Airplanes was Re: [AT] an Iowa snowstorm

[Edward Tabor]

Ron,
    By all accounts it looks like you are pretty blessed to be alive and 
kicking.  Most of the plane crashes I have attended to are minus 
survivors.  Godspeed with the recovery and, above all, be careful.

Ed

charlie hill wrote:

>I wonder why they didn't investigate.  I guess because you didn't get
>killed?  A friend of mine screwed up a few years ago.  He had just bought
>his first twin engine plane, a Piper PA 60.  He got checked out on it,
>grabbed two of his buddies and went to play.  Stalled it climbing out on
>takeoff and screwed it into a pine forest.  Killed all three of them.
>The FAA tore the whole plane and half of the forest apart on that one.
>Pilot error.  His wife had to pay the other two wives a bunch of money.
>Luckily she had it.
>
>The accident report link is  below if any one is interested.
>http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?ev_id=20001208X07088&ntsbno=MIA97FA020&akey=1
>
>Charlie
>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "Ronald L. Cook" <rlcook at pionet.net>
>To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2004 9:00 PM
>Subject: Re: Airplanes was Re: [AT] an Iowa snowstorm
>
>
>  
>
>>The only "story" is that I screwed up!  It was kind of a silly REC wire
>>arrangement cutting across the corner of one field and going to the
>>other side of the road.  I was finishing the field.  Going to do a
>>headland pass.  Apparently caught that angling wire with the landing
>>gear.  Just the top wire of the two.  That does absolutely nothing to a
>>6000 lb. aircraft traveling at 130 mph.  However, the parted wire must
>>have whipped around part of the tail damaging it.  The airplane did some
>>unusual pitch changes.  Full travel on the controls from up to down
>>about 3 times overpowering me and then settled down to level flight.  I
>>figured, well, I guess I must have hit something and I better go back to
>>the airport and see what needs fixing.  And in the meantime I better
>>hang on to this damned thing.  I went about 1/8 of a mile and it pitched
>>down abruptly at about 45 degrees and smacked into the soybean field.
>>HARD!  The wreckage is laying in the torn up soybeans.  It didn't slide
>>anywhere.  Just kind of ran over itself.  Some part of the tail had to
>>have failed.  Nobody investigated.  I never saw the wreckage after I
>>left the scene.  Just those pictures that someone took.  The FAA says I
>>hit a pole and crashed.  There was a broken pole, but that would have
>>happened from the wire snapping.  I would have heard me hitting a pole.
>>  No need discussing what I think of the FAA.  They suspended my license
>>for 30 days in the interest of safety.
>>Yes I was maybe lucky to survive.  The airplane did exactly as it was
>>designed to protect the pilot.  The safety harness was up to date and in
>>good shape and I was wearing a custom fitted Kevlar crash helmet.  There
>>was no fire.  I crawled out of it, although I don't remember how.  I
>>couldn't walk, as my right leg and foot were broken, and crawling on my
>>hands and knees wasn't going too good either as my sternum was also
>>broken.  I was glad to see help arrive.  I was in the hospital for 5
>>weeks and have been recovering ever since.  I finally was able to walk a
>>little with the aid of a cane by the end of December.  I am getting
>>better every day.  Kind of limpy gimpy, though.  The cane is hung up
>>now.  I lost the whole darned winter of tractor fixin'.<g>  Better times
>>is a comin'.
>>
>>Ron Cook
>>Salix, IA
>>
>>Robert Brooks wrote:
>>    
>>
>>>Ron;
>>>
>>>There has to be a story behind those pictures.  It's amazing you lived
>>>thru the crash.
>>>
>>>Bob
>>>      
>>>
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