# How NOT to land your mustang...



## evangilder (Jan 11, 2011)

Holy cow! Talk about nuts!

[youtube]9XuMylC7gSc[/youtube]


_View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XuMylC7gSc_


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## evangilder (Jan 11, 2011)

Here's the accident report:
http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/North American P-51D-20 Mustang, G-BIXL 12-08.pdf


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## bobbysocks (Jan 11, 2011)

he did a decent job of not nosing over! lot of gear damage and possibly some to the wing.


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## ccheese (Jan 11, 2011)

Looks like he hit a little slope next to the road, and it sent him airborne. Good job of
saving it, tho.

Charles


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## timshatz (Jan 11, 2011)

Very nice job of keeping it together. Definitely thought we'd see the gear tank. Very nice.


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## Shinpachi (Jan 11, 2011)

Wow. Video can be embeded now!
Thanks Eric. Nice video.


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## Gnomey (Jan 11, 2011)

WOW! The pilot did a really good job of holding that one together, thought I was going to see her nose in after the leap or at least a gear collapse.


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## magnu (Jan 11, 2011)

A very good example of keeping it together when things go horribly wrong. Definate change of port gear leg and flight suit needed 'tho.


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## Aaron Brooks Wolters (Jan 11, 2011)

Excellent job by the pilot! Did they ever report as to why the engine started loosing power?


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## The Basket (Jan 11, 2011)

The advantages of wide track undercarriage.

A very lucky bunny. Did the Mustang stall? Not sure.


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## Crimea_River (Jan 11, 2011)

Damage to landing gear, bent prop, and discoloured seat.


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## evangilder (Jan 11, 2011)

The pilot was having engine trouble. Increasing throttle made it worse, so he had very little to no power. The gear fix was pretty straightforward. But the prop struck the ground, so the prop will likely need replacing and aside from the other engine issues, the prop strike will certainly add to that.


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## GrauGeist (Jan 12, 2011)

Watched a few times and I cringe every time it hits that burm...excellent save.


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## seesul (Jan 12, 2011)

Oh boy, anyhow, excellent job in keeping the nose up...


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## Vic Balshaw (Jan 12, 2011)

WOW, good or lucky recovery, suspect a bit of both.


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## ppopsie (Jan 12, 2011)

The pilot should've make a wheeler instead of a three pointer. This is my policy when I make a landing in a unfamiliar type of taildragger airplane.


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## Thorlifter (Jan 12, 2011)

Wow! Good job by the pilot and It's nice the warbird was saved.

Just curious....how much is a new prop? landing gear?


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## CharlesBronson (Jan 12, 2011)

I think there was a bump in the airfield grass....was it ?


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## BikerBabe (Jan 12, 2011)

B*ll***s! He could walk away afterwards = a good landing.


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## Geedee (Jan 12, 2011)

I was there when that happened. I noticed during the Mustang tail-chase sequence that preceeded this landing incident, that Miss Helen was the only '51 out of the four flying that had her rear radiator flap fully down for the duration.

After the 'landing', she was laid up outside for a number of weeks before being moved. I'm assuming she went into the TFC hangar for repairs. I did have some close ups of the bent gear, but lost them when my old pc went t*ts up.

The good thing was, that pilot did exactly the right things to reduce damage to an absolute minimum considering his options at the time. I'd let him fly any of my planes.....if I had any !. 

Respect


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## GrauGeist (Jan 12, 2011)

Hey Gary, did that 'Stang driver set her down in the grass just in case something went wrong, since the engine was losing power?

It looked to me like there was a runway in the background of the video...


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## herman1rg (Jan 12, 2011)

Just looking at the video and I wonder, could the pilot of declared and emergency and asked permission to land on the main runway?


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## bobbysocks (Jan 12, 2011)

according to the accident report he lost power and knew he would make it back to the field BUT not the runway. so he took the best flightpath he could. from that altitide and attitude he may not have seen the burm...OR he was going to try to get past it. it was "forced landing" and he got away without too much damage. looking at it again i do see the prop hit the dirt. depending on how bad it hit it may be able to be reconditioned. although i do believe when you get prop damage there are checks to the crankshaft that need to be performed. its easier to bend one than you might think.


