Long wondered on this one and will offer a description of a mysterious private plane crash that killed a friend, a good one, the pilot. It happened three years ago in Brazil and the cause has never been identified and never will be.
I think you'll find this to be of intrigue and I have a theory, and I'll highlight why I think this at the end. I invite comments from those in particular who have flying expertise.
He was doing touch 'n go landings at a private airport in Brazil where he'd leased the plane. On his last attempt, according to eyewitnesses, after landing, the plane gradually steered to the left and left the runway, entering a grassy area, and the pilot powered down. He then went back to full power as the plane zig-zagged through some grassy areas adjacent to the runway. About 8 seconds later, still at full power, one of his front wings hit a small building and was stripped off the craft, and still under full power and at a high speed, the plane crashed into an embankment near the small airport's boundary.
And that was the end.
The weather was clear and warm, with little wind. It was determined that everything regarding the plane itself was in working order mechanically. The same eyewitnesses say the pilot, my friend, was in control and seated upright throughout the ordeal. In other words, he didn't have a heart attack or have a seizure. He'd been flying for many, many years.
As I say, no official body has ruled on this and now never will. However, knowing him as I did, I have a theory and here's where you can help.
The question I've often asked is "Why didn't he merely shut down or stop when he left the runway? He had 8 seconds." I think he was trying to fight his way back into the sky, and his personality, the part of him that I found truly appealing, gives me the clue. This guy would never accept defeat -- whether over an argument in a tennis match or over whether a bar had overcharged for a drink, he was always right. He did so gracefully and it was a pleasure to watch. However, I think he knew in those 8 seconds that if he powered down, he'd be the laughing stock of the local flying club to which he belonged, that the fellow pilots would laugh as they watched the plane getting towed back out of the grass.
In fact, I think he would have made it back into the sky had his plane not lost the wing when it hit the building.
Your thoughts appreciated.
I think you'll find this to be of intrigue and I have a theory, and I'll highlight why I think this at the end. I invite comments from those in particular who have flying expertise.
He was doing touch 'n go landings at a private airport in Brazil where he'd leased the plane. On his last attempt, according to eyewitnesses, after landing, the plane gradually steered to the left and left the runway, entering a grassy area, and the pilot powered down. He then went back to full power as the plane zig-zagged through some grassy areas adjacent to the runway. About 8 seconds later, still at full power, one of his front wings hit a small building and was stripped off the craft, and still under full power and at a high speed, the plane crashed into an embankment near the small airport's boundary.
And that was the end.
The weather was clear and warm, with little wind. It was determined that everything regarding the plane itself was in working order mechanically. The same eyewitnesses say the pilot, my friend, was in control and seated upright throughout the ordeal. In other words, he didn't have a heart attack or have a seizure. He'd been flying for many, many years.
As I say, no official body has ruled on this and now never will. However, knowing him as I did, I have a theory and here's where you can help.
The question I've often asked is "Why didn't he merely shut down or stop when he left the runway? He had 8 seconds." I think he was trying to fight his way back into the sky, and his personality, the part of him that I found truly appealing, gives me the clue. This guy would never accept defeat -- whether over an argument in a tennis match or over whether a bar had overcharged for a drink, he was always right. He did so gracefully and it was a pleasure to watch. However, I think he knew in those 8 seconds that if he powered down, he'd be the laughing stock of the local flying club to which he belonged, that the fellow pilots would laugh as they watched the plane getting towed back out of the grass.
In fact, I think he would have made it back into the sky had his plane not lost the wing when it hit the building.
Your thoughts appreciated.
aren't the way they should be and you're trying to discern why .......
