Kevin Gorham accident
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Louis Ollison
Jun 20, 2008, 1:02:57 PM6/20/08
to Christe...@googlegroups.com
Sorry for the loss of Kevin,, I am curious of the
cause of the accident . In what situation would an engine failure cause a stall
spin if the passenger had time to deploy a chute. Would the canopy being
gone have a negative affect on the recovery of the airplane. again sorry
for the loss. Lewis, Mid. MO.
Eagle N23TS
Jun 25, 2008, 3:51:56 AM6/25/08
to Christen-Eagle
http://www.legacy.com/Link.asp?I=LS000111887782X
google Kevin Gorham and Panama City Beach too.
Please check the write up on Kevin (see link above). Apparently the
engine was fine. A tail slide, possible flight control failure, and
kevin riding it out until his passinger got out may have been the
contributing factor to his death. I dont know.
Again, I am not the official source. I am just another pilot with a
connection to the killed (friend, mechanic, Air Force, same town,
etc). His name was/still is on my Eagle.
I'm curious too. I am too close to comment and dont feel comfortable
doing so. Maybe this will make more sense in time.
Brock
google Kevin Gorham and Panama City Beach too.
Please check the write up on Kevin (see link above). Apparently the
engine was fine. A tail slide, possible flight control failure, and
kevin riding it out until his passinger got out may have been the
contributing factor to his death. I dont know.
Again, I am not the official source. I am just another pilot with a
connection to the killed (friend, mechanic, Air Force, same town,
etc). His name was/still is on my Eagle.
I'm curious too. I am too close to comment and dont feel comfortable
doing so. Maybe this will make more sense in time.
Brock
Aaron Ham
Jun 25, 2008, 8:56:27 AM6/25/08
to Eagle N23TS, Christen-Eagle
I understand there are funds set up for the two kids. Do you know where to
send donations for them?
send donations for them?
frankg
Jun 25, 2008, 10:53:08 AM6/25/08
to Christen-Eagle
Brock,
We absolutely know the circumstances, cause and result of
Kevin's crash. You do not. Please honor your friend and my son by
remaining silent on this issue and letting those of us on-scene handle
the information. I have already had to deal with the ignorance of the
Bay County Sheriff Dept's spokeswoman and the insensitivity of the
News Herald. We don't need any others exhibiting their ignorance and
speculating about anything while we are protecting Kevin's 5 yr old
son from stupid remarks. His dad, and this plane were the center of
his life. All that you need to know is that Joni told Chandler that
God needed a pilot and so he took Kevin. Chandler asked if he took
the Acroduster also and she said yes. We buried Kevin Monday along
with his copy of the book "Building the Gold Duster". That plane is
now in heaven!
For your info, I found the crash scene form the air - flying
Kevin's C-172 - directed the Sheriff Dept's helo to the same. Landed
and went to the scene immediately, returning the next day with the FAA
inspectors, assisted in dismantling the plane and bringing it back to
a locked hangar. On site, and since then, we have carefully inspected
the control system components, interviewed the passenger (our friend)
and have no doubt exactly what happened. You will learn the details
with the rest of the interested aviation community AFTER the FAA has
completed their assessments. Please do not respond to this note.
Frank Gorham, 1505538CFII-2/10
Owner N363J
Father of Kevin
Grandfather of Chandler
Survivor of a similar crash 40+
years ago.
> > Sorry for the loss of Kevin,, I am curious of the cause of the accident . In what situation would an engine failure cause a stall spin if the passenger had time to deploy a chute. Would the canopy being gone have a negative affect on the recovery of the airplane. again sorry for the loss. Lewis, Mid. MO.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
We absolutely know the circumstances, cause and result of
Kevin's crash. You do not. Please honor your friend and my son by
remaining silent on this issue and letting those of us on-scene handle
the information. I have already had to deal with the ignorance of the
Bay County Sheriff Dept's spokeswoman and the insensitivity of the
News Herald. We don't need any others exhibiting their ignorance and
speculating about anything while we are protecting Kevin's 5 yr old
son from stupid remarks. His dad, and this plane were the center of
his life. All that you need to know is that Joni told Chandler that
God needed a pilot and so he took Kevin. Chandler asked if he took
the Acroduster also and she said yes. We buried Kevin Monday along
with his copy of the book "Building the Gold Duster". That plane is
now in heaven!
