High Speed Passes & the FAA

There have been two recent fatalities in the US involving high speed
passes. In both cases, the pilot seems to have become distracted,
overloaded, etc. by the high speed pass, so the resulting crash was a
stall/spin while making the following low turn to land. (Gliders have
also fluttered apart in high speed passes in the past.)

I'm sure we'll hear soon from other posters to this thread something
like "Well those pahluts wuz just bozos. Any reehl pahlut kin handl
that there kahnd of streuhs," "Yeh kint trah to legislate commin
sinse," and so forth. (Sorry, I can't do justice to the inventive
spelling in this thread!) And it is true that everything in aviation
has limits, which pilots must respect. The limits on low passes are a
little tighter than many pilots realize. The limits are often about
traffic and what to do after the pass rather than the pass itself. But
nothing is inherently dangerous if the limits are known and observed.
OTOH, when the limits are tight, there will be an unavoidably higher
error rate of pilots who for one reason or another bust the limits.

So let's just leave the undeniable fact that there are occasional
accidents on the table. Make up your own mind whether the low passes
are worth the suffering of the "other pilot's" family and friends (of
course it will never happen to you), and whether next time the FAA or
NTSB or insurance company will start asking questions about landing
patterns and procedures.

NYC01FA071

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?e...12X00437&key=1

FTW01LA179

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?e...15X01694&key=1


John Cochrane

John,

Neither of these were contest accidents. One occured in Wurtsboro, NY
in January, the other on the rest day at the 15M Nats in Uvalde -- a
local pilot (not a contestant) flying a borrowed glider. Presenting
these as proof positive that contest finishes need to be changed for
safety's sake is just plain poor sportsmanship.

There is an expectation of competency for contest participants. It is
reflected in the requirements for entry... proof of prior
cross-country experience and/or seeding depending on your level. If
you are going to cite examples to make your case, you should point at
competent pilots in the act of competing. You'll get a much more
thoughtful response.

No machismo here. If we're going to talk contest safety and rules
changes, let's talk about contest accidents, at least.

Whoops, sorry John. I thought I was in another thread.

Damn, you've become so much the defacto "rules pariah," that I just
assumed you were on another contest safety rant.

I see now it is a more general safety rant... which I find completely
appropriate. Apologies again for jumping too quick.

High speed passes have their time and place and should be practiced by
competent pilots in a controlled environment. There's a need for
practice... but this too should be carefully controlled.

Perhaps a distinction should be made between contest/speed finishes
and showboat finishes, the prior used to optimize speed and the latter
to serve the pilot's ego. I've found that it's usually showboat
finishes by competent pilots that inspire less experienced pilots to
embark on a program of self-managed education, occasionally with dire
results.