When the story broke, local news (6-ABC) interviewed some yokel who hadn't seen the crash, but was called over to the wreckage by someone else. I guess he was their "expert." He stated that the pilot "avoided the house." That then became the mantra of every story about this unfortunate accident, stating that avoiding the house was Sam's "last act of heroism." Sorry to burst the bubble of those who admired this beloved pilot, but he was just along for the ride in that spin and wasn't able to avoid anything. Can't we just appreciate this guy for what he apparently was - a decent human being - without injecting the crazy ideas of some no-name bystander into the story? Not good journalism.
One of my more seasoned flight instructors used to say that these underpowered twins were actually just single engined planes with the power very expensively split half on each side. If one half fails and you don't do EVERYTHING exactly right, the other half just takes you to the scene of the crash. Truer words.....
Exactly!!! Someone "gets it." O-320 is usually 150hp - maxed at 160hp. This plane weighs about 2600lbs with two engines that are typically on a C-172 and Cherokee - 700 and 1200 lbs less than a Cougar, respectively. These Cougars should always have top operating engines - ALWAYS- theres no room for emergency opperations! This plane should have a larger 4 cylinder or a smaller six in a 180 to 185hp flavor, imo.
I think a lot of people are going really hard on Rebuild without due reason to yet. I've seen the cougar vids, everything was done up to FAA standards with A&Ps involved. We've seen countless other planes that have been professionally worked on crash right after. And this was an older plane, it's entirely possible this engine issue was something completely unrelated to their repairs. RIP Sam and all I hope is the truth comes out, whatever that truth is.
when aviation is still in it's infancy on predicting failures with engines changing all the time without destroying hundreds of thousands of engine in testing for all kinds of impacts and failures, then I think it is something that the engine stike caused to fail, rather than something RR done wrong. and hope that lessons can be learned from this to make the industry stronger, and aviation to become even safer. RIP Sam, we all hope the truth comes out, and hope that lessons can be learned from your tragic passing.
I watched them all also , in fact I’ve watched every video from the day he posted the first one. And as I remember on that plane the AP’s did ALL the work , and he filmed and acted as a hand … and him digging on the 401 isn’t to cool either. I’d say they’ve done an overly extensive job on refurbing that beauty .. agree ?? 🙏for Sam , a kind, and honest soul . RIP
Tragic loss, to say the least! I’m an airline pilot with a background in GA and I have been a big fan of rebuild rescue from the start of the 401 project. Jason has had A&P supervision and oversight all along the way and I have never felt that he has cut corners any more than most flight schools and FBOs do on a routine basis. In fact, he has been a stickler for going the extra mile. The rush to demonize this group is predictable, but unfortunate. Their mission, as they proclaim, is to save GA from the graveyard of prohibitive costs. God bless 'em and I hope that this loss doesn’t crush their spirit.
I appreciate a voice of reason here. There seems to be a lot of bandwagoning and speculation here, and very little discussion about the PIC. People are absolutely obsessed with speculating about what role rebuild played in this fatality when the accident is right in front of us. A janky twin engine aircraft, with awful performance even for when it was built in the 70s. And people are speculating about the culpability of a UA-camr. Madness. People should be asking what the PIC was doing. What sort of weight was on board. What was the weather like. Who conducted the annual. How much airtime did the PIC have on this aircraft, and aircraft like it, in the last 6 months. But it's all about Jason. Madness. This is why GA is going to die out.
There's a reason that 401 was left to rot. The cost to bring it back to airworthy is far exceeding the value of the aircraft. There doesn't seem to be a logical reason to save it.
@@dave30076 interestingly, the 401 was left to rot by the same guy who died in this crash. By all accounts, Sam, the pilot, had a history of buying aircraft, fiddling with them, getting in over his head, and then abandoning projects to become bird nests or collect dust . The 401 isn't the first aircraft Sam has abandoned - so one has to wonder if this behaviour bled into other areas, like perhaps a bit of a blase attitude towards safety, safety margins, etc.
@@user-jy6vd3uw1m Eyewitness reports stated that the Cougar was backfiring after wheels up on the initial climb out. There's rarely a singular cause to air disasters. With enough altitude and airspeed - and a fairly level field to set it down - these things can be survivable.
@@lesterawilson3 most definitely. No doubt there will be several contributing factors. The mistaken performance expectations placed on such an old bird will no doubt be one - and I expect you're right, that clues such as the backfiring will likely lead investigators to discover mechanical/maintenance factors as well. We just have to wait for the investigators to complete their work. I hope for Jason's sake he is not a contributing factor - but time will tell. Until then, i hope the rest of the community can pipe down and stick to the facts. :)
Juan, first of all, thank you for your measured analysis. Too many people get 'emotional.' I do understand your frustration. Flying a PA-30 (though upgraded to 200 hp / side), I try to stay mindful that it's a light twin, not the Airbus. My mantra, on every take off, is if it's not climbing, or I can't hold Vyse, I'm pulling both throttles back and taking the best level landing I can accomplish. I met Sam at OSH, year before last. He was well spoken, enthusiastic, and from our quick conversation, not taken to take risks. My hope is that this will serve as a wake up call to all of us. Know your plane, run your numbers, and expect the unexpected.
You got it about right. So flying in a small light twin aircraft is at best a small low-power aircraft... Should have had an actual tiwn engine test pilot who would have been the best choice...not an old slow airman...
It will be interesting to say the least to find out the cause of this crash. Were I to place a bet, it would be on a fuel problem, starving one engine and then Sam not being able to catch up to the problems that then happened. So sad to have lost Sam, a nice person from what I can tell. When things go south on a takeoff they happen very quickly.
If only Jason's aviation skills were as good as his manipulation and conman skills. He has been telling people for years that he has a "charity" that their donation money goes to.. that doesn't exist. The FAA and some other regulators need to have a close look at that dude.
I was one of the 10 million who got hooked on the 401 Series in the beginning, but after a few episodes it felt more like 'reality TV' than really documenting the safe rebuild of an aircraft. I stopped watching and was not surprised when this one went down. Thanks Juan for your meticulous coverage of these incidents.
That's the big Cessna they're working on, right? It did feel like manufactured UA-cam drama. There is a phone call that guy took that they clearly re-enacted for the cameras. I also think there was an accusation that they re-enacted the engine fire when they were taxiing. Just too much that felt like a fake reality show, like you said.
Same here, thought it was really cool at first and unsubbed after watching about 10 video's that were 1/2 401 and the rest were nothing but disaster recipes and shilling for views/money. I shall stop my comments at that. Rest in peace Sam. This is disheartening.
I worked in a part 145 engine shop, plus closely watched magnaflux operations. Prop flange of prop strike engines often had great runout, but cracks were most often seen on curved radius just behind prop flange as it transitions to crankshaft. Crankshafts, especially VAR (Vacuum Arc Remelt) & nitrided, become brittle and act like a good quality drill bit; they’ll crack before bending. Please don’t do just a runout inspection after prop strike, the engine should be torn down and magnaflux of internal steel inspected (note: “overhaul” isn’t a requirement, it can be written up as an “inspection & repair” if parts are replaced saving a lot by not overhauling cylinders which is required for “overhaul” entry in logbook. A&P/IA
@@dr_jaymz Apparently our FAA doesn’t require it, but it should be. I understand why pilots don’t ($$$). Lycoming considers hitting thick weeds or a puddle a prop strike: anything that drops RPM by 100 (not sure of the time frame).
Agreed. It was a long time ago in A&P training, but I still remember my instructors emphasizing the hidden internal structural damage that a prop strike can produce. Yes, a full teardown and non-destructive testing regime is expensive, but what is a life worth?
I watch rebuild rescue every week and I love the videos. I appreciate that from what it seems Jason takes repairing them and doing it properly very seriously. I dont think Juan made any disparaging comments toward him. He even pointed out he did the right thing with reference to the gear but also pointed out that the best thing would have been to overhaul the engines. As much as i want to come to Jasons defense, I dont think this is a fight here. As pilots and mechanics we should just be trying to make aviation safer and that means taking a good hard look when these things happen and make changes so they dont happen again. I dont think Juan is playing a blame game he is just trying to get to the root cause and debrief the hazreps as they happen regardless of who or what is at fault. A very painful lesson for everyone involved. Truly devistating. Thank you Juan for you videos.
I 100% Agree. Jason did more than He had too but, could have done more. Juan was just being honest which is good. If there is any one to blame it would be the FAA for not requiring a more thorough inspection procedure. But that's hindsight and we don't even know if the engine was damaged in the propstrike, or if something else unforeseen happened. Ethier way it's a learning experience, I just wish less people had to die in the name of knowledge.
@@The.Fake.Adam.Lulichthe idea of the FAA regulations is that if you follow them you should be safe to a high degree, so could you do more? I guess but when is it enough? Does he have to rebuild every plane down to the studs and rebuild exclusively with certified mechanics? If this accident was in fact caused by things missed on this flip, it's more of an indictment on the FAAs regulations than the plane owner following the regulations.
Yea, he was taking a shot at them he wasnt really saying he did the right thing. You cant say something like "sure he followed the rules, but it wasnt enough" and pretend like youre giving someone a compliment.
@@The.Fake.Adam.Lulich They did a very thorough job checking the tolerances on the cranks and the compression was within spec. A small amount of debris and water is all it would take
Agree 1 thing Jason does is taking aviation very seriously and works alongside APs I believe he is working towards that himself also? I certainly don't believe he would put anyone at risk, and Sam certainly wouldn't have taken flight if he believed it wasn't safe. Given the history of the aircraft would this plane not have had to been signed off by an AP as being airworthy before even a test flight was taken?
As a former Grumman Tiger owner about Sam's age and former USAF avionics technician, I watched the series with interest on many levels. First, Sam owned and regularly flew his own Cougar. This could be a case of familiarity breeding contempt - a dangerous condition in aviation. Gee, it never did that to me before! When was the last time we practiced a forced landing outside of a bi-annual review. When was the last time we briefed engine out procedures when we are the only occupant? The Cougar's limited safety margins as shown, demands additional practice. With the short time after the power loss, it is very possible that Sam hadn't enough time to verify which engine had failed (neither engine was caged). One report I saw indicated he may have turned into the dead engine. BTW thanks for the very clear, thoughtful analysis presented. Since the flight was a delivery after purchase, I suspect fuel contamination as well. Will follow this one closely.
I A&P'd until I couldn't trust my eyesight anymore and then I left the industry. I started flipping cars, some I kept for myself. My airplane experience trained my eye and I must say that every time I worked on a car, the deeper I dug, the more I'd find. I've watched some of these resurrection videos. If they don't look at EVERYTHING, something as simple as a leaf roller bug in a line has the potential to bring an airplane down. Cursory inspections and worrying about money won't cut it.
Absolutely! I had a old prelude that broke both front torsion bar mounts? anyways it rode on the ground and blew a cv axle making the alignment wiggle a wheel loose. my point is I pity the fool trying to rebuild that car.
@obsoleteprofessor2034: Loved your "leaf roller bug..." comment. I was travelling on the two dimensional surface with my Wife and children on an RV camping trip. Could not get the heater started during a pit stop test where I had just filled the propane. Pulled the copper at the regulator on the heater, with the supply side disconnected at the external tank and used the convenient gas station air hose to blow from the regulator side. I laughed as the eight dead earwigs were blown out onto the asphalt! Nice warm camping trip ensued with happy Wife!
@@gcflower99 In the 60's, I helped my dad trench out behind some apartments to replace the gas lines.I noticed that the dirt was oddly hard and came apart in chunks/boulders. In between the cracks were tons of dead flies. Apparently, the flies smelled the natural gas and probably thought there was a rotting animal below the surface. Entering, they succumbed to the gas. The bugs in your line probably thought the same thing. Also re hardness of dirt. The gas probably killed all the beneficial bacteria/worms in the ground too.
It sounds like something from the old comic books that featured the uncanny and ghost stories. “Supernatural Tales of UA-camry and Suspense.” And the old timers say that on stormy nights you can still hear him out there, setting out clickbait and desperately thirsty for views.
What little I have seen leads me to believe she had no situational awareness. I don't think she was faking @allinfun829 I know a lot of people like that. It is a common trait. Especially in modern times with people "multitasking" everywhere without actually understanding what that means.
When I received my A&P license my instructor said, "Now you have your license to learn." He also said to all the auto mechanics that were taking the course, "You don't make mistakes, because if something fails you cant just pull over to the side of the road."
Oh No! I'm really saddened to hear this. RIP Sam. I remember when Jason and the team first started their amazing journey at Chester County G.O. Carlson Airport. Sam was an amazing person and a unique character, full of life and kindness. I can't even imagine how devastated the rest of the Rebuild Rescue team must be right now. They are practically family. My heart and prayers go out to Sam, his family, and the entire Rebuild Rescue team. It is a shame that it came to this to truly show how risky the operation can really be.
I'm a private pilot and have a friend who's an ATP with a cargo carrier. We have this conversation all the time: "What the hell are these people THINKING??? 'I think I'll provide the FAA with the evidence to pull my ticket!'"
I’m of two minds on these videos. On the one hand they seem to either encourage stupidity or attract people with more exibitionist rather than technical tendencies into ever more dangerous activities well outside their skill sets. On the other hand they provide a much better record when things unexpectedly go wrong, then most CVR/FDR’s. In planes that would not normally have such things. I mean the NTSB can now watch your stupidity post mortem from 5 different camera views. And they can watch it develop over months. Which is quite frankly about the only valid reason for cameras in the cockpit of novice pilots. It’s one thing for a well seasoned instructor to film an educational video. But these “my journey from not knowing how to fly to dying horribly because I don’t really know how to fly” type videos have no valid reason outside of forensics.
Yes, even on a normal flight filming anything is quite a challenge I'm sure. I struggled to get halfway decent videos when I autocrossed, and I have yet to turn in a good video from flying a model airplane. I am beginning to think social media and the cockpit don't go too great together.
@@flynbenny You probably need to be as close to an expert on one of the two (cockpits or social media) in order to make a serious go at presenting a reliable product.
@@flynbennyThe only times i see it done well is when the person is more documenting their flying and know when to shut up and fly. They only talk as much as an instructor would. But then they're not the big flashy channels that I can't stand. So doing social media as social media seems fine. Treating it like a TV show not so much.
