I CRASHED MY PLANE e4 - WHY!? Flight Crash Analysis - The Last Flight for Sparkles 1.0 Microlight
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- Опубліковано 28 сер 2024
- Hi, I'm Stewart, and Welcome to my channel.
I really love flying.
The aircraft I fly gives me a real flying-sportscar feeling, with awesome 360 views from the air.
It is very capable;
+90 kt cruise,
+1,500 feet per minute climb,
+altitudes of 10,000 feet,
+carrying a passenger.
I live in Hervey Bay, Queensland Australia, with amazing close access to world heritage listed Fraser Island. One of the top places to fly in the world.
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By your video on the nose of your trike it was bumpy already , the nose of the trike was swinging side to side , that's an indicator that that's there's something going on with the air . Also means be prepared for unknowns when you get down close to the runway . Most likey you had a onshore breeze mixed with thermals mixed with rotor coming off the ridge screwing up your approach and flare . Plus your landing on dirt and not pavement which means the trike isnt going to stick when you touch down . You can land a trike screwy on pavement and usually it will straighten itself out , Soft grass , soft dirt and it can dig in and slide , or dig in , bend the front wheel into the frame of the trike and make the front wheel lock up and flip the trike like it did mine . Power on landings have saved me many times from making bad landings and gave me a way out . I could land at 48 mph , but i choose to land at 58-54 mph with power , It seems easier since I have control , rather than let off the gas and let the trike wander to when lets itself land . I will sometimes burn up the runway looking for the best timing to land as well , but its never i have to gotta land right now cuase that will end badly . Keep enough energy over your runway incase you need to fly out and go around .
I find most trike pilots prefer grass / gravel to paved esp with cross winds as gravel is more forgiving, whereas pavement / tarmac can grip too much and flips them.
Good to see you are still upright and good to rebuild
Hard luck, I can't add to the other theories. About 2 years back I was flying escorting some students on a weekend flyaway. I was at the back and the highest of the lot around 8k (mountains around 2-3k below) we had gusty weather - nothing I haven't done before. The wx had suddenly settled and virtually handsoff for about 2 mins. Next moment I was facing the ground, control bar had no pressure and was in a free fall. I just held the bar neutral as best I could expecting a tumble and genuinely thought I was going to die as I was dropping like a brick, in a trike facing the ground is not a familar attitude, a loud wack and I was flying again +- 700 ft lower in about 5 seconds, absolute confusion. My right leg refused to stop bouncing and was messing with the throttle. On this trike the hand throttle sits next to the choke so was too nervous to use it incase I used the wrong lever (still in shock). A short small prayer of thanks and 20 mins later was on the ground, my leg did not stop until I was on the ground. Every small bump for the next couple flights had me stressing.
None of the other 10+ AC's had issues and I was told I was flying too low hence wind shear from the mountains, when I replied that I was roughly 100ft above them all. No one had any ideas. My best guess is a freak gust from the rear with a sudden down draft. No visual clues, nothing. First time in 20+ years of flying trikes but I'll be lying if I said I have mentally recovered from this. I almost gave up flying. I hope you have recovered and the fact yours happened closer to the ground is imo better as you can blame trees, thermals etc and rationalise. Hopefully that will help you rebuild your turbulence confidence. For people who say rather get a 172 etc. Ignore them. Over this same area I later learnt of multiple ac's having structural failures, one being a 172. The tail ripped right off. Microlights are strong buggers and I'd prefer to be going slow as most often our crashes aren't fatal. FWIW Your footage makes me long for the Aussie scenery. Spectacular.
Last week I also spoke with a 172 pilot who mentioned he was flying smooth wx around 7k, 3k agl when a sudden bump had him hitting his head and his headset flying off. Said first and only time in 3000+ hours, he mentioned he was glad he was not in his heli as he said he would most likely have had a rotor strike. This has taught me to never take smooth wx for granted. Be grateful for a trikes G ratings.
