling, he was prepared to leave the engine running ready for the next pupil to fly.

 

We gather that the sight of the pilot emerging out of the pall of smoke so unnerved the CFI that he was almost incapable of speech. Fortunately, he was able to tell the pilot to switch off.

 

On being questioned, the pilot said that there had, to him been nothing abnormal about the landing except that the brakes might be binding slightly.

 

We presume that the subsequent cloud of smoke was attributed to the fact that the engine might be a little hot!