Plane hits car landing

[Esser]

http://www.wfaa.com/home/Caught-on-Tape-Roanoake-177177461.html

[ackselle]

YIKES!!! and on his first solo!

[szicree]

Signage on road totally inadequate. What driver watches for airborne cross traffic?

[Esser]

Too bad he quit flying

[Pilot4Life]

I drive by airports all the time and always watch for airplanes! Maybe it's because I'm an aviation "addict" and love flying. Speculation only goes so far, but I have my doubts that there wasn't a distraction in that vehicle. After all, they were crossing near an airport. The ASRS put out a good read on "texting while taxiing". Perhaps not an exact fit for the situation, but good for us prop heads to be aware of....

Here's the link.... http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/docs/cb/cb_392.pdf

BTW, yeah, it sucks that this guy lost interest in flying that soon. One day though... maybe he'll get bit by the aviation bug again.

Enjoy.

[Chewie]

Seems like two safety items failed. One, car didn't stop. Two, plane seems low. When they hit, you could assume the plane was 6' off the ground (and descending rapidly from the video) but still had over 400' to go to make the displaced threshold.

I hope for forgiveness and understanding for all involved.

[rogerh12]

He was just too low, plain and simple.
If his engine quit running for just 2 seconds, he would have put his landing gear through the fence instead (or his whole plane). On slope or not, when a fence is that close to the runway you have to use your head and come in high enough to avoid it or a car next to it, in the event you have an engine problem or just a big gust of wind from the rear that drops you down a few feet. Forget landing on the numbers, with an airport design like that and a low time pilot, you need some extra insurance, and altitude is cheap insurance.

Roger

[Esser]

Well this guy probably only had 15 hours so I guess we shouldn't be too hard on him. Bottom line is all the cheese holes lined up.

[jtpitkin06]

For those not familiar with Roanoke, Texas, Northwest Regional airport (52F)... I've been there many times. Good cafe, good airplane watching, good pilot shop. Narrow runway with big slope.

This airport is privately owned public use. There are about 600 airplanes based on the field. Many of the owners live on the airport.

Runway 17 slopes downhill 35 feet . The runway is 40 feet wide X 3500. What looks like a low approach angle in the video is about normal clearance over the 40 foot hill plus trees and sloping terrain on final. The 681 foot elevation hill on final is just 600 feet from the end of the runway. Kelly drive is elevation 642 feet. The touchdown zone is elevation 629 feet. A normal 3 degree approach angle will put you just 19 feet above the road or just 13 feet above the SUV. It is common to aim a little lower to avoid floating far beyond the displaced threshold as the runway slopes down and away. Given a low time pilot without a lot of landings it's hard to say he was too low. Knowing that airport I'd say it was a pretty good looking approach.

At this point I certainly don't have all the details, nor does D/FW Channel 8. It may be best to let this play out and see what the NTSB and FAA have to say before we fault anyone.

John

[rogerh12]

"Given a low time pilot without a lot of landings it's hard to say he was too low. Knowing that airport I'd say it was a pretty good looking approach"


John, he hit the car. He WAS too low.

If he was not too low for his particular experience level, he would not have hit the car, that's how we know he was too low. I.E. Too low for john is not the same too low for beginners. John has the flying skills to fly low and watch for obstacles (and cars) in his flight path, thus it would not be “too low” for John (but for less experienced pilots, it’s way too low).
Roger

[Esser]

I'm gonna take the middle ground and say the cars altitude was too high.

[Dorsal]

Given there was a stop sign on the road it would imply the possibility that a landing plane may impede the progress of the car. The driver could easily have seen the plane (had they looked) less so for the pilot.

[rogerh12]

Perhaps we should all just drive a Lamborghini near airports, just for safety sake !!!

[Dorsal]

Sounds like a plan :D

[Esser]

Really I think a solution for this airport is to lower the elevation of the road 8 feet. It would be cheaper than buying the land like they were offering. Drainage won't be an issue if the runway is sloping as much as John says

[t j]

The "Lug nut rule". He who has the most lug nuts has the right of way.

[jtpitkin06]

My posting info on the airport was to show that there is more to the story than what simply looks like a low angle approach.

Without all the information one could say the pilot was too low, just as easily as one could say the car pulled in front of an aircraft that had the right of way. Just to muddy the waters, the road in question, Kelly Drive, is a private road not owned by the airport.

I'm sure the respective insurance companies and legal teams will duke it out for a long time. Until a decision comes down from the FAA on just who had the right of way I'll refrain from making judgements.

Because this event is likely to pop up again on our local news channels I'll keep you posted should there be any new reports.

In other news about this airport... It's actually a great $100 hamburger destination. Especially on the weekends. With 600 airplanes and many of them antiques, home builts, and warbirds it makes for an interesting airshow or leisurely stroll down the hangar line. Saturday and Sunday AM's are the best. Chow at the Blue Hangar Cafe is tasty and low priced with historic photos on 'the walls. Be sure to visit Tina's Pilot Shop. She has the only pilot shop in the DFW area to stock EVERY US NAV Chart, VFR and IFR and all the instrument approach flip books. Careful not to stray into AFW Alliance airspace on the west and watch out for TFR's on race days at Texas Motor Speedway right next door. Oh, yeah, you might watch for cars crossing the approach end.

If you are weed hopping around the DFW area I highly recommend a stop at 52F.
John

[jrevens]

I thought this was appropriate to the subject...:eek:

[peanut]

Was the road on airport property? Was there a yield sign posted? Do airmen have the right of way? Now, we can point fingers...

[GWright6970]

I thought this was appropriate to the subject...:eek:


You win the laughs for the week with that one! Good going!

[Paul Z]

I have driven the road, you have to stop and look. I really don't know how anyone would not realize that you can see the runway from the road. I will admit the road is extremely close to the road.