Thank you for your input and telling your story. I too have since heard stories of fixed wing incidents where I crashed. Trikes are great. To answer your question, I'm less comfortable/confident in turbulence these days, but understand that when it happens, just deal with it. I havent flown with a passenger since, only an instructor. I now choose to fly on the nicer calmer days when possible, but things get rough here after 9am in the thermals. The scenery here is a blessing for pilots for sure!
Have you seen the Latam airline turbulence story this week??? 50 injured.
My guess: Sounds like mountain rotor to me. Backside downward airflow due to Bernoulli effect from the other side and over the top.
It’s great to know that you’re continuing with sparkles.
Like I said before, you were one of my great inspirations to start flying microlights. I actually received my new aircraft registration this past Friday:)
Please keep those videos coming:)
Thank you so much!
A bit difficult to analyse, but my guess would be that you didn't have enough airspeed to cope with the wind sheer, just at that very instant.. That's exactly what I did wrong. Looking at some of your previous videos there are instances where maybe you could've done with a bit more airspeed, but there was no windsheer to get you, so you landed fine... in this instance, it just caught you wrong and you didn't have enough airspeed to cut through it....
Having said that, your airspeed doesn't look very low on the data, just that instant when you slowed by 10knots the wind sheer caught you. Must've been an instantaneous gust came through, or something like that. Certainly you got a big dose of bad luck!
Just my humble opinion. After I did it, whenever I get a more challenging day I just keep loads of airspeed (that was my main learning point).
Did I say airspeed?! :-D
I agree - a BIG gust. How much airspeed would be enough, and when should you use it? Well my opinion now is, if the runway is long enough, and the conditions are doubtful, give all you have got
I am just learning, the pilot i am learning with is from a cross country gliding background but we fly from an airstrip on the south coast that is very similar in that we have big ranges to the west, to the east the ocean runs parallel to the main runway, the river is at the southern end and its almost entirely surrounded by bush, as a glider pilot he reinforces 2 main things to me, always plan for an out and have plenty of air speed to counter variables close to the ground, as a student my take is not enough safety speed to counter rotor being produced by the trees and thick scrub on the approach, we encounter these conditions almost every time we fly down here.
Most notably when landing north to south with west to north westerly wind, its like the bush slows the wind and it hits the airfield clearing and comes from anywhere often kicking from behind, the other condition we encounter when landing into a headwind is when it almost disappears suddenly when we drop in and airspeed goes down dramatically in an instant. I am taught to pay attention to ground speed as well as airspeed when landing but always it is hammered into me, safety speed when landing.
I have watched so many of your videos and learnt plenty from you sharing your experiences thanks for being passionate about the craft and opening your flying life to us, you will be better than ever after this experience, i sincerely hope you never stop flying
Glad you’re OK , keep up the good spirit, and she’ll fly soon ✈️🙏🏻
⚠️As a glider and power pilot I noticed you were flying on very unstable day (blue sky and cotton wool clouds is a glider pilot's dream sky)
It's nowt to do with the wind !!
It's thermal activity.
As a thermal moves it draws tonnes of air from 360 degrees around it which means at a landing area, the windsock can be pointing in ANY direction and change within seconds.
I urge you to get a glider flight and see how we harness these turbulence to stay up for hours without the use of power 👍👍
Keep the blue side up ❤
Thanks for your comment. I believe a thermal dragged air inland over the runway from the ocean, resulting in a sudden starboard crosswind when I was less than 50 feet AGL.
When things aren't right - it's always best to go around. I have no idea what happened. Maybe a rotor hit you at a very critical moment in time. Thank you so much for sharing. Take care and good luck with your rebuild.
Would be good to see all of the approach from the front camera view but you change view at the 4:34 to it seems like a simulated view and also rpm in your telemetry. I know camera views can be deceiving, but looks like a very long and low approach for a microlight. Looks like a bit of a tricky strip with that rise off your starboard wing.