Giving themselves a week to rebuild an aircraft and then selling it for a profit was bound to end in disaster. Reminded me of the old television show where they would spend one week to rebuild a new house for a needy family. Most those rebuilds ended up being not so good after a year.
Instead of saying their budget and time constraint causes the issue, how about we wait to see what the final report is before assessing blame? The pilot may have been the cause.
@@Timberns Were you there? Are you Sam? Are you the NTSB? We don’t know what happened. Don’t state that as a fact. It may be true, but it’s equally possible you are wrong. Don’t say it like it’s a fact.
Repaired not rebuilt. All the aircraft needed was replacement props, an engine check with a part replaced in each engine and an annual inspection. And since the previous owner had removed most of the radios they installed a temporary set of radios for the flight back to Coatesville.
It is always sad for us old-timers to check out this kind of accidents. It's been 9 years since I retired from proper airline flying and while I'm still flying privately (a Helio H-295 Super Courier) I am acutely aware of my sneakily diminishing faculties. I am rather confident in my ability to fly UNDER CONTROL to the scene of the crash if I happen to lose an engine at an embarrassing moment. No stall/spin epitaph for me, thank you very much!
Thank you for your clear point... So remember he took on the idea of flying it and seems he thought like most of us that it would work as planned... That is not what always happens... So should note the other projects were separate. Yet it seems to me an outsider, he needed more experience and time in twin-engine instructional training of flying low power twin engine complex aircraft... My sympathy to those who knew him as their friend...
If I lost an engine and was forced into an off airport landing a Helio would be my first choice. My dad had a Helio in the mid '70's. You have a very special airplane.
i mean, i also feel like you own an airplane you can really put some trust in with that Helios. a STOL workhorse with ample single-engine power, a stall speed close to bicycling speed, and a great useful load. vs the Grumman, which has a useful load of about 2 bottles of wine and one rotisserie chicken, two underpowered engines on the wings, and an Owner's Manual that more or less says "if above or below 85KIAS, prepare to die."
On one of his early videos, he is working without any certification or supervision (not on the accident airplane). He says something like, "I don't know what this is , but I'm taking it apart." He proceeds to take the component apart and reassembles it. My first thought was, "If there was some type of incident, a lawyer could have a field day with that."
YEAH and that's exactly the sort of nonsense I saw and why I stopped watching that channel and had UA-cam block recommendations. I have been arguing with people for 2 days over this on another page here on UA-cam. I started watching the channel Rebuild Rescue when they got their hands on the abandoned Cessna 401. I stopped watching and had UA-cam Block recommendations BEFORE the run ins with the FAA. I never watched ANY of the videos on the Cougar so cannot comment on it, but what I can comment on is the attitude displayed by the channel's host regarding the Cessna and WHY I stopped watching. I have a degree in aerospace engineering and a private pilots license with aerobatics endorsement. I have zero twin time, but many others commenting on the Cessna had a lot of experience including pilots with twin time as well as some aircraft mechanics. Basically all the warnings and help were ignored and often lambasted by the typical social media types. It got toxic. Despite comments I have seen in recent days regarding having the Cougar signed off by an AP, at NO TIME did I see the host take the issues of such a complicated aircraft like the Cessna seriously. That plane has a pressurised cabin and turbo-charged engines. Yes I know the C401/402 was originally conceived as an unpressurized cabin but when the later models had a ceiling of almost 27,000 its either pressurised or the crew & passengers are on oxygen. Basically its a very complicated aircraft and NOT FOR AMATEURS doing reality TV. They way people with experience were treated on that channel sucked and now there's a plane in the ground with a dead pilot on only its 3rd flight (test flight, ferry flight, crash flight).
All these people saying he took it seriously while this statement indicates he did not. If he did not know and then proceeded - that is not treating it seriously!
Jason is probably one of the most dangerous types of people in aviation. He believes in himself 100% that he is an aircraft mechanic and great pilot. He knows he has a nack for getting strangers to believe in him unquestioned. His ego is bigger than even he can imagine and those uneducated just inflate his ego even more. And now he is the pied piper of the majority of aviation uneducated. Fortunately there are some that have come to realize what he is.
@@freecycle53215 That's the argument I have been having on other YT channels. People claiming he took it seriously and a lot of others saying *NO HE DID NOT* and most of the did nots are people with varying degrees of pilot and engineering experience.
@@freecycle53215 We don't know how honest the statement of "I don't know.." actually was. Don't forget that this channel is essentially reality TV, there's a very real possibility that the remark in question was scripted and included in the episode to keep the viewer intrigued, and doesn't reflect the actual knowledge of the host.
Preliminary is out.... Right tank/pumps/carb contained water and debris. Right fuel tank cap did not have a sealing rubber gasket. Pilot fueled to the tabs - 80g- b4 departure. It's been confirmed pilot DID NOT SUMP tanks prior to engine starts. Pilot was in a rush to. Make his return flight after delivery. Juan's dissection of how this happened is right on, once again.
Juan, I’m a recently retired pilot with a background very similar to yours…first plane was a T-craft, then Part 135, A&P school, and many years of airline and large aircraft corporate experience. Your explanation on the single engine performance of this Grumman light twin took me back to getting my Multiengine Instructor rating. It was a simple, detailed, and accurate description of the limitations of a relatively low-powered light twin flying with one engine inoperative. Good job! I enjoy your videos and hope to have a chance to meet in person. Cheers, Rog
We call them Hammer Mechanics. I stopped watching Jimmy's World as the cringe factor of him working on that 310 gave me the chills. I started to watch Jason's channel as he too started to work on getting that 401 back to airworthy condition. For me, the final straw was watching him taking the spark plug leads off the right engine with a pair of Plumber's water pump pliers! If I was the IA signing off on any of those birds, I would be shitting myself right about now. Your video is spot on!
He had at least 2 A&P's working with him on this Cougar. He got it back to Chester County, but it sat for a couple weeks before Sam took it for a flight. My first thought was a fuel issue. Jason had previous run-ins with the FAA during the early stages of the 401 project. He definitely bit off more than he could chew. After the FAA run in, he made it a point to feature the A&P's he had working with him. The 401 project slowed down and it seemed like he was making it a real effort to do things the right way on that project since he planned to keep the airplane. I think the pressure of funding the 401 by flipping other airplanes might have caused him to do things too close to the minimums under the FAA regulations. It is a very painful lesson for Jason. Sam was an awesome guy.
The second part of that might be almost more an argument that the FAA minimums need updating. (If it is determined that this crash was due to undiagnosed damage from the prop strike that would not be caught by a mechanic of ordinary skill doing the procedure to the minimums)
@@John-nc4bl One does not have to be working side-by-side with an A&P or AI to be considered "supervised". The vast majority of people building certified aircraft are not A&P's and spend most of their time working independently. The requirement is that the A&P must inspect the work and certify that it has been done correctly.
@@jimbtv Correct, the A&P isn't going to jeopardise their own license/reputation by signing off on work that they haven't either personally supervised or physically checked.
The Grumman Cougar was the first twin I ever flew back in about 1983 in Australia. The one I flew was quite well equipped for the time with a full IFR panel and the addition of an Australian DME and HF radio. That aircraft with full fuel on board had a remaining useful load of 370 pounds. If I remember correctly the fuel tanks had a tab and also a slot for loading reduced fuel levels but I really don't think there was any fuel load that would allow four men to go anywhere of any distance. No wonder the stall warning was going off when they departed Punxatawny. Also if you look at the way the aircraft was sitting after the crash there is actually an impact point on the other side of the fence and a scrape on the grass from that point to near the right wing tip. I think the aircraft was actually travelling the opposite direction to where it ended up and I think it actually descended into the trees just before impact. That would explain the condition of the right wing leading edge. If my suspicions are correct then he would have been heading straight for the house and may have tried turning to the right to avoid it. Will certainly be watching for the report on this one.
Those fence posts look like they're a fairly large diameter tube or pipe. I was thinking that the leading edge damage to the wing came from the post there as he came through the fence, whipping the plane around clockwise. Maybe the gouges from the props, spinning or not? Just a guess.
Juan, thank you for your insight. I got my Multi Engine rating in the Cougar. You are absolutely correct it’s underpowered and should be thought of as a two seater with light baggage. When I did my checkride the DPE “failed” an engine and I remember gear flaps up because even at 100 ft MSL (Houston) it would not climb with anything hanging out. If you don’t put in the 5 degree bank no climb. No matter what we could not get the Cougar to climb over 3000ft on single engine. My MEI said engine failure just expect to do a controlled decent onto landing.
A&P mechanic here, it looks like the aircraft stalled right wing down with the right wingtip hitting the ground first, then the nose hitting immediately after with enough forward energy to flick the left wing separating it from the fuselage, along with snapping the fuselage just forward of the empennage. Reckon we'll have to wait until the NTSB report comes out to see which engine lost power. R.I.P. Sam G. I know the Rebuild Rescue crew, especially Jason is gonna take this loss pretty hard.
It doesn't make sense. Sam has his own Cougar and many hours in it. You'd think he'd know how to handle that situation knowing the stall speed and glide, unless a medical issue came up? RIP Sam...
@@lowbudgetbob1155on takeoff though is something that limits what you can do in general. Plus if he isn't mentally ready for it, nor well versed in the procedure it costs time that one doesn't have.
Hey @@lowbudgetbob1155 well honestly, i have accumulated only about 80 hours of flying time personally, with about 20 hrs PiC, (which makes me no expert) the only thing i can think of is, everything is great when the engine, or engines are running, but when stuff goes sideways, most of the time the pilot is not experienced with the situation at hand, how could he/she be? Then needs to figure out within seconds the right way to fix it. I mean if that happened to me? I would try to cope with it as best as i can, like I'm sure Sam did, and i believe this is where the old saying of "flying by the seat of ur pants" comes in. I'm sure Sam tried to figure out the situation that he's most likely never experienced before, sadly, we never have a load of time when it comes to flying a disabled aircraft at low altitude. I've experienced scud running, and carb ice, NOT fun, and NOT recommended! But a learning experience that cannot be simulated.
Jason cracking a joke at the stall warning sent chills down my spine. I stopped watching early in the 401 when it was obvious everything was scripted for maximum UA-cam revenue, so I wasn't aware just how brazen he can be with safety.
I was (am still, technically) a subscriber too and I quickly tired of the reality TV style melodrama Jason adopted as a production technique. It smacked of desperation for views, and I was uncomfortable with sensing the pressure he was under. I hadn't watched any of his videos in a while and was a bit surprised to hear the channel name spoken by Juan, but that quickly gave way to a sad feeling of, "yeah, that kinda makes sense."
@@robin_holdenyeah if you notice the first video was pretty chill and got 10m views then the views taper down the more theatrical it gets. It’s pretty clear what makes UA-cam videos sell and it’s not overwrought TV production hype.
@@NicholasAndre1 It's kinda sad too. I gravitate towards the channels like Juan's were there's no camerman/production team. Just humble but passionate content about what he knows best, interspersed with cleaning record snowfall off his roof. It seems like I'm in the minority though as most on both the viewer and creator sides pursue as much drama as possible to glue those eyeballs. 🙄
@@vladimus9749 you’re sort of in the silent majority of UA-cam - people grow tired of it. There’s so much thirst for good simple content that’s engaging. I started a UA-cam channel and it literally only takes making good videos, the algorithm picks you up. I think they’re doing a better job of tweaking things to prioritize up and coming channels that haven’t switched to sponsorship fodder nonsense.
This channel is a godsend for pilots. Juan does a superb job in explaining things. I continue to learn so many things from this channel outside my Part 141 school. Continue the fantastic work!
To those of you who have not yet seen all of the preliminary NTSB reports, and different videos on the subject, so far what it would appear is, there was a rubber gasket missing on the gas cap of one of the fuel tanks. There had been heavy rains previously in between when the plane was being worked on, and when it was flying, and it is presumed that water was able to bypass the gas cap into the fuel tank and contaminate the fuel. Secondly, there was also debris and sediment found in the same tank and fuel system, on the side where the cap was missing the rubber gasket. Without further data, it is presumable, that during the previous exposure to moisture and rain, debris and water was able to bypass the cap into the tank contaminating the fuel. And unfortunately this was an avoidable scenario. All he needed to do was a standard preflight check of the fuel for water contamination. He would have seen it was contaminated, and logically would have canceled the flight as a seasoned pilot. The contamination of that fuel, caused a low engine power, and possible complete engine out scenario. PreFlights, and never rushing, are integral to safe flying practices. More people should really read about this. Because truthfully it is a lesson of what not to do. At that point, based on radar track, and I believe the transponder in the aircraft, they can see that he is trying to maintain airspeed, and climb, but it is possible that either he forgot to feather the propeller on the bad engine, or the secondary engine that was still working, at some point also started to lose power. Eventually Sam exceeded the limit of Lift versus gravity. And at his altitude, a stall was unrecoverable, especially when combined with an uncontrolled spin. Rest in peace Sam. I do enjoy the energy you brought to the 401 videos.
Juan, although I love the channel and all the great knowledge and information you impart, it's really sad to get these notifications of a new upload so regularly now.
Wow, those 4 guys in the Cougar, 2 of them being BIG guys at that. Payload with full fuel is 517lbs since I assume, the tanks weren’t full as it can hold 118 gals which is 700+ lbs of fuel. No wonder the stall warning came on. If they had full fuel then they were surely over max gross of 3800lb.
Yeah, I don't know why those guys were laughing, there was nothing funny about that. Gives a person insight into their mindset. They're damn lucky that both of them kept running, because if one quit that would not have ended well.
Such a sad situation. It reiterates for me the old quote: “Aviation in itself is not inherently dangerous. But to an even greater degree than the sea, it is terribly unforgiving of any carelessness, incapacity or neglect."
Juan Browne is brilliant, factual, and objective. His reporting on aviation accidents is very informative. It’s refreshing to view such quality content.
I remember watching them “rescue” this airplane, and a Turbo Saratoga that had a prop strike in Ohio. They were using a dial indicator from harbor freight to check the crank runout. I can’t imagine not sending the engine in for an overhaul or at the very least taking it apart and putting the crank on a jig and checking every single bearing journal with a tenths indicator.
