All, posting this here for some learning and reminding us to stay vigilant. I was cleaning my (new to me) Arrow at VKX today when I saw an aircraft (later found out it was a Cherokee 250) come in to land. Because I'm such a nerd, I decided to stop cleaning and watch the landing to see if I could pick up anything from their technique. What I saw next was terrifying.
This is all opinion and does not reflect the facts of the case, simply my viewpoint and recollection.
Airport conditions were VFR with very little wind, but I had noticed some variable gusts throughout the day. The aircraft landed on the opposite end of the runway from me (about 2000 feet away) and came down hard. The bounced up, and I noticed the right wing dip low. It ended up contacting the ground in the taxiway on the right side of the runway. At some point, full power was applied and the engine sound changed. However, it seemed to me (again, it's my uninformed opinion) the aircraft remained at too nose high of an attitude to gain speed and execute the go around.
They then crossed the runway and took out a taxi light, and started heading straight for me and my plane! I was able to run away from my bird and for some reason I thought "I'd better capture this on video for the insurance claim if my bird gets totaled", so I started videoing.
The aircraft remained nose high and the right wing dipped again as it passed almost directly over my plane, then settled hard to the ground and struck the Mooney parked next to me. It then careened in the grass and ground looped to a stop. Thank goodness, everyone was ok!
Both aircraft are likely totalled, unfortunately, but it's a blessing that both pilots are fine besides some bruised egos. Hitting that Mooney may have also saved their lives, as they were headed to a treeline.
I'm speculating here, but a contributing factor may be that you are not allowed to do traffic patterns at our airfield, because it's is in the Flight Restriction Zone around DC, probably the strictest airspace in the country. This may lead to hesitancy to commit to a go-around. I think what I'll take away from this is to commit to the go-around when needed even if it annoys ATC and you may have to have a conversation later.
Again, I'm so glad everyone is ok and hopefully this story can serve as a reminder to all of us!
Video of what I was able to capture here
This is all opinion and does not reflect the facts of the case, simply my viewpoint and recollection.
Airport conditions were VFR with very little wind, but I had noticed some variable gusts throughout the day. The aircraft landed on the opposite end of the runway from me (about 2000 feet away) and came down hard. The bounced up, and I noticed the right wing dip low. It ended up contacting the ground in the taxiway on the right side of the runway. At some point, full power was applied and the engine sound changed. However, it seemed to me (again, it's my uninformed opinion) the aircraft remained at too nose high of an attitude to gain speed and execute the go around.
They then crossed the runway and took out a taxi light, and started heading straight for me and my plane! I was able to run away from my bird and for some reason I thought "I'd better capture this on video for the insurance claim if my bird gets totaled", so I started videoing.
The aircraft remained nose high and the right wing dipped again as it passed almost directly over my plane, then settled hard to the ground and struck the Mooney parked next to me. It then careened in the grass and ground looped to a stop. Thank goodness, everyone was ok!
Both aircraft are likely totalled, unfortunately, but it's a blessing that both pilots are fine besides some bruised egos. Hitting that Mooney may have also saved their lives, as they were headed to a treeline.
I'm speculating here, but a contributing factor may be that you are not allowed to do traffic patterns at our airfield, because it's is in the Flight Restriction Zone around DC, probably the strictest airspace in the country. This may lead to hesitancy to commit to a go-around. I think what I'll take away from this is to commit to the go-around when needed even if it annoys ATC and you may have to have a conversation later.
Again, I'm so glad everyone is ok and hopefully this story can serve as a reminder to all of us!
Video of what I was able to capture here