For your info, I found the crash scene form the air - flying
Kevin's C-172 - directed the Sheriff Dept's helo to the same. Landed
and went to the scene immediately, returning the next day with the FAA
inspectors, assisted in dismantling the plane and bringing it back to
a locked hangar. On site, and since then, we have carefully inspected
the control system components, interviewed the passenger (our friend)
and have no doubt exactly what happened. You will learn the details
with the rest of the interested aviation community AFTER the FAA has
completed their assessments. Please do not respond to this note.
Frank Gorham, 1505538CFII-2/10
Owner N363J
Father of Kevin
Grandfather of Chandler
Survivor of a similar crash 40+
years ago.
>
> - Show quoted text -
frankg
Jun 25, 2008, 11:00:56 AM6/25/08
to Christen-Eagle
frankg
Jun 25, 2008, 11:24:08 AM6/25/08
to Christen-Eagle
Louis,
The following is from my posting to the affected owners' group on the
Starduster BB:
"With due deference to the FAA and their own on-going
investigation, I cannot wait any longer to pass on the following
thread from our incident in December 2002. The fatal June 16th crash
of 363J absolutely confirms to us that torque rolls are at, or beyond,
the performance envelope of the Acroduster Too. We will provide post
crash control system photos and other supporting documentation in due
course. Meanwhile be cautioned, warned, whatever, that the aileron
control system as designed and built into our example SA-750 will bend
and jam in an extended tailslide with aileron deflections as used in
torque rolls. DON'T do them! "
I am reliably told that The Eagle's aileron control linkage is
simpler, more direct and lacks the inboard reversing bellcrank found
in the Acroduster. That plus several other design differences mean
that our "no torque roll" warning is probably not applicable to an
Eagle.
One of the lessons of the accident is the value of having a few
parachute jumps. Any hesitation to jump and there would have no doubt
been two fatalities. The passenger had about 10 jumps prior to this
flight. He had approximately 3 seconds under the chute before landing
in a tall Cypress tree. Go to your local jump school and have fun!
Your question about the affect of an open cockpit versus a
canopy is interesting in several regards but subject for a future
note. (You don't just climb into an Acroduster Too, you put it on like
a suit. When egress time comes you cannot simply dump the canopy,
stand up, and step out. You must extract yourself from the cockpit.
Kevin practiced this after shutdown at the end of every flight.) The
issues are both ergonomic and aerodynamic = future note.
Frank
The following is from my posting to the affected owners' group on the
Starduster BB:
"With due deference to the FAA and their own on-going
investigation, I cannot wait any longer to pass on the following
thread from our incident in December 2002. The fatal June 16th crash
of 363J absolutely confirms to us that torque rolls are at, or beyond,
the performance envelope of the Acroduster Too. We will provide post
crash control system photos and other supporting documentation in due
course. Meanwhile be cautioned, warned, whatever, that the aileron
control system as designed and built into our example SA-750 will bend
and jam in an extended tailslide with aileron deflections as used in
torque rolls. DON'T do them! "
I am reliably told that The Eagle's aileron control linkage is
simpler, more direct and lacks the inboard reversing bellcrank found
in the Acroduster. That plus several other design differences mean
that our "no torque roll" warning is probably not applicable to an
Eagle.
One of the lessons of the accident is the value of having a few
parachute jumps. Any hesitation to jump and there would have no doubt
been two fatalities. The passenger had about 10 jumps prior to this
flight. He had approximately 3 seconds under the chute before landing
in a tall Cypress tree. Go to your local jump school and have fun!
Your question about the affect of an open cockpit versus a
canopy is interesting in several regards but subject for a future
note. (You don't just climb into an Acroduster Too, you put it on like
a suit. When egress time comes you cannot simply dump the canopy,
stand up, and step out. You must extract yourself from the cockpit.
Kevin practiced this after shutdown at the end of every flight.) The
issues are both ergonomic and aerodynamic = future note.
Frank
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