Headcorn incident

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TheGreenAnger
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Headcorn incident

#1 Post by TheGreenAnger » Sat Oct 01, 2022 10:49 pm

I heard today that a Harvard (T-6 Texan for those in the US) made a forced landing off the runway, overrunning through a wire fence at Headcorn earlier this week after some sort propellor pitch failure in the circuit. The extent of the damage to the aircraft is unknown to me.

In other Headcorn news from the AAIB reference the Tiger Moth that crashed on the unlicensed 03/21 runway in August last year just opposite the helicopter operator that has become home to me. That runway was also the scene of a fatal parachute jump club ship some years back now.

Last August's accident, which was referenced in passing on this site, certainly got the attention of the helicopter office manager as the wires which pitched the aircraft over are about 100 metres from the office, and apparently the noise was very loud and certainly got everybody's attention. The pilots, both instructors, were very lucky to escape almost unscathed. The airfield was left without power for some hours after this accident.

De Havilland certainly made those Tiger Moth braced wings very strong.

Tiger Moth.JPG
Tiger Moth.JPG (68.83 KiB) Viewed 173 times
During a flight to teach a qualified pilot to land on a short unlicensed grass strip, the aircraft was low and slow on short final. It contacted a tree followed by a power line, which was atop wooden pylons, before toppling to the ground onto its back. Both occupants were uninjured apart from a few scratches. The instructor was sat in the front cockpit where both the altimeter and airspeed indicator (ASI) were unserviceable, and his seating position meant that he had difficulty seeing the strut-mounted ASI and he did not have a clear forward view to offer appropriate instruction to the pilot flying (PF). This information was not communicated to the PF, nor were the PF’s own concerns communicated to the instructor before or during the flight. As a consequence, several opportunities were lost, both on the ground and in the air, to discuss these before commencing or continuing the flight.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... _05-22.pdf
My necessaries are embark'd: farewell. Adieu! I have too grieved a heart to take a tedious leave.

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