USPPA


Login Join! Schools/Clubs Incidents Safety Regs Used-Gear Events News Resources PPG-Info

Home

Why Join USPPA?
Support Education,
Monthly Magazine,
Give the sport a voice,
Member Services Web,
Discounts on Materials,
Certification Program.
Price & Benefits
Click here to Join!

Please send questions
or comments to:
theUSPPA@gmail.com

Had an incident?
Please share it with the
community—we all learn from
these and improve with time.
Submit only what information you
feel appropriate, but do submit!

Incident Details

General Information
Title: Expecting the Unexpected
Date: 05/27/2012
Time: 2100
Location: Morgantown PA

Pilot Information
Age:
Gender: Male
Pilot weight (without motor): 225 US Pounds
Rating: Intermediate (PPG2 or Equivalent)
Experience: 10-50 Hours Solo

Incident Detail Information
Type of Incident: Other
Primary Cause: Not Applicable
Contributing Distractions: None
Windspeed: Light (Less than 5 MPH)
Wind Type: Steady
Thermal Conditions: None
Visibility: Moderate
Surface: Not Applicable
Terrain: Not Applicable
Site Elevation: 450 (feet above sea level)
Phase of Flight: Cruise
Purpose of Flight: Recreation

Safety Gear Used:
None
Helmet Full
Helmet Other
Protective Boots
Knee-pads
Elbow-pads
Wrist Guards
Reserve
Knife
Gloves
Strobe
Unknown

Communications: Not Applicable
Damage to Pilot's Equipment: Minor (Less than 20% of New Price)
Wing: Dudek Nemo, 27
Motor:

Injury Information
Pilot/Passenger Injury Severity: None
Hosipitalization: None

Injuries:
None
Head
Face
Neck
Chest
Back
Abdomen
Shoulder
Arm
Elbow
Forearm
Wrist
Hand
Pelvis
Thigh
Calf
Ankle
Foot
Knee
Unknown

Collateral Damage:
None
By-Stander
Other Pilot
Animal
Property
Unknown

Narrative: I want to share an experience from last weekend that certainly made me think and one that might be beneficial to other pilots.

Sunday evening was beautiful and I was at 1100’, about 30 minutes into the flight. Out of nowhere, I heard a loud bang and my power was suddenly reduced to (at best) 1/3 of normal. I scanned the ground and had several options for landing if need be. I flew in the direction of the field - with the wind the whole way. I could not maintain altitude and thought that if I dropped to 300’ and still not back at the field, I would turn into the wind and land out. I did manage to make it back to the field and had an uneventful power off landing.

The culprit was a bolt that connects the tuned pipe to the engine had sheared off (going through the prop), effectively eliminating back pressure on the engine.

Had this happened while low to the ground and flying with the wind, the results could have been quite different.

I believe that unpredictable situations can and do happen but the outcomes related to our safety are always controllable.

Hope to be back out this weekend.

PS – As luck would have it, my helmet camera was on the entire time, allowing for a critique.

Photo: No photo on file.