Author Topic: Plane crashed in my front yard (Read 54862 times)

Shelma1 · « **on:** May 17, 2017, 12:28 »

Happened last night. (Everyone's OK.)

Think I can make some money from editorial images? Lol.

I'd just like, as a public service, to let everyone know that small planes are extremely dangerous. In the U.S. they crash several times a day, with fatal crashes about 5 times a week. There's a saying that you're more likely to die in a car on the way to the airport than on a plane, but that saying only applies to large jetliners, which are extremely safe. Small planes (general aviation) account for 90% of air travel fatalities in the U.S.

In addition, they're one of the last forms of transportation to run on leaded gas (avgas), which has levels of lead 8 times higher than the leaded gasoline banned for use in cars. In fact, small planes contribute half the lead in he atmosphere.

This pilot had just filled his balsa-wood-and-papier-mache plane with lots of leaded gasoline, which all poured out into my front yard, where it will enter the water table. We've been warned not to drink our water (we have wells).

The plane missed my house by just a few yards, snapping branches off my trees as it traveled down my driveway and crashed into a stand of trees near the street. The pilot is from Texas, so I suppose I should feel honored that he flew all he way to my yard in New Jersey to crash.

dragonblade · « **Reply #1 on:** May 17, 2017, 13:02 »

Son-of-a-gun! Woah! I'm glad everyone is okay. Though that's pretty devastating that your water is affected. I guess it's pretty warm over in the US at the moment - I hope there won't be a chance that all that fuel in your front yard won't get ignited by something.

I fly a remote controlled plane as a hobby though I haven't had a crash as yet. I can certainly see that a crash in a full size plane would have pretty severe consequences.

BaldricksTrousers · « **Reply #2 on:** May 17, 2017, 13:07 »

Glad you're safe. 300 deaths a year is pretty minimal compared with road deaths though I have no idea how many deaths-per-trip or per-mile they work out at. As for guns...

ShadySue · « **Reply #3 on:** May 17, 2017, 13:12 »

That is super-scary.

Shelma1 · « **Reply #4 on:** May 17, 2017, 13:15 »

They had to spray foam all ver the plane because it was on fire before it crashed, and then with the fuel leak it was not a good situation.

Shelma1 · « **Reply #5 on:** May 17, 2017, 13:29 »

Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on May 17, 2017, 13:07

Glad you're safe. 300 deaths a year is pretty minimal compared with road deaths though I have no idea how many deaths-per-trip or per-mile they work out at. As for guns...

300+ deaths a year is minimal compared to cars and guns, but only because general aviation is so minimal compared to cars and guns. The rate of crashes is as high or higher than the rate of car crashes per mile traveled. That's why I want to correct this misconception that airplanes are safer than cars. That statistic applies to jetliners only. Small planes are flown by pilots who don't have an airline canceling their flights because of weather, they have much less training, and the small plane fleet is very old. This plane was built in 1947, and I'm telling you it's a go-cart with a propeller. It's a metal frame covered with fabric. Its tires are smaller than my bicycle tires. Imagine being on a highway in a car with a fabric skin and bicycle tires. I'm flabbergasted that they allow these things in the air.

Pixart · « **Reply #6 on:** May 17, 2017, 14:03 »

Wow. Just WOW!!!! So glad you are safe! It will take a long time to shake this one off. I hope in a couple years everyone doesn't get lupus and sarcomas from the fuel.

And speaking of odds... now that this happened just yards away from you, you will never have to be nervous about flying again. The chance that you will ever be involved in another aviation accident have to be way less than nil now.

I grew up in the country, walked to the end of my lane to catch the school bus. One morning my neighbor took off from his little dirt landing strip that went up almost in front of our house - he'd kinda roll the wings left/right to say good morning. At lunch the ambulance went down the highway by the school with the lights on but no siren or speeding. Which pretty much means someone is DOA.

