accident sonex N610DJ

[WaiexN143NM]

hi all
just caught this post on http://www.kathrynsreport.com. N610DJ
posted today 6 feb 2021. accident happened 24 dec 2020.
pilot serious injuries.
Post says he was landing rwy 9
i noticed the wind reported 290 at 14 gusting 21.

WaiexN143NM
Michael

[MichaelFarley56]

I had not heard of this one.

Report says he lost his engine, couldn’t get it restarted, and stall/spin on a base to final turn. Maybe he was just trying to make it to the runway? If so this is at least the second recent accident where someone experienced engine issues and landed short while trying to return.

I hate hearing of this. Hopefully we will find out what happened soon.

[Sonex1517]

Direct link

http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2021/02/s ... ember.html

[GraemeSmith]

Generic Comment - not related to this accident in which we don't know the whole story.

But related to a concern I have about the EAA's development of their "Turn Back Tool" and from a LOT of practice at a quiet airport.....

If you DO get turned around and are performing a downwind landing - DO NOT try and normalize your sight picture. Land VISUALLY FAST.....

Meaning:

- Take off into a 10 knot headwind.
- Manage a turn around
- Now you have a 10 knot tailwind landing.
- If your normal landing speed and "picture" is for a 40 knot stall.
- and you try and achieve that "picture" - you will be down at 30 knots and WILL stall and potentially spin.
- Land by AIRSPEED and not normal sight picture. It is disconcertingly fast to see.

--

And if that tailwind is carrying you out over the downwind fence and it is hostile territory on the other side of the fence - Slip HARD and JAM IT DOWN and take the consequences.

Personal Opinion and YMMV

[pilotyoung]

I hate these accidents.

I don't if this has been posted here before but I highly recommend Dan Gryder. His web site is www.dangryder.com. He has a channel on YouTube called, Probable Cause. He also has some stuff at www.aviation101.com

He talks a lot about these stall/spin accidents and how pilots keep killing themselves in the same way. He teaches maneuvers to practice to be ready for the engine failure and to practice keeping your airspeed up.

He recommends adding two lines, with thin tape, to your airspeed indicator. He says in the "head of battle" we forget numbers so if you have the line on your airspeed indicator, you will not forget it it may save your life.

I encourage every pilot to look at his videos. It may just save your life.

[WaiexN143NM]

hi all,
great post. yes a line on airspeed indicator , hopefully figured out at alt at gross wt, and a lift reserve indicator
a good safety device. there was an accident in durango co. recently in an rv-4 , airline pilot, just got distracted base to final turn , stall spin, and two fatals.
in this sonex accident the wind was reported from rockford 13 mi. away, so i would assume wind values about the same.
almost a direct tailwind. 290 at 14 gusting 21. aircraft was landing rwy 9 . even with no engine issues this landing would have been a challenge.

ugh.... i hate to post these too. im not judging anyone. i want the sonex brand, community, reputation to be sucessful.
i hope we all learn from these accidents/incidents. this isnt just us. look at all the accidents reported on kathrynsreport dailey. its shocking. insurance rates going thru the roof.

be safe and healthy
enjoy the superbowl

regards,

michael.

[Sx1552]

Does this mean that the Sonex design does not provide an inherent stall buffet to warn of impending stalls?

[GraemeSmith]

Does this mean that the Sonex design does not provide an inherent stall buffet to warn of impending stalls?

The Sonex has one of the most "honest" and forgiving stall characteristics of the 27 types in my logbook.

[Scott Todd]

If you feel a stall buffet, its too late! You should NEVER get near this. Best glide in most GA airplanes is a long way from stall. The ONLY time to get below best glide speed in an emergency is in the flare. This is taught by almost every instructor out there but people just panic in an emergency. Dead stick landings should be practiced and drilled in flight reviews.

A quick glance at the Onex manual says it should stall around 45. It also says best glide is 70. These are a LONG way apart. If it quits, best glide speed should be a minimum!

Dan's videos are great! Go watch them and practice, practice, practice...

[N111YX]

With regards to my particular airframe, I'll add that the buffet is not very pronounced and is somewhat close to the stall AoA. I get more of a "rumble" first. These may not be a traditional "fair warning" but I have never had a stall occur that surprised me. As previously stated, the stall characteristics are very tame. Where one may be surprised, again only speaking from the experience of operating my airplane, is a relatively (compared to say a C-152 or Warrior ect.) high sink rate that develops about 15-20 mph above the stall speed.

Generally, in most airplanes we approach at 130% of the stall speed and bleed that extra 30% of speed during the flare to carry us safely to one inch off the ground at the stall speed (ideally). This value may not be applicable to your airplane.

I've found that if I use 1.3 X Vs, then excess power is almost always required to maintain my desired glidepath. Therefore, I have developed the following technique from experience.

My trick is to bug a speed on my EFIS airspeed indicator that I call the "minimum flare speed". It's a speed that is in essence the beginning of the "sink" range and guarantees adequate pitch control through touchdown. I will not mention that speed here because it will be different for every airplane because of many variables. You can find this speed by entering the flare at different speeds until no power is required to correct a mushy, sinking touchdown. I figure that if I ever have to perform an unscheduled power-off landing, I will use this speed as a safe maneuvering target. In fact, I use it on every landing. I don't look at any particular number on final but rather my margin above my "target" speed. Ideally, I'll be at 10 feet AGL at idle power on my target speed. Any faster and I'll needlessly float, any slower and the elevator authority will be too mushy.

I have over 1500 landings logged on my Waiex now and I don't fear getting near a stall but I am very in tune with its cues. Since we don't have any required stall warning devices I'd suggest excess operating margins until you have done 20+ stalls in different configurations and bank angles. Take a peek at your VSI during the stall exercises and you may be surprised at the rates of descent. However, I believe this exercise is somewhat flawed because the variable of the low altitude cannot be safely simulated without a simulator. The sensation of rising Earth surely makes it very difficult to not pull back and has taken many from us.

Fly safe everyone.

Edit...I suppose my speed bug target is like Dan Gryder's concept - basically a quick reference "caution" speed that provides a stall margin. In my case it's used mostly for landings but could well be applied to an emergency landing. It is, however, below the best glide speed and best viewed as a "don't go below this unless you are in ground effect" speed.

Does this mean that the Sonex design does not provide an inherent stall buffet to warn of impending stalls?

Does this mean that the Sonex design does not provide an inherent stall buffet to warn of impending stalls?