[SoCal Rich]

9/22/24 - One person is dead after two small planes collided mid-air in Lancaster on Sunday afternoon.

It happened at around 1 p.m. in the skies over 50th Street East and E. Avenue E, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

The crash involved a single-engine Nanchang CJ-6 and a single-engine Yakovlev Yak-52, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.


Crews arrived to both locations where the planes landed, separated by about two and a half miles. One pilot crashed near 60th Street East and Avenue G and was uninjured.

The other pilot, only identified as a man believed to be in his 50s, died when he crashed near 47th Street East and E. Avenue F, authorities said.

"Only the pilots were on board the aircrafts," said a statement from the FAA, who are investigating the incident along with the National Transportation Safety Board.

No further information was provided from authorities.

Stephan Wilson was sitting about 50 yards away from where the deceased pilot crashed. He said he heard a disturbing pop in the sky shortly before he witnessed the small plane spiraling down before landing in a cloud of dust.

"I took off to see if he was alright or if he'd be alright," Wilson said, noting that there was nothing he could do except call 911.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation. It's unclear if the two planes were flying together.

Picture was taken by a witness before the police and medics arrived.

[elnutty]

Too bad they pixilated it

[CatBatMan]

I fucking hate censorship!

[SoCal Rich]

I think this plane is from Tiger Squadron out of Torrance, CA

[v1r]

Originally Posted by SoCal Rich ↗

I think this plane is from Tiger Squadron out of Torrance, CA

Ryder flies his 1985 Nanchang CJ-6A. The aircraft has a Russian M-14P engine and original military paint scheme. He earned his private pilot’s license in January 2012 and attained his high-performance complex and multi engine rating four months later. Originally content with “normal” aircraft, Ryder was introduced to the Tiger Squadron way of flying and has never looked back. He is FAST Lead qualified and has competed at the Desert Thunder Air-to-Air tactical event.

[William May]

If you look at the pictures, you can see that the landing gear doesn't FULLY retract. This was so student aircraft who did belly landings by accident, could be quickly lifted, the gear extended and the aircraft towed in and easily repaired.

These aircraft have a good reputation. They are toughly built, and can stand a lot of abuse. They are also reported to be a real delight to fly.

The Nanchang is just the Chinese version of the same aircraft, built in China under license.

The American equivalent would be the Beech T-34 Mentor, but when you can find them, they run well over $300,000 to buy. The Nanchangs and Yak 52's sell for about $50,000, and in my opinion, the CJ-6's and Yak 52's are a much better value, and more heavily built.

The Russian built radial engines are VERY reliable, and last a LONG time. They usually pass their TBO limit and still pass all their inspections.

TBO is "Time Between Overhaul" which is normally the MINIMUM you should achieve with a well-maintained engine. But if the engine is performing well, not using oil, and has good cylinder pressures, you DON"T HAVE to overhaul them at that point. You can fly the engine UNTIL it starts showing deficiencies in operation, performance, or oil consumption. Some components, such as the ignition magnetos, have absolute time limits, and when you reach them, they have to be removed for overhaul. But the engine itself can go on for many more hours of use if you have taken good care of it.

[Hogmann]

Originally Posted by William May ↗

If you look at the pictures, you can see that the landing gear doesn't FULLY retract. This was so student aircraft who did belly landings by accident, could be quickly lifted, the gear extended and the aircraft towed in and easily repaired.

These aircraft have a good reputation. They are toughly built, and can stand a lot of abuse. They are also reported to be a real delight to fly.

The Nanchang is just the Chinese version of the same aircraft, built in China under license.

The American equivalent would be the Beech T-34 Mentor, but when you can find them, they run well over $300,000 to buy. The Nanchangs and Yak 52's sell for about $50,000, and in my opinion, the CJ-6's and Yak 52's are a much better value, and more heavily built.

The Russian built radial engines are VERY reliable, and last a LONG time. They usually pass their TBO limit and still pass all their inspections.

TBO is "Time Between Overhaul" which is normally the MINIMUM you should achieve with a well-maintained engine. But if the engine is performing well, not using oil, and has good cylinder pressures, you DON"T HAVE to overhaul them at that point. You can fly the engine UNTIL it starts showing deficiencies in operation, performance, or oil consumption. Some components, such as the ignition magnetos, have absolute time limits, and when you reach them, they have to be removed for overhaul. But the engine itself can go on for many more hours of use if you have taken good care of it.

I work with a guy who used to own a NanKing. Unusual plane but he liked it. I believe the landing gear and possibly the starter were operated with pneumatics. And you're right about the landing gear in addition to that the propeller was made of wood so it would shatter upon impact at the ground and the plane could be flown out of the field when a new one was installed. The concept of dismantling and inspecting an engine because of a prop strike just doesn't exist in those planes

[REVZZYBAN]

Off he went into the wild blue yonder.

[icehole]

the pixelated image reminds me of JAV

[William May]

Originally Posted by Hogmann ↗

I work with a guy who used to own a NanKing. Unusual plane but he liked it. I believe the landing gear and possibly the starter were operated with pneumatics. And you're right about the landing gear in addition to that the propeller was made of wood so it would shatter upon impact at the ground and the plane could be flown out of the field when a new one was installed. The concept of dismantling and inspecting an engine because of a prop strike just doesn't exist in those planes

I wasn't aware of the wooden propeller. That is very interesting. I know the FW-190 fighter ALSO had a wooden propeller. I knew a guy in Florida who was building SIX of them, using Pratt and Whitney R-2000's for the engine, because it matches the BMW unit they actually used. He said that when it came to the propellers, they contacted the company that made them in WWII in Germany, and they still had the drawings for the original propellers, and they sent over a Hamilton Standard propeller so the company could get the dimensions to match on the prop hub, and then turned them out a batch of propellers and spares. I think the RPM's and the power on both engines were identical, or close enough not to matter.