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## GrauGeist (Jan 12, 2011)

It didn't look like hard impacts when the prop struck the ground and considering what could have happened, I think that was the least of his worries! lol


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## mikewint (Jan 12, 2011)

I'm with Maria on this one. The old adage applies: "Any landing you can walk away from..."


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## Geedee (Jan 13, 2011)

GrauGeist said:


> Hey Gary, did that 'Stang driver set her down in the grass just in case something went wrong, since the engine was losing power?
> 
> It looked to me like there was a runway in the background of the video...



There is, its the only hard one at Duxford. However, for the maojority of displays. you will often see a few planes on the hard ready for TO and the rest of the flight staggered on the grass between the hard runway and the crowdline. Its the only way to launch upwards of 30 plus Warbirds for the mass formation at the end of the day and for the routine displays, again, if you want to launch 10 fighters, you dont want them 'boiling' while waiting for TO clearance, so the grass is used.

Its nothing unusual to see 4 Griffon Spit's lined up on the hard with 8 or 9 baby Spit's (Merlins) lined up on the grass. even the B-25's use the grass alongside the Skyraiders. I think that the only planes that use the hard as a matter of course, are the Heavies (B-17, Lanc, C47's etc). The fighters normally use the grass. I'll have to get one of the airshow DVD's to you, then you'll see what is used where.

Where Miss Helen touched down is literaly just past the airfield boundary, right next to the Motorway and before the peri track. With a failing engine, he wouldn't have been able to extend his approach by the hundred yards or so needed to touch down on the normal grass area.


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## pbfoot (Jan 13, 2011)

GrauGeist said:


> Hey Gary, did that 'Stang driver set her down in the grass just in case something went wrong, since the engine was losing power?
> 
> It looked to me like there was a runway in the background of the video...


Fighters of tht vintage prefer the grass or turf I believe the few exceptions is the P47 and P38


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## GrauGeist (Jan 13, 2011)

Wasn't sure of the location where this happened...also, because of the crossing where the burm was, I got the impression that this wasn't a normal landing...lol



> I'll have to get one of the airshow DVD's to you, then you'll see what is used where


That would be awesome!


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## Aaron Brooks Wolters (Jan 13, 2011)

The report said that the pilot elected to use the grass runway because the aircraft ahead of him was using the paved runway so that's why he put it on the grass.


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## FLYBOYJ (Jan 14, 2011)

pbfoot said:


> Fighters of tht vintage prefer the grass or turf I believe the few exceptions is the P47 and P38


Taildraggers (Including the P-47) naturally do better on the grass because of the distribution of the weight. Tricycle configurations tend to "dig" into soft surfaces, especially if weight is not kept off the NLG during taxi and rolling at high speeds (take off and landing). Most if not all tricycle landing gear configuations tend to shimmy at the NLG during higher speeds so many aircraft incorporate a "shimmy dampener" that tends to loose effectiveness overtime, especially when operating on dirt and grass surfaces.


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## Geedee (Jan 14, 2011)

GrauGeist said:


> Wasn't sure of the location where this happened...also, because of the crossing where the burm was, I got the impression that this wasn't a normal landing...lol
> 
> That would be awesome!



PM sent


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## pbfoot (Jan 14, 2011)

FLYBOYJ said:


> Taildraggers (Including the P-47) naturally do better on the grass because of the distribution of the weight. Tricycle configurations tend to "dig" into soft surfaces, especially if weight is not kept off the NLG during taxi and rolling at high speeds (take off and landing). Most if not all tricycle landing gear configuations tend to shimmy at the NLG during higher speeds so many aircraft incorporate a "shimmy dampener" that tends to loose effectiveness overtime, especially when operating on dirt and grass surfaces.



I've heard from what I comsider reliable sources the P47's that remain won't do the Geneseo air show because of the turf. Maybe its an insurance issue for type as the Lanc won't do Genny anymore because of insurance and turf


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## FLYBOYJ (Jan 14, 2011)

pbfoot said:


> I've heard from what I comsider reliable sources the P47's that remain won't do the Geneseo air show because of the turf. Maybe its an insurance issue for type as the Lanc won't do Genny anymore because of insurance and turf



That is true - I do know some insurance companies won't cover tail draggers if they are being operated from dirt and grass, and this may also depend on the type of aircraft (a super cub vs. a P-47 or other warbird)


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