Another great show! I remember seeing the video of the 401 pop up on my feed. I was aghast (as a mechanic) on how little he knew of that aircraft and engines. Then Jason announced that his channel would "save" the 401. I recalled that i did the full SID program to a full airworthy 414 and it ended up costing the customer $300K. It was completely fine before the SIDs came out. The project took a crew of 6 nearly 2 years to complete the group of inspections. We found that the engine beams/ Spars were corroded exactly where the SID described - so lots of repairs we did. That was 1997-1999 - $300,000!!! The owner sold that aircraft for a loss and swore off the Cessna twin. I couldn't believe Jason would undertake that amount of effort (but i guess spares are easier to find now). Sadly litigation will end the series.
Litigation will end publishing rebuilding aircraft on you tube outside of the Kermit experience. Experimental builder have a lot more legal leeway to show in depth, as they tend only to kill other pilots. This one will be as harmful as certified aircraft pilot seat hardware problems to GA in the steam dial days. If the pilot killed was external to the project this would be a 10M dollar wrongful death lawsuit filed against a youtuber that might have 1M dollars in coverage and might clear 10K per project if buyers are being generous. The number of project Jimmy walks away from is amazing, did not realize so many people kept their old toys from the scrapers for 5 to 15 years. Im sitting here, do I want to take a ride in a 60 year old light twin ever again. Not after reading the POH of a Grumman Cougar. That aircraft was built to kill midshipmen on training missions.
Sam might have been a friend - but you'll find out how quickly the family will go after Jason and the mechanics who worked on this plane. As others have commented, sometimes people just need to accept the fact that a damaged aircraft is a pile of scrap metal, no matter how 'minor' the damage may be. @@christopherwhull
@@lesterawilson3 Honestly im not so sure. From what we saw of Sam, he was a bit of a risk taker. He flew all kinds of experimental airplanes. It very well could have been entirely Sam being careless and nothing to do with the plane. But I guess we will see when the investigation is complete.
I used to co-own a propeller shop. I did many hours of magnetic particle inspection, eddy current inspection, and fluorescent penetrant inspection. I'd like to know more about the props on that plane. The right prop has only one blade visible. Odd, because it's rare to have a blade snap off. I've seen blades curled up like a shepherd's hook. Were the props fully overhauled? Were any of the original blades straightened (yes, you can do that within certain bend limits) and reinstalled? Were both prop hubs properly etched and penetrant or eddy current inspected? So many questions, and as an A&P, I've got many more questions about the rest of the engines, airframe, and systems. It is every mechanic's nightmare to work on an airplane owned by someone who does some of their own maintenance. I truly feel for the mechanics who contributed to this project, both for the loss of their friend, and for the wringer they will be put through when the FAA and NTSB start grilling them. Hopefully, due to the high profile nature of this crash, the NTSB will do more than phone this one in.
The props that were on the Cougar were not the ones from the original accident. Donor props from a donor Cougar which was sitting outdoors in Florida (think major corrosion) were removed and supposedly overhauled and installed on the fatal Cougar. There was no information provided as to what was done during the overhaul, how many hours were on the props and hub. I was also surprised that one blade of the right prop was missing especially as it appears that engine was not running! Props don't snap off that easily!
My sincere condolences to Sam’s family. I especially enjoyed when Sam would make an appearance. I commented once about his ridiculous time scheduling, reminded me of several TV shows that set deadlines that weren’t possible on cars. Time should not ever be a factor in repairing or renovating an airplane. Early on I was fortunate to be able to assist on one of my annuals, it gave me a major change of respect for A&Ps.
I owned a GA7 for 3 years ish which I just sold last year. 1 person only, unless he has the full 6hrs of fuel on board he shouldn't have been anywhere MTOW. For a test flight I would typically take 2hrs which is pretty light and gives a healthy rate of climb even on 1 at a low DA. One weird issue I had when I first got her was a very slow gear retraction and it would sometimes stop with one main half up and nose gear partially retracted which was quite draggy. To retract fully it would need me to slow up and recycle a couple.of times. Turned out to be the pressure cut off switch in the hydraulic power pack. If that fluid wasn't changed the pilot might have been juggling a partial gear retraction as well as an engine failure which is going to be a handful. Only showed up in the air however and was fine on the ground. We assumed it was the extra force on the nose gear retracting into the airflow.
N769GA was based for many years @ KDPA, and owned by dear friend Steve Priessman (dec. 4/2023). It still wears the paint scheme which he had done sometime in the late 90s. I got my first twin time in 769GA.
I’ve read a lot of comments and I feel the same as so many here today. I’m not an A&P but I worked under some very experienced guys for a couple years; I’m also experienced with automotive. I noticed early on that Jason was basically completing jobs & it struck me as odd because I recall being bared from certain duties & all the restrictions I had as an apprentice. I kept thinking how on earth is this allowed? The 401 is an admirable project, and I like so many others want to see it fly, but to go from will a diesel start to lets rebuild one of the worst condition & most complex GA aircraft was insane from the start. I caught up on the series one day before the accident & the last video was about the “plan” to flip airplanes to fund the rest of the 401 & I just had a bad feeling. I have nothings but Prayers for those boys in the hanger, prayers for the friends, prayers for the family, and prayers for Sam. RIP Brother, you will be missed
"I will give you the airplane" are words enough to get me to walk. I was a shipwright for almost a couple of decades and anyone that got a "free" boat unknowingly volunteered for a nightmare. It has to be orders of magnitude worse in the aviation world. Sea Tow definitely has job security in San Diego. Gotta wonder why nobody has filled the empty Air Tow slot. 🤔
@@svgalene465 - Yup. I've had some people come to me so happy that they got a free classic wooden boat and were assuming that it could be good as new in a month or two for less than a few K. I just tell them to find a builder with a European accent if they want the most bang for their buck and I walk away. 🙂
In the videos the guy in the long beard is a certified Mechanic and was supervising what Jason was doing. It was the certified mechanic who is also a pilot and did the test flight.
Appreciate your very focussed and professional analysis Juan. The 401 "will it start" led me into more light aircraft content on UA-cam and eventually led me to you. Having your perspective on this is very thought provoking. Sam was a lovely chap and it's such a sad loss. Hopefully lessons can be learned from this tragic loss of life.
Problem with Juan is he always seems to be pushing people away from GA while most all the other UA-camrs are trying to bring them in to GA with the proper training they need.
Sobering, sobering, sobering.YET AGAIN. Juan is doing the work of Sysiphus here. Year in, year out. If only Juan’s deep knowledge and practised wisdom could be leveraged into pilot training all over the world. I dare say his philosophies would make operation of any vehicle safer by far. I appreciate Juan’s gratitude for my meagre Patreon contributions. Thank you sir. By watching your channel I’m retraining myself in how to THINK.
It isn't about training. you can train and train someone, but if that person lacks the character to appreciate and practice, religiously, that training, nothing can be done. Many, many GA accidents are failures of character, not lack of knowledge. We camoflage the issue by calling it 'bad judgment.'
Complete agreement. Most important safety device we have is between our ears. In mindset rather than knowledge. It ain't 'if' failure occurs, it's 'when.' Every time. Have a plan, TRAIN UNTIL YOU CAN EXECUTE IT. Conditional doubt (in- & externall) = Don't go. If everything must be perfect to succeed the op is high risk. Operate that way enough times, one WILL be bitten.
@@billhartsfield424 Didn't they specifically mention in that video that they couldn't top off the tanks because they would be too heavy? That's why they had to make an early fuel stop.
I watched the restoration series on this airplane. Thank you for speaking from a place of experience and deep understanding. RIP to the pilot and sympathy to family and community.
This Rebuild Rescue doesn't take criticism very well. And their fans are rabid when it comes to defending them ! Juan Brown is one of the most professional people you will find anywhere on You Tube ! From being a pilot as a teen, to his flawless Military Career flying almost all the Air Forces heavy lift aircraft, to flying tankers and water bombers in Canada and The Pacific Northwest before his assignment with American Airlines where he still fly's 777's today as a senior pilot and instructor. As an advocate for aviation safety he has no equal. The man's integrity is without question. And his professionalism is without reproach. All you will get from him are "the facts" and "the truth" ! And if "that" bothers the fans of Rebuild Rescue, so be it !
I am not a pilot nor do I have any mechanical skills pertaining to a plane. But, what I do know about car engines and everything down to lawn mower engine and smaller is, if there a sudden stop or hard resistance to the blade ,pullies ect ,you better be prepared to either rebuild of replace the engine ,or do a careful inspection of the block . I can't imaging the props hitting anything and it not causing something to break . The difference between a car engine or law mower engine is ,you won't fall out of the sky . I also can't imaging wanting to be in a plane that barely has enough power to get it off the ground .
It is expensive because of the lack of flying hours left on the fleet of old crud and the total lack of a manufacture support program at reasonable prices. Most everything available in a light twin is or was trash in a training fleet. If a Diamond DA42 was 650k perhaps we could retire the 60 year old crud, but because doctors kill themselves in light twins on their weekends the legal profession makes new light twins cost 1.3M. You are dangerously close to the only people who can fly new twins are on airline or government training programs.
Agreed. The shock of the prop striking anything harder than air is going to create mechanical forces way beyond what the internal parts were designed to tolerate. Deformation and cracks could lead to catastrophic failure with little or no warning, even after hundreds of hours of good performance.
Juan, Thnk you for this. Just like the TN Fly Girl its all about the YT / social media and not about the flying or real repairing. It will only get worse. Paul (in MA) ps Did you get much precip at BWHC? pps NTSB prelim report: Bolts (4) that held plug door on AK 737-9 MAX were MISSING.
These guys get their buddies to help with some poor AP/IA supposedly supervising. But in the end, it's that AP/IA who certifies the airplane as airworthy, not the you tube star. Too much liability. My heart goes out to the IA. A crash after a project is our worst nightmare
On that same token tho, Jason does good work and it easily could have been nothing related to what they worked on. The real problem was pushing a crap old plane that had dual prop strikes back into the air. The risk level some people are willing to take is just too high and too careless.
I had the pleasure of doing several hours in a GA7. Very good ME trainer. Not counter rotating props but fully feathering. Fun to fly, like a fighter jet.
I don't have much issue with the 401 project as it is since he's probably not looking to sell it. It's going to sound awful callous but in that same vein I think this pilot Sam must have known in taking that Grumman up that in the state it was that it had passed the minimum requirement; nothing else. What I do have a problem with is "flipping" planes turned around on a youtube schedule and a "good enough for youtube" mentality onto unsuspecting buyers. Car youtube already does plenty of that, but the worst you end up with is by the side of the road with a huge puddle of coolant and/or oil under the car or similar; it's a different story at 3000 feet.
Climbing out on takeoff with the stall warning horn going? 🤔 I guess I have a _different_ sense of humor. They say you learn something new every day. Today I learned the word - 'UA-camry.' 👍
Thank you for saying what we are all thinking regarding this disturbing trend of aviation shenanigans in YT. Between setting records, back country flying (without experience and training) and buying roached out jets among other things... This breed of "YT Stars" is really giving aviation a black eye on a regular basis. Part of me dreams about how YT could have driven innovation had YT been around during the golden years of aviation. On the other hand, that ship sailed a LONG TIME AGO and we have graduated to much safer days. It's high time that the aviation community starts applying correction to the cowboys of YT that keep destroying perfectly good airplanes and warbirds for a couple of clicks.
I'm going to wait for the preliminary report before making any prognostications. There are many ways this could have gone badly. Some may be strictly piloting. Some may be maintenance. Or perhaps there is a combination of the two or something obscure that nobody expected. Until the investigators make their report, we won't know.
Regardless of the cause or outcome of the investigation. I dont think Rebuild Rescue will survive now. I would also imagine that a lot of other channels will suffer greatly. No sponsors will want anything to do with this.
Juan, you are right on point! I have been predicting this very type of event for about 8 months now. I also caution everyone on attempting to duplicate a rescue without 4 suitcases full of hundred dollar bills.
We had around here a Twincom force after takeoff. Sat for years, was worked on and engines stopped first flight. Water moved in the tanks that draining didn't shift.
Juan - it's great watching these vids. There's a lot of good points with VMC etc that's just not thought about much, and watching these triggers the mind. Thank you!!!
I have to tell you that was well spoken words you have there. I watch every episode of Rebuild Rescue and said from the start as a 747 Cargo Pilot Captain that some things do not look right. I would probably say he will shut the Channel down. It is possible but I expected some kind of incident. You never play with Mother Nature and a Pilot License is a License to go learn to fly. I have 23000 plus hours, and I have seen too much happen with no explanation. You never know what tomorrow may bring. RIP and God Bless everyone. This is not for me to judge what happened, but I feel sorry for those involved.
Thank you for saying the hard things, Juan. I found the whole "Save The 401" project to be problematic. I hope there weren't corners cut for the sake of UA-cam, but those questions have to be asked.
To be honest, I expected the 401 to end up in a smoking hole in the ground. I used to fly 402's and a little time in a 421. You wouldn't get me near the "Phoenix".
I encourage you to watch the videos and find any potential corners that were cut. In the videos specifically relating to the cougar, he mentions SEVERAL things they were not required to do, but they went beyond the minimum to cover all the bases.
@@bryguy2724 Three flights? One had a stall warning on takeoff. One ended in a fatal crash. And your "challenge" to people asking hard questions is to watch the UA-cam videos? The subcontext being that if shortcuts aren't found in the videos there must not be anything wrong here, move along? You illustrate the "UA-cam Culture" that might have contributed to this. A good man is dead and there are questions to be asked and answered.
@@captainsunshine918stall warning was on Sam's personal cougar they flew to the jalopy cougar that killed him. Jason's laughing at the stall horn tells enough of him though.
Thank you Juan. I have been waiting for your thoughts on this devastating accident. I have followed RR and wish all of them my heartfelt condolences. To me it seems as though it was a slightly quick departure from initial taxi to rotate time wise, this for a plane on it’s third flight but then again, I have no time on a twin. RIP Sam, you were a gent through and through.
Interesting observations. I only watched two of their videos after they popped up in my recommendations. I've built two aircraft (RV's) and when I heard his timeframe all I could think of was "No Way". My heart goes out to the pilot's family and friends. FWIW, I hate those plastic gears in the mags. There has got to be better material than what the OEM's are made of.
I will be curious to see if the FAA seizes the raw footage of the rebuild of the Cougar. From what little I know of the video editing process there are likely to be many more hours of video available.
