According to the Jamaica Observer newspaper it appears that another successful chute deployment has saved the 4 SOB when N181LM went down in St Thomas.
The co-pilot is reported to have said, “It’s a brand new plane, 2005, but it started leaking fuel from the right side so we get unbalanced and just went down to crash.”
Have there been any recent reports of fuel problems in the fleet?
Bill
In reply to:
Have there been any recent reports of fuel problems in the fleet?
Bill
Bill,
Nope. We’ll have to see how the news on this one develops. Meanwhile, I’m delighted that everyone on board is safe!
Cheers,
Roger
In reply to:
The co-pilot is reported to have said, “It’s a brand new plane, 2005, but it started leaking fuel from the right side so we get unbalanced and just went down to crash.”
In reply to:
- In this accident one wing was dry, and the pilot apparently reported a stability problem.
I would not give much credance at all to this early report. Just consider it again (emphasis added):
Aboard were Dominican Republic citizens Freddy Oscar, 54; 32-year-old pilot Omar Valdes; co-pilot, 28-year-old Nelson Meyes; and 79-year-old American Ellison Gauding.
Valdes, who escaped unhurt and made the over two-mile trek from the scene of the crash, said the near-miss was “nothing short of divine”.
“I was the co-pilot, I was so frightened…the only reason we are here is because of God…I was really thinking about that (death)…,” Valdes said, noting that a parachute with which the craft was outfitted prevented a disastrous end for the aeroplane and its passengers.
He was, however, mystified as to the reason for the crash…
So was Valdes the pilot, the co-pilot, or what? It is very common for non-pilots to call whoever sits in the right seat the ‘co-pilot’. This report could very well be a misquote of a non-pilot passenger.
Hopefully we will get more information on this incident, though it appears to be outside the NTSB’s jurisdiction.
Nope–only if you leave your fuel cap off, I think even then it would not pour out unless you were turning in the direction of the missing cap.
Having said all that, unlike the media, lets wait until all the facts are in and give the pilot the benefit of the doubt. I know we all would appreciate that courtesy. [:)]
In reply to:
Nope–only if you leave your fuel cap off, I think even then it would not pour out unless you were turning in the direction of the missing cap.
Tom,
If the fuel tank in any wing (regardless of aircraft type) is full enough, and the cap is off, or loose, or the seal is bad… fuel will get sucked out through the aperture. On some types, almost empty constitutes “full enough”. As far as turning is concerned - there should be no additional tendency for fuel to pour out the low wing provided that the turn is coordinated.
Of course, there’s much that is puzzling everyone about this incident, as evidenced by the 4,549 views and 77 replies in this thread.