Casuarina beach NT 29/03/24 Textbook forced landing

[Reynard]

Limited reports of a perfect forced landing onto a nudist beach near Darwin, but of course it was still called a ‘crash’.   Info behind a paywall.

[RFguy]

A nudist beach ?

sounds like a setup to me.

 

[Reynard]

You might be onto something there - published by the infamous NT News.

[red750]

What's the link? Use a second browser with JavaScript disabled. Should bypass the paywall.

[Reynard]

NT News 

 

[onetrack]

The title is - "Wrong kind of landing strip: Plane ’crash’ at Top End nudist beach". I've disabled Javascript and the paywall is still there. However, the photo shows Arafura Airlines VH-KER stuck in some soft tidal flat ground.

 

The aircraft is a Piper PA-32-300 Cherokee Six. Arafura Airlines VH-KER. Just might have been the old Piper faulty fuel selector trick again?

 

I've been to Casuarina Beach (close on 20 yrs ago), it was pretty poorly populated by way of beachgoers, and the gays have taken over most nudist beaches anyway, so nothing of interest much to hetero people.

 

I'm surprised they managed a satisfactory landing, the tidal flat is pretty soft clayey sand, and any incoming tide would be a worry, as Darwins tides are pretty big.

[turboplanner]

8 hours ago, onetrack said:

I'm surprised they managed a satisfactory landing, the tidal flat is pretty soft clayey sand, and any incoming tide would be a worry, as Darwins tides are pretty big.

The Cherokee Six has fixed undercarriage built like a tank, I've been in one that made a routine landing in scrub out the back of Broken Hill, knocking down small saplings and with an emu trying to outpace us.

 

The mud would just be like an arrestor cable.

 

Could have been finger trouble on the selector also.

[Cooda]

They dug it out and successfully flew it off the beach. 

[facthunter]

 The sea water won't do it much good. They are a bit Notorious for Wing corrosion at the rear spar anyhow.  Good effort though.  Nev

[facthunter]

NT The last wild frontier. Cracker Night held in the DRY.  Nev

[turboplanner]

32 minutes ago, facthunter said:

 The sea water won't do it much good. They are a bit Notorious for Wing corrosion at the rear spar anyhow.  Good effort though.  Nev

It may have landed to dry sands and taken off on dry sands depending on the tides in that location.

[facthunter]

I used to sail Catamarans there. Don't recall large tides. Not Like BROOME which is 9 meters.  Nev

[onetrack]

You can get up to 8M tide variations in Darwin, but the mean neap tidal range is 1.9M, and spring tides have a range variation of up to 5.5M. Casuarina Beach is very flat, and I'd be surprised if the aircraft didn't get some level of "wet feet".

[turboplanner]

5 hours ago, onetrack said:

You can get up to 8M tide variations in Darwin, but the mean neap tidal range is 1.9M, and spring tides have a range variation of up to 5.5M. Casuarina Beach is very flat, and I'd be surprised if the aircraft didn't get some level of "wet feet".

Casuarina Beach, NT Tides:

11:15 am 1.34 metres

5: 28 pm: 6.62 metres              = 5.28 metres higher

 

On "very flat" ground a 5.28 metre difference = a considerable distance of retreat at low tide and some time before 11:15 to make a forced landing and some time after 11:15 to get out of there before the groundwater turned the sand to quicksand and the water submerged to whole aircraft.

We know the aircraft wasn't submerged. Anyone needing to know if it's going to fall apart from corrosion just needs to find out the landing and take off times and do the maths.

 

 

 

[facthunter]

You don't have to submerge a plane to get salt pretty much through it. Being where waves break  a bit away or running through wet sand Pretty much any BEACH Landing. The rear wing spar near the wing root is particularly susceptible. The anti corrosion treatment is non existent. Not like the Earlier Piper Commanche etc

[RFguy]

so if VH-KER comes up for sale, beware !   S/N 32-7640035

[facthunter]

There might be worse around. Some paint stripping efforts do as much damage corrosion wise. Around Kerang would be as salty. Everything I took to Lake BOGA corroded.. At Newcastle people used to fish on the Nobby's breakwater and take their cars all the way out with all their gear in. The cars were worth nothing after a short while. 

 Nev

[turboplanner]

This is beginning to rival Ripleys Believe it or not.

A thread about a "crash" by a GA aircraft in an RA Forum; a forced landing on a beach; a photo of the tide coming in showing water around the wheels; reasons the aircraft is now stuffed etc; how your car can be rusted out too.

The Cherokee Six is an ideal Country/Outback Aircraft.

Around 2012 I saw one stripped down for a complete corrosion inspection/replacement. The guy had bought the aircraft  with high level radio equipment for $15,000 and the corrosion replacement cost him $16,000 at a tiome people were buying Jabs for about $60,000.

I'd suggest the owner will work it all out without our help.

[facthunter]

And I don't need your help in telling me what I should and should not post here. Corrosion is a real  problem in sheet  metal aircraft particularly those which aren't primed at manufacture and It's VERY likely that I've seen more with REPAIRED . corrosion in them than you Have. YOU don't HAVE to read my posts  do  you?  Nev

[turboplanner]

1 hour ago, facthunter said:

And I don't need your help in telling me what I should and should not post here. Corrosion is a real  problem in sheet  metal aircraft particularly those which aren't primed at manufacture and It's VERY likely that I've seen more with REPAIRED . corrosion in them than you Have. YOU don't HAVE to read my posts  do  you?  Nev

No I mostly don't but got confused about how it could have been a corroded wreck never to fly again when the only photos shows pretty much wet tyres and we don't know whether there was water there when it landed, because when I pulled the tide data there's along priod of dry beach.

[facthunter]

Corroded wreck never to fly again?? You wouldn't be making it up would you? Even horse shit corrodes wings and wheel spats and brake parts. Dry sand has salt in it IF salt has been present. Have you ever operated near salt?. Anyhow I'll answer for what I actually say but not for the slant you choose to put on it just to have an argument. I've pointed that out before. . MANYTIMES.. Nev

[turboplanner]

23 minutes ago, facthunter said:

 Have you ever operated near salt?.

What's this nonsense?

[facthunter]

 Like been to Lake Gairdner or such or lived on a salt lake or Boat' Had to keep your fishing gear or inboard engine working? . Nev

[turboplanner]

1 hour ago, facthunter said:

 Like been to Lake Gairdner or such or lived on a salt lake or Boat' Had to keep your fishing gear or inboard engine working? . Nev

What do you think we do in the transport industry where we have to build all sorts of body surfaces for all applications including corrosives and explosives but that’s got nothing to do with a successful forced landing and fly off.

[danny_galaga]

On 01/04/2024 at 8:24 AM, facthunter said:

NT The last wild frontier. Cracker Night held in the DRY.  Nev

I am from the NT originally and can attest to fire cracker night lunacy..I used to be one of the looneys in my younger days 😄. Tides are very large in the top end. May just be you happened to be sailing at highish tides so never observed it. 

 

Regards corrosion. Not something to argue about for this story. If you can fly it out within hours, it can go straight to the airport (maybe 15-20 minutes flying from Casuarina) and looked at there. Much easier than trying to truck it out.

Edited April 3 by danny_galaga