19:00 75 yo Canadian man here. Non-aviator. The professional-grade 35mm movie projectors I operated back in the dark ages [1970s/80s] had fibre gears on some of the internal gearing that would break in the event of a film jam, which saved the rest of the machine from even worse damage. The machines were deliberately designed to allow trivially easy gear replacement. I assume those nylon[?] magneto drive gears serve the same purpose?
RH flat spin. RH engine failure. Scorpioning of the tail is to the right Right wing hit first) and left wing has detached and is ahead of the fuselage. This indicates a flat impact rotating right.
I think Juan is correct. LH turning flat spin. Upon hitting the ground the left wing separates and the fuselage spins away some then stops, the tail folds over to the right. The right wing has some impact damage on the leading edge possible from trees.
Blancolirio speaks with authority about all things aviation. I wish there were more UA-camr's out there like you. This is my number one source for aviation information.
It is a good there are not, imagine how many court cases there would be!, if I was Rebuild Rescue a notice before action would have been served by now, for making false statements causing reputational damage and numerous copyright infringements.
@@wayneelliott2462 Reputation???? What reputation???? This is now his second accident!!! I didn't see anyone nominating him for the Chuck Yeager award!!!
If anything made them complacent, it was the fact that the airplane had already successfully made its relocation flight. Whether it was a ticking time bomb that would have bitten its user eventually or whether something else went badly wrong will be a matter for the NTSB, but my gut says that relocation to the home airport should have been followed by a thorough, deep overhaul.
Let's be honest, flying and looking after an aircraft is a serious business. Done right and by the book, it can be fun, rewarding and a major confidence booster. It is not a UA-cam entertainment package when trying to say.... "I can do this on a budget".... Flying can't be on a budget if it's done safely. I feel for all involved in this tragic story. Especially the family of the lost Pilot.
When it comes to aviation and the near perfection required for airworthiness and safety, best to avoid quick, low budget fix-ups. Life is too precious to take such risks. There are so many things that could have caused the accident and I hope the rebuild is not one of them. God bless the the pilot, Sam and his family and everyone that was associated with the ill fated airplane.
Juan, just to say that I think your channel is great and you do an invaluable service to the whole aviation community. Thanks for all the effort you put into this work.
I know nothing about maintaining an aircraft but I remember seeing the turning point in Rebuild Rescue where I went from thinking "this seems unsafe" to "oh good, they are doing things properly and employing the correct people". I never did watch the Cougar series though, I was surprised to see this happened as I never expected that to be flying any time soon. RIP Sam.
A&P IA & PP here. I have only watched the first few episodes of Rebuild Rescue before I had to stop watching. Jason tore into those 401 engines without any type of reference (manual) just spitballing his way through it. I commented for him to stop and get some help or some type of troubleshooting chart, anything. But I believe his reply to me was some type of rationalization of his actions and that I'm no expert. Ok fine it's the internet, I had to stop watching. A whole life in aviation told me his actions are not industry standard and a an incident could happen. I've seen it before, many of us have. There are other channels I stopped watching because I can see it coming. We see them, we know their methods are off and yet in the spirit of the open skies and comradeship we allow it. I'm sorry but I am not interested in that, you can understand. If you do not realize that flying is full of risk, you do not believe in the “what if” scenario & you do not understand the concept of human factors, you should think about another hobby/career. I am an Aviation Maintenance Instructor here at the local tech school. I have to say some people aren't built/programmed to be in aviation, it is not for everyone. There are pilots & mechanics out there who don’t have what I consider the right stuff; responsibility, character, diligence & pride. Thanks for listening, Fly safe.
I hear ya! My world was automotive and there are guys/gals who shouldn't be working cars too. The difference is you can pull over and call a tow truck when something goes wrong. You're asking an airplane (GA) to maintain full power for say 10 minutes every time you start a flight. To do that you need to be very particular about maintenance and repairs. There's a certain type of personality who has the attention to detail necessary for the job. Perhaps a slight degree of OCD would be an occupational requirement. By the way, I can't watch the majority of automotive channels on UA-cam for the same reason(s) you bailed on Rebuild Rescue. I can only deal with so much crap before it's time to turn it off.
In all the aviation world there are a few twin engine aircraft manufactured that had the reputation of being under powered and the saying was the good engine would only take you to the crash site. Sad but true. Maybe I missed it but a google view of the area would likely have shown a straight ahead course with minor 20 -30 degree turns would have maybe been a life saver. R. I. P. Sam. Great work Juan on the investigation.
Finally, somebody competent is reviewing this accident! I was hooked to the RR channel from the day UA-cam threw the first 401 video in my recommendations. In the beginning it was quite painful hearing Jason talk about things he had no idea about, but I saw the positive change throughout the videos. I was always excited whenever a new video dropped about the 401, but as the plane kinda faded into the background when doing other "rescues" (I never watched any of his non-aviation-related videos), so did my enthusiasm. Also the newer videos seem (to me) to show less progress shown longer. Overall, I was shocked to hear about the crash and the passing of Sam and eagerly awaiting any news about the investigation into the cause of the crash. The other thing I'm really waiting for is for the RR team / Jason to address the public about the incident, to tell their side of the story - I'm really interested how long the silence will take (I'm checking their socials daily...) and how they will handle the situation.
My geuss is that he won't post anything else until the NTSB is finished reviewing what footage and paperwork he had for the plane. I can't imagine how he must feel about the whole ordeal. So yea it will likely be a while before we see anything posted. Sadly I think that marks the end of the 401 project, possibly the channel.
@@antonyh37 same thoughts here, but the NTSB investigation could take months if not years… let’s wait and see. Can’t even begin to imagine how they would feel right now…
great explaination and tech info on this sad crash. ive enjoyed this rebuild rescue series for a couple years now. my sympathy goes out to sams family and the rebuild rescue staff.
Years ago I recall Carl Edwards (NASCAR driver) commenting how expensive owning a personal jet/airplane was. His personal worth is in the 10’s of millions. He wasn’t complaining but rather said it matter of factly, it really struck me because this is a Guy that owns millions of dollars worth of toys….Aviation isn’t cheap
I once heard an interview with one of the Rutan's and he said something along the lines of 'a windmilling propeller creates more drag than a plane of the same radius.' I don't understand how that could be true but that's still a bunch of drag.
Thank you for looking into this. I old pilot. I noticed on ferry flight had aileron adjust needed and a vibration. Jason thought maybe out balance prop. ? they had props I thought replaced and certified. Wonder if after ferry flight a good look into vibration was done. and maybe continued testing before flight. also Sam was proficient in that plane. guess he not as sharp at his age to get numbers and procedures down when sh t hit the fan. sad all around.
Jason is not a pilot nor A&P so I wouldn't rely on any kind of diagnosis from that source. Sam's age has nothing to do with "sharpness." That would be a training issue, more specifically lack of, especially recent training/experience. I have worked with many young pilots that were a long way from their most recent training event and they were not sharp on numbers and procedures. Happens to everyone. That's why the regulations require pilots to meet certain recent experience requirements before carrying passengers.
I have followed Jason since the first will the 401 start episode. I have come know all the characters as if they were my personal freinds so it is shocking it really hurts to know Sam is dead.
Excellent analysis as usual Juan! So many operators of light twins seem to forget that with an engine failure down low off the deck the only guarantee, assuming everything is done right, is that the airplane will maintain heading, not altitude. My suspicion, in this case , is exactly what you stated; that this was initially a partial loss of power that gave Sam the hope he could keep flying without running the engine failure checklist. When the engine did completely fail I believe he had already lost too much energy to keep the Grumman flying. It is my belief the propeller needs to be feathered before the rpm falls below 950. Many lessons to be learned from this one including the risks involved with documenting the “rescue” of this plane on a reality type channel.
This is a real tragedy for GA. I've been a big fan of the Rebuild Rescue project, I have no pretensions about becoming a mechanic, (I pay someone else to do that!) but it's been very educational about what makes planes work. And what happens to them when they sit around for years not flying. It was a noble cause, and it's heartbreaking to see this happen.
lets not forget some things. What we see is edited. I mean the "cougar videos" are a total of three hours more or less in a 6 to 7 days ( cause they didnt make it in 5 finaly ) working on the aircraft. Obviusly many things are ommited to be shown.......Secondly it did a 500mile ferry trip ( as per video again ) after some test runs. Not a small trip by any means. And to my understanding there were 2 A&Ps present, during the repair/annual ( whatever you prefair to call it) one of them been also a CFI multi engine - one of the 2 that made the repairs. He alsomade the tests AND been present at the ferry flight together with Jason, who was logging ours in hiw pursue for multi rating. And last but not least the 500 mile last flight was made at 15th of Dec. We have no idea what/if something happened maintaining/repairing wise...... Just my 2c
Another great analysis, Juan. I can't imagine anyone wanting a Cougar for any reaason, even if it is given to him .... it's almost a sure out-of-control crash and death if you experience an engine out. Compared to any single, thhere are twice as many chances that wil happen in a Cougar.
flipping a car is one thing, a plane is a totally different world. I dont think there's an aviation enthusiast that hasn't dreamed of rebuilding an old plane and taking it to the sky. But there's a reason good aviation mechanics make good coin. It takes serious dedication to learn. there's a rule to every fix, the correct bolt, the correct number of twist to safety wire. A spec for a spec and then an addendum to that spec.
Im not really big on the I told you so stuff, but it was painfully obvious the guy who started the YT channel had the wrong attitude to even attempt restoring aircraft..
Hello Juan, Thank You for your efforts to provide additional information about Aviation and Aviation Safety. In the case of this Grumman, during the Rebuild Process there were no less than Four A&Ps in this video series. As you have pointed out, anything can and will happen. I have been saddened by this crash as with several others recently. I think that Sam was one of the good guys. That being Said, I do not think that the reason is going to be from a lack of Expert Workmanship on this project. Time will tell what the cause of the crash was.
Given this was the first flight out of chester county and they'd just sold it, I'll bet this was camera'd up for the channel. Perhaps a UA-camr blessing in disguise for the investigation?
Good brief examination and commentary (reporting) on this twin Grumman crash (impact with terrain). I watched Rebuild rescue religiously and loved Jason's determination with Sam, Joe and others: through a red MG midget in for a prize... Why the hell not! Lots of learning outcomes * VMC * Stall speed * Max gross weight * Stall warning horn * Level flight * Feather prop * Gain altitude * Landing gear up (keep it clean)🤲🌏
When the story broke, local news (6-ABC) interviewed some yokel who hadn't seen the crash, but was called over to the wreckage by someone else. I guess he was their "expert." He stated that the pilot "avoided the house." That then became the mantra of every story about this unfortunate accident, stating that avoiding the house was Sam's "last act of heroism." Sorry to burst the bubble of those who admired this beloved pilot, but he was just along for the ride in that spin and wasn't able to avoid anything. Can't we just appreciate this guy for what he apparently was - a decent human being - without injecting the crazy ideas of some no-name bystander into the story? Not good journalism.
Media should be prohibited against covering aviation incidents unless they pass some sort of basic aviation knowledge certification.
@@BrilliantDesignOnlineMost modern journalists could not pass a Turing Test, let alone a test of expertise on any subject
But is there really any good journalism nowadays? The answer is no.
@@markpirisky2281 Juan does very fine citizen journalism right here on this channel!
A good rule of thumb for interpreting the "news" is that anyone willingly talking to the media is likely also ignorant on most other things.
One of my more seasoned flight instructors used to say that these underpowered twins were actually just single engined planes with the power very expensively split half on each side. If one half fails and you don't do EVERYTHING exactly right, the other half just takes you to the scene of the crash. Truer words.....
It depends on density altitude and weight. 2 people, half tanks in the 180hp Seminole in 100 degree weather in California could hold 3500 ft.
"the other half just takes you to the scene of the crash" damn.
Exactly!!! Someone "gets it." O-320 is usually 150hp - maxed at 160hp. This plane weighs about 2600lbs with two engines that are typically on a C-172 and Cherokee - 700 and 1200 lbs less than a Cougar, respectively. These Cougars should always have top operating engines - ALWAYS- theres no room for emergency opperations! This plane should have a larger 4 cylinder or a smaller six in a 180 to 185hp flavor, imo.
The four CFM56s on older A340s must be sneezing at this comment
That's good life advice from an engineering perspective.
I think a lot of people are going really hard on Rebuild without due reason to yet. I've seen the cougar vids, everything was done up to FAA standards with A&Ps involved.
We've seen countless other planes that have been professionally worked on crash right after. And this was an older plane, it's entirely possible this engine issue was something completely unrelated to their repairs.
RIP Sam and all I hope is the truth comes out, whatever that truth is.
IOW’s they did the absolute minimum required to get the plane flyable.
when aviation is still in it's infancy on predicting failures with engines changing all the time without destroying hundreds of thousands of engine in testing for all kinds of impacts and failures, then I think it is something that the engine stike caused to fail, rather than something RR done wrong. and hope that lessons can be learned from this to make the industry stronger, and aviation to become even safer.
RIP Sam, we all hope the truth comes out, and hope that lessons can be learned from your tragic passing.
the plane flew flawless back home for 500 miles, you watch that video? @@mmayes9466
I watched them all also , in fact I’ve watched every video from the day he posted the first one. And as I remember on that plane the AP’s did ALL the work , and he filmed and acted as a hand … and him digging on the 401 isn’t to cool either. I’d say they’ve done an overly extensive job on refurbing that beauty .. agree ??
🙏for Sam , a kind, and honest soul . RIP
Technically the minimum they had to do was dial the cranks and put new props on. They did much more than that. @@mmayes9466
Tragic loss, to say the least! I’m an airline pilot with a background in GA and I have been a big fan of rebuild rescue from the start of the 401 project. Jason has had A&P supervision and oversight all along the way and I have never felt that he has cut corners any more than most flight schools and FBOs do on a routine basis. In fact, he has been a stickler for going the extra mile.
The rush to demonize this group is predictable, but unfortunate. Their mission, as they proclaim, is to save GA from the graveyard of prohibitive costs. God bless 'em and I hope that this loss doesn’t crush their spirit.
I appreciate a voice of reason here. There seems to be a lot of bandwagoning and speculation here, and very little discussion about the PIC.
People are absolutely obsessed with speculating about what role rebuild played in this fatality when the accident is right in front of us.
