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#1
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12-10-2021, 01:15 PM
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| My Rank: PRIVATE Poster Rank:7248 Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 27 Mentioned: 2 Post(s) Quoted: 3 Post(s)
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Small Plane Lose Both Wings and Crashes in Brazil
Small plane dedicated to agriculture tasks crashed after losing both wings during a flight. The incident occurred in Brazil and surprisingly the pilot survived with some broken bones.
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#2
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12-10-2021, 05:56 PM
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| ♚ Legacy Gold Member ♚ Poster Rank:98 Male Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 16,742 Mentioned: 7 Post(s) Quoted: 4605 Post(s)
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Re: Small Plane Lose Both Wings and Crashes in Brazil
That's a crop dusting airplane. They have extra wide belts and a protective padded roll cage, because aerial applicators (crop dusters) crash about 8 times a year, on average. When driving on I-8 from Tucson to San Diego, there is a small airport in SoCal that has about 20 of these airplanes lined up in a row, all damaged. They also have about 10 of them that are operational. I can only think that this airplane had a corrosion problem in the wing attach points, because they don't normally come apart like this. They aren't certified in the "normal" category, like most light aircraft. They are certified in the "Utility" class, which means they are for a specific purpose. These are pretty heavily built and very sturdy aircraft. I suspect old age, high hours, and little care or maintenance.
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#4
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12-10-2021, 10:41 PM
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 ★ Legacy Member ★ Poster Rank:72 male Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 21,158
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Re: Small Plane Lose Both Wings and Crashes in Brazil
Like this one. |
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#6
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12-12-2021, 12:16 AM
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| ♚ Legacy Gold Member ♚ Poster Rank:98 Male Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 16,742 Mentioned: 7 Post(s) Quoted: 4605 Post(s)
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Re: Small Plane Lose Both Wings and Crashes in Brazil
This aircraft was nicknamed "The Pink Pig" and was fighting wildfires in Arizona a week before this happened to them in California. They spent the previous week at Tucson International, parked on our Learjet ramp. I had asked them if I could go on a firefighting flight with them, since they had extra seats, but they said their operating certificate would not allow any passengers, so I never got to go. My understanding is they had huge cracks in the top wing skin at the wing joint over the center of the fuselage. No one noticed them developing, and it isn't an area that was very accessible. The crew was really nice, and we did get to sit in the cockpit while they showed us the aircraft. They had a storage area behind the cockpit where they carried bicycles, tools, and all the stuff they needed while out on forest fire flights, and also a big, inflated plastic pink pig that was tied to the bulkhead. I was stunned when this was on the news a week after they left us, headed for southern California to deal with wildfires out there. One of my close calls in aviation. |
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#7
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12-15-2021, 05:26 PM
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 ★ Legacy Member ★ Poster Rank:248 So many choices now Join Date: Jul 2015 Posts: 5,548 Mentioned: 15 Post(s) Quoted: 2120 Post(s)
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Re: Small Plane Lose Both Wings and Crashes in Brazil
Looked like it was right at the wing spars. Not a real high G load at the time of the mishap. Maintenance issue? Straw that broke the camel's back?
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#8
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12-16-2021, 01:03 AM
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| ♚ Legacy Gold Member ♚ Poster Rank:98 Male Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 16,742 Mentioned: 7 Post(s) Quoted: 4605 Post(s)
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Re: Small Plane Lose Both Wings and Crashes in Brazil
Yes, the centerline spar cracks were found to be the cause. They really don't carry that much water. Most of the inside is empty except for the tank area. They still have to obey load limits and Center of Gravity requirements.
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