Pilot Walks Away From Wreckage Of Plane

Joe

Well-Known Member
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Pilot Walks Away From Wreckage Of Plane
Small Plane Crashes Near North Central Airport

Lincoln, RI - A pilot walked away from the wreckage of his single-engine plane in Lincoln Friday morning.

The Piper Tomahawk crashed upside down in some woods near North Central Airport about 10:30 a.m.

Laganas reported the pilot was returning to the airport and may have experienced a mechanical problem during his approach for landing and overshot the runway. The pilot was identified as Joseph Clemente, 38, of North Providence.

Officials found Clemente on Albion Road and initially thought he was a witness.

"I asked him if he heard of a plane being down around here and he says, 'That's me.' I immediately called in and stated that we had the pilot. He looked pretty good to us," Chief Frank Sylvester, of the Lime Rock Fire Department, said. "He was very lucky from what we understand (of) the condition of the plane."

Sylvester said Clemente seemed shaken but otherwise uninjured. The Federal Aviation Administration said the pilot was the only person on the plane.

The two-seat plane is owned by the Lincoln Flight Center in East Greenwich, FAA spokesman Jim Peters said. That type of plane is usually used for flight instruction, Peters said.

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Very lucky pilot to be able to walk away from that. I've done touch-and-go's out of SFZ before myself.

P.S. - 200 posts!
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wow....An upside down crash in some woods.

That guy either was praying like crazy while going down or had his lucky rabbits foot on him.

Matt
 
First I would like to know, the article said the plane was upside down after overshooting the runway, this guy must have really overshot it to get it upside down. Second, are Pipers known for being a frequently crashed a/c?
 
Look at it this way: we'll soon be rid of them all simply through attrition. This'd be funny were it not for the folks who will get attritted right along with them.
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Are they notorious for crashing????

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Pretty much.

I received an Aviation Safety from 1998 (I think) that had a pretty good article about the "Traumahawk".

One of the reasons why they are so unstable is due to wing flex. They were originally designed with 11 wing spars (ribs?) in each wing, but for cost purposes, the final model had only 4... hence the wings flex and they have a tendency when stalled to enter spins from which recovery is difficult.

Once I read that article, I pretty much stay away from the three at my FBO.
 
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