A janky twin engine aircraft, with awful performance even for when it was built in the 70s. And people are speculating about the culpability of a UA-camr.
Madness.
People should be asking what the PIC was doing. What sort of weight was on board. What was the weather like. Who conducted the annual. How much airtime did the PIC have on this aircraft, and aircraft like it, in the last 6 months.
But it's all about Jason.
Madness.
This is why GA is going to die out.
There's a reason that 401 was left to rot. The cost to bring it back to airworthy is far exceeding the value of the aircraft. There doesn't seem to be a logical reason to save it.
@@dave30076 interestingly, the 401 was left to rot by the same guy who died in this crash.
By all accounts, Sam, the pilot, had a history of buying aircraft, fiddling with them, getting in over his head, and then abandoning projects to become bird nests or collect dust .
The 401 isn't the first aircraft Sam has abandoned - so one has to wonder if this behaviour bled into other areas, like perhaps a bit of a blase attitude towards safety, safety margins, etc.
@@user-jy6vd3uw1m Eyewitness reports stated that the Cougar was backfiring after wheels up on the initial climb out. There's rarely a singular cause to air disasters. With enough altitude and airspeed - and a fairly level field to set it down - these things can be survivable.
@@lesterawilson3 most definitely. No doubt there will be several contributing factors. The mistaken performance expectations placed on such an old bird will no doubt be one - and I expect you're right, that clues such as the backfiring will likely lead investigators to discover mechanical/maintenance factors as well.
We just have to wait for the investigators to complete their work.
I hope for Jason's sake he is not a contributing factor - but time will tell. Until then, i hope the rest of the community can pipe down and stick to the facts. :)
Juan, first of all, thank you for your measured analysis. Too many people get 'emotional.' I do understand your frustration. Flying a PA-30 (though upgraded to 200 hp / side), I try to stay mindful that it's a light twin, not the Airbus. My mantra, on every take off, is if it's not climbing, or I can't hold Vyse, I'm pulling both throttles back and taking the best level landing I can accomplish.
I met Sam at OSH, year before last. He was well spoken, enthusiastic, and from our quick conversation, not taken to take risks. My hope is that this will serve as a wake up call to all of us. Know your plane, run your numbers, and expect the unexpected.
Best comment so far!
@@maxmirot9460agreed, excellent comment
You got it about right. So flying in a small light twin aircraft is at best a small low-power aircraft... Should have had an actual tiwn engine test pilot who would have been the best choice...not an old slow airman...
Could not have said it any better!
It will be interesting to say the least to find out the cause of this crash. Were I to place a bet, it would be on a fuel problem, starving one engine and then Sam not being able to catch up to the problems that then happened. So sad to have lost Sam, a nice person from what I can tell. When things go south on a takeoff they happen very quickly.
If only Jason's aviation skills were as good as his manipulation and conman skills. He has been telling people for years that he has a "charity" that their donation money goes to.. that doesn't exist. The FAA and some other regulators need to have a close look at that dude.
I was one of the 10 million who got hooked on the 401 Series in the beginning, but after a few episodes it felt more like 'reality TV' than really documenting the safe rebuild of an aircraft. I stopped watching and was not surprised when this one went down. Thanks Juan for your meticulous coverage of these incidents.
That's the big Cessna they're working on, right? It did feel like manufactured UA-cam drama. There is a phone call that guy took that they clearly re-enacted for the cameras. I also think there was an accusation that they re-enacted the engine fire when they were taxiing. Just too much that felt like a fake reality show, like you said.
100% agree
ME TOO, didn't like Jason's attitude , he seemed so arrogant and careless
What could go wrong ? You can end up killing one of your friends
Same here, thought it was really cool at first and unsubbed after watching about 10 video's that were 1/2 401 and the rest were nothing but disaster recipes and shilling for views/money. I shall stop my comments at that. Rest in peace Sam. This is disheartening.
Same as y’all. Sorry Sam was lost in the evolution of that channel. Unsubbed over a year ago
I worked in a part 145 engine shop, plus closely watched magnaflux operations.
Prop flange of prop strike engines often had great runout, but cracks were most often seen on curved radius just behind prop flange as it transitions to crankshaft.
Crankshafts, especially VAR (Vacuum Arc Remelt) & nitrided, become brittle and act like a good quality drill bit; they’ll crack before bending.
Please don’t do just a runout inspection after prop strike, the engine should be torn down and magnaflux of internal steel inspected (note: “overhaul” isn’t a requirement, it can be written up as an “inspection & repair” if parts are replaced saving a lot by not overhauling cylinders which is required for “overhaul” entry in logbook.
A&P/IA
I applaud your statements and the manner in which you conveyed them.
Exactly. This was a "do the absolute minimum required" and put it back together.
I actually thought teardown was mandatory after prop strike. At least over here uk, I was suprised when I saw their video. Maybe its the same here.
@@dr_jaymz Apparently our FAA doesn’t require it, but it should be.
I understand why pilots don’t ($$$).
Lycoming considers hitting thick weeds or a puddle a prop strike: anything that drops RPM by 100 (not sure of the time frame).
Agreed. It was a long time ago in A&P training, but I still remember my instructors emphasizing the hidden internal structural damage that a prop strike can produce. Yes, a full teardown and non-destructive testing regime is expensive, but what is a life worth?
I watch rebuild rescue every week and I love the videos. I appreciate that from what it seems Jason takes repairing them and doing it properly very seriously. I dont think Juan made any disparaging comments toward him. He even pointed out he did the right thing with reference to the gear but also pointed out that the best thing would have been to overhaul the engines. As much as i want to come to Jasons defense, I dont think this is a fight here. As pilots and mechanics we should just be trying to make aviation safer and that means taking a good hard look when these things happen and make changes so they dont happen again. I dont think Juan is playing a blame game he is just trying to get to the root cause and debrief the hazreps as they happen regardless of who or what is at fault. A very painful lesson for everyone involved. Truly devistating. Thank you Juan for you videos.
I 100% Agree. Jason did more than He had too but, could have done more. Juan was just being honest which is good. If there is any one to blame it would be the FAA for not requiring a more thorough inspection procedure. But that's hindsight and we don't even know if the engine was damaged in the propstrike, or if something else unforeseen happened. Ethier way it's a learning experience, I just wish less people had to die in the name of knowledge.
@@The.Fake.Adam.Lulichthe idea of the FAA regulations is that if you follow them you should be safe to a high degree, so could you do more? I guess but when is it enough? Does he have to rebuild every plane down to the studs and rebuild exclusively with certified mechanics? If this accident was in fact caused by things missed on this flip, it's more of an indictment on the FAAs regulations than the plane owner following the regulations.
Yea, he was taking a shot at them he wasnt really saying he did the right thing. You cant say something like "sure he followed the rules, but it wasnt enough" and pretend like youre giving someone a compliment.
@@The.Fake.Adam.Lulich They did a very thorough job checking the tolerances on the cranks and the compression was within spec. A small amount of debris and water is all it would take
Agree 1 thing Jason does is taking aviation very seriously and works alongside APs I believe he is working towards that himself also? I certainly don't believe he would put anyone at risk, and Sam certainly wouldn't have taken flight if he believed it wasn't safe. Given the history of the aircraft would this plane not have had to been signed off by an AP as being airworthy before even a test flight was taken?
As a former Grumman Tiger owner about Sam's age and former USAF avionics technician, I watched the series with interest on many levels. First, Sam owned and regularly flew his own Cougar. This could be a case of familiarity breeding contempt - a dangerous condition in aviation. Gee, it never did that to me before! When was the last time we practiced a forced landing outside of a bi-annual review. When was the last time we briefed engine out procedures when we are the only occupant? The Cougar's limited safety margins as shown, demands additional practice.
With the short time after the power loss, it is very possible that Sam hadn't enough time to verify which engine had failed (neither engine was caged). One report I saw indicated he may have turned into the dead engine.
BTW thanks for the very clear, thoughtful analysis presented. Since the flight was a delivery after purchase, I suspect fuel contamination as well. Will follow this one closely.
I A&P'd until I couldn't trust my eyesight anymore and then I left the industry. I started flipping cars, some I kept for myself. My airplane experience trained my eye and I must say that every time I worked on a car, the deeper I dug, the more I'd find. I've watched some of these resurrection videos. If they don't look at EVERYTHING, something as simple as a leaf roller bug in a line has the potential to bring an airplane down. Cursory inspections and worrying about money won't cut it.
Absolutely! I had a old prelude that broke both front torsion bar mounts? anyways it rode on the ground and blew a cv axle making the alignment wiggle a wheel loose. my point is I pity the fool trying to rebuild that car.
Yeah that's it mate! I love my old cars but with a plane you can't just pull over to the side and walk home
@@aerotube7291 Unless you suffer catastrophic airframe failure… you kinda can pull over… down and over… but you can’t wait until it’s falling to do so
@obsoleteprofessor2034: Loved your "leaf roller bug..." comment. I was travelling on the two dimensional surface with my Wife and children on an RV camping trip. Could not get the heater started during a pit stop test where I had just filled the propane. Pulled the copper at the regulator on the heater, with the supply side disconnected at the external tank and used the convenient gas station air hose to blow from the regulator side. I laughed as the eight dead earwigs were blown out onto the asphalt! Nice warm camping trip ensued with happy Wife!
@@gcflower99 In the 60's, I helped my dad trench out behind some apartments to replace the gas lines.I noticed that the dirt was oddly hard and came apart in chunks/boulders. In between the cracks were tons of dead flies. Apparently, the flies smelled the natural gas and probably thought there was a rotting animal below the surface. Entering, they succumbed to the gas. The bugs in your line probably thought the same thing. Also re hardness of dirt. The gas probably killed all the beneficial bacteria/worms in the ground too.
UA-camry - great term Juan. Thanks for your time & efforts to educate.
It just kinda came to me as I was telling the story...
@@blancolirio inspiration that is spot on 👍🙂
Hahah it is actually isn’t it! UA-camry! Hahah
It sounds like something from the old comic books that featured the uncanny and ghost stories. “Supernatural Tales of UA-camry and Suspense.”
And the old timers say that on stormy nights you can still hear him out there, setting out clickbait and desperately thirsty for views.
What little I have seen leads me to believe she had no situational awareness. I don't think she was faking @allinfun829
I know a lot of people like that. It is a common trait. Especially in modern times with people "multitasking" everywhere without actually understanding what that means.
I must be getting old - 1978 models are now considered cougars.
Yeah , we getting Old .
But the Alternative isn't Viable , to me !
@@jimmyhvy2277never has been lol.
My last cougar was a slightly older model. Excellent performance 🤤😉
At 12:37 the plane may be an antique, but it had very smooth wing skin.
Cougars are almost certainly cheaper to run, and frequently perform much better than the newer models.
When I received my A&P license my instructor said, "Now you have your license to learn." He also said to all the auto mechanics that were taking the course, "You don't make mistakes, because if something fails you cant just pull over to the side of the road."
What about a mistake that causes someone to hit a telephone pole? Cars and trucks share the same danger when it comes to faulty repairs.
When I was doing my CAA A&C licences (Airframes and Engines) the instructors were always reminding us that there were no laybys and 30'000 ft
my instructor has also mentioned "license to learn"
Oh No! I'm really saddened to hear this. RIP Sam. I remember when Jason and the team first started their amazing journey at Chester County G.O. Carlson Airport. Sam was an amazing person and a unique character, full of life and kindness. I can't even imagine how devastated the rest of the Rebuild Rescue team must be right now. They are practically family. My heart and prayers go out to Sam, his family, and the entire Rebuild Rescue team. It is a shame that it came to this to truly show how risky the operation can really be.
This entire video is speculation and conjecture. Wait for the FAA and NTSB report and then do a video on it.
wow just saw this thats crazy and sad. Sam was such a good dude
"...without incriminating yourself..." How true! Some of the aviation videos on youtube are mind boggling...
I'm a private pilot and have a friend who's an ATP with a cargo carrier. We have this conversation all the time: "What the hell are these people THINKING??? 'I think I'll provide the FAA with the evidence to pull my ticket!'"
I’m of two minds on these videos. On the one hand they seem to either encourage stupidity or attract people with more exibitionist rather than technical tendencies into ever more dangerous activities well outside their skill sets. On the other hand they provide a much better record when things unexpectedly go wrong, then most CVR/FDR’s. In planes that would not normally have such things. I mean the NTSB can now watch your stupidity post mortem from 5 different camera views. And they can watch it develop over months. Which is quite frankly about the only valid reason for cameras in the cockpit of novice pilots. It’s one thing for a well seasoned instructor to film an educational video. But these “my journey from not knowing how to fly to dying horribly because I don’t really know how to fly” type videos have no valid reason outside of forensics.
Yes, even on a normal flight filming anything is quite a challenge I'm sure. I struggled to get halfway decent videos when I autocrossed, and I have yet to turn in a good video from flying a model airplane. I am beginning to think social media and the cockpit don't go too great together.
@@flynbenny You probably need to be as close to an expert on one of the two (cockpits or social media) in order to make a serious go at presenting a reliable product.
@@flynbennyThe only times i see it done well is when the person is more documenting their flying and know when to shut up and fly. They only talk as much as an instructor would.
But then they're not the big flashy channels that I can't stand.
So doing social media as social media seems fine. Treating it like a TV show not so much.
Giving themselves a week to rebuild an aircraft and then selling it for a profit was bound to end in disaster. Reminded me of the old television show where they would spend one week to rebuild a new house for a needy family. Most those rebuilds ended up being not so good after a year.
Instead of saying their budget and time constraint causes the issue, how about we wait to see what the final report is before assessing blame? The pilot may have been the cause.
@@stevenpeterson9735The pilot was the cause… Unfortunate but he mismanaged an emergency
All these jumping to conclusions give me a great workout @@stevenpeterson9735😂
@@Timberns Were you there? Are you Sam? Are you the NTSB?
We don’t know what happened. Don’t state that as a fact. It may be true, but it’s equally possible you are wrong. Don’t say it like it’s a fact.
Repaired not rebuilt. All the aircraft needed was replacement props, an engine check with a part replaced in each engine and an annual inspection. And since the previous owner had removed most of the radios they installed a temporary set of radios for the flight back to Coatesville.
It is always sad for us old-timers to check out this kind of accidents. It's been 9 years since I retired from proper airline flying and while I'm still flying privately (a Helio H-295 Super Courier) I am acutely aware of my sneakily diminishing faculties.