He was crop dusting and he used to go under the power lines instead of over them. Sad. It was one of his buddy's crops too and his girlfriend was sitting in a truck with lunch.

Shelma1 · « **Reply #7 on:** May 17, 2017, 14:14 »

Yep. Crop dusting, banner towing and skydiving are all even more dangerous than regular flights. Think of all the celebrities you know who've died in small plane crashes. One good thing... Since I've been interviewed by so many news outlets I've become much more comfortable on camera, and instead of babbling like I did last night I'm using the media to warn people about small planes.

jjneff · « **Reply #8 on:** May 17, 2017, 14:38 »

WoW glad you are not hurt! and he survived. Shoot away so you can buy bottled water :-)

polar · « **Reply #9 on:** May 17, 2017, 15:05 »

What's the prognosis for your water? How long will you have to avoid drinking from your well?

I hope the guy had insurance so you can get some compensation.

k_t_g · « **Reply #10 on:** May 17, 2017, 15:26 »

Those darn Cessnas. Always the Cessnas. Glad it wasn't more serious and every one is alright.
As for us someone ransacked my dad's van last night. Luckily and I think all they did was cause a great mess. Hopefully not a personal info mess in the future. I just don't know. $:-\$

PixelBytes · « **Reply #11 on:** May 17, 2017, 15:38 »

Wow! That's crazy! Glad you and everyone else is okay. Very sorry about your water tho. Can you get onto city or county water?

BTW, did you manage to get Harrison Ford's autograph?

Shelma1 · « **Reply #12 on:** May 17, 2017, 16:46 »

Lol to the Harrison Ford reference.

Not sure about the water. Perhaps I shall ask the mayor to run city water to our neighborhood. Least they can do.

noodle · « **Reply #13 on:** May 17, 2017, 17:29 »

Thats one crazy experience
Serendipitous that everyone is ok

Time to buy a lottery ticket

cathyslife · « **Reply #14 on:** May 17, 2017, 17:41 »

Glad you are ok, that must have been scary! Good that it missed your house.

I respectfully disagree with you about small plane safety, though. Been flying in Cessnas for many years with family and even had my license briefly in another life, years ago. Just like with guns and cars, it isnt the hardware that is the problem...mostly it is the human factor. Not enough flying hours, improperly maintained (by humans) planes, etc.

My dad stripped and recovered (with fabric and airplane dope and paint) 2 small planes. I would agree with you that these types of planes should really only fly in rural areas, NOT in heavy air traffic areas, which I believe the NJ, NYC area would be. Small planes can lose their power and still glide and make a safe landing, assuming there are open fields or a space to land and the pilot has enough experience.

Would be interesting to hear the cause of this crash.

Shelma1 · « **Reply #15 on:** May 17, 2017, 19:42 »

His engine exploded. Plane caught fire. Could have landed in the water because he was over the bay, but he figured my front lawn would be better.

Small planes are dangerous; that's just statistical fact. Luckily none of your family members has been injured or killed in one. But unfortunately your anecdote doesn't negate the overall safety record of the industry.

cathyslife · « **Reply #16 on:** May 17, 2017, 20:39 »

Quote from: Shelma1 on May 17, 2017, 19:42

His engine exploded. Plane caught fire. Could have landed in the water because he was over the bay, but he figured my front lawn would be better.

Small planes are dangerous; that's just statistical fact. Luckily none of your family members has been injured or killed in one. But unfortunately your anecdote doesn't negate the overall safety record of the industry.

I am pretty sure he didnt specifically pick your lawn out.

Statistical fact...no arguing with you. I still disagree.

marthamarks · « **Reply #17 on:** May 18, 2017, 08:11 »

Wow, Shelma, I'm so glad you're okay!

Shelma1 · « **Reply #18 on:** May 18, 2017, 13:30 »

Got lots of photos and video today (removing the plane). I'm sure once I upload I'll be a millllllllllionaire. LOL. The guys who removed it also removed the jet that landed in the Hudson River (piloted by Sully).

