Benson days Accident

[Steve McGowan]

I personally have grounded my Sparrow Hawk Gyro until further notice. This is MY Decision.. By no means does this mean anything except what I have stated..

I was NOT Released by anyone or ask by anyone to ground my machine.

Anything thats said on this forum into this matter is pure speculation by those that are not informed by the proper authority.. at this time no one has any answers.

As everyone that know Terry and Bill, I wish there was something to explain or correct what happened.

Be aware that family members view this forum, please respect them and not make comments that may add to their grief.

Steve

[Harry_S.]

Anything thats said on this forum into this matter is pure speculation by those that are not informed by the proper authority.. at this time no one has any answers.

As everyone that know Terry and Bill, I wish there was something to explain or correct what happened.

Be aware that family members view this forum, please respect them and not make comments that may add to their grief.

Steve


I believe most of us are with you in this regard Steve.

Thank you for posting.

.

[Chuck_Ellsworth]

Good decision Steve, I have no words to express what I feel reading this, however you are setting a professional example by using caution until some reason for this perplexing accident is found.

Chuck E.

[Robert G. Stark]

First and foremost we need to have feelings for the families of the victoms. I understand what they are going through. If there is anyway I can help, I will try. Later, we need to find out what happened so we may prevent it on any make of aircraft.
Bob Stark

[C. Beaty]

Steve, send me your E-mail address: cabeaty@att.net

I have something for you.

[PTKay]

Chuck B., that's not fair.

If you know something, regarding the safety of gyros,
do speak up here...

But if you consider it to be not confirmed, than don't share it
even with one person...

(This is how gossip chain starts...)

Sorry, just my 2 cents.

[Canadian Rhino]

I didnt know these two guys personally but I do know one thing for sure, If they could they would give all of us all the answers.
I guess what I am really saying is I would feel dumb running in to them in heaven and having to explain that my gyro done the the same thing to me because I didn't learn from the history of the sport and what can get us when things go wrong.
As near as I can tell my SparrowHawk is the exact same color.

[C. Beaty]

PTKay, an irrefutable cause of this accident is unlikely to emerge.

The portion of the control system that runs through the cabin was destroyed by fire.

The FAA moved the wreckage before anyone with specific gyro knowledge got to see it.

No one who knew Terry Eiland believes pilot skill was a factor.

We’re left with a couple of plausible hypotheses wherein public debate would contribute nothing but obfuscation and rancor.

[chuter]

PTKay,
You're right to try and curb any gossip, but in this case C. Beaty is one of the leading gyro experts in this country if not the world, and he was at Bensen Days. Steve McGowan is one of our highly regarded instructors and if I understand correctly was a witness to the accident and flew one of the victims' spouses out to the wreckage.

If these two have information to share amongst themselves about the accident I think it's ok.

[GyroRon]

Steve did not witness the accident, but did see the accident site before the wreckage was removed.

The only witness to the accident itself was Louis Hartzler who was flying somewhat behind and slightly below Terry. I heard Louis tell his account of the story a few times at Bensen Days and even his account of what happened changed each time he told it.

I agree with Chuck, we will almost certainly never know why the gyro went down. My best guess is a failure of the control system, but what part of it failed and why is anyones guess.

[Steve McGowan]

Again I Ask and Say,

Please refrain from ANY GOSSIP.. Nomatter how simple we can't change what happened. If and when I find out, Everyone will find out.

[Rotornut]

Steve, Thank You for your Love and Support at BD Days.
This is A Very Big Loss for all of us and I have never seen you so emotional as you were, so my Thoughts are with you.

Take Care My Brother. MJ

[PTKay]

Chuck, Ron, Steve, Michael,

I accept...and thank you.

[scott heger]

Steve, your precautionary grounding action speaks well of your dedication and safety to the sport. The families involved first and foremost, and the gyro commmunity as a whole, needs to get some answers (when and if available) to the cause of this.


Scott Heger, laguna niguel, Ca N86SH

[JRB549]

By the way Mr. Steve,
Thanks for the time you spent jaw'en with me when you arrived at BD,I would have liked to got around to more people to pick there knowledge but maybe next fly-in down the road. J.R. Brown

[Gary_in_Orygun]

One thing that was mentioned in another thread was that Terry and Bill would not want to see this tragedy keep anyone from the sport they loved.

But in the interest of safety, we must learn all that we can from it also.

Also in another thread was some talk about problems some RAF and SparrowHawk flyers encountered with the head-tilt adjustement bolts. I found this very useful.

Yesterday Nick McCleskey (in his new SparrowHawk) and I (in my RAF) went flying on a beautiful spring day here in Oregon. In doing this we were honoring the memory of Terry and Bill, to continue to enjoy the sport we all love.

But from a safety perspective before we went up, the first thing Nick and I talked about was the accident from the perspective of trying to learn from it. Next thing I did when I walked up to Nick's machine was climb a ladder to take a look at how he had safety-wired those adjustment bolts in addition to loc-tite and a jam nut. We talked about other control system issues that might develop. (Like the gust lock possibly weakening the crosstube in the cabin over time from rubbing.)

With the recent accident in mind, I think our sense of staying safe was heightend. Not a bad thing to do at all.

I flew 3.2 hours yesterday. 1.2 hrs were spent flying to-and-from Independence to meet Nick. The rest of the time Nick and I tore up the sky together, always within sight of each other. We meanered our way north to McMinnville. While Nick stayed on the east side of Hwy99 doing turns and putting the SparrowHawk through its paces, I stayed on the west side and watched Nick and the countryside (and the hawk circling ABOVE me).

We stopped at McMinnville and sat at a picnic table and ate lunch and talked about lots of things. Then we took to the skys again and followed each other around, taking turns in the lead.

I know it may be too early for those close to Terry and Bill to move forward from this tragedy. And I know too that we are still waiting to learn as much as we can from it. But I hope that all of us who love this sport do not loose sight of the joy this sport has, and will continue to bring to many of us.

Yes, be safe, be diligent, but don't stay down for too long.

[Rotornut]

Gary Said/

I know it may be too early for those close to Terry and Bill to move forward from this tragedy. And I know too that we are still waiting to learn as much as we can from it. But I hope that all of us who love this sport do not loose sight of the joy this sport has, and will continue to bring to many of us.

I hope so to Gary, but not feeling it. MJ

[JByrd]

Well said Gary. You have touched on all the range of reasonable points after such a terrible tragedy.

Sadness, Caution, Joy, and Honor.

A mature point of view.

Jim B.