I am rather confident in my ability to fly UNDER CONTROL to the scene of the crash if I happen to lose an engine at an embarrassing moment. No stall/spin epitaph for me, thank you very much!
true legend here!
Thank you for your clear point... So remember he took on the idea of flying it and seems he thought like most of us that it would work as planned... That is not what always happens... So should note the other projects were separate. Yet it seems to me an outsider, he needed more experience and time in twin-engine instructional training of flying low power twin engine complex aircraft... My sympathy to those who knew him as their friend...
If I lost an engine and was forced into an off airport landing a Helio would be my first choice. My dad had a Helio in the mid '70's. You have a very special airplane.
i mean, i also feel like you own an airplane you can really put some trust in with that Helios. a STOL workhorse with ample single-engine power, a stall speed close to bicycling speed, and a great useful load. vs the Grumman, which has a useful load of about 2 bottles of wine and one rotisserie chicken, two underpowered engines on the wings, and an Owner's Manual that more or less says "if above or below 85KIAS, prepare to die."
On one of his early videos, he is working without any certification or supervision (not on the accident airplane). He says something like, "I don't know what this is , but I'm taking it apart." He proceeds to take the component apart and reassembles it. My first thought was, "If there was some type of incident, a lawyer could have a field day with that."
YEAH and that's exactly the sort of nonsense I saw and why I stopped watching that channel and had UA-cam block recommendations.
I have been arguing with people for 2 days over this on another page here on UA-cam.
I started watching the channel Rebuild Rescue when they got their hands on the abandoned Cessna 401.
I stopped watching and had UA-cam Block recommendations BEFORE the run ins with the FAA.
I never watched ANY of the videos on the Cougar so cannot comment on it, but what I can comment on is the attitude displayed by the channel's host regarding the Cessna and WHY I stopped watching.
I have a degree in aerospace engineering and a private pilots license with aerobatics endorsement. I have zero twin time, but many others commenting on the Cessna had a lot of experience including pilots with twin time as well as some aircraft mechanics. Basically all the warnings and help were ignored and often lambasted by the typical social media types. It got toxic.
Despite comments I have seen in recent days regarding having the Cougar signed off by an AP, at NO TIME did I see the host take the issues of such a complicated aircraft like the Cessna seriously. That plane has a pressurised cabin and turbo-charged engines. Yes I know the C401/402 was originally conceived as an unpressurized cabin but when the later models had a ceiling of almost 27,000 its either pressurised or the crew & passengers are on oxygen.
Basically its a very complicated aircraft and NOT FOR AMATEURS doing reality TV.
They way people with experience were treated on that channel sucked and now there's a plane in the ground with a dead pilot on only its 3rd flight (test flight, ferry flight, crash flight).
All these people saying he took it seriously while this statement indicates he did not. If he did not know and then proceeded - that is not treating it seriously!
Jason is probably one of the most dangerous types of people in aviation. He believes in himself 100% that he is an aircraft mechanic and great pilot. He knows he has a nack for getting strangers to believe in him unquestioned. His ego is bigger than even he can imagine and those uneducated just inflate his ego even more. And now he is the pied piper of the majority of aviation uneducated. Fortunately there are some that have come to realize what he is.
@@freecycle53215 That's the argument I have been having on other YT channels.
People claiming he took it seriously and a lot of others saying *NO HE DID NOT* and most of the did nots are people with varying degrees of pilot and engineering experience.
@@freecycle53215 We don't know how honest the statement of "I don't know.." actually was. Don't forget that this channel is essentially reality TV, there's a very real possibility that the remark in question was scripted and included in the episode to keep the viewer intrigued, and doesn't reflect the actual knowledge of the host.
Preliminary is out.... Right tank/pumps/carb contained water and debris. Right fuel tank cap did not have a sealing rubber gasket. Pilot fueled to the tabs - 80g- b4 departure. It's been confirmed pilot DID NOT SUMP tanks prior to engine starts. Pilot was in a rush to. Make his return flight after delivery. Juan's dissection of how this happened is right on, once again.
Juan, I’m a recently retired pilot with a background very similar to yours…first plane was a T-craft, then Part 135, A&P school, and many years of airline and large aircraft corporate experience. Your explanation on the single engine performance of this Grumman light twin took me back to getting my Multiengine Instructor rating. It was a simple, detailed, and accurate description of the limitations of a relatively low-powered light twin flying with one engine inoperative. Good job! I enjoy your videos and hope to have a chance to meet in person. Cheers, Rog
We call them Hammer Mechanics. I stopped watching Jimmy's World as the cringe factor of him working on that 310 gave me the chills. I started to watch Jason's channel as he too started to work on getting that 401 back to airworthy condition. For me, the final straw was watching him taking the spark plug leads off the right engine with a pair of Plumber's water pump pliers! If I was the IA signing off on any of those birds, I would be shitting myself right about now. Your video is spot on!
He had at least 2 A&P's working with him on this Cougar. He got it back to Chester County, but it sat for a couple weeks before Sam took it for a flight. My first thought was a fuel issue.
Jason had previous run-ins with the FAA during the early stages of the 401 project. He definitely bit off more than he could chew. After the FAA run in, he made it a point to feature the A&P's he had working with him. The 401 project slowed down and it seemed like he was making it a real effort to do things the right way on that project since he planned to keep the airplane.
I think the pressure of funding the 401 by flipping other airplanes might have caused him to do things too close to the minimums under the FAA regulations. It is a very painful lesson for Jason. Sam was an awesome guy.
Also need an A and I for annual
The second part of that might be almost more an argument that the FAA minimums need updating. (If it is determined that this crash was due to undiagnosed damage from the prop strike that would not be caught by a mechanic of ordinary skill doing the procedure to the minimums)
There are days that Jason is working on the 401 without A & P supervision.
@@John-nc4bl One does not have to be working side-by-side with an A&P or AI to be considered "supervised". The vast majority of people building certified aircraft are not A&P's and spend most of their time working independently. The requirement is that the A&P must inspect the work and certify that it has been done correctly.
@@jimbtv Correct, the A&P isn't going to jeopardise their own license/reputation by signing off on work that they haven't either personally supervised or physically checked.
The Grumman Cougar was the first twin I ever flew back in about 1983 in Australia. The one I flew was quite well equipped for the time with a full IFR panel and the addition of an Australian DME and HF radio. That aircraft with full fuel on board had a remaining useful load of 370 pounds. If I remember correctly the fuel tanks had a tab and also a slot for loading reduced fuel levels but I really don't think there was any fuel load that would allow four men to go anywhere of any distance. No wonder the stall warning was going off when they departed Punxatawny. Also if you look at the way the aircraft was sitting after the crash there is actually an impact point on the other side of the fence and a scrape on the grass from that point to near the right wing tip. I think the aircraft was actually travelling the opposite direction to where it ended up and I think it actually descended into the trees just before impact. That would explain the condition of the right wing leading edge. If my suspicions are correct then he would have been heading straight for the house and may have tried turning to the right to avoid it. Will certainly be watching for the report on this one.
Those fence posts look like they're a fairly large diameter tube or pipe. I was thinking that the leading edge damage to the wing came from the post there as he came through the fence, whipping the plane around clockwise. Maybe the gouges from the props, spinning or not? Just a guess.
Juan, thank you for your insight. I got my Multi Engine rating in the Cougar. You are absolutely correct it’s underpowered and should be thought of as a two seater with light baggage.
When I did my checkride the DPE “failed” an engine and I remember gear flaps up because even at 100 ft MSL (Houston) it would not climb with anything hanging out. If you don’t put in the 5 degree bank no climb. No matter what we could not get the Cougar to climb over 3000ft on single engine. My MEI said engine failure just expect to do a controlled decent onto landing.
A&P mechanic here, it looks like the aircraft stalled right wing down with the right wingtip hitting the ground first, then the nose hitting immediately after with enough forward energy to flick the left wing separating it from the fuselage, along with snapping the fuselage just forward of the empennage. Reckon we'll have to wait until the NTSB report comes out to see which engine lost power. R.I.P. Sam G. I know the Rebuild Rescue crew, especially Jason is gonna take this loss pretty hard.
It doesn't make sense. Sam has his own Cougar and many hours in it. You'd think he'd know how to handle that situation knowing the stall speed and glide, unless a medical issue came up? RIP Sam...
@@lowbudgetbob1155on takeoff though is something that limits what you can do in general. Plus if he isn't mentally ready for it, nor well versed in the procedure it costs time that one doesn't have.
Hey @@lowbudgetbob1155 well honestly, i have accumulated only about 80 hours of flying time personally, with about 20 hrs PiC, (which makes me no expert) the only thing i can think of is, everything is great when the engine, or engines are running, but when stuff goes sideways, most of the time the pilot is not experienced with the situation at hand, how could he/she be? Then needs to figure out within seconds the right way to fix it. I mean if that happened to me? I would try to cope with it as best as i can, like I'm sure Sam did, and i believe this is where the old saying of "flying by the seat of ur pants" comes in. I'm sure Sam tried to figure out the situation that he's most likely never experienced before, sadly, we never have a load of time when it comes to flying a disabled aircraft at low altitude. I've experienced scud running, and carb ice, NOT fun, and NOT recommended! But a learning experience that cannot be simulated.
Jason cracking a joke at the stall warning sent chills down my spine. I stopped watching early in the 401 when it was obvious everything was scripted for maximum UA-cam revenue, so I wasn't aware just how brazen he can be with safety.
I sat bolt right up in my chair when I heard that.
I was (am still, technically) a subscriber too and I quickly tired of the reality TV style melodrama Jason adopted as a production technique. It smacked of desperation for views, and I was uncomfortable with sensing the pressure he was under. I hadn't watched any of his videos in a while and was a bit surprised to hear the channel name spoken by Juan, but that quickly gave way to a sad feeling of, "yeah, that kinda makes sense."
@@robin_holdenyeah if you notice the first video was pretty chill and got 10m views then the views taper down the more theatrical it gets. It’s pretty clear what makes UA-cam videos sell and it’s not overwrought TV production hype.
@@NicholasAndre1 It's kinda sad too. I gravitate towards the channels like Juan's were there's no camerman/production team. Just humble but passionate content about what he knows best, interspersed with cleaning record snowfall off his roof. It seems like I'm in the minority though as most on both the viewer and creator sides pursue as much drama as possible to glue those eyeballs. 🙄
@@vladimus9749 you’re sort of in the silent majority of UA-cam - people grow tired of it. There’s so much thirst for good simple content that’s engaging. I started a UA-cam channel and it literally only takes making good videos, the algorithm picks you up. I think they’re doing a better job of tweaking things to prioritize up and coming channels that haven’t switched to sponsorship fodder nonsense.
This channel is a godsend for pilots. Juan does a superb job in explaining things. I continue to learn so many things from this channel outside my Part 141 school. Continue the fantastic work!
To those of you who have not yet seen all of the preliminary NTSB reports, and different videos on the subject, so far what it would appear is, there was a rubber gasket missing on the gas cap of one of the fuel tanks. There had been heavy rains previously in between when the plane was being worked on, and when it was flying, and it is presumed that water was able to bypass the gas cap into the fuel tank and contaminate the fuel.
Secondly, there was also debris and sediment found in the same tank and fuel system, on the side where the cap was missing the rubber gasket. Without further data, it is presumable, that during the previous exposure to moisture and rain, debris and water was able to bypass the cap into the tank contaminating the fuel.
And unfortunately this was an avoidable scenario. All he needed to do was a standard preflight check of the fuel for water contamination. He would have seen it was contaminated, and logically would have canceled the flight as a seasoned pilot.
The contamination of that fuel, caused a low engine power, and possible complete engine out scenario. PreFlights, and never rushing, are integral to safe flying practices. More people should really read about this. Because truthfully it is a lesson of what not to do.
At that point, based on radar track, and I believe the transponder in the aircraft, they can see that he is trying to maintain airspeed, and climb, but it is possible that either he forgot to feather the propeller on the bad engine, or the secondary engine that was still working, at some point also started to lose power. Eventually Sam exceeded the limit of Lift versus gravity.
And at his altitude, a stall was unrecoverable, especially when combined with an uncontrolled spin. Rest in peace Sam. I do enjoy the energy you brought to the 401 videos.
Juan, you're not 'beating a dead horse'. You're trying to save lives. Keep up the good work.
Couldn't agree more!!! Keep up the good work Juan!!
He isn't saving lives who are you kidding.
To be clear, Most everyone posting on UA-cam is here for the clicks. Many channels like this solicit $$$ on Patreon for the big bucks.
Juan, although I love the channel and all the great knowledge and information you impart, it's really sad to get these notifications of a new upload so regularly now.
We are also in a time where this information is readily available now as opposed to how it was years ago
Wow, those 4 guys in the Cougar, 2 of them being BIG guys at that. Payload with full fuel is 517lbs since I assume, the tanks weren’t full as it can hold 118 gals which is 700+ lbs of fuel. No wonder the stall warning came on. If they had full fuel then they were surely over max gross of 3800lb.
Yeah, I don't know why those guys were laughing, there was nothing funny about that. Gives a person insight into their mindset. They're damn lucky that both of them kept running, because if one quit that would not have ended well.
Yes, even with the fuel up to the tabs I think they would have been overweight.
Four heavy guys, full fuel, a raging stall warning ? VERY SLOPPY FLYING
DAMN lucky they all didn't DIE that day !
@@jimdavis1939The three were laughing because they were clueless. Sam didn't look so amused through most of that flight.
Those were "nervous laughs". They knew the situation. I would bet on it.
Such a sad situation. It reiterates for me the old quote: “Aviation in itself is not inherently dangerous. But to an even greater degree
than the sea, it is terribly unforgiving of any carelessness, incapacity or neglect."
Gravity must be treated with the utmost respect.
Well said.
True Blancolirio style: not a single unnecessary word,theory,assumption, but facts,and lesson we can learn. Thank you sir!
Juan Browne is brilliant, factual, and objective. His reporting on aviation accidents is very informative. It’s refreshing to view such quality content.
You are spot on, and it’s not just UA-cam; social media in general is seemingly making more accidents occur in GA
Social media makes most things worse.
Social media has really become a scourge on humanity. Pilots should be concentrating on flying not on film production.
