Quote:
Originally Posted by mfain
Sounds like he got slow trying to build spacing on a slow mover landing ahead of him, did a series of "slow speed" s-turns to increase the spacing (which significantly decreases the stall margin), and either stalled or developed a sink rate that caused him to drag a wingtip. The NTSB will publish a report, but it could take a year. Having been to Oshkosh several times (once in an F-15), I have seen some pretty hairy traffic patterns trying to get a bunch of aircraft with widely varied approach/landing speeds on the ground in a very short period of time -- lots of accidents over the years. I hope Mr. Roush comes out of this okay.
The following synopsis pretty much confirms the earlier videos that were on u-tube (they were quickly removed for "copy right" issues)
Roush Premier I in Oshkosh Landing Accident
At about 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday, a Hawker Beechcraft Premier I piloted by Jack Roush crashed at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wis., on the second day of the annual EAA AirVenture show. The Premier was flying from Ypisilanti, Mich., to Oshkosh. A witness told AIN that the Premier “approached very tight to the runway” and overshot, then was “doing sharp turns” and was flying very slowly at a low altitude above Wittman’s Runway 18. The witness said there was a piston-powered Piper landing in front of the Premier. The Premier was observed about 200 feet above the runway banking from side to side by AIN just before it disappeared behind buildings and parked airplanes. The witness said that the Premier’s right wingtip hit the ground first, spinning the airplane rapidly around to the left. After the Premier stopped, the engines were still running at a high power setting. Roush was observed exiting the crumpled jet with blood pouring down his face. The passenger on board appeared to be uninjured, but they were both taken to the hospital, where Roush was reported in serious but stable condition (no change to this status at press time). After the accident, the Premier’s fuselage could be seen broken apart just forward of the engine pylons. The cockpit and cabin appeared intact. The wreckage was moved to a maintenance hangar at the airport and the runway reopened yesterday morning. “A number of people have come forward with photos and video,” said an EAA spokesman. The NTSB is investigating.
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If you have never been to Oshkosh, flight patterns are a regular 3 ring circus during certain times of the day, usually worst when everyone is coming in first of the week and leaving end of the week. They are landing planes in very short intervals, using 2 or more at a time telling some to land long, others to land short. The airport tower should have never put Jack in line behind a much slower aircraft, Jack did what he could to maintain the interval it sounds like, but it was just too slow to maintain flight and stalled. He should have realized much sooner how slow the traffic was and got out of line, but depending on where traffic was in the air around him, he may not have been able to go anywhere even if he was able to abort the landing sucessfully.