What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Escape

J

Jim Wright

Well Known Member
Has anyone on the Forum experienced an accident or knows of someone who has where the aircraft is upside down and the pilot is trapped in the cockpit? In such circumstances what would be your best means of escape?
 
Jim Wright said:
Has anyone on the Forum experienced an accident or knows of someone who has where the aircraft is upside down and the pilot is trapped in the cockpit? In such circumstances what would be your best means of escape?
Click to expand...

Kick the broken glass to open a hole and crawl out. RV's have an excellent roll over bar, there's room to wiggle, just don't be too quick unhooking the seat belt so as not fall on your head, which is easier said than done thinking there may be a fire.

Been there, done that....

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20031017X01762&key=1

.....if anyone is interested.

These airplanes are life extenders if flown to the bloody end as opposed to stalling and spinning in.

Are you selling something, Jim? The thread is in the classified section.
 
Last edited:
escape

Ooops... Sorry about that. And thank you for your reply. The thought of off airport landings have been on my mind.
 
Yes, I made an off airport forced landing and ended up trapped under my Rocket. Soon as the wheels hit mud, they dug in, we nosed over, skidded on the lower cowl, and then sorta half cartwheeled over one wingtip, *** over tea kettle. Came down backwards, slightly sideways and hard enough to fold the VS and crunch down the turtledeck about 6 inches.

There was no plexiglass left to kick out. I would have needed a can opener to get out. The gib crawled right out, unscathed. Fortunately, I wasn't too far from civilization, and about 8 emergency workers lifted a wing enough to let me out (some 20 or more minutes later). I had to yell at them NOT to use the jaws of life. :D

Besides the GIB getting out, it was also fortunate that MY cell phone had a charged battery, AND we could get a signal. Also the ELT worked, even though the antenna was stuck in the mud. And a nice lady saw us before our landing and had already called 911.

I was actually stuck laterally between my seat back and the windshield bow, not vertically between the canopy rails and the ground. I could ALMOST get out. Had there been a fire, I would have tried harder and left some skin behind.

You can see some pictures on my website under the heading ACCIDENT.



Scary, huh?!


Matt
www.docthrock.com
 
Last edited:
Human pretzel

One of my profs at school ended upside down in trees in a Stearman. In his discombobulation he popped the harness and went straight down 30 feet or whatever. Broke his back. Kept instructing for like 30 more years. Walked bent over and sat in the Cessnas on a pillow with a 6-6 tire inside that his daughter made. Had a million hours, flew 51's. Pat Schiffer, the human pretzel.
 
This was several years ago and the details are fuzzy in what's left of my mind.

A local guy in a -3 or -4 had a problem on takeoff, ended up in the brush off the runway, upside down a few feet off the ground. Couldn't get the canopy open; the brush was both holding the plane off the ground and keeping the canopy closed. It was several hours before someone discovered him.
 
pierre smith said:
Matt, what caused the engine failure?

Glad to see you on here after that!

Best,
Click to expand...

I'm wondering too. I took a good look at the website & found it quite interesting. Just makes me want to know the outcome of the engine & plane, unless I just missed it somewhere.

L.Adamson
 
I carry an ASEK(Aircrew Survival and Egress Knife) Knife in the cockpit. It has a seat belt cutter, the butt is a canopy cracker and the serrations on the spine are designed to let you can-opener through the skins if necessary.

The other benefit is that Young Eagles think it is really cool when they see it strapped by my right elbow in the '8.

Guy
 
I guess I didn't really have an engine failure, I had loss of thrust due to loss of oil pressure. My aerobatic MT prop went full pitch and was flapping in the breeze... like it's supposed to. There was still over a quart of oil in the engine, and the Lycosaurus was still producing some power. Amazingly, nothing got burnt inside the engine. Even the oil looked pretty good, what little was left over.

I had an Aeroquip SOCKETLESS FC332 AQP hose, used as oil cooler hose, come apart. DO NOT USE THIS HOSE!!! Hose separated from the -8 AN barbed fitting at 150 hours TTSN. So much for "experimenting".

The outcome was that the MT prop was still turning when it hit the mud. Enough to spin the crank gear bolt, shear the dowel and crack the gear. Surprisingly NOTHING dimensionally got hurt. The crank face wasn't even scratched. The bolt was milled out, and all parts sent for inspection were blessed by Aircraft Specialties in Tulsa. In fact their comment was more or less that all the parts they checked in my 150 hour Mattituck TMX engine looked "like new". When we opened the case, everything looked like new. Benefits of having a composite prop.

Back on topic...

You know, I almost wish I had a SHOVEL on board. One of those break down army jobs. I might have been able to dig out, my buddy certainly could have dug me out, and it would have helped if a fire broke out.

