THE HUMAN ERROR
where the leak was and the top sealed and replaced. Removing the crumpled tank cover revealed a few drops of water still hiding along the ribs. A pre-flight fuel/ water test had consisted of opening the tank drains directly onto the ground without checking for water. Vibration from the engine running had enabled the water behind the ribs to flow down in sufficient quantities to cause the engine to fail at a critical moment. Maintenance contributed to the accident, but not the fatality. Why did the father attempt the impossible? The simple answer is he was not “mentally prepared” for the failure and reacted by trying to get back to where he was Safe that was so very close behind him. Had he been flying a 727 he would have known what to do and had the son won the coin toss he would have done as he had recently been trained to do — land straight ahead in the field below. That would have resulted in minimal damage to all.
#3 DANGER ZONE - BD5J The aircraft had a story to tell as well. Its registration was N177RB with the RB standing for Richard Bach, whose name was also on the data plate as the builder. For
those who may be too young to know who Richard Bach is, he is an aviator first and a writer second. He bought into Jim Bede’s dream and bought a BD5J powered by a 220-pound-thrust jet engine. Bede had established a quasi-factory that built the aircraft with the owner coming to turn the last bolt and claim to be the homebuilder. This aircraft was the tenth and last Bede built aircraft before the FAA caught wind of it and shut it down. On one of its first flights, Bach got into a flat spin that he couldn’t escape. As the canopy disappeared and he stood up to bail out, he shifted the CG forward and the tiny aircraft dove out of the spin. Shortly after, an engine failure convinced him to wisely donate it to a museum with written instructions that it was never to be sold. A very strong-willed12,500- hour 737 captain saw the aircraft and wanted to buy it. The museum could not legally sell the aircraft but
they were persuaded to trade it for two other aircraft. The pilot then persuaded his friend, the DOM of the airline, to get the aircraft ready for the air show circuit. The DOM had heard about the engine failure and wanted to send the engine to be tested. The pilot convinced the DOM the failure was due to dirty fuel. The engine soon developed a
history of flame outs in flight. It occurred so often that the pilot incorporated a dead stick landing into his air show routine. The DOM thought that the electronic fuel control might be starving the engine of fuel so the pilot devised an electronic override box that would “ramp up the voltage” and deliver more fuel.
On the final flight, the engine
failed as he taxied out and when queried by the tower he said that he had accidently hit the guarded “kill” switch. While in a steep climbing right turn at the end of the runway, the engine was heard to spool down. The pilot immediately leveled the wings and lowered the nose. Witnesses saw a four-foot flame out the exhaust increasing to a 15-foot flame before the plane struck the tops of trees and the lowest of three power lines before coming to rest inverted.
Grand Junction, CO 877.744.9383 Chattanooga, TN 423.661.8900 East Alton, IL 800.922.2421
FALCON CITATION
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DOMmagazine.com | aug 2017 CONNECT WITH EXPERIENCE™
GULFSTREAM LEARJET
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