Incident on ice runway
 

Thanks for the link to the story. We got there well after the fact and no one we saw knew what had happened. It looked like the cockpit was not crushed so we had hoped for good news on the occupants. Glad the injuries were minor. It was windy and there was a lot of surface water on the runway.

Nice pic Slickcraft, would it be ok if I copied it and posted to some other forums?

Go for it

Sent from my SM-G920V using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

Let me know if you have any preference for credit, I'll post a link to this forum.

Thank you.

Just credit The winni Forum

Sent from my SM-G920V using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

55 degrees temp this afternoon. You have got to love the crazies who think the ice never melts and go out for the carnival. So far only one truck and one plane. Certifiable in my opinion.

Thin ice?
 

Looks like the ice is supporting the plane just fine! No need to question the pilot other than his error of getting to close to the edge of snow.

My understanding of that particular plane is that you steer it on the ground using the brakes until you are going fast enough for the rudder to be effective. Wet ice = no traction so that was probably his problem. In fact another pilot had said that he had tried once and ended up in the snow so he went back, removed the fairings on this wheels and tried again to this result. It's unfortunate as this was a costly mistake for the pilot. Fortunately it sounds like no one was seriously hurt and metal can be fixed.

Here is a video from the Alton event. The airplane incident was recorded about 2 minutes in.

https://youtu.be/sCMXrnQeLXM


<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sCMXrnQeLXM?rel=0&amp;controls=0&amp;showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I was there and saw this happen. It certainly was a shock!

I was too far away to help, and there was a crowd there helping out. It was nice to see everyone pitch in to raise the tail of the aircraft to free those in the cockpit.

Afterwards I stood on the bank just next to where the plane hit it. I could clearly see the tracks in the ice runway to see the track of the aircraft.

They were going straight down the runway and then at one point there was one obvious left turn off the center of the runway, then it ran straight until it hit the snowbank, and the resultant flip.

My guess (a total guess) is that the P-factor took over here, and perhaps the pilot couldn't or didn't correct for it fast enough? Someone else mentioned steering by brakes until the rudder was effective. Obviously we don't know what happened, but the aircraft took a definite turn towards the snowbank and then straight until hit the soft snow, carried a bit and then flipped. The tracks were quite straight both before the turn and afterwards, there was no wobbling or shifting from side to side to indicate if someone was trying to correct for a slippery steering environment.

Sad to see, but I heard everyone got out safely, and this is most important.

Runway is closed...
 

NHDOT posted this morning on Twitter that the runway is closed for the season.

BT

Ready for transport today, kind of a sad sight.

This is a home built aircraft. Don't know if the pilot built it or bought it, but if he built it he can repair it and it probably won't be too expensive. The expensive part for him is that the engine will need to be torn down and inspected for damage since there was a prop strike, the prop will also probably need to be replaced, both not cheap prospects. I suspect that airplane will fly again.

It looks to be a very nice aircraft, fortunately there doesn't appear to be much, if any, structural damage. Unfortunately, the prop strike means an expensive engine teardown. If the pilot is the builder, it makes it even more upsetting for him.

Denis D

What was left out of all the stories I read is that this was his SECOND attempt to take off.. first try he ended up in the snow bank stuck as my son and a few others had to push him back down the runway. Water was the key issue here as it sucked him into the snow bank again.. key factors as to why this happeneded.

Speaking of the Alton Bay Winterfest (????) ...does anyone know who won the bed race?