Landing Gear Main Some Aircraft Like the DH.82 Pro Is by the Wearing of a Helmet
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P11 nled by !ledges & Bell Ply. Ltd., Ma1ybo1ough, Viclolia Aviation Safety Digest No. 18 June, 1959 Prepared in the Division of Air Safety Investigation Department of Civil Aviation CONTENTS Page Head Protection is Important Engine Fire Leads to DC. 7 Crash t at Miami, Florida 4 l Oxygen Explosion 6 ~ - 6 r~ Touche ! .. & Fatal Piper Accident at Masterton, (. New Zealand 7 In-Flight Emergency 8 Stick lo Avgas .. 9 Propeller Safety 10 Do You Still Know! 15 Bristol ·vvayfarer Strikes Hill near Manchester, England . 16 Two Accidents- One Cause 19 Head Protection is Important DC.3 Survives Mountain Strike in Crash helmets have proved their event of a crash because most of the Cloud, Arizona 20 life saving value for motor cyclists, aircraft structure and weight is Reluctant D ragon 23 racing motorists and military pilots. ahead of the pilot. In a crash this A fourth group they can help is structure absorbs a lot of the energy A Distorted Vision 23 agricultural pilots. of motion. On the other hand we know that the DH.82 has very little '"'hat's the Use ! . 24 We have to face the fact that the overturn protection. We know too, nature of aerial agriculture opera that the shoulder harness attach Abandoned Take-off from New tions is such as to increase the risk ~ent is too low to give full effect Haven Airport, Connecticut 26 of a crash. We have had many ag iveness. ricultural accidents over the past Con-ect 'Veight ! 27 two or three years and it is inevit So there is a real risk - and we able that there will be more. T he have accidents analyses on file to The Inside Stor)' 28 agricultural pilot has to accept a prove it - that in a crash the pilot's greater than normal risk of a crash head can hit the ground or parts of Landing Accident, Boca Raton the aircraft like the windshield or Airport, Florida . 30 and - if he is wise - take out in surance against it in the form of fuel tank. Learning About Fire 31 protective equipment. The only way to give him reason able protection against this danger Design Notes- Landing Gear Main Some aircraft like the DH.82 pro is by the wearing of a helmet. A Wheel Assembly . 32 vide a built-in protection in the good helmet will protect him well. 1 The shell protects against pene there is always the chance of being a good Australian model will be on feet in the aircraft and the weather that he forgot about the presence wearing a protective helmet and his tration and abrasion, the suspension knocked out. If the aircraft burns, the market at a reasonable price. conditions at the time for this type of the obstructing power line ahead harness was tight on impact. Con and lining absorbs a good deal of the unconsciousness for half a minute of work can only be described as until it was too late. It is probable sidering the force of the impact and shock. or even less may mean the pilot's When you wear a crash helmet on your next agricultural job, in ideal, there being no wind, smooth that his attention was concentrated the deep score on his "hard hat" death, even though he be practically cool air and good visibility. The on the more immediate problems of his conclusions cannot be disputed. In planes which have good over unhurt by the crash itself. telligent people won't think you are turn protection, the pilot's head can a man from Mars. They will know nature and position of the obstruc the spray run but there were no un This pilot was a confi rmed "hard often be banged against the cabin that you are a pilot who has his tion was clearly established by the usual features of this run which hat" wearer prior to ' the accident roof or sides. Here, there is much Good imported crash helmets are head well screwed on - and who pilot before work commenced and might have engaged the pilot's at and, needless to say, he now has a less risk of fatal head injmy, but available now. We hope shortly that wants to keep it that way. he had devised a spraying pattern tention to a greater degree than any profound conviction of its value in which recognised its existence. It other run. In operating circum agricultural flying. would have been possible to fly be stances such as these there is usually neath the power line which the no means by which the pilot's con In contrast to this outlook we sciousness of the danger ahead can have on record a recent accident aircraft struck but this pilot nor Now Read On ••• be awakened and it is difficult to en in which an agricultura l pilot suc mally avoids such a practice since it visage any means by which this cumbed to severe hea d in juries considerably increases the risk of could be reliably or economically despite the fact that he owned a Late in the afternoon on l lth and realised that he was close to record shows him to be one of the flying into the crop. The tobacco achieved. Even in the most care " hard hat", had it with him on February, 1959, a DH.82 was en it, he applied full power and most experienced pilots engaged in being sprayed on this occasion was ful pilot the dangers of human falli the operating site, but for some gaged in spraying a tobacco crop pulled the aircraft up sharply. At the aerial agriculture section of the unknown rea son did not w ear it. in the Ovens Valley, Northern this point he could not see the wires industry. He had flown only three at least six feet high. In the split bility arc ever-present and an ac Victoria. Short ly after operations ceptance of this fact will go part of because of the background of dark hours in the preceding 24 hours, he second decision made when the We predict that in the not too were commenced the aircraft flew forest on a nearby mountainside. had 8-9 hours sleep during the pre the way towards preventing this dangerous proximity to the line was distant future the hard-headed into power lines, caught fire in the vious night and a further 3~-4 hours appreciated the pilot il'lstincti,·ely type of accident. air and immediately crashed out The aircraft made contact with sleep during the afternoon immedi obstinates will be outnumbered by of control into the open ground the wires across the starboard wings, ately preceding the accident. It is attempted to follow his normal and \'\le are not only concerned with the hard-hatted converts and we below. The aircraft burned out but nose and undercarriage. Only one quite apparent that physical fatigue previous practices. preventing accidents but also with strongly suggest that you, as an wire broke initially and the aircraft the pilot escaped with minor was not a contributory factor in this m m1m1smg m.i u1y. The pilot in agricultural pilot, leave the ranks injuries. carried the other two at least 60 accident. In his testimony, the pilot ha~ feet into the air where the aircraft made it patently clear that this ac ,·oh-ed in this accident attributes of the former right now so that you, On arrival over the crop to be turned over and dived vertically into There is no suggestion of any de- cident arose solely from the fact his survival to the fact that he was too, might survive. sprayed the pilot completed two cir the ground below. Fire broke out cuits in order to locate the obstruc in the aircraft as a result of electrical tions. He established the position of arcing even before it struck the two power lines, one crossing the ground. At the top of the "zoom" northern edge of the field and the after contact with the wires the -.:, · other running down the eastern edge pilot pulled the top straps of h is ' to a pump on the river. Taking into harness very tight and crossed his consideration other factors such as arms over his face. The ground the adjacent terrain and trees, the impact was heavy and the "hard pilot decided to carry out the spray hat" which the pilot was wearing ing runs north and south, but before struck some unknown projection in commencing in this direction, he the cockpit very heavily. He was completed two end runs parallel only momentarily stunned, however. with the line a t the northern end in and this condition quickly disappear order to ensure complete spray cov ed as he came into contact with erage. These end runs were carried " live" metal components of the air out without incident and the pilot craft and received severe electrical then flew to the southern end of shocks. The aircraft became en the field and carried out the first of veloped in flames but the pilot was the working spray runs towards the able to release his harness and es northern power line. This consisted cape. Although he was only wearing of three wires suspended some 30 a T-shirt and shorts the pilot es feet above ground level. At the end caped with scve1·e bruising and two of the first run he lifted the air cracked ribs; the sleeve of his T craft over the wires and then turned ~h i rt was scorched by electrical arc and descended over them for the mg.