Cessna hits SUV on student's first solo landing

witness - "did you see that stop sign? why'd you pull out in front of an airplane?"

Car Driver - "WE DIDN'T PULL OUT IN FRONT OF AN AIRPLANE!!"

that video would indicate that you did.
 
Saw this on the news this morning and the blame seemed to be put on the student pilot. You would think airplanes have the right of way...I wonder who will win the lawsuit.
 
thevideographer said:
I'd say it's about 50/50 blame based on the video. The car should have stopped, and the pilot should have been higher to begin with and gone around when/if he saw the car.
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Pretty much what I was thinking. He looked pretty low and slow when you see him nose high and almost on top of his shadow when following the terrain down to the runway.
 
On second thought, maybe I shouldn't be dividing blame at all. It was a weird accident. Who expects a car to cut them off while landing on their first solo?
 
Murdoughnut said:
Was he coming up short? Couldn't tell from the video - looked like a displaced threshold maybe.
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I dunno, but he still made the runway after hitting a car if that says anything. :)

Normally I would side with personal accountability and say that the people in the car had a lapse of brain processing power and should be held accountable for their mistake/lack of awareness, but I think the placement of that road is a bit ludicrous if you ask me.
 
Giving up flying? Too traumatic? That is a bit too much. Looks like he still safely put the plane on the ground.


Sent from my iPad (3rd gen) Wi-Fi
 
Yes, the people in the car are probably horrible drivers if they couldn't spot a very low flying Cessna lumbering towards them, but you figure being as alert as he must have been on a student pilot solo landing, he should have seen the car coming as well and gone around. I'd be surprised if either side got significantly more blame than the other.
 
Okay... Well here's my take on it. The people driving the car are the ones at fault. Was the pilot perhaps too low? I think so. But don't forget guys... That is a 172. He wasn't going to land short or anything. A 172 will float halfway down the runway in ground effect without stalling if you let it. He is a student pilot and probably isn't capable of doing a steep slipping approach to land yet. The people driving neglected to stop and look. That says guilty to me.
 
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