Mid-air collision

On Thu, 22 Nov 2007 00:10:09 -0500, "Morgans" wrote:


"Ron Wanttaja" wrote

A bit more than that...some wrinkled skin on the belly, and one account
said the
plane is sitting a little cockeyed on the ground.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...ecrash21m.html

Happened right on one of my usual sightseeing routes. Makes you think....

Yeah, I'll bet! Keep those peepers open and looking around, huh?

Interesting thing is, I've had a pass or two in that area, myself. It's sort of
a funnel between the Class D at Tacoma Narrows and the Sea-Tac Class B. Thun
Field (where the Cessna landed) is a very popular destination, and if you're
heading south over Puget Sound on your way there, you're going to go feet dry at
Commencement Bay.

One thing I have been wondering, is what caused the guy with so little
damage come down out of the sky? It seems like he should have continued to
land at the airport, too.

Am I missing something?

Haven't heard, yet, an interview with the pilot who ditched. Witnesses report
the plane circling on the way down. Given full control of the plane, he should
have been able to glide back to dry land or at least immediately offshore rather
than out a ways. There are LOTS of places to set down around Commencement Bay,
*if* you've got control of the aircraft.

If the local media is accurately reporting, the plane ditched towards the
western part of the bay, which is the most urban but still has a
pretty-good-sized park.

(Do 'Commencement Bay' on Google Earth, and you'll see all the wharves and stuff
on the south and east side of the bay. The local media is showing the setdown
point right about where the Google Earth marker for the Bay is.)

I suspect the pilot had difficulty controlling the aircraft in roll/yaw. Sounds
like he had pitch control, as the witnesses report a near-perfect setdown in the
water (tail touched down first). When you consider the Cessna obviously hit the
Citabria with its landing gear, it was slightly higher and probably hit the wing
or vertical tail of the Citabria. By all reports, the guy did a damn good job
setting it down.

Ron Wanttaja