AirTalk.org

john.sinclair@att.net · Guest

Uvalde, Texas, August 4, 1086 (15 meter National Championships)

ASW-20 crossed the finish line at 50 feet and 85 knots, then started a
climbing turn to position himself on down-wind. Pilot sees another ship
in the pattern and turns away to avoid a
conflict.....................Let's stop the action for a moment and
discuss some things. This pilot may have been suffering from the
affects of dehydration, but his senses were working well enough to find
the airport (per GPS) and make his high speed, low altitude pass
through the finish gate. He responded to the "Good Finish" from the
gate. He should have been able to complete the flight and make a safe
landing. Why didn't he?

Resume action...................Pilot leaves airport boundries and
crashes in a housing area about 2 blocks north of the airport. He
struck power lines and then hit a pick up truck squarely in the drivers
door. The door collapsed inward absorbing a lot of energy. The whole
truck then moved sideways until the wheels hit the curb, breaking both
axles. The pilot received serious injuries to his feet and legs, but
made a full recovery. I believe he owes his life to the great big shock
absorber he ran into (truck).

Let's discuss dehydration a bit. I know a pilot that crashed, severly
dehydrated, at 4PM and he doesn't remember anything after breakfast.
What does that mean? It means he functioned all day long, right up to
the accident. He took off, towed, thermaled and flew some 60 miles
cross country to make his rendezvous with destiny. What does all this
have to do with anything? Just this; A dehydrated mind is still
functioning and can perform simple, well rehearsed, tasks. It's the
unexpected that gets you, like a conflict in the pattern.

Had the GPS Finish Cylinder been available, would the outcome of this
accident been any different? The pilot was functioning well enough to
find the airport and he had a plan. It was to finish and pull-up. Had
the finish cylinder been in use, his plan would have been to finish (1
mile) and land. Doc Cannon (NT) will tell you the simple act of pulling
up is enough to shut down a dehydrated mind. I know, some still make a
hard pull-up at the 1 mile mark. I don't, because it is no longer
necessary. I am most likely to make a gentle pull-up and then just
allow any excess speed to bleed off as I fly the remaining mile to the
airport.

JJ Sinclair
(2 of 5)

COLIN LAMB · Guest

Bill Daniels · Guest

JJ, what you are saying is that after a day of contest flying, it's possible
that any pilot will be tired and dehydrated so why not make it as easy as
possible for them to finish and land. I can't argue with that.

However, pilots manage to crash on landings without either a finish gate or
cylinder to contend with when they are flying locally. Our overall accident
record suggests that we have a larger problem with pilot skills in general.

Landing a glider safely anywhere, anytime, requires a sharp pilot who is
concentrating on the task. I'd like to know how many landings the Uvalde
pilot had done in the previous year. I suspect a part of the larger problem
is that we are accepting contestants whose skills have deteriorated through
lack of practice.

The thing that troubles me is lowering the bar by 'dumbing down' the rules
to accommodate inadequate skills effectively institutionalizes the problem.
I think it's far better is to concentrate on improving pilot skills and not
on the arcane finishes that are tripping up the unprepared. Competition is
supposed to improve the breed.

Screening pilots for acceptable skills will be a tough (and politically
sensitive) task which is probably why it isn't done. But if we don't,
Mother Nature will do it for us and we all know she can be a bitch. The
screening could be as simple as requiring a yearly flight check by a SRA
approved instructor who would use some tough test standards created by the
SRA.

One example of a test would be to insure that the pilot can make a takeoff
in his glider configured as it would be for a contest (ballast, etc..)
without dragging a wing or allowing the glider to track more than 2 meters
to the side of the runway centerline. Remember that accident, JJ?

Bill Daniels

<john.sinclair (AT) att (DOT) net> wrote

COLIN LAMB · Guest

But, if the accidents occur due to dehydration, then passing a test while
fully hydrated may not reduce the risk of the accident at the end of the
flight.

If we are serious about the dehydration at the conclusion of the flight as
being the problem, then while the pilot is approaching, ground control at
the finish line could ask a few math questions that require the ability to
reason quickly. Failing those tests, the pilot is not authorized to do the
high speed approach, and must simply land.

Although not a contest pilot, I have suffered from noise fatigue (11 hour
flight in an airplane), dehydration and extreme bowel enlargement syndrome.
However, I must admit that if the high speed pass is expected, I would
certainly consider it - unless I had an out. Peer pressure certainly
affects men who have not entirely grown up.

Perhaps we could do the high speed pass at the start of the contest?

