The pilot had only owned the 1954 Piper Super Cub for 16 days when it belly flopped onto the turf runway at Placid Lakes Airport (09FA) in Florida, crushing and snapping the landing gear, sending one of its big balloon tires bouncing away from the scene of the accident like an errant child’s toy.
When the dust cleared, if there was any dust, the prop was curled up like ribbon on a Christmas package and both white wings drooped to the ground, like big, sad, puppy dog ears.
It was a lousy way to start the year.
The Flight & The Pilot
By all accounts, it was a lovely evening to get in some more flight time, and the 31-year-old male pilot had really been racking up the hours in recent months. Of his reported 96 hours total time, nearly a third of it had been in the last three months, all in the same make and model as the accident airplane.
He had a one-year, eight-month-old private pilot certificate, with a third class medical issued about two and a half years before the accident, and a “flight review or equivalent” a month prior. Perhaps he was being proactive on the flight review or perhaps it was a tailwheel endorsement.
The flight originated at 09FA, which the pilot reported as his home airport. It’s a growing private residential airpark, with more lots for sale than homes. It has a paved runway (18/36) that’s 4,800 feet by 50 feet and, although it’s not listed on the chart, a parallel turf runway can be seen in satellite images, and this is the runway that our pilot was operating on around dusk on Feb. 7, 2021.
On his NTSB Form 6120.1, the 11-page document you are required to fill out after bending metal, he said he’d performed a 30-minute flight in the local area and returned to base and executed a pair of “stop and goes” on the turf Runway 18.
After taking off from the second, he performed a 180, and set up for a straight-in final to turf Runway 36.
The Final Moments
High on approach he chops power. Still high, he starts a forward slip to “increase the rate of descent.” Above the runway he exits the slip, pulls back on the stick… and… nothing.
The stick won’t go back. He frantically jiggles it. It goes side to side, and forward, but won’t go back to get into the flare. It’s jammed. He pours on the coals, but it’s too late.
The plane slams into the ground like a ton of bricks.
The salvage auction listing from AIG Insurance describes the damage: “Both wings damaged, prop destroyed, cowling and engine damage, both main gear assemblies and support struts damaged, right main tire broken off aircraft, windshield cracked, wrinkles along the fuselage, other damages may be present.”
The listing added that all bidders were “highly encouraged” to inspect the salvage to verify the condition, and that AIG wasn’t responsible for the condition of salvage.
At the time, due to the COVID crisis, the logs were not available for inspection.
I was unable to find out if anyone bid. There doesn’t seem to be much salvage left to salvage.
But thanks to the four-point restraint system, the pilot fares better. He has a cut on his head and a “minor fracture” in his right ankle.
At the time of the crash, the pilot had no idea what had happened. When he first called the local FAA’s Air Safety Investigator to report the crash, he said he was unsure what happened, although he didn’t believe there was a mechanical issue with the controls. After all, they worked in every direction but the direction he needed. That was five days after the crash.
Two days later he tells another investigator that he’s discovered that the back seat cushion had moved forward and jammed against the stick, preventing it from being pulled back. He told the investigator that the “attitude” of the airplane in the slip caused the cushion to move forward. He sent a picture.
Analysis & Discussion
Can I just say that all of this sounds a bit fishy to me? Aside from the timing of the various reports, I’m skeptical that the forces involved in a forward slip would cause the seat cushion base to jump up, move forward, and then fall on the floor jamming the stick.
Don’t let the photo confuse you, the seat back is also leaning forward and resting on the stick, but it’s the butt-part of the seat that’s wedged between the seat structure and the stick in the picture (although in the pilot’s defense, the impact that snapped the wings off could have easily ejected the cushion from its usual spot and led him to believe that it was the cause of the crash).
Anyway, I’m prepared for some (heated) discussion about forward slip aerodynamics, g-forces, and cabin object displacement — and I’d also love to hear from the Super Cub crowd about their experiences with dislodged seat cushions, if any.
The NTSB
But the NTSB doesn’t see it like I do. In its final report, the NTSB says, with a straight face, “Due to the forward pitch of the airplane during the slip, the aft seat cushion slid forward and lodged between the seat frame and control stick. The pilot then applied back pressure on the control stick to flare the airplane and slow the descent, but the control stick was blocked by the aft seat cushion.”
Of course, NTSB investigators then threw the pilot under the bus, saying the probable cause of the accident was, “The pilot’s failure to ensure that the aft seat cushion was adequately secured, which resulted in its movement, subsequent interference with the flight controls, and a hard landing.” And they added in improper preflight, just for good measure.
The Takeaway
So what’s our takeaway here? What can the rest of us learn from the sad, short, ownership journey of our Florida pilot?
I think there are two.
The first is that a new-to-you airplane is a dangerous thing. Mitigate that by, prior to purchasing an airplane, joining its type club. Spend time reading their materials and talking to their members.
Lots of planes have unique idiosyncrasies that can lead to trouble. For all I know, back seat cushions in Super Cubs may be a known issue (Disclaimer: I’ve flown “baby” Cubs, but not the Super Cub).
