# Seafire Crash



## beaupower32 (Jul 6, 2011)

Havent seen anything on this till today. Looks like they might get it back in the air in the future.

Posé train rentré d'un Seafire  - a set on Flickr


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## Airframes (Jul 6, 2011)

Can only guess landing gear failure. If so, it was a good belly landing, and should be repairable.


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## Coors9 (Jul 6, 2011)

What a sin. Pretty bird , she'll fly again.


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## Crimea_River (Jul 6, 2011)

Always hate to see this kind of thing but looks repairable - funding assumed....


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## vikingBerserker (Jul 6, 2011)

Man, I cannot take more of these darn crashes.


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## Torch (Jul 7, 2011)

She's a beauty,hope she fly's again...........


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## imalko (Jul 7, 2011)

Didn't know about this till I saw it here. Hope the pilot was okay. Damage looks repairable...


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Jul 7, 2011)

Damn that sucks. The more I think about it, the more I would rather see them in museums.


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## Mustang nut (Jul 7, 2011)

Thats a shame. Best put them in a museum I think.


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## Thorlifter (Jul 7, 2011)

Fantastic controlled crash. They will get her fixed up, but I bet the owner doesn't put her in the air again.


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## Gnomey (Jul 7, 2011)

Definitely looks like she'll get fixed up and flying again. Just looks like the gear failed to come down and a great job by the pilot with the belly landing.


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## Aaron Brooks Wolters (Jul 7, 2011)

The pilot did a great job getting her down and like you guys, I hope she goes up again.


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## Messy1 (Jul 7, 2011)

Sad to see. At least it's repairable!


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## javlin (Jul 7, 2011)

That is one time you can say wooden props probably helped I would think it may of saved the engine.


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## Messy1 (Jul 8, 2011)

Anyone have a guess on what it will cost to go through the engine, even if none of the internals are damaged?


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## N4521U (Jul 8, 2011)

Broke all 4 blades. Doesn't every pilot in training get the checklist including whutting the engine down before piling in? I was trained to cycle the starter till the blades are free of prop striking. At least keep it to two blades. Yes? No?

I think I've heard of a bloke in NZ who has wheels up landed his Spitfire 4 times!!!!!


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## Wayne Little (Jul 8, 2011)

Sad to see that happening on a regular basis.....


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## parsifal (Jul 8, 2011)

Looks like a Seafire 47. Working from memory, but I thinik the aeronavale operated them after the war.....Looks more like a noseover than a gear failure, or maybe both


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## beaupower32 (Jul 8, 2011)

My guess would be that they are going to pull the engine out and totaly tear it down and rebuild it. If the engine was running when the props struck the ground, I am pretty sure there will be some sort of damage inside.


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## vikingBerserker (Jul 8, 2011)

You know, I've never thought about that. Would it screw up an engine or is there some type of clutch device that just disengages the engine from the prop?


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## beaupower32 (Jul 8, 2011)

I would think that it would have to screw something up in the engine. Spinning at that many RPM's even if at idol would still cause some damage as the prop comes to a almost complete and sudden stop, as the torque has to go some where.


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## N4521U (Jul 8, 2011)

I think a prop strike almost always requires tear down and bearing replacement and checking trueness of crank shaft.


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## stona (Jul 9, 2011)

It's a Seafire Mk.XVII,SX336.With short Griffon nose, four-blade propeller, cut-down rear fuselage, streamlined bubble canopy and normal-size fin, the Mk. XVII was arguably the best looking of all the Seafires. 233 of this variant were produced. This particular Seafire was built in April 1946 at Westland Aircraft in Yeovil.
Its first post restoration flight was in 2006. Pilot Anna Walker made a wheels up landing due to the failiure of the undercarriage to extend and the aircraft rotated through 180 degrees before coming to a halt. Damage is described as light,whatever that means, and the pilot was unhurt. The incident happened at Bordues,near Lille, France.
Cheers
Steve


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## parsifal (Jul 10, 2011)

Brilliant Stona, you certainly know your aircraft


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## SuperCooper (Aug 5, 2011)

I have it on good authority that this crash was indeed pilot error, and in fact, she forgot to put her gear down. If you go through the picture sequence, the facts presented in the photographs bear this out as well. 

As she settles in, you'll see she's configured dirty (except for gear), and slightly nose down, preparing for flare on landing. Once she realizes she's forgotten her gear, you can see where she adds power, lifts the nose, and pancakes in. An unfortunate error, but an error all the same. The pic of the inside right side of the cockpit was taken AFTER the plane had been lifted off the ground with the crane, and the gear selector lever was placed in the correct position. Sometimes, knowing the right people can answer a lot of questions. 

Estimated cost of the overhaul is about $80k, assuming there aren't structural issuses inside the wing or fuselage.


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## stona (Aug 6, 2011)

What authority? I would not be so swift to pass judgement unless I was in possession of ALL the facts,are you?
That aircraft should have a warning horn,was it operational?
If the undercarriage had indeed failed to extend had she followed the routine to try to drop it? It can be difficult to get the weight of the wheels off the locking pins.
This was at an airshow. I'm not an expert on air show organisation but wouldn't the pilot have been in radio contact with the ground,someone who might have mentioned the lack of an undercarriage on her final approach? 
I'll wait for the results of the investigation. Of course if you already have them I'd be happy to see them.
Cheers
Steve


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## SuperCooper (Aug 7, 2011)

stona said:


> What authority? I would not be so swift to pass judgement unless I was in possession of ALL the facts,are you?
> That aircraft should have a warning horn,was it operational?
> If the undercarriage had indeed failed to extend had she followed the routine to try to drop it? It can be difficult to get the weight of the wheels off the locking pins.
> This was at an airshow. I'm not an expert on air show organisation but wouldn't the pilot have been in radio contact with the ground,someone who might have mentioned the lack of an undercarriage on her final approach?
> ...


 


Hey Steve,

Let me just say, without revealing names, that I have family in the warbird community, and they happen to know the regular pilot of that particular Seafire. If you send me a PM, I'd be happy to fill you in on the details, but not here in public. 

And yes, let's wait for the results of the investigation.


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## Readie (Aug 9, 2011)

Top pilot to be so skilled in an impossible situation.
Will the Seafire fly again? we'll have to see.
Cheers
John


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