On Jan 28, 7:09*am, James Robinson wrote:
Spam
wrote:

Yea, just some kids drag racing on an airport now imagine if they were
on the street!!!!

That wasn't just any old drag race. *They were driving daddy's brand new
BMW M5, purchased just 2 months ago. *That car has a 507 HP V-10 engine
coupled to a 7 speed transmission. *Base price just under $85,000.

The driver, who was 18, had been on a discussion forum that evening
asking about disconnecting the car's stability control to increase
performance, and complaining that when the transmission was upshifted at
140 mph, it didn't seem to be very crisp:

http://www.ocala.com/article/2008012...35/1001/NEWS01

Obviously, he had been driving that fast before, likely on public
highways.

One report suggested that they had topped 160 mph on the runway before
the accident.

The description of the accident says there were skid marks just before
the end of the runway, where it appeared the car skewed, and that the car
went airborne as it left the end of the runway, eventually colliding with
an oak tree 200 feet beyond the runway. *The end of the runway is 85 feet
above the surrounding ground, and the car was reported to have hit the
oak tree 15 feet above the ground. *A quick calculation says that they
were traveling about 75 mph as they ran off the end of the runway.

Early news reports included a comment that they weren't sure if the
occupants were wearing their seatbelts. *Anyone looking at what little
remained of the car wouldn't have bothered asking that question. *They
must have a cookie-cutter formula for reporting on highway accidents that
includes that question. *Just like they ask if aircraft flying VFR filed
a flight plan when reporting on aircraft accidents.

Obviously, there would be a tremendous sense of grief for the five
families that lost their loved ones in this accident. *While the accident
was likely caused by youthful overexuberance, perhaps there are some
lessons that can be pondered by pilots:

- Think twice before doing anything that starts with any phrase similar
to: "Watch this!"

- Don't expect your aircraft to handle the same with five large people in
it as it would when you are flying alone. (The occupants of the car were
all on high school wrestling teams, suggesting they were perhaps heavier
than average. *With 800 additional pounds, braking distances from high
speed would have been significantly extended.)

- Be conservative, and don't try risky maneuvers with low hours on any
new aircraft.

- Before trying any high performance tricks, first get appropriate
training, and only do them in areas that are appropriate.

- Make sure you actually have wings attached before attempting to take
off.

- Start braking BEFORE you reach the point of no return on the runway.