Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted April 18, 2021 Share Posted April 18, 2021 (edited) TBM Avenger crashed at a Florida Airshow. Pilot declined medical, assuming that means he's ok. https://apple.news/AadBqLuAWSq6do07xMXRr8A https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2021/04/17/mechanical-issue-forces-pilot-to-land-close-to-shore-at-cocoa-beach-air-show-organizers-say/?outputType=amp Edited April 30, 2021 by Corsairfoxfouruncle 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted April 18, 2021 Share Posted April 18, 2021 With the greatest of respect, I wouldn’t class that as a crash, and more of a controlled ditching with airmanship of the highest order. The fact that the pilot walked (or in this case swam) away without issue and the aircraft looks like it’s got off lightly (salt water aside) is testament to a very skilful bit of flying. Tom 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellsprop Posted April 18, 2021 Share Posted April 18, 2021 My thoughts entirely, what a superb peice of airmanship and flying. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnT Posted April 18, 2021 Share Posted April 18, 2021 Yep, looks like a very controlled put down there and hopefully minimum damage in the circumstances allowing a return to flight. wonder what the problem was 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janneman36 Posted April 18, 2021 Share Posted April 18, 2021 A pity about the plane and thankfully everbody walked away safe which is a small wonder, he managed to avoid the swimmers that he flew over as he clearly pulled the stick to keep it airborne a little longer...it looked like a perfect ditch! The plane seemed to have an engine failure of some kind as drew a smoke trail and you could hear some bangs at one point in certain footage I have seen. Anyway the plane was just in the air for a more as a year as it flew for the first time after a restoration period 18 years in januari 2020. It is painted in the colors of the leader of the I’ll fated Flight 19 that disappeared in the Bermuda triangle.. I hope they are able to restore again, those Avengers do survive ditchings very well as it is a very sturdy build plane. cheers, Jan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted April 18, 2021 Share Posted April 18, 2021 Saw it on Facebook earlier,..... brilliant airmanship,....and what a shock those people on the beach must have had,.... either that or he was only rated on floatplane`s!😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelh Posted April 18, 2021 Share Posted April 18, 2021 Not the first time an Avenger had to ditch in the ocean. Hopefully the last time. I hope it was recovered quickly before too much damage was done by the waves. Ironic that it is painted in the flight 19 colours considering that it too ditched in the Atlantic. Tempting fate perhaps? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted April 18, 2021 Author Share Posted April 18, 2021 7 hours ago, tomprobert said: With the greatest of respect, I wouldn’t class that as a crash, and more of a controlled ditching with airmanship of the highest order. Poor choice of words on my part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cngaero Posted April 18, 2021 Share Posted April 18, 2021 Superb piece of airmanship by the pilot. Glad he's ok. Very "descriptive" commentary by the lady with the camera. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treker_ed Posted April 18, 2021 Share Posted April 18, 2021 Also on the BBC news site: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-56792530 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted April 20, 2021 Share Posted April 20, 2021 To say the pilot displayed incredible airmanship is an understatement- Avengers that ditched had a nasty habit of collapsed bomb bay doors, which allowed water to enter with such force that the airplane frequently flipped over; he really painted that airplane on the water at the perfect angle. A shame about the ditching so soon after restoration, but nobody was injured, and the damage appeared to be so slight that the Avenger can be repaired- if they can flush all the salt water out of the airframe. Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 Here's a good post-ditching photo- see what I meant about the bomb bay doors? Mike https://www.airliners.net/photo/Untitled/Grumman-General-Motors-TBM-3U-Avenger/6405717/L 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hairystick Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 The sad thing is that after the pilot ditched close to shore (to aid/speed recovery), the plan was to float her into the port, then lift out with a crane. The local "council" (unsure what the US equivalent is called) stopped this from happening, forcing the airframe to sit in the surf overnight and then get pulled out onto the beach - causing damage - prior to being craned onto a low-loader truck. The port wing filled with sand, hence the wing-low lifting seen as she is lifted by the crane. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin-42 Posted April 30, 2021 Share Posted April 30, 2021 Here is a totally different take on the accident. The presenter is very well connected in the warbird world. The full legal investigation won’t be completed for a long time, but I don’t think it will have much to add. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Swindell Posted April 30, 2021 Share Posted April 30, 2021 1 hour ago, Robin-42 said: Here is a totally different take on the accident. Hmmm, pretty damning and pulling no punches. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted April 30, 2021 Share Posted April 30, 2021 1 hour ago, Dave Swindell said: Hmmm, pretty damning and pulling no punches. If only some of this is true... Does not sound good at all the company history is one thing, but consciously displaying a smoking plane directly overhead of people is crazy indeed 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted April 30, 2021 Author Share Posted April 30, 2021 (edited) Definitely Damning, If I were in charge of the FAA I’d pull the pilots ticket permanently and reprimand everyone else that allowed him to keep flying without saying something to ATC. Next I would ground the museum from flying until a 100% maintenance revue could be done. And fine them for poor maintenance and improper procedures. If there is one thing I truly hate is somebody not respecting these planes. They're 70+ years old and need to be taken care of beyond the normal procedures. If there are less than three of a type. Flying would only be allowed on very rare occasions. Two or less of any type and they would be grounded for histories sake. So that future generations would have the chance to see them. Edited April 30, 2021 by Corsairfoxfouruncle 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted April 30, 2021 Share Posted April 30, 2021 19 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: Definitely Damning I do not want to judge someone because of a YouTube video either... but some proper investigation seems necessary... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnT Posted April 30, 2021 Share Posted April 30, 2021 On 21/04/2021 at 01:51, 72modeler said: Here's a good post-ditching photo- see what I meant about the bomb bay doors? Mike https://www.airliners.net/photo/Untitled/Grumman-General-Motors-TBM-3U-Avenger/6405717/L That looks nasty. You forget water can be hard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cngaero Posted April 30, 2021 Share Posted April 30, 2021 As has already been said, that was a pretty damming analysis of the accident. It will be interesting to read the FAA's report when it comes out. It's very disturbing to hear that the company's display pilots did not attend the safety briefing and yet were still cleared to fly on the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted April 30, 2021 Share Posted April 30, 2021 3 hours ago, cngaero said: As has already been said, that was a pretty damming analysis of the accident. It will be interesting to read the FAA's report when it comes out. It's very disturbing to hear that the company's display pilots did not attend the safety briefing and yet were still cleared to fly on the day. I'd guess that after the 737max debacle, the FAA will be utterly scrupulous in it's investigation of this, I hope so anyway. Pleasing to see the comments on Dan Gryder's video are pretty much universally in support of what he is trying to do. A big 👍 to him for this. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cngaero Posted May 1, 2021 Share Posted May 1, 2021 14 minutes ago, stevehnz said: I'd guess that after the 737max debacle, the FAA will be utterly scrupulous in it's investigation of this, I hope so anyway. Pleasing to see the comments on Dan Gryder's video are pretty much universally in support of what he is trying to do. A big 👍 to him for this. Steve. He certainly knows what he's talking about and doesn't pull any punches. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Aer Lingus Posted May 1, 2021 Share Posted May 1, 2021 If true it's a damaging set of events for all concerned. Flying around for 20 minutes with a damaged engine isn't the best of ideas at any time let alone during an airshow. The FAA report will make for interesting reading and may have repercussions for the whole flying museums & airshow circuit in the states. thanks for posting Eamonn 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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