PixelBytes · « **Reply #19 on:** May 18, 2017, 13:39 »

Quote from: Shelma1 on May 18, 2017, 13:30

Got lots of photos and video today (removing the plane). I'm sure once I upload I'll be a millllllllllionaire. LOL. The guys who removed it also removed the jet that landed in the Hudson River (piloted by Sully).

So cool! Must be a very small group of guys qualified to do that work. Either that or a helluva coincidence!

cathyslife · « **Reply #20 on:** May 18, 2017, 14:11 »

Would it be the NTSB who removes it? (or a company they hire) Usually they study these kinds of crashes.

Shelma1 · « **Reply #21 on:** May 18, 2017, 15:37 »

Apparently not. The NTSB handed the investigation over to the FAA because they're busy with a fatal small jet crash in Teterboro (the airport JFK Jr. flew his fatal flight out of). Apparently the guys who removed the plane do this work all over the East Coast. They and the insurance adjuster told us many stories about how often these planes crash and the stupidity that leads to many of them. This was an easy one for them...they remove jets, planes that crash into mountains, etc. All they had to do with this one was pull it out of our trees.

The EPA will be involved later due to the toxic lead fuel spill.

BaldricksTrousers · « **Reply #22 on:** May 18, 2017, 16:00 »

Quote from: Shelma1 on May 17, 2017, 19:42

His engine exploded. Plane caught fire. Could have landed in the water because he was over the bay, but he figured my front lawn would be better.

I'd hazard a guess that landing on water would have a high probability of causing the plane to flip with likely fatal consequences. These small planes have fixed wheels, don't they? And wheels dipping into water would face tremendous drag.
But that's just a guess.

cathyslife · « **Reply #23 on:** May 18, 2017, 16:04 »

Quote from: Shelma1 on May 18, 2017, 15:37

Apparently not. The NTSB handed the investigation over to the FAA because they're busy with a fatal small jet crash in Teterboro (the airport JFK Jr. flew his fatal flight out of). Apparently the guys who removed the plane do this work all over the East Coast. They and the insurance adjuster told us many stories about how often these planes crash and the stupidity that leads to many of them. This was an easy one for them...they remove jets, planes that crash into mountains, etc. All they had to do with this one was pull it out of our trees.

The EPA will be involved later due to the toxic lead fuel spill.

Yes, I read about the Teterboro crash...a Learjet if i remember correctly.
I hope they get the mess all cleaned up and good that no one was injured or killed.

cathyslife · « **Reply #24 on:** May 18, 2017, 16:10 »

Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on May 18, 2017, 16:00

Quote from: Shelma1 on May 17, 2017, 19:42
His engine exploded. Plane caught fire. Could have landed in the water because he was over the bay, but he figured my front lawn would be better.
I'd hazard a guess that landing on water would have a high probability of causing the plane to flip with likely fatal consequences. These small planes have fixed wheels, don't they? And wheels dipping into water would face tremendous drag.
But that's just a guess.

I think you are correct, and yes, most small planes have fixed landing gear. My brother is a pilot and lives in an aviation community. (They all have a house, a hangar and planes, surrounding a grass landing strip). Last year, a small plane was landing and blew a tire...it created drag, as you said about the water, and that's exactly what happened...the plane ended up nose down in the dirt. No one was hurt. The plane didnt fare well.

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Author Topic: Plane crashed in my front yard (Read 54862 times)

Shelma1

dragonblade

BaldricksTrousers

ShadySue

Shelma1

Shelma1

Pixart

Shelma1

jjneff

polar

k_t_g

PixelBytes

Shelma1

noodle

cathyslife

Shelma1

cathyslife

marthamarks

Shelma1

PixelBytes

cathyslife

Shelma1

BaldricksTrousers

cathyslife

cathyslife

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