Accidents in Europe

[Mike G]

The "European accidents" thread seems to have developed into a cross wind landing thread, so I've started another to discuss further the rumour I heard about European accidents.

I found this on the web thanks to Google. For those who aren't up to speed in English Geography, Coventry is in the middle of England near Birmingham.

A PASSENGER jet had to be diverted from Coventry Airport after a microlight machine crashed into the runway.
Accident investigators are today searching for clues after the crash at the airport in Baginton.
It was the second in two days involving the same pilot, in the same machine, also known as an autogiro.
On both occasions, pilot Gerry Speich escaped without serious injury.
Today, he told the Evening Telegraph how he avoided disaster.
Investigators with the Air Accident Investigation Board have started an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the incidents.
The first crash happened around 12.30pm on Friday the machine made a controlled landing in a field short of runway five at the airport.
Mr Speich, aged 45, who has 10 years flying experience was taking part in engineering flight development tests on the machine - the first autogiro to be given the green light to use UK airspace.
He said: "I was on a flight at as test for the Civil Aviation Authority. On the first occasion, there was a problem with the fuel pipe system.
"It it had happened to a normal aircraft, it would have left a hole in the ground. But we were able to pick a spot and land safely.
"It did the aircraft no damage whatsoever and we walked away.
Then, at 6.30pm on Saturday, Mr Speich escaped with slight injuries after the same machine crashed into the same runway it missed the day before.
Airport bosses had to divert a Thomsonfly flight from Alicante to East Midlands while the wreckage was cleared from the runway.
This time, the aircraft had already landed when it flipped to one side and crashed as it attempted to manoeuvre on the ground.
Mr Speich, a managing director for Rota Sport UK Ltd, said: "It wasn't like I was 100 foot in the air thinking 'Oh my God I am going to die'.
"It was simply a combination of the weather and engineering problems."
AUTOGIRO FACTFILE
Autogiros have rotating horizontal vanes and a propeller.
Unlike a helicopter, the vanes are not powered, but rotate in the slipstream created by its conventional mounted engine.
The design allows the aircraft to take off rapidly, climb steeply, and land with almost no run.
Mr Speich's autogiro was built in Germany and will be in use in the UK following further tests.

I seem to remember the name Speich from the "expensve copieds" thread, he was linked to the MT03.

Steve B, you were also involved in the MT 03, how about an update?

Mike G

[karlbamforth]

They have a website for the MT 03.

WWW.rotorsport.org

[Mike G]

Karl
It's a nice looking site and a very nice looking machine, but for the moment their site doesn't mention the accident.
I hope someone from rotorsport will fill the gyro community in regarding this accident. The "there I was upside down with nothing on the clock but the maker's name" chatter is OK for the local press but those of us that know what a gyro is would like a more proffesional explanation.

Mike G

[Mike G]

I found the time to read a little of the Rotorsport site today (it's raining so I can't finish the garden ).
Was this Steve Boxall's machine that got damaged? Come on Steve B what's the news??

Another thing that caught my eye was the fact that Steve flew the MT03 in Germany in rain and snow. I have been told (by a composite bladed autogyro salesman) that you shouldn't fly an autogyro in rain because of the damage to the rotor blade leading edge due to the very high speeds near the tip.
I'm going to start another thread on this subject because this may be an advantage of the extruded blade over the composite blade.

Mike G

[steveb]

It's all in there if you know where to look.

The first incident was an engine-out landing short of the runway caused by a fuel system problem. The second was a roll-over just after landing.

The engineering issues have been addressed and the 25-hour flight test schedule was completed on Saturday using my machine.

[Mike G]

Steve
Thanks for joining in, was it your gyro and what was the damage? If it was yours I suppose the damage was light since you finished Saturday.

Is there anything we can all learn from these incidents?
Was the roll over due to a technical problem with the gyro, a cross wind (as many seem to assume since it hijacked my original thread), bad weather or pilot error?

Mike G

[steveb]

Mike

It wasn't my machine which rolled over.

What we can learn from this is that all gyros (even your favourite brand) will roll over in certain circumstances, and there can be significant scope for argument over whether pilot error or an aircraft deficiency is to blame.

I didn't see the accident so any information I have is hearsay, and I've learnt enough on this forum to know how easy it is to put two and two together and get the wrong answer. What I do know is that a change has been made to the nosewheel so that if the same set of conditions are encountered again a rollover won't occur.

[Harry_S.]

Originally Posted by steveb

It wasn't my machine which rolled over.

What we can learn from this is that all gyros (even your favourite brand) will roll over in certain circumstances, and there can be significant scope for argument over whether pilot error or an aircraft deficiency is to blame.

Amen to that Steve.

IMO...if the pilot of a rollover incident...or for that matter, any incident...would 'fess up, or, truthfully state, it was a piloting error, mechanical/design fault or a bit of both...we wouldn't know, who or what was the cause.

The test pilot of a new design, IMO, should be an accomplished and much experienced pilot of that category aircraft, and a pilot of only 100 hrs. experience, rated or not, does not and will not...cut it.

.

[bpearson]

Maybe this shows up deficiencies in Sec T. Or maybe that is what the test flying bit is for. In which case the problems clearly arose and will have been dealt with.

It seems strange that the CAA put more value on a set of ticked boxes than decades of trouble free flying !

Difficult to judge the landing stability of gyro I would think. During testing is the machine landed in the way a low hour pilot may inflict on it ? Will the test pilot bounce it down the runway on purpose ? I doubt any would be importer/manufacturer would want to explore the limits ending up with a bent machine.

As we have seen, even high hour pilots have bad days but maybe any ground handling issues should have shown up before the accident if Sec T is to be the panacea we have been told it is.

[Mike G]

Steve
I'm glad it wasn't you machine.
My favourite brand at the moment is because it's the only one I have experience with and it has a good track record. I'm doing all I can to find out more about the other brands to make a comparison.

Mike G

[SamL]

Is Mr Speich for real !!!!!!
Does he even know what he's talking about ?
10 Years flying experience, "in WHAT!!!"
The IMO looks like a good machine and I have no dought in my mind, he simply stopped flying the blades on touch down, and flew it over.........................

Sam.