Lucky Escape at Mackay Airport

[shags_j]

From my training recently I have discovered that that is why you do a pre-flight brief. It's more to get the pilot ready for if something goes wrong, not the passengers. Think about what you will do in the case of an emergency. If you are travelling in and out of an airport regularly look for likely places to land if something were to happen.

 

Re: Cherokees. See my blog for my opinion on cherokees. After flying RA aircraft I will never get in one again like the one i started my training in.

 

 

[Guest Qwerty]

I'd say your opinion is legitimate. You say that you fly GA and RAA and EVERY instructor advises not to turn back.

 

Same here. Same everywhere.

 

I'd like to know why he turned.

 

 

[turboplanner]

QWERTY, thanks for getting the facts. What we don't know is at what height he "lost the cylinder" and what that meant.

 

If he did lose just one cylinder, and still had power to make a small circuit that might be a different scenario. It might look unusual or spectacular from the ground of course.

 

 

[shags_j]

Very good point.

 

 

[Guest The Tote]

OK guys, I just spoke to Patrick in the tower at Mackay.It did happen.

 

The enging "lost" a cylinder, there was an instructor and a student on board, th einstructor turned back very low and very steep. One RPT pilot thought the 160 was comming through his windscreen. The 160 landed on the apron.

 

There is a beach about 500 m off the end of 14 that may have been a better option.

Sounds like a partial engine failure.

 

Still some power avaliable to get the aircraft to a good landing rather than pot luck.

 

 

[turboplanner]

Shags, I only found the part about Cherokee wheel shimmy - never experienced it and only experienced one bad 140 (lack of maintenance). What was wrong?

 

 

[Guest Qwerty]

Mackay tower are sending me an email re the engine, I will post it when I get it.

 

Patrick in the tower asked the other controller (while I was on the phone to him) how high was the guy. he said "100 ft"...................Thats wot the guy in the tower said.

 

he also said that there was room to get back on to the runway straight ahead. He would have over run and probably hit the perimiter fence.

 

 

[shags_j]

Nothing Wrong as such. Just seem to be poorly designed aircraft.

 

Far less performance than either the cessna's or ra aircraft I have flown (ie, higher stall speed, longer take off etc). You actually needed to land with the power on a bit with it. But then again having only flown the one cherokee it could have been that particular one.

 

 

[turboplanner]

Hmmmm 100 feet, 60 degree turn, three cylinders.....

 

Sorry for this sub-thread

 

Shags you had a bad one. I could spot land every time, usually the passenger couldn't feel the touch down. Then progressed from that to the Jab where we had to go looking under the seats for the instructor's teeth after every landing, and that's when we actually landed on the strip.

 

 

[shags_j]

I find the Jab and particularly the technam to have just beautiful landings. The tecnam you can usually just float two feet above the ground and and it lightly touches down when it's ready to.

 

Goes to show how the same model aircraft can have very different handling from aircraft to aircraft.

 

 

[Guest Qwerty]

I will post some pics of the a/c in the gallery, Incidents and Accidents section. That looks like the instructor wandering about. I'm guessing that the engine didnt produce much power if it kept running.

 

Sincerely pleased that it wasn't me.

 

 

[winsor68]

Yep...that the flying s... box

 

I was figuring it was a different machine...this aircraft is purely for training/hire. Even with 160hp this Cherokee is lucky to be at 200 feet by the end of either runway at Mackay. A friend of mine did most of his commercial training on this machine. It is a lovely antique machine...lol

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

one of these ended up in Shute Hbr, it had a power failure just after take off. it floated for a bit and the pilot managed to get it onto some rocks. it was dragged onto a barge then brought back and fixed up. later another one had a failure but the pilot put it back down and ran off into the long grass they fixed it up then it later did the same thing again in the same spot. when everyone got out the red hot brakes set the grass on fire and that was the end of it. talk about a charmed life. Then a few years ago the other one failed on take off at Hamo unfortunately that ended in tradgedy for all on board.

 

ozzie

 

 

[winsor68]

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Recreational Flying Discussion Forums

 

The Rpt apron starts right where the freighter is parked on the right of the cockpit in the first and second photos...there are 4 Bays. The PM's 2 aircraft would have been parked just behind the freighter and the Dash on bay one... Very very tight area. Any aircraft on bay leave only the absolute legal minimum of clearance for movement.

 

 

[poteroo]

Strange that this incident hasn't shown up on pprune ??

 

A Cherokee 160 with reasonable engine compressions and a good propellor is not all that bad a performer. You do need to keep the nose down and build up speed before it will climb though. So, it could well happen that the aircraft in question had already reached at least 75kts, or even 85kts, by the time the pot let go. That could give you enough energy to conduct an 'instant' 180 - but you'd probably need to cushion the last part of the turn with judicious flap extension, and be prepared to lose height during the last 45 degrees or so of the turn.

 

It's unlikely that there was much power left with a blown pot, but if it had just given the 1st sign of cracking.... it might have helped to push the Cherokee around.

 

Give the instructor credit where it's due - he might have done a few for real EFATO's before, and have been expecting this Cherokee to lose power...one t/o or the next. Being prepared goes a long way toward success.

 

Barry Schiff explains about doing 180's back to the runway in his 'Proficient Pilot' series. It's not for the faint hearted or unskilled though.

 

happy days,