All the best in your recovery.
Unexpected rotor from the sea breeze and reflexes that weren't able to keep up when everything started happening very quickly, really feel for you, but it's great that you get to rebuild it and go again. Get back in the air as soon as possible Stewart.
Looking forward to your rebuild vids
Thank you... I am trying to keep the REBUILD momentum and fly again soon. Hope enjoy the new series, should be an interesting journey back into the air.
@@CrayonboxAviationAdventures Good luck and I'd love to see a video of you with an instructor landing there again!
I watched all four of your videos. As a pilot (flying ultralights since 1980 both three axis and flex wing and I am flying an Aeros ANT), and having a couple "mishaps" myself, I know how you're feeling. You wake up in the morning and wish it was just a dream. What I've done, as best as I can and what has helped me, is get the "mishap" it in your rear view mirror as quickly as possible, think and work on the positive...it looks like that's exactly what you're doing. As far as what happened to you on landing...I have no idea. The wind, although pretty strong, seemed to be right down the runway. Could it have been mechanical rotor from those small trees at the end of the runway? Maybe it lifted you, when you got past it, you kind of got dumped, and didn't correct for it quite the way you should have. Just a thought. As far as three axis versus weight shift...here's my thoughts. Weight shift is easier to fly, but harder to fly well. These weight shift machines have so much inherent stability... I think they'd fly better with out use in the plane. To get it a trike to do what you want it to do you have to use finesse...and this requires more skill. Thanks for keeping us in the loop and keep looking forward.
The upshot is you're here telling the story and not displaying any debilitating injuries. Also good news is the fact that parts are available. I've logged 1000 + hours in several trikes and no matter what the air conditions I always do the short final approach with the bar pulled in slightly and if conditions are rough maybe a bit more. (I'm talking about 3-6 inches from neutral) Approach glides are typically power off but if I suspect rotors or turbulence I carry some power all the way down to the runway so I can punch through the crap, then power off and flare. And bar in on landing. This method has saved my ass on multiple occasions like ATC calling winds 15 gusting 18 on a narrow strip with perimeter trees. On approach, speed is our friend in trikes. I'll be following your rebuild and best of luck.
Thanks for your info. The aircraft is completed and I have now been flying over a year in the rebuilt machine. (2 years now since the accident). My latest video is about returning to the accident scene for the first time - worth a look 😉🇳🇿👍
The thing about a wind sock is it will show wind activity in its radius.... the sea off to your right gives you a much larger picture of the areas wind activity that day.... the wind is off shore and clearly darker patches of pressure flowing over the land can be seen, its patchy down air or rotor, your mate was lucky.....you unfortunately drew the short straw.
Good luck with the rebuilding!
Glad you ok bud - So was this accident just a freak gust then? Look forward to the rebuild videos.
A freak gust would be a simple way to explain it. We believe wind off the beach interacting with the cliff face before coming over the runway in front of me.
Glad you where relatively unscathed the aircraft can be rebuilt - perhaps there could have been rotor off the sand dunes perhaps due to a thermal gust . I've flown a GT450 for 400 odd hours and presently have a GTR if there is likely to be wind shear or it is an an airport I don't know and the runway is relatively long (1500ft or more) I'll fly the approach at 70 plus mph and bleed off speed once in ground effect and when only a foot or so off the runway.
I'm glad you lived to tell of your horrendous near death experience..I'm thinking about taking flexi wing training when the uk weather improves..😰
I am told I just got really unlucky, but also that the airstrip I crashed at has a bit of history I hadn't heard about in the past. Great to have her flying again that's for sure. She's a keeper - falling in love again.
Merci de partager
From the looks of the data you have a sudden change at time48:10, airspeed suddenly drops by 9 to 51, and you have what looks like a 26 mph tailwind. I wonder if that burst caused the wing to stall?
