SAFA Skysailor Magazine

42 SKY SAILOR March | April 2022 on impact. A drop onto ground with legs locked straight from heights as little as 1m risks serious and potentially fatal injuries. A good demonstration of the PLF given by Jocky Sanderson can be found here . The hazards of dropping into a hard landing do not necessarily just follow from a planned flight. AIRS #1475 – Unintentional WM flight and hard landing PIC is a highly experienced pilot of three-axis aircraft. They’d recently purchased a WM aircraft which is hangared at Wilton Airport (NSW), and had commenced training with a SAFA FTF. On a day that experienced meteorological conditions not conducive to flight operations, they decided to conduct a high-speed taxi run. The aircraft inadvertently left the ground and the pilot applied three-axis inputs rather than weight-shift input, to correct the situation. That is, instead of pulling in on the control bar to bring angle of attack down, PIC pushed on the bar, lifting the angle of attack to the point of a stall and then fallen to the tarmac. The aircraft was damaged, and the pilot sustained critical injuries requiring exten- sive surgical interventions and ICU hospitalisation. All pilots are reminded to not undertake flight operations until they have completed training and been deemed qualified. This applies equally to endorsements to existing flight qualifications. Pilots are also reminded of the differences in control input required when transitioning from three-axis to weight-shift controlled aircraft. We’ll head to South Australia next. AIRS #1377 – PG Accident, Marne River A pilot was flying from Marne River (SA). At 50m above launch, the PIC encountered a stronger, more westerly airflow, coupled with increased turbulence. This may have been a result of the lower ridge line to the west masking the natural air flow at lower levels and the pilot ascending into an area of convergence turbulence. At the time of the accident, weather stations in the region were recording wind of 18kt gusting 39kt. The wing took at least two frontal collapses which were recovered. PIC assessed that in that strength of wind, penetration to the front of launch was not possible, and use of speed bar or going over the back seemed unwise in the strong turbulent conditions. PIC chose to ‘ride it out’ and reduce height as best as possible, with a view to reaching an area with a lower wind and escaping to the front. They’d descended to 20m above launch when they suffered a very large right side asymmetric col- lapse. The wing commenced a spiral dive, with insufficient height above launch to recover before impact. After impact, PIC was dragged about 10m before controlling the wing. The wing was damaged when medics cut lines. PIC was airlifted to hospital with substantial inju- ries requiring significant surgical intervention. Pilots flying this site should be aware of the possibility of undetected mixing air inducing turbulence. The SAHGA are reviewing the site’s rating. Over the border to Victoria, now. AIRS #1613 – Ended up in bushes too close to the cliff edge A low-hours PG2 pilot was flying at Flinders Golf Course (Vic), close to terrain. As the wind AIRS Safety Wrap-up