I certainly didn't do everything right. I was very lucky.
 
escape

Doc,
glad to get the feedback from a real situation. THis is one of those endless debates.....no two incidents are the same, and it sounds like even if the flip is typical, the rest never is.
I like the ASOK type knife, hard to argue with something tested by the airforce......but especially in a tight cabin, what will really work best?
ONe can easily be unable to move, legs pinned or injured, one arm free perhaps. I appreciate those who have commented that there are a LOT of scenarios where you just can't get out yourself, so communication becomes vital.
A PLB on your vest, air horn, cellphone, light/flares all come to mind.
 
DocThrock said:
Yes, I made an off airport forced landing and ended up trapped under my Rocket. Soon as the wheels hit mud, they dug in, we nosed over, skidded on the lower cowl, and then sorta half cartwheeled over one wingtip, *** over tea kettle. Came down backwards, slightly sideways and hard enough to fold the VS and crunch down the turtledeck about 6 inches.

There was no plexiglass left to kick out. I would have needed a can opener to get out. The gib crawled right out, unscathed. Fortunately, I wasn't too far from civilization, and about 8 emergency workers lifted a wing enough to let me out (some 20 or more minutes later). I had to yell at them NOT to use the jaws of life. :D

Besides the GIB getting out, it was also fortunate that MY cell phone had a charged battery, AND we could get a signal. Also the ELT worked, even though the antenna was stuck in the mud. And a nice lady saw us before our landing and had already called 911.

I was actually stuck laterally between my seat back and the windshield bow, not vertically between the canopy rails and the ground. I could ALMOST get out. Had there been a fire, I would have tried harder and left some skin behind.

You can see some pictures on my website under the heading ACCIDENT.



Scary, huh?!


Matt
www.docthrock.com
Click to expand...

Wow, you were really trapped under that sucker, Matt! An infantry shovel might have been a way out if one could dig hanging upside down in the seat.

The roll over bar with the 7 slider spread the longerons maybe an inch but otherwise stayed vertical. Looks like yours collapsed forward. That does make a difference.
 
flyboy1963 said:
Doc,
ONe can easily be unable to move, legs pinned or injured, one arm free perhaps. I appreciate those who have commented that there are a LOT of scenarios where you just can't get out yourself, so communication becomes vital.
A PLB on your vest, air horn, cellphone, light/flares all come to mind.
Click to expand...

Or a SPOT satellite tracker.

A little over a month ago, I became one of these people unable to move after an accident. I didn't fall from an airplane, but flew off a ladder horizontally onto a hard surface. My back was broken in five places, the pelvus two places, and my wrist shattered.

And since I'm getting a lot of time to think lately ( 8-12 weeks), I've had the senerio of an RV crash on some distant mountain in my mind; and feeling the way I did after my accident, I'd want help as soon as possible, cause' it's quite uncomfortable, and wouldn't be able to move much. I'm held together now with stainless steel plates, and a bunch of screws.

AOPA magazine just ran an article regarding two pilots who crashed into the mountainous area of Idaho, and were quickly rescued by using their SPOTs, even though they were down in the trees. In addition to alerting the people that staff SPOT, e-mails & cell phone calls were made to people on the list setup by the pilots.

I know that my SPOT went into quick action, when my wife set her headphones on it after landing & set off the 911 button. I had a call within two minutes.

The problem I can see, is what if the SPOT or cellphone is no longer accessible to the pilot. Did it fly out the broken windscreen, or just get out of reach? In that case, I'd want something automatic in addition. So now I'm seriously thinking of one of the new ELT's. But then you'd have to hope it activated too. SPOT will have laid a track, but someone might not notice for a while, if that 911 button isn't pushed. Just something to think about, but now I know that I want a backup or two, just to increase the odds.

L.Adamson --- RV6A
 
David-aviator said:
Hey Larry, you sure are busted up. Sorry to hear that story.
Hope things are healing and you can fly again soon.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'm looking foward to flying again. My wife took me to the hangar last weekend, to at least get a look at the plane. I'm getting more mobile now, with my walker. In about three weeks, I should be able to put weight on the broken parts.

L.Adamson -- RV6A
 
Some first hand testing....

We bought a tipped-over slider 7A. Here you can see the damage to the canopy: http://websites.expercraft.com/phrvp/index.php?q=log_entry&log_id=44543 You can see clearly that the rollbar was crushed, but that it stayed up enough to give some separation between ground and canopy rim. Both occupants could scramble out trough the scattered bubble and were out almost before the firetruck was present, which is amazing if you see the small hole in the canopy now. The pilot enlarged this hole a bit, using his bare hands. His only injury was some damage to an ear. I have to say that both guys were slim and reasonably agile so it helps to stay in shape....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top