Page 6 - Nov23T

Stuff Happens
by Kevin Ware
A tailwheel airplane settles on another GA aircraft after an attempted crosswind landing.
As pilots, we like to think that the ‘stuff’ will never happen to us, yet it happens to our fellow aviators more often than we like to think.
Some years ago, the board that governs our local port district elected me as a commissioner. Among other things, the Port operates our busy, non-towered local re- gional airport. In that role, every time there has been an airplane accident at the airport, I get called to the scene, and as a result, I have been surprised by the amount of ‘stuff’ (often unreported) that I have seen happen.
Over time, I have found the mishaps are most often (but not always) due to lousy pilot decisions. And, it is usually not just one poor decision but a series of them in a row that results in the accident. In hindsight, the outcome is almost predictable. But it is not just ‘low-time’ private pilots that are afflicted; it can and does happen to any of us regardless of flight time or ratings. Below are a series
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of accidents I have been called to over the past couple of years, wherein it will probably be evident to you when the unfortunate pilot decision-making started, and also one where (sometimes to the relief of the pilot) issues related to the airplane itself caused the problem.
In the first example, the pilot was retired, held a private license, was in his late 60s, and had spent the last year restoring a 1950s vintage, fabric-covered, tail dragger airplane to like-new condition. He completed all the right touches in loving detail, including wood paneling on the instrument panel (apparently considered an attractive option at the time) and overhauling the original Franklin engine. Of course, while he had been working on it all year, he had not flown the airplane, nor did he have any significant other time or training in tailwheel aircraft. The day he completed the plane was beautiful, with a 10-knot wind right down the center of the runway, which