Cause of a crash
 

When you crash a plane and you bring the plane back to the table for inspection do you find that everybody has a diffrent opinion why it went down? To tell me the clevis on the elevator is open is the reason is went down is crazy why come it couldn't it break when it hit. Then some people say "well it's an ARF I can't believe it held together this long". I say just because one or all of the clevises are open that don't prove to me this is the reason it went down. I once saw a plane go straight down with plenty of time to pull out. I heard the guy say something went wrong he had no control. I know what went wrong when the plane started down he didn't know what to do so he did nothing. Real pilots do the same thing right to the ground. He was not known for aerobatics so when the plane did something other than what was expected he froze. After he inspected his plane and everything worked I told him about this theory he said "NO WAY".

RE: Cause of a crash
 

When I crash, everybody always calls it pilot error.;)

Woops:)

RE: Cause of a crash
 

Aparently we have exactly the same problems with our planes, then. ;)

RE: Cause of a crash
 

You two been flying my planes? :eek:

RE: Cause of a crash
 

Add me to the group, even I know I messed up.:eek: Three crashes in three years all due to incorrect pilot control inputs[:o]

RE: Cause of a crash
 

woops

Woops:D

RE: Cause of a crash
 

I CRASHED A MUSTANG ONCE JUST CAME OUT OF A LOOP WINGS LEVEL ABOUT 1 SECOND JUST BEFORE I ADDED POWER WHEN IT WINGED OVER TO THE RIGHT NOSE DOWN 90 DEGREES. I GAVE IT UP ELEVATOR WITH NO RESPONSE. SOME CALL IT A TIP STALL BUT I SHOULD'VE HAD ENOUGH AIR SPEED FROM THE DOWN SIDE OF THE LOOP. SO NO RESPONSE FROM THE RADIO OR TIP STALL WITHOUT A FLIGHT DATA RECORDER WE CAN ALL HAZARD A GUESS THE WORLD MAY NEVER KNOW.
I OTHER WORDS EVERYONE HAS AN OPINION.

FLY WELL HAVE FUN

RE: Cause of a crash
 

Any crash I have seen, you pretty much know what happened before it hit the ground...

I agree.. going through wreckage to find a clevis unhooked or a hinge undone tells nothing... it could have happened in the impact...

RE: Cause of a crash
 

That's why most mishap investigation schools are over a month long, and are usually open to pilots, mechanics and engineers. Most crashes will have some !QUOT!easter egg!QUOT! that will tell you the cause. A good investigation starts with keeping track of where the parts came down. Moving them to the table to have a look destroys a good chunk of the evidence.

Jetmech, you may have been on the edge of an accelerated stall coming out of the loop. Adding propwash from the power up gave the up elevator enough energy to pull the plane the rest of the way into the stall. Holding up through the snap just insured the wing remained stalled.

Tom, USAF mishap investigator 1980-1988

RE: Cause of a crash
 

Thanks for the comments. I believe some crashes do happen because of clevises coming unhooked or of fatigue. Once after a repair to my Funtana 90 I was taxing in and noticed something hanging under one wing. To my surprise it was the control rod I never put the screw back in and must of been flying on one aileron. The control horn was pushed on so my preflight was OK but fell off during flight. Some of the ARF hardware they give you is just a crash waiting to happen you will have to invest in some better stuff to insure a safe flight.

RE: Cause of a crash
 

Well, so far, both 3D planes I have crashed have been pilot error mixed with other factors, as the case usually is. My other plane, a stryker, has crashed a number of times, but its still flying it crashed three times because of a loose battery cover that can often rip off and cause problems. The battery can fly out, resulting in a tumbling stall, or it can stay connected and nosedive, but it is quite easily repaired. That was really my fault, which amounts to pilot error. As for the 3D planes, the first, a Tensor 4D had a number of hard landings, but then one day, I was trying to land on asphault for the first time and I made the mistake of cutting the throttle. It didn't pull up and hit the ground rather hard, breaking the lower wing, fuselage elements, motor mount and other things. Then my second plane, a reflection, crashed. I was flying low, having some fun, and the sun blinded me even though I had good sunglasses, and I just could't see it, so I pulled up, and it almost made it out, but it's landing gear caught the ground and ripped out, destroying the foam, (however I must compliment that the carbon fiber elements did not break and the wings were mostly intact, but the fuse was heavily damaged. My fault on both.