In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
Plane Crash at the Lake
Wrangler
Member Posts: 5,788 ✭
In-laws have the kids for the weekend at Lake Texana. Mom-in-law called to say they were alright. A single engine plane was flying low and showing off. It flew right over their camper. Crashed into the lake and sank. Doesn't look good for the passengers. What a way to start off the holiday weekend.
Comments
Sad to hear it.
Plane Crashes into Lake Texana
Newscenter 25
Posted: May 26th, 2006 - 10:48 pm
Memorial Day weekend revelers at Brackenridge Park in Jackson County watched in horror Friday night as a plane plunged into Lake Texana. Jackson County Sheriff Andy Louderback says the small, recreational aircraft went down about 150 yards away from the shore shortly after 8:00 p.m.
Crews with the Jackson County Sheriff's Office located what they believed to be the wreckage of the plane a little after 10:00 p.m. Dive teams from the Texas Department of Public Safety headed to the scene Friday night to recover the wreckage.
The identity and condition of the person or people on board were not immediately released. Witnesses reported seeing the plane head nose first into the lake, but no one reported hearing or seeing anything that would indicate engine trouble. No official cause has been determined. Sheriff Louderback says officials with the Federal Aviation Administration planned to be at the scene Saturday to investigate.
Copied from KAVU news website KAVU.com
Story didn't say if it was a float plane or not. That may have a bearing on it if it was.
When you are showing off, you are not concentrating on flying that plane.
Any landplane can be a seaplane... ONCE.
... OR submarine![:(]
Any landplane can be a seaplane... ONCE.
[xx(][xx(]
..............................tap, the nitpicker.....or nitwit..
tap,
cooler air might provide more lift, if you had sufficient airspeed.
Law enforcement retrieved the bodies of two Jackson County men from 20 feet of water Saturday after their two-seater prop plane crashed into Lake Texana in the park shortly after 8 p.m. Friday night.
Jackson County Sheriff Andy Louderback said pilot Shannon Simnacher, 36, and passenger Mark Bearden, 37, were at the lake with friends earlier that evening.
The two left and returned in Simnacher's plane, an Aviat Husky, flying "around the camping area and then over the lake," Louderback said.
"From witness accounts, they were doing aerobatic-style stunts," he said, when the plane stalled.
Louderback said the pilot was "unable to bump back out of the dive" and the plane crashed 130 to 150 yards offshore, into about 20 feet of water.
"I'm not sure how many years of flight experience, or hours, they had," he said.
According to Aviat Aircraft Inc.'s Web site, the Husky has a wingspan of 35.5 feet and a length of about 22.5 feet.
The Sheriff's Office called in a Department of Public Safety dive team, and with help from the Lavaca-Navidad River Authority and emergency services from Edna and Ganado, the plane and the two bodies, which were still in the plane, were recovered from the lake at about 3 p.m. Saturday.
Louderback said that no diving was attempted Friday night because of safety reasons. Causes of death are pending results from the Travis County Medical Examiner's Office.
Not a good way start to ANY weekend. [:(]
This is a bush pilot's airplane; designed for cargo and utility in the bush.
There's plenty of statistics on this type of accident and anyone flying that particular airplane had to have the skill level and knowledge to avoid low level maneuvers.
The runway behind you and the air above wont help you if you have a low airspeed problem.
C&P:
NTSB Identification: DFW06FA140
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, May 26, 2006 in Edna, TX
Aircraft: Aviat A-1B, registration: N166MA
Injuries: 2 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.
On May 26, 2006, about 2005 central daylight time, a single-engine Aviat A-1B airplane, N166MA, was substantially damaged following a loss of control while maneuvering at a low altitude near Edna, Texas. The private pilot and his passenger sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was registered to Flying Farm Boys, Inc., and was operated by the pilot. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The local flight originated from a private airstrip near La Ward, Texas, at approximately 1925.