Colin

John Sinclair · Guest

We do screen pilots that are accepted into our contests,
To get into a nationals they must be on the seeding
list (has flown in a contest within the last 3 years
and obtained at least 30% of winners score). To get
into a regionals they must be on the list or show a
gold badge and or recent cross country experience.
You make a good point and every now and then someone
slips through, but I can say the skill level I see
in contests is outstanding and among the best 'Jocks'
I have seen in 50 years of flying.
JJ

BB · Guest

It is simply not true that the only people who crash are inexperienced
"poor pilots" who could be "weeded out" by any entry criteria. Peter
Masak, Clem Bowman, Gene Carpetyan etc. were among the most highly
skilled and experienced pilots around. Many of our world team pilots
have a crash or two behind them. If these guys were not skilled enough
to enter a contest, few of the rest of us belong there either.

John Cochrane
BB

HL Falbaum · Guest

There is an alternate, more plausible explanation for the lack of memory.
Fairly minor concussions can produce a phenomenon called retrograde amnesia.
This is seen in motor vehicle accidents and falls from heights. So the brain
would be functioning fairly normally, and not on "autopilot" untill the
accident. Then after consciouness is regained, the person reccalls nothing
for a variable period of time prior to the accident. BTW how do we know then
that the spped was 85 kt?

--
Hartley Falbaum, M.D., FAAOS
ASW27B "KF" USA
<john.sinclair (AT) att (DOT) net> wrote

Bill Daniels · Guest

"COLIN LAMB" <k7fm (AT) teleport (DOT) com> wrote

5Z · Guest

Ten miles out he finds himself low over marginal terrain. He starts
scratching around getting lower and lower and finally picks a poor
sport to land, catches a wingtip and cartwheels in.

This person had an airport under him and for some reason he "blew it".
So what is he going to do over some wild countryside. Looks like we
now have to figure out how to disallow low "saves".

The 50' finish at the gate is a MINIMUM. The pilot chooses how low to
go. A smart pilot will find the discipline to practice until the
finish altitude/speed decision is second nature. A dumb pilot will
find many ways to hurt/kill himself no matter what restrictions we
place on the contestants.

The cylinder has some merits and so does the line. I just don't see
"safety" as one of these.

-Tom

Bill Daniels · Guest

"John Sinclair" <REMOVE_TO_REPLY.john.sinclair (AT) att (DOT) net> wrote

Eric Greenwell · Guest

5Z wrote:

Andy Blackburn · Guest

At 18:00 26 March 2005, Bb wrote:

Jack · Guest

Yesterday, about the first soaring day we have had in Houston, I
decided to fly. I had taken a 1-hour walk that morning. I had done some
things around the house. I went to the airport and helped someone else
assemble a ship, then assembled mine. I drank normal amounts of fluids.
I drank a 16 oz. bottle of water just prior to takeoff. I flew only 49
minutes. Someone had to tell me to raise my gear after launch. I felt
fine at first, but soon began to make little mistakes. I couldn't seem
to keep up with the thermals. I did some cruising around and some
dolphin flying, and realized I was getting airsick. I've never felt
airsick in my life. I couldn't put it together. I found 8 knots up and
flew a couple of minutes in that before finally realizing I was not
feeling better, and not flying better. Finally I pulled the flaps down
at 4600 feet and made a bee line for the airport IP. I got there fast
with 90 degrees of flap. I declared my intent to land and proceeded to
do so. At about 10 feet, my radio crackeld "LANDING GEAR!" and I barely
got it down in time.

Some facts: I am taking a medication that can cause these effects. I
had no lunch. I haven't flown seriously for a dozen years. This is my
first ship with a retractable gear. I am certain I was dehydrated.

Does that make me a knucklehead? In my opinion, IT DOES! I should have
been more familiar with the medication. I should have had lunch. I
should have come down at the first sign that things weren't going well.
Actually, I shouldn't have flown at all, though the beginning of the
flight went fine.

True self-evaluation can possibly save your life. I won't fly again
until I know the effects of this medicine are gone. I will fly a lot
more before attending Region 10 this year. Unfortunately, people make
bad decisions. I got away with it... this time.

Jack Womack

Andy Blackburn wrote:

Bill Daniels · Guest

"Andy Blackburn" <REMOVE_TO_REPLY.learjet (AT) aol (DOT) com> wrote

John Sinclair · Guest

Two different accidents here, the Uvalde ASW-20 driver
didn't loose consciouness and remembered things like
85 knots. Another crash that I know about the pilot
didn't remember anything after breakfast.
JJ

At 18:00 26 March 2005, Hl Falbaum wrote: