Trike Accidents - The Last Word
Reading the above some time much later it strikes me that I never got round to making a proper judgement about fault and responsibility.
Trikes, at least in my reading and experience, are exceptionally safe aircraft. Generally in trike accidents you can usually attribute the cause or fault to human error, stupidity, perhaps sometimes to a case of shit happens, or a combination of the above. Often the human error (or stupidity) comes down a case of familiarity breeding contempt. I have read of three instances of instructors and students killed because of power loss on take-off and a subsequent fatal landing - the cause of power loss being a lack of fuel! How can anyone get into an aircraft and not check the fuel several different ways (and all the time while aloft)?
I have direct knowledge of four major trike accidents where the occupants have walked away from the wreck without serious injury:
1. A student's very first solo take off where the student on experiencing turbulence froze at the controls as the control bar was pushed out.
Result: Trike written off, student shaken and bruised.
Judgement: Student soloed far too early and in marginal conditions, instructor at fault (and a student who had used every means to pressure the instructor into letting him solo despite knowing deep in his heart that he was simply not ready).
2. A student makes a good third and final landing during the first solo flight. The wind had changed during the final stages of the flight and crosswind became a significant issue (there was also a problem with the instructor's radio on the final approach). While the landing was correct and well judged the subsequent fast taxi saw the pilot failing to adequately correct the wing against the crosswind resulting in a wing digging into the ground.
Result: Broken wing, pilot shaken.
Judgement: New marginal conditions during the flight and pilot inexperience.
3. The runway at one end had a fall off into a deep arroyo with turbulent conditions often present. An experienced hang glider and trike pilot was making below runway level approaches from the arroyo, i.e. coming up to runway level from the arroyo with the intention to make the runway with almost zero descent. The pilot was warned several times about this behaviour. On his last approach he misjudged the approach and the cliff edge ripped away his rear wheels and the trike bounced and cartwheeled to a stop some 50 metres along the runway.
Result: Trike written off. Both occupants bruised and shaken but otherwise alright.
Judgement: Improper flight behaviour, pilot stupidity.
4. My own accident described above.
Result: Trike severely damaged and major replacement work required, pilot bruised and shaken.
Judgement: Pilot error (combined perhaps with shit happens) putting the aircraft into a place where it could no longer fly. My fault.
