The Virginian-Pilot
©
SUFFOLK
A small plane crashed Monday afternoon in the Great Dismal Swamp near Lake Drummond, but neither the pilot nor his flight instructor were hurt.
Sgt. Michelle Cotten from the Virginia State Police said the pilot, Eric Musial, a 37-year-old Virginia Beach resident, was transported to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital with minor injuries.
Flight instructor Amy Sipala was unhurt.
Musial, a certified pilot, was learning new maneuvers from Sipala when the engine began to lose power and to spin downward, Cotten said. Sipala took over control of the plane, but it crashed into some trees before she could correct the spin shortly before 1:30 p.m.
WVEC-TV reports that a Coast Guard helicopter spotted the plane and transported Musial and Sipala to Norfolk.
The plane is a Czech-manufactured, two-seat sports cruiser that flew out of the Chesapeake Regional Airport, Cotten said.
WVEC reports that the plane is owned by the Tidewater Flight Center, a Chesapeake company that offers flight training and aircraft rentals.
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Spin??
I don't know of any flight instructor who does not know how to take an airplane out of a spin, even if they do lose power, it is part of the training to become an instructor. Secondly, if it was already in a spin when it lost power, perhaps they were doing "spin training", required for an instructor certificate....not wise to do in what may have been an ultra-light aircraft, identified here as "Czech" made. Thirdly, if they were doing spin training, it should have been high enough for the instructor to correct and show the student how to get out of a spin. There is more to this story. Two people are very, very lucky they did not die. Again, perhaps the reporter should look into the safety records, THAT would be an extremely interesting story.
fact vs. fiction cont' part 3
Lastly, spins can happen as the result of an uncoordinated flight at very slow speeds near the point the aircraft wing stalls. A stall, in a nut shell, is when there isn't enough air flowing over the wing to produce lift. If you have ever ridden in a commercial jet you know what this is like. You know that part of the flight right before the wheels touch down for landing? Well, pilot pull back on the control wheel (yoke) just enough to make the jet stall about 2-4 feet above the runway. This would be bad at 24 thousand feet obviously!!!! However, it's necessary for all pilots to experience a stall in every aircraft that they fly so that they will understand what it feels like and know how the proper way to recover from one. While practicing this maneuver(Stall)the aircraft must be kept in near perfect alignment (coordinated flight) or the result could be a spin at the point of the Stall! This is bad for those airplanes are not spin friendly.....
Fact vs. Fiction cont'
They use weights to adjust the aircraft C.G. (center of Gravity) as far to the rear as they can while still being able to recover from a spin. Once they find the point where the aircraft will not recover it is notated and that information is place in the aircraft operators manual. Having said that, the FAA does not require airplanes to be spin tested as long as the manufacturer makes the proper warning clearly marked in the aircraft information manual. Also, some airplanes are not recoverable from a spin period. It's quite possible that the Sportcruiser is one of those is which spins are forbidden! By the way, ever wonder why some small planes come with built-in airframe parachutes? I am just saying that there might be a reason that newer model GA airplanes that have Chutes are also the some of the same ones that are not factory spin tested.. Just a thought! cont'
Fact vs. Fiction
First, the Czech Sportcruiser LSA (Light Sport Aircraft) is not an ultra Light!!!! It's an LSA.. Second, Instructors do go through spin training but only in approved aircraft. What that means is, only certain aircraft manufacturers spin test there aircraft before they are certified by the FAA. Cessna Aircraft company is one of those. Under the guidelines of the Federal Aviation Regulations the test pilots intentionally put the aircraft in a spin at higher altitudes (while wearing parachutes). Cont'
Plane Crash
I'll bet that was one maneuver he didn't know about or was prepared to learn.....
watching
Look into their safety record, on the FAA record book, not enviable.
Where's The Quality?
Please! Doesn't anybody at The Pilot know how to write, and does anybody edit copy there anymore?