Airplanes was Re: [AT] an Iowa snowstorm

[charlie hill]

Man that had to hurt!  Glad you made it out in as good shape as you did.  

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
> 
> _______________________________________________
> AT mailing list
> http://www.antique-tractor.com/mailman/listinfo/at
>