The first eyewitness was located at the Brackenridge Plantation Campground when she first observed the airplane 'buzzing" the treetops above her location. The witness added that the airplane continued to "buzz" back and forth above the treetops while someone hollered from the airplane on each pass. The witness recorded the registration number (N-Number) from the airplane with the intentions of reporting the low flying airplane to local authorities. According to the witness, the airplane then flew northeast out over the lake and turned into the wind, as the airplane appeared "to be almost hovering."
The witness continued by stating that the airplane then descended and appeared to dip its main tires into the water several times as it flew in a southerly direction. The airplane then turned around and flew "very low" back to the north before pulling nearly straight-up. The airplane ascended for a short time before the nose dropped and the airplane started descending and spinning in a clockwise direction. The airplane completed about three and a half turns before it impacted the water. The witness further reported that she heard "no stalling out of the engine" and "no unusual engine sounds" before the airplane impacted the water.
A second witness was inside his motor home when he first heard an airplane "buzz" the treetops. After stepping outside, the witness repeatedly observed the accident airplane "buzz about ten to fifteen feet" above the treetops. The witness reported that at the conclusion of each pass, the pilot would perform a maneuver that resembled a "crop duster returning for another pass." According to the witness, at one point the airplane turned into the wind and appeared to be "sitting still and moving sideways."
The witness continued, that as the pilot was turning to make, what he assumed was another pass, the airplane began to spiral downward in a clockwise direction. The witness further stated that before impact the engine sounded "wide open." After the impact the witness rode out to the accident site on a watercraft and attempted, along with another individual, to dive down to the airplane. He reported that their rescue attempts were stopped after they received chemical burns from airplane fuel in the water.
A third witness, a pilot, was inside his house, located approximately three fourths of a mile west of the campground, when he heard an airplane fly low over his farm. Once outside he observed the accident airplane "buzzing" the campground and performing wingover type maneuvers. The witness stated that on the airplane's last pass near the campground, he observed the airplane climb steeply to an altitude of approximately 500-700 feet above ground level (agl), start a roll to the left, and then enter a spin to the right. After approximately three spins the airplane disappeared from his view. The witness estimated that the airplane was in the vicinity of the campground performing low maneuvers for approximately 15-20 minutes.
The wreckage came to rest about 20 feet below the surface of Lake Texana, approximately 500 feet east of the shoreline for the Brackenridge Plantation Campground. The Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates recorded at the shoreline adjacent to the accident site were 28 degrees 56.504 minutes North latitude and 096 degrees 32.2239 minutes West longitude, at a field elevation of approximately 51 feet mean sea level (msl). The wreckage of the airplane was recovered and all major components of the airplane were accounted for.
At 1951, the weather observation facility at Victoria Regional Airport (VCT), near Victoria, Texas, located 24-nautical miles southwest from the accident site, was reporting the wind from 150 degrees at 14 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, few clouds at 2,900 feet, temperature 82 degrees Fahrenheit, dew point 69 degrees Fahrenheit, and barometric pressure setting of 29.80 inches of Mercury.
... start a roll to the left, and then enter a spin to the
right
There are old pilots and there are bold pilots
but there are no old bold pilots.
In this case, there seems that there is just no
substitute excuse for stupid pilots.
Sure sounds like a classic stall to me[:D]
RIP
Sure sounds like a classic stall to me[:D]
If the guy was dipping tires in the water he was pretty low. I wonder if "ground effect" occurs over water. Compression of air under the wing can provide extra lift at slow speeds, making the pilot think he is in control of the plane. As soon as he pulls up away from the ground, he loses the compression effect and cannot sustain lift without more airspeed. result is stall and crash, usually occurs on takeoff but i wonder if it had implications in this accident.
The zoom to a power-on stall, followed by a three turn spin at low altitude with insufficient altitude to recover, did it.
It wasn't the fall but the sudden stop that got them.
This was a classic stall-spin accident.
Pull on the stick-the houses get smaller
Keep pulling on the stick-the houses get bigger again
Technical jargon my Dad used as an AF aerobatics instructer.
This was in the late 60's in Cessna T-37's.