@@sub-vibes GA = General aviation (not Georgia)
@@sub-vibes I hope you are kidding lol GA is "General Aviation"
Social media makes everything worse. Yeah, I'm saying that on social media. I smoked for 20 years too.
I remember watching them “rescue” this airplane, and a Turbo Saratoga that had a prop strike in Ohio. They were using a dial indicator from harbor freight to check the crank runout. I can’t imagine not sending the engine in for an overhaul or at the very least taking it apart and putting the crank on a jig and checking every single bearing journal with a tenths indicator.
Another great show!
I remember seeing the video of the 401 pop up on my feed. I was aghast (as a mechanic) on how little he knew of that aircraft and engines. Then Jason announced that his channel would "save" the 401. I recalled that i did the full SID program to a full airworthy 414 and it ended up costing the customer $300K. It was completely fine before the SIDs came out. The project took a crew of 6 nearly 2 years to complete the group of inspections. We found that the engine beams/ Spars were corroded exactly where the SID described - so lots of repairs we did. That was 1997-1999 - $300,000!!!
The owner sold that aircraft for a loss and swore off the Cessna twin. I couldn't believe Jason would undertake that amount of effort (but i guess spares are easier to find now).
Sadly litigation will end the series.
I couldn't believe it when they cut holes in the upper wing skins to gain access to the rear spar attachment bolts.
@@fanelli57 meh, it was scrap metal before that point. But ya, that’s how difficult it was to work on!
Litigation will end publishing rebuilding aircraft on you tube outside of the Kermit experience. Experimental builder have a lot more legal leeway to show in depth, as they tend only to kill other pilots. This one will be as harmful as certified aircraft pilot seat hardware problems to GA in the steam dial days. If the pilot killed was external to the project this would be a 10M dollar wrongful death lawsuit filed against a youtuber that might have 1M dollars in coverage and might clear 10K per project if buyers are being generous.
The number of project Jimmy walks away from is amazing, did not realize so many people kept their old toys from the scrapers for 5 to 15 years. Im sitting here, do I want to take a ride in a 60 year old light twin ever again. Not after reading the POH of a Grumman Cougar. That aircraft was built to kill midshipmen on training missions.
Sam might have been a friend - but you'll find out how quickly the family will go after Jason and the mechanics who worked on this plane.
As others have commented, sometimes people just need to accept the fact that a damaged aircraft is a pile of scrap metal, no matter how 'minor' the damage may be.
@@christopherwhull
@@lesterawilson3 Honestly im not so sure. From what we saw of Sam, he was a bit of a risk taker. He flew all kinds of experimental airplanes. It very well could have been entirely Sam being careless and nothing to do with the plane. But I guess we will see when the investigation is complete.
I used to co-own a propeller shop. I did many hours of magnetic particle inspection, eddy current inspection, and fluorescent penetrant inspection. I'd like to know more about the props on that plane. The right prop has only one blade visible. Odd, because it's rare to have a blade snap off. I've seen blades curled up like a shepherd's hook. Were the props fully overhauled? Were any of the original blades straightened (yes, you can do that within certain bend limits) and reinstalled? Were both prop hubs properly etched and penetrant or eddy current inspected? So many questions, and as an A&P, I've got many more questions about the rest of the engines, airframe, and systems. It is every mechanic's nightmare to work on an airplane owned by someone who does some of their own maintenance. I truly feel for the mechanics who contributed to this project, both for the loss of their friend, and for the wringer they will be put through when the FAA and NTSB start grilling them. Hopefully, due to the high profile nature of this crash, the NTSB will do more than phone this one in.
The props that were on the Cougar were not the ones from the original accident. Donor props from a donor Cougar which was sitting outdoors in Florida (think major corrosion) were removed and supposedly overhauled and installed on the fatal Cougar. There was no information provided as to what was done during the overhaul, how many hours were on the props and hub. I was also surprised that one blade of the right prop was missing especially as it appears that engine was not running! Props don't snap off that easily!
My sincere condolences to Sam’s family. I especially enjoyed when Sam would make an appearance. I commented once about his ridiculous time scheduling, reminded me of several TV shows that set deadlines that weren’t possible on cars. Time should not ever be a factor in repairing or renovating an airplane. Early on I was fortunate to be able to assist on one of my annuals, it gave me a major change of respect for A&Ps.
I owned a GA7 for 3 years ish which I just sold last year. 1 person only, unless he has the full 6hrs of fuel on board he shouldn't have been anywhere MTOW. For a test flight I would typically take 2hrs which is pretty light and gives a healthy rate of climb even on 1 at a low DA. One weird issue I had when I first got her was a very slow gear retraction and it would sometimes stop with one main half up and nose gear partially retracted which was quite draggy. To retract fully it would need me to slow up and recycle a couple.of times. Turned out to be the pressure cut off switch in the hydraulic power pack. If that fluid wasn't changed the pilot might have been juggling a partial gear retraction as well as an engine failure which is going to be a handful. Only showed up in the air however and was fine on the ground. We assumed it was the extra force on the nose gear retracting into the airflow.
N769GA was based for many years @ KDPA, and owned by dear friend Steve Priessman (dec. 4/2023). It still wears the paint scheme which he had done sometime in the late 90s. I got my first twin time in 769GA.
I’ve read a lot of comments and I feel the same as so many here today. I’m not an A&P but I worked under some very experienced guys for a couple years; I’m also experienced with automotive. I noticed early on that Jason was basically completing jobs & it struck me as odd because I recall being bared from certain duties & all the restrictions I had as an apprentice. I kept thinking how on earth is this allowed? The 401 is an admirable project, and I like so many others want to see it fly, but to go from will a diesel start to lets rebuild one of the worst condition & most complex GA aircraft was insane from the start. I caught up on the series one day before the accident & the last video was about the “plan” to flip airplanes to fund the rest of the 401 & I just had a bad feeling. I have nothings but Prayers for those boys in the hanger, prayers for the friends, prayers for the family, and prayers for Sam. RIP Brother, you will be missed
"I will give you the airplane" are words enough to get me to walk.
I was a shipwright for almost a couple of decades and anyone that got a "free" boat unknowingly volunteered for a nightmare.
It has to be orders of magnitude worse in the aviation world.
Sea Tow definitely has job security in San Diego.
Gotta wonder why nobody has filled the empty Air Tow slot.
🤔
I’m in the marine industry in San Diego too and I frequently tell customers that the most expensive boat of all is a free one.
@@svgalene465 - Yup.
I've had some people come to me so happy that they got a free classic wooden boat and were assuming that it could be good as new in a month or two for less than a few K.
I just tell them to find a builder with a European accent if they want the most bang for their buck and I walk away.
🙂
Even a free car or truck...
the original intention wasn't to repair it, it was to dismantle it and make some money.
In the videos the guy in the long beard is a certified Mechanic and was supervising what Jason was doing. It was the certified mechanic who is also a pilot and did the test flight.
correct as far as we know
There were 2 certified AP's working on that plane.
Jup no matter how much of an expert you are, and how well you keep to procedure and regulations, mistakes and accidents can always happen...
Appreciate your very focussed and professional analysis Juan. The 401 "will it start" led me into more light aircraft content on UA-cam and eventually led me to you. Having your perspective on this is very thought provoking. Sam was a lovely chap and it's such a sad loss. Hopefully lessons can be learned from this tragic loss of life.
Problem with Juan is he always seems to be pushing people away from GA while most all the other UA-camrs are trying to bring them in to GA with the proper training they need.
Sobering, sobering, sobering.YET AGAIN.
Juan is doing the work of Sysiphus here. Year in, year out.
If only Juan’s deep knowledge and practised wisdom could be leveraged into pilot training all over the world.
I dare say his philosophies would make operation of any vehicle safer by far.
I appreciate Juan’s gratitude for my meagre Patreon contributions.
Thank you sir. By watching your channel I’m retraining myself in how to THINK.
It isn't about training. you can train and train someone, but if that person lacks the character to appreciate and practice, religiously, that training, nothing can be done. Many, many GA accidents are failures of character, not lack of knowledge. We camoflage the issue by calling it 'bad judgment.'
Complete agreement. Most important safety device we have is between our ears.
In mindset rather than knowledge.
It ain't 'if' failure occurs, it's 'when.' Every time.
Have a plan, TRAIN UNTIL YOU CAN EXECUTE IT.
Conditional doubt (in- & externall) = Don't go.
If everything must be perfect to succeed the op is high risk.
Operate that way enough times, one WILL be bitten.
That stall warning climbing out was foreshadowing. A few degrees warmer that day and ..... Sam might have been too nice a guy.
First think I thought was no weight and balance considerations. Just fill it and go !
@@billhartsfield424 Didn't they specifically mention in that video that they couldn't top off the tanks because they would be too heavy? That's why they had to make an early fuel stop.
And Jason thought the stall alarm going off was amusing.
I watched the restoration series on this airplane. Thank you for speaking from a place of experience and deep understanding. RIP to the pilot and sympathy to family and community.
This Rebuild Rescue doesn't take criticism very well. And their fans are rabid when it comes to defending them ! Juan Brown is one of the most professional people you will find anywhere on You Tube ! From being a pilot as a teen, to his flawless Military Career flying almost all the Air Forces heavy lift aircraft, to flying tankers and water bombers in Canada and The Pacific Northwest before his assignment with American Airlines where he still fly's 777's today as a senior pilot and instructor. As an advocate for aviation safety he has no equal. The man's integrity is without question. And his professionalism is without reproach. All you will get from him are "the facts" and "the truth" ! And if "that" bothers the fans of Rebuild Rescue, so be it !
Rebuild Rescue seems like the Taylor Swift of aviation.
I am not a pilot nor do I have any mechanical skills pertaining to a plane. But, what I do know about car engines and everything down to lawn mower engine and smaller is, if there a sudden stop or hard resistance to the blade ,pullies ect ,you better be prepared to either rebuild of replace the engine ,or do a careful inspection of the block . I can't imaging the props hitting anything and it not causing something to break . The difference between a car engine or law mower engine is ,you won't fall out of the sky . I also can't imaging wanting to be in a plane that barely has enough power to get it off the ground .
It is expensive because of the lack of flying hours left on the fleet of old crud and the total lack of a manufacture support program at reasonable prices. Most everything available in a light twin is or was trash in a training fleet. If a Diamond DA42 was 650k perhaps we could retire the 60 year old crud, but because doctors kill themselves in light twins on their weekends the legal profession makes new light twins cost 1.3M. You are dangerously close to the only people who can fly new twins are on airline or government training programs.
Agreed. The shock of the prop striking anything harder than air is going to create mechanical forces way beyond what the internal parts were designed to tolerate. Deformation and cracks could lead to catastrophic failure with little or no warning, even after hundreds of hours of good performance.
Juan,
Thnk you for this.
Just like the TN Fly Girl its all about the YT / social media and not about the flying or real repairing. It will only get worse.
Paul (in MA)
ps Did you get much precip at BWHC?
pps NTSB prelim report: Bolts (4) that held plug door on AK 737-9 MAX were MISSING.
These guys get their buddies to help with some poor AP/IA supposedly supervising. But in the end, it's that AP/IA who certifies the airplane as airworthy, not the you tube star. Too much liability. My heart goes out to the IA. A crash after a project is our worst nightmare
On that same token tho, Jason does good work and it easily could have been nothing related to what they worked on. The real problem was pushing a crap old plane that had dual prop strikes back into the air. The risk level some people are willing to take is just too high and too careless.
I had the pleasure of doing several hours in a GA7. Very good ME trainer. Not counter rotating props but fully feathering. Fun to fly, like a fighter jet.
I don't have much issue with the 401 project as it is since he's probably not looking to sell it. It's going to sound awful callous but in that same vein I think this pilot Sam must have known in taking that Grumman up that in the state it was that it had passed the minimum requirement; nothing else.
What I do have a problem with is "flipping" planes turned around on a youtube schedule and a "good enough for youtube" mentality onto unsuspecting buyers. Car youtube already does plenty of that, but the worst you end up with is by the side of the road with a huge puddle of coolant and/or oil under the car or similar; it's a different story at 3000 feet.
Great work on this video. So much knowledge and enthusiasm on the subject. Surely I'd want you flying the plane in any emergency.
Climbing out on takeoff with the stall warning horn going? 🤔 I guess I have a _different_ sense of humor.
They say you learn something new every day. Today I learned the word - 'UA-camry.' 👍
Thank you for saying what we are all thinking regarding this disturbing trend of aviation shenanigans in YT. Between setting records, back country flying (without experience and training) and buying roached out jets among other things... This breed of "YT Stars" is really giving aviation a black eye on a regular basis. Part of me dreams about how YT could have driven innovation had YT been around during the golden years of aviation. On the other hand, that ship sailed a LONG TIME AGO and we have graduated to much safer days. It's high time that the aviation community starts applying correction to the cowboys of YT that keep destroying perfectly good airplanes and warbirds for a couple of clicks.
Don't forget young women/men flying with barely enough skill just to record and post. Tennessee, anyone?😢
I'm going to wait for the preliminary report before making any prognostications. There are many ways this could have gone badly. Some may be strictly piloting. Some may be maintenance. Or perhaps there is a combination of the two or something obscure that nobody expected. Until the investigators make their report, we won't know.
Regardless of the cause or outcome of the investigation. I dont think Rebuild Rescue will survive now. I would also imagine that a lot of other channels will suffer greatly. No sponsors will want anything to do with this.
I would have to agree.
Thank you Juan for another excellent presentation. Here's hoping that you words will be heard and perhaps save some lives.
Juan, you are right on point! I have been predicting this very type of event for about 8 months now. I also caution everyone on attempting to duplicate a rescue without 4 suitcases full of hundred dollar bills.
I've your a doom preacher you'd always eventually right... Kinda sounds like bs to me.
We had around here a Twincom force after takeoff. Sat for years, was worked on and engines stopped first flight. Water moved in the tanks that draining didn't shift.
My dad was a 22 year Aircraft engineer and he always said with aircraft “Good enough is not good enough, it has to be done right”
Juan - it's great watching these vids. There's a lot of good points with VMC etc that's just not thought about much, and watching these triggers the mind. Thank you!!!
