Lessons from the tragedy!
Lessons from the tragedy!
I am pleased that some here on the forum are paying attention to this very expensive lesson.
My hanger mate, John Ready, chains his Acrosport to the hanger while he hand props her and has a release in the cockpit that he uses once he is secure and ready to taxi.
When I would start a SparrowHawk according to the procedures, I would make a mental note of what to do if the engine ran away because my hand was already on the key/ method of stopping the engine. It is easy to forget that the ignition switch is quicker and go for the throttle with the same hand, leaving behind the option of turning off the key quickly.
I have had run away engines on other vehicles and the noise is very intimidating and it is easy to freeze long enough to exacerbate the challenge.
When I start the Lycoming on the Predator, both the lean cut off and the magneto ground switches are close at hand. I practice shutting things down with my eye shut.
Only the left magneto is ungrounded but I am aware that it is easy to have problems with the P leads. Part of what I learn from the magneto check is that the P leads are working. If either magneto didn’t have an RPM drop I would not fly until I had located the source of the challenge and fixed it.
Any aircraft is a very unfamiliar place for someone with limited aviation experience. Brakes, throttle and steering are not where they are expected to be and work in an unfamiliar way. In my experience this unfamiliarity causes a delay in appropriate response.
I find benefit in writing emergency procedures for the Predator and practicing them when there is not an emergency. An example would be for engine runaway; Lean cut off full back, throttle full back, magneto switches forward, toe brakes equally on, look for the least expensive thing to hit.
Thank you, Vance
