Picture Of The Week - Which Mustang?

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Picture Of The Week - Which Mustang?

Wayne,
First, Godspeed and great health to you.
Try this link, http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?e...06X01125&key=1
Is this the incident you were referring to? What a shame, to say the least.

Ouch... there simply can be no defense for improper ground check/preflight! Especially on an airplane that had sat for so long..

The Mustang carries quite a bit of oil, geez it seems that somewhere along the line *SOMEONE* would have noticed a LOT of fluid being lost by this airplane??

I've read reports of several accidents (not mustangs, just run of the mill NTSB reports) where an airplane was to be ferried that had sat for a long time.. one, there was even a missing spark plug! Off the pilot flew to the crash site...

I've flown with guys that would almost drive you nuts with detail checks on preflight, and with a few who did absolutely nothing (admittedly, they had a crew behind them and were flying a series of flights close together) and some in-between.

I'm not a pilot - yet... but I think, hope, I'll be pretty on top of pre-flights when/if I ever get the vaunted ticket to fly! Can't take *that* long to do it right.

I'd like to hear from some of the pilots here what their thoughts are on preflight. In the big picture, there really are not that many accidents attributable to bad preflight but even one is probably too many. How much is enough caution, how much is too much??? Taking this off thread, sort of.. but since this sort of thing is in the history of this airplane, I guess it's sort of on thread

Wayne

[Leo]

Re: Picture Of The Week - Which Mustang?

This crash was beyond preflight errors.
From the articles, the pilot was not currently liscensed to fly any aircraft, let a lone the mustang. this was the first post-restoration flight (without proper ground runs obviosly) and his intention was to deliver the plane to Arizona. AND he took a passenger along. The FAA did'nt know what to do to him as he had no paperwork to revoke.
When I flew gliders I flew with pilots that would drive you nuts with their detailed pre-flights. Others would simply waggle the paddles and fly.
I once found a disconnect point assembled wrong on a ship that had been flown three times since assembly. My preflights became VERY in-depth after that, even if I had just flown the aircraft.


Leo

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Picture Of The Week - Which Mustang?

Leo, I read of a glider that was lost because of a pre flight error involving the elevator. The owner/pilot had assembled it many times but this time misssed the elevator control rod connect. He had a friend hold the elevator as he pushed up elevator and left it at that.. it felt solid to the guy holding it so all was good. It was not connected and was merely pushing against the elevator. Had the pilot done a push pull test, he would have avoided the, unfortunately, fatal crash that happened on takeoff..

It's the little things that nab ya I guess!

Hard to defend the guy who parked the Mustang, but one wonders how, in the world, he got the "job" and approval to be the guy to ferry the airplane in the first place??

With the amount of money involved with the restoration, would not have someone known or checked his credentials?

Makes ya wonder sometimes ey!

Wayne

[Leo]

Re: Picture Of The Week - Which Mustang?

It's more common than you'd think. I've seen a lot of little things overlooked that could be fatal at the wrong time. Especially in high use rentals.
The restoration was long term, something on the order of 8-10 years. I was under the impression the Mustang was his, maybe not.

[Kilo Hotel]

Re: Picture Of The Week - Which Mustang?

Leo, I read of a glider that was lost because of a pre flight error involving the elevator. The owner/pilot had assembled it many times but this time misssed the elevator control rod connect. He had a friend hold the elevator as he pushed up elevator and left it at that.. it felt solid to the guy holding it so all was good. It was not connected and was merely pushing against the elevator. Had the pilot done a push pull test, he would have avoided the, unfortunately, fatal crash that happened on takeoff..

It's the little things that nab ya I guess!

I know of another glider lost because the pilot forgot to safety the main wing pin during assembly (a modern glider's wings go on with a single, large steel pin driven through the main spar bushings to hold everything together). After flying around for a while waiting for the start gate to open (it was a contest) he dove for the gate, encountered aileron flutter, and the wing pin just ratcheted itself out. The glider then shed its wings and the fuselage became at that point a very expensive, very slick lawn dart. The pilot had time to jump clear and open his chute, and survived to tell the tale.

[Leo]

Re: Picture Of The Week - Which Mustang?

I've found wing and control connecting pins in place but un-safetied several times. Who knows how long they had been that way.

Leo

[Race5]

Re: Picture Of The Week - Which Mustang?

When I was still in flight school, I found a huge crack in the nose gear strut. This was about an hour after it had been rolled out from it's anual..... A few years later that ship was lost due to an elevator cable installed incorrectly. Luckily the pilot survived.

[Peashooter]

Re: Picture Of The Week - Which Mustang?

When I was still in flight school, I found a huge crack in the nose gear strut. This was about an hour after it had been rolled out from it's anual..... A few years later that ship was lost due to an elevator cable installed incorrectly. Luckily the pilot survived.

That's what I like about homebuilts: I built it, I maintain it. So far, so good.

http://www.aafo.com/hangartalk/attachment.php?attachmentid=2770

[Leo]

Re: Picture Of The Week - Which Mustang?

My great umcle, ex-B-25 pilot, ex-airline pilot had the engines in his Skymaster re-built a few years back. Lost the rear one on takeoff for the flight home and returned it. When it was replaced and broken in, he lost the front on the next takeoff. Don't remember where he finally had them done again.
I ve had too many repairs on my cars done wrong to have great trust in anyone.
I'm with Peas, at least if I do what I can myself, the quality is up to me.


Leo

[FlyKidChris]

Re: Picture Of The Week - Which Mustang?

Preflights shouldn't be taken too lightly. A plane that has just flown is probably in fine shape (unless hit by a fuel truck, catering truck, etc.), but on occasion, a loose cowl latch, worn brake or tire, or fuel leak is found. More than anything else, I find a screw to be missing or a navigation light to be burned out. At my carrier, a mechanic (at airports with company maintenance personnel) also performs a walk-around inspection. And time permitting, I'll also do a preflight inspection, even if the First Officer has already done so; two sets of eyes are better than one.
I really prefer to fly a "mature" airplane, that is, one that has flown a few hundred hours at the least. A new airplane may smell nice, be quiet, and perform well, but it's rare that a new ship is without flaw.
Furthermore, I prefer to fly an aircraft type that is also a matured design. I won't be first in line to bid a Boeing 7E7, for example.

[Apteryx]

Re: Picture Of The Week - Which Mustang?

Drifting off thread-
I managed a flight school for a while, when we would find some thing amiss, it was more valuable to me as an object lesson, then to get it repaired right away. I'd tell the students to preflight the (downed) plane, and come back and get the instructor when they were ready. they'd come bouncing back with a "ready to go", then you'd humble them with a "that's funny, all the balance weights were missiing from the right aileron this morning, or the left tire had a flat spot, down to the cord, or the 152's horizontal is missing the nuts on the "L" support brackets. One guy that actually noticed the latter item, goes "is that important", pointed out it's always a good idea to ASK, if you don't know. To paraphrase "there are old pilots and there are stupid pilots, but there are no old, stupid pilots" (well pretty much, any way)
.................................................. .........................Paul.