Originally Posted by
carlgrover
I pick up the pieces and chunk it in the back of the truck. Once I get it home I'll perform the autopsy and either commence with the repairs or note the time of death. After that I'll strip off the hardware, wipe away the tears and send it to that big hanger in the sky.
carl
Carl describes the most valuable remains of any crash, the autopsy.
I do pick usable parts from the carcass, but only after careful inspection. Seriously, the most valuable thing you can recover from a crash is the knowledge of what happened. In order to gain that value, don't start stripping things as soon as the plane hits the ground. Don't be tempted to use the trash can at the field. Pick up every piece you can find in the field so it looks like you are just interested in maintaining a clean field. Then go home and analyze the ever living daylights out of every piece you've got. With enough analysis, you will usually realize what went wrong. And that piece of knowledge is worth more than all the pieces of detritus recovered from a crash, if it helps prevent the next crash.
Yes, I recover parts when they stand up to inspection. But I work hardest to recover the most expensive part of any crash, the why.
Dave