Please ignore that, I've now come to the decision that last data is corrupted on impact, because the gps altitude said I was at 1000 feet, after being at 73 feet amsl 1 second earlier.
Hi Stewart hope your healing. Have you ever thought about wake turbulence, in the crash of sparkles! Silly question you would have.
Hey shout out. CB Glade to see your attempting to rebuild. How's your shoulder mending. I still think it was a breaking thermal bubble. God speed
Hi W.E. I would say it was too early in the morning for thermals - but maybe. After careful site analysis, (using up-to-date modern cutting-edge scientific measuring equipment (NOT), about 800 from my impact position past the far end of the runway are some sand dunes. With 10+ knots coming over them and straight down the runway, I think they generated my misfortune at the exact time I didn't need it.
Look forward to the rebuild.
Should be a fun adventure on it's own.
@@CrayonboxAviationAdventures Yes and a great learnng opertunity.
Thumb up, Stew!
I did that for you just then - but my right one is still rather sore.
Yes almost like someone already said can you be more clear as to what you think was done wrong for the crash? Glad you are ok
I know it was a wind gust with rotor. I struggled for control. The whole event from start to impact was 7 seconds. I have very little memory of it unfortunately. It takes 3 seconds for the brain to register something isn't right, and to respond - i.e. go around! All I know is the aircraft was completely out of my control in the last 4 seconds, and being at low altitude to land, there was not enough time to recover. I doubt in those 4 seconds power-on go-around would have helped.
Well I’m glad you are ok snd can fly again
It might have been a small but powerful thermal that pitched your nose up.
You use the word ejection I thought you deployed a parachute.
Sorry for that. I meant ejected as in not in my seat, or seat belted in, but lying on the upside down on the wing.
Could it be that first of all you do not have a feeling about the situation and too little experience for these situations or all at once ,, an experienced pilot would perhaps lift again in a flash and do again or what do you think? sometimes you have to bite into the sour apple man ..
I had a stable approach right down to about 20 feet. No warnings, and corrected to land, but things went bad fast. I had less than 4 seconds to then decide to go around. 3 seconds to make the decision, and 1 second to initiate the power, at which time I was about to meet the ground. Quite sure it was a random big thermal at the wrong moment. Unfortunately, I don't remember a whole lot. I have over 600 hours flight time over 10 years, fly mid-day quite often in Queensland Australia, and over 1000 landings. This incident caught me out in a big way.
Approach speed too low with insufficient margin after wing drop and resulting sink
My approach speed was at the manufacturer recommended, but it was the unexpected wind gust/shear that caught me out. Possibly due to a thermal.
IMHO your approach was too low - no reserve energy. Glider pilots reserve energy…
How much speed above stall with 5-10kts head wind would you recommend? 1.5x stall?
sheila in background didn't seem relaxed. fk sparkles, invest in a 172 or stay home.
You need to show the entire video. GoPros do not shut off. Many fatal, high g accidents have GoPros working just fine the entire crash. I saw another video and your mate says you came in too hot and bounced. No dishonor in admitting you duffed the landing. Going through a bunch of techy talk to dodge the obvious, is dishonorable though. Come on…rotor swirl over the trees? Just say, “I ran out of skill”, because that’s what happened. Sorry for your loss. Shit happens.
#EXCUSE ME! I WISH I HAD the whole video. The gopro was running without a battery in it, and relying only on power from the aircraft. Have you got one - I was using a Gopro 8. If so try it for yourself. What ever happened, I was lucky to get the video I did, and you are lucky I shared any of it. AND apparently I suffered brainlockout - a symptom of situational overload, and have not retained any memory in my head of the accident, apart from the parts I have admitted to. The last thing I heard was bang... but there are mostly gaps before that. I really wish I actually know what happened. Please refrain from calling people liers if you don't know the whole story. Oh, and WELL done, you got an angry reaction from me - hope you are proud.
Glad your ok.