I have to tell you that was well spoken words you have there. I watch every episode of Rebuild Rescue and said from the start as a 747 Cargo Pilot Captain that some things do not look right. I would probably say he will shut the Channel down. It is possible but I expected some kind of incident. You never play with Mother Nature and a Pilot License is a License to go learn to fly. I have 23000 plus hours, and I have seen too much happen with no explanation. You never know what tomorrow may bring. RIP and God Bless everyone. This is not for me to judge what happened, but I feel sorry for those involved.
Thank you for saying the hard things, Juan. I found the whole "Save The 401" project to be problematic. I hope there weren't corners cut for the sake of UA-cam, but those questions have to be asked.
To be honest, I expected the 401 to end up in a smoking hole in the ground. I used to fly 402's and a little time in a 421. You wouldn't get me near the "Phoenix".
I encourage you to watch the videos and find any potential corners that were cut. In the videos specifically relating to the cougar, he mentions SEVERAL things they were not required to do, but they went beyond the minimum to cover all the bases.
@@bryguy2724 Three flights? One had a stall warning on takeoff. One ended in a fatal crash. And your "challenge" to people asking hard questions is to watch the UA-cam videos? The subcontext being that if shortcuts aren't found in the videos there must not be anything wrong here, move along? You illustrate the "UA-cam Culture" that might have contributed to this. A good man is dead and there are questions to be asked and answered.
Just for clarity, the stall warning was on a different Cougar.
@@captainsunshine918stall warning was on Sam's personal cougar they flew to the jalopy cougar that killed him. Jason's laughing at the stall horn tells enough of him though.
Thank you Juan. I have been waiting for your thoughts on this devastating accident. I have followed RR and wish all of them my heartfelt condolences. To me it seems as though it was a slightly quick departure from initial taxi to rotate time wise, this for a plane on it’s third flight but then again, I have no time on a twin. RIP Sam, you were a gent through and through.
Interesting observations. I only watched two of their videos after they popped up in my recommendations. I've built two aircraft (RV's) and when I heard his timeframe all I could think of was "No Way". My heart goes out to the pilot's family and friends. FWIW, I hate those plastic gears in the mags. There has got to be better material than what the OEM's are made of.
I will be curious to see if the FAA seizes the raw footage of the rebuild of the Cougar. From what little I know of the video editing process there are likely to be many more hours of video available.
19:00 75 yo Canadian man here. Non-aviator. The professional-grade 35mm movie projectors I operated back in the dark ages [1970s/80s] had fibre gears on some of the internal gearing that would break in the event of a film jam, which saved the rest of the machine from even worse damage. The machines were deliberately designed to allow trivially easy gear replacement. I assume those nylon[?] magneto drive gears serve the same purpose?
66 year oldster here who hand started 70mm projectors in the late 70s. The motors just didn’t have the torque to start the heavy reels.
I have a friend building a new movie studio using only restored old filming equipment. no digital allowed.
RH flat spin. RH engine failure. Scorpioning of the tail is to the right Right wing hit first) and left wing has detached and is ahead of the fuselage. This indicates a flat impact rotating right.
I was thinking the same thing. Fuselage stops spinning abruptly and left wing keeps going
I love it when physics and geometry work together.
No, just the opposite is true. Think about the momentum of the tail on impact.
I think Juan is correct. LH turning flat spin. Upon hitting the ground the left wing separates and the fuselage spins away some then stops, the tail folds over to the right. The right wing has some impact damage on the leading edge possible from trees.
@@blancolirio Yes, that makes sense. LH flat spin.
Blancolirio speaks with authority about all things aviation. I wish there were more UA-camr's out there like you. This is my number one source for aviation information.
So he knows with certainty why the engine quit?
It is a good there are not, imagine how many court cases there would be!, if I was Rebuild Rescue a notice before action would have been served by now, for making false statements causing reputational damage and numerous copyright infringements.
@@rjeautomotive6545 Did he claim he did? I didn't hear any analysis from Juan as to what caused the engine failure
@@wayneelliott2462 Reputation???? What reputation???? This is now his second accident!!! I didn't see anyone nominating him for the Chuck Yeager award!!!
@@wayneelliott2462 REPORTED
If anything made them complacent, it was the fact that the airplane had already successfully made its relocation flight. Whether it was a ticking time bomb that would have bitten its user eventually or whether something else went badly wrong will be a matter for the NTSB, but my gut says that relocation to the home airport should have been followed by a thorough, deep overhaul.
When I had a prop strike on a taxi light in my 172, the insurance company made us do a teardown of the bottom, crankshaft and cam inspection.
Let's be honest, flying and looking after an aircraft is a serious business. Done right and by the book, it can be fun, rewarding and a major confidence booster.
It is not a UA-cam entertainment package when trying to say.... "I can do this on a budget".... Flying can't be on a budget if it's done safely.
I feel for all involved in this tragic story. Especially the family of the lost Pilot.
Thank you very much for this teaching Video. A really sad story. RIP. My condolences.
When it comes to aviation and the near perfection required for airworthiness and safety, best to avoid quick, low budget fix-ups. Life is too precious to take such risks. There are so many things that could have caused the accident and I hope the rebuild is not one of them. God bless the the pilot, Sam and his family and everyone that was associated with the ill fated airplane.
Juan, just to say that I think your channel is great and you do an invaluable service to the whole aviation community. Thanks for all the effort you put into this work.
I know nothing about maintaining an aircraft but I remember seeing the turning point in Rebuild Rescue where I went from thinking "this seems unsafe" to "oh good, they are doing things properly and employing the correct people". I never did watch the Cougar series though, I was surprised to see this happened as I never expected that to be flying any time soon. RIP Sam.
A&P IA & PP here. I have only watched the first few episodes of Rebuild Rescue before I had to stop watching. Jason tore into those 401 engines without any type of reference (manual) just spitballing his way through it. I commented for him to stop and get some help or some type of troubleshooting chart, anything. But I believe his reply to me was some type of rationalization of his actions and that I'm no expert. Ok fine it's the internet, I had to stop watching. A whole life in aviation told me his actions are not industry standard and a an incident could happen. I've seen it before, many of us have. There are other channels I stopped watching because I can see it coming. We see them, we know their methods are off and yet in the spirit of the open skies and comradeship we allow it. I'm sorry but I am not interested in that, you can understand. If you do not realize that flying is full of risk, you do not believe in the “what if” scenario & you do not understand the concept of human factors, you should think about another hobby/career. I am an Aviation Maintenance Instructor here at the local tech school. I have to say some people aren't built/programmed to be in aviation, it is not for everyone. There are pilots & mechanics out there who don’t have what I consider the right stuff; responsibility, character, diligence & pride.
Thanks for listening, Fly safe.
I hear ya!
My world was automotive and there are guys/gals who shouldn't be working cars too. The difference is you can pull over and call a tow truck when something goes wrong.
You're asking an airplane (GA) to maintain full power for say 10 minutes every time you start a flight. To do that you need to be very particular about maintenance and repairs.
There's a certain type of personality who has the attention to detail necessary for the job. Perhaps a slight degree of OCD would be an occupational requirement.
By the way, I can't watch the majority of automotive channels on UA-cam for the same reason(s) you bailed on Rebuild Rescue. I can only deal with so much crap before it's time to turn it off.
In all the aviation world there are a few twin engine aircraft manufactured that had the reputation of being under powered and the saying was the good engine would only take you to the crash site. Sad but true. Maybe I missed it but a google view of the area would likely have shown a straight ahead course with minor 20 -30 degree turns would have maybe been a life saver. R. I. P. Sam. Great work Juan on the investigation.
Finally, somebody competent is reviewing this accident! I was hooked to the RR channel from the day UA-cam threw the first 401 video in my recommendations. In the beginning it was quite painful hearing Jason talk about things he had no idea about, but I saw the positive change throughout the videos. I was always excited whenever a new video dropped about the 401, but as the plane kinda faded into the background when doing other "rescues" (I never watched any of his non-aviation-related videos), so did my enthusiasm. Also the newer videos seem (to me) to show less progress shown longer. Overall, I was shocked to hear about the crash and the passing of Sam and eagerly awaiting any news about the investigation into the cause of the crash.
The other thing I'm really waiting for is for the RR team / Jason to address the public about the incident, to tell their side of the story - I'm really interested how long the silence will take (I'm checking their socials daily...) and how they will handle the situation.
My geuss is that he won't post anything else until the NTSB is finished reviewing what footage and paperwork he had for the plane. I can't imagine how he must feel about the whole ordeal. So yea it will likely be a while before we see anything posted. Sadly I think that marks the end of the 401 project, possibly the channel.
@@antonyh37 same thoughts here, but the NTSB investigation could take months if not years… let’s wait and see.
Can’t even begin to imagine how they would feel right now…
great explaination and tech info on this sad crash. ive enjoyed this rebuild rescue series for a couple years now. my sympathy goes out to sams family and the rebuild rescue staff.
I kind of expected for the Rebuild Rescue channel to address the Elephant in the room by now. Grieving yes as we all are but WTF happened?
I would assume Jason's lawyer has told him to keep off air and not open his mouth. And for Jason, that's a major undertaking.
@koolkar55 - I think he's pleading the fifth!
@@s35bonanzapilot84 Lol His head must be exploding, not being the center of attention!!
@@AV8T0R401 Oh he will be when he's named in a lawsuit filed by Sam's widow.
Years ago I recall Carl Edwards (NASCAR driver) commenting how expensive owning a personal jet/airplane was. His personal worth is in the 10’s of millions. He wasn’t complaining but rather said it matter of factly, it really struck me because this is a Guy that owns millions of dollars worth of toys….Aviation isn’t cheap
The price of trying to be famous is deadly. Gravity is something that shouldn’t be messed with. Great Video Juan.
I once heard an interview with one of the Rutan's and he said something along the lines of 'a windmilling propeller creates more drag than a plane of the same radius.' I don't understand how that could be true but that's still a bunch of drag.
Thank you for looking into this. I old pilot. I noticed on ferry flight had aileron adjust needed and a vibration. Jason thought maybe out balance prop. ? they had props I thought replaced and certified. Wonder if after ferry flight a good look into vibration was done. and maybe continued testing before flight. also Sam was proficient in that plane. guess he not as sharp at his age to get numbers and procedures down when sh t hit the fan. sad all around.
Jason is not a pilot nor A&P so I wouldn't rely on any kind of diagnosis from that source. Sam's age has nothing to do with "sharpness." That would be a training issue, more specifically lack of, especially recent training/experience. I have worked with many young pilots that were a long way from their most recent training event and they were not sharp on numbers and procedures. Happens to everyone. That's why the regulations require pilots to meet certain recent experience requirements before carrying passengers.
I have followed Jason since the first will the 401 start episode. I have come know all the characters as if they were my personal freinds so it is shocking it really hurts to know Sam is dead.
Excellent analysis as usual Juan! So many operators of light twins seem to forget that with an engine failure down low off the deck the only guarantee, assuming everything is done right, is that the airplane will maintain heading, not altitude. My suspicion, in this case , is exactly what you stated; that this was initially a partial loss of power that gave Sam the hope he could keep flying without running the engine failure checklist. When the engine did completely fail I believe he had already lost too much energy to keep the Grumman flying. It is my belief the propeller needs to be feathered before the rpm falls below 950. Many lessons to be learned from this one including the risks involved with documenting the “rescue” of this plane on a reality type channel.
This is a real tragedy for GA. I've been a big fan of the Rebuild Rescue project, I have no pretensions about becoming a mechanic, (I pay someone else to do that!) but it's been very educational about what makes planes work. And what happens to them when they sit around for years not flying. It was a noble cause, and it's heartbreaking to see this happen.
same here . very interesting videos to watch
lets not forget some things. What we see is edited. I mean the "cougar videos" are a total of three hours more or less in a 6 to 7 days ( cause they didnt make it in 5 finaly ) working on the aircraft. Obviusly many things are ommited to be shown.......Secondly it did a 500mile ferry trip ( as per video again ) after some test runs. Not a small trip by any means. And to my understanding there were 2 A&Ps present, during the repair/annual ( whatever you prefair to call it) one of them been also a CFI multi engine - one of the 2 that made the repairs. He alsomade the tests AND been present at the ferry flight together with Jason, who was logging ours in hiw pursue for multi rating. And last but not least the 500 mile last flight was made at 15th of Dec. We have no idea what/if something happened maintaining/repairing wise...... Just my 2c
I don't think Jason was working towards a multi rating as it doesn't appear he has his single-engine rating yet.
T think he says so at the video of the ferry flight reasoning why he is sitting on the left seat
@@igclapp
Another great analysis, Juan. I can't imagine anyone wanting a Cougar for any reaason, even if it is given to him .... it's almost a sure out-of-control crash and death if you experience an engine out. Compared to any single, thhere are twice as many chances that wil happen in a Cougar.
flipping a car is one thing, a plane is a totally different world. I dont think there's an aviation enthusiast that hasn't dreamed of rebuilding an old plane and taking it to the sky. But there's a reason good aviation mechanics make good coin. It takes serious dedication to learn. there's a rule to every fix, the correct bolt, the correct number of twist to safety wire. A spec for a spec and then an addendum to that spec.
I have an A&P and I watched several of his 410 videos but quickly dropped the channel when they started working a bunch of different projects.
And never seeming to finish any of them.
Im not really big on the I told you so stuff, but it was painfully obvious the guy who started the YT channel had the wrong attitude to even attempt restoring aircraft..
Hello Juan, Thank You for your efforts to provide additional information about Aviation and Aviation Safety. In the case of this Grumman, during the Rebuild Process there were no less than Four A&Ps in this video series. As you have pointed out, anything can and will happen. I have been saddened by this crash as with several others recently. I think that Sam was one of the good guys. That being Said, I do not think that the reason is going to be from a lack of Expert Workmanship on this project. Time will tell what the cause of the crash was.
Given this was the first flight out of chester county and they'd just sold it, I'll bet this was camera'd up for the channel. Perhaps a UA-camr blessing in disguise for the investigation?
Good brief examination and commentary (reporting) on this twin Grumman crash (impact with terrain). I watched Rebuild rescue religiously and loved Jason's determination with Sam, Joe and others: through a red MG midget in for a prize... Why the hell not!
Lots of learning outcomes
* VMC
* Stall speed
* Max gross weight
* Stall warning horn
* Level flight
* Feather prop
* Gain altitude
* Landing gear up (keep it clean)🤲🌏