Secondly, this is a good reminder that while loose lips sink ships, it’s loose items in the cockpit that can wreak havoc with flight controls. While this case struck me as not-quite right, there are plenty of other well-documented cases of unsecured items blocking flight controls. So before you fly, be sure to secure your cargo, your tools, and your toys.
And, maybe, even your seat cushions.
The Numbers
Want to read more? Download the NTSB’s final report, ERA21LA131, or view the items on docket here 102640.
Says he from his report, “He added that after the accident the control stick was clear of any debris and the flight controls moved free and clear.”
IMHO, there’s more to this kettle of fish: unstable approach, high and fast, and dropped it, or bounced it, collapsing the gear, etc. Questions: Wonder how he thought he could safely initiate a go-around with no aft elevator? If all that was a problem was the aft elevator when he was ready to touch down, why not do a wheel landing? He was not out of runway. Seat bottom cushion appears staged. Don’t see one going vertical like that. Glad he was not a fatality. It was pilot error of some sort, so take responsibility for it.
1. SuperCubs can be flown from either seat when solo. Regular cubs are soloed from rear seat.
2. I’ve always secured the seat cushions with the seat belts when soloing a tailwheel with stick controls. That’s one thing I stress to students in their check outs.
Somehow the picture of a policeman responding to an alert of a plane landing in a field, finding the pilot pouring auto fuel out of a gas can into the substantially damaged (non-flyable) airplane’s tank, comes to mind.
From my experience a pilot who flies a tandem seat aircraft flies it out of the rear seat when flying alone.
I had the similar thing happen to me in a J5. In my case it was the back seat pax (CFI) allowed the seat to slide forward. I had still had stick authority with strong pull. Just thought he was testing me.
To the OP and Phil McDowell; the reason that the NTSB seems to always blame the pilot is that it is usually the pilot’s fault. History proves it is 80% of the time. Seat cushions don’t break, but pilots make mistakes all the time. Sometimes they don’t get away with their mistakes. The three C’s are usually the cause of the mistakes; Currency, competency, and Complacency. You are the pilot in command, which means you are responsible for anything that goes wrong. Embrace the responsibility or be a passenger instead of a pilot.
Seems like the chicken or egg argument. I sure hope you never do anything wrong and listening to you it seems you never will.
He survived and thank God for that. It looks like the cushion dislodged because of the crash?……?…..A forward slip and one would have to wonder how those big ass tires would effect flight characteristics ? A low time pilot. It is one for the books…..and the NTSB will also consider if the pilot staged the picture…..? Throw in a dusk landing with a pilot with low time and it all points to pilot error
Someone, help me out. Do unanchored inside aircraft slip forward during descent? I would have thought that the forward motion of the aircraft would naturally keep things in place, even in descent. I’m no pilot. Just an aviation enthusiast.
Of course the NTSB threw the pilot under the bus. It’s disheartening that the agency always blames the pilot, and refuses to realise that the aircraft may have had something to do with it. I do not believe that this is all pilot error here. How does the NTSB know that the seat cushion did not break. I think the agency’s favourite thing to do is blame the pilot for the accident.
Threw the pilot under the bus??? Then exactly who is responsible for the cabin being secure?
“How does the NTSB know that the seat cushion did not break. “
I agree. Did the investigation determine if there was a proper installation/restraint for the seat cushions in the first place?
One flight in my 7KCAB Citabria while diving down for enough airspeed to perform a loop and just as I pulled back to begin said loop, I looked out to the side for position reference, then forward to see a black widow spider had slipped down from behind the sun screen. We had a brief exchange before I rolled out if the loop. A quick clap and a gooey mess ensued. I then had my hangar sprayed. I wonder if the FAA will violate me for no providing the spide wi
th a parachute?
“The stick won’t go back. He frantically jiggles it. It goes side to side, and forward, but won’t go back to get into the flare. It’s jammed. He pours on the coals, but it’s too late.”
Artistic license?
That’s not quite how he describes it in his third-person Narrative History of the Flight; but, hey, if it makes him sound even more incompetent ….
Looks to me like the cushions would compress enough to have elevator control, not mention again a nose so low on a slip, which is an exercise in losing altitude asap and reducing forward speed.
With a fresh student license at 16 Yrs Old, I routinely rented a 7KCAB Citabria flown solo from the front seat. On this particular sortie, I pre-flighted the plane but didn’t want to carry the rear seat parachute back to the office. Realizing it could move from its position I strapped it in with the lap belt as best I could. Returning to the airport after some “airwork” I found the stick really didn’t want to move back as usual. It felt stuck going back but forward left and right worked fine. Flair on landing was abysmal so I powered up and went around the patch. I figured I could wheel land it on the next go around. I climbed out and rolled hard left to make my circuit and the stick feel changed. I jinked around pretty hard on downwind and managed to feel as though the stick would now come all the way back if needed. I casually landed, not the prettiest landing and a few bounces later something stopped the stick travel again. After taxing back and getting out I looked into the back seat to see the parachute lying horizontal on the rear seat and blocking the stick from full travel! Realizing I had wasted an ANGEL on my stupidity, I vowed to never fly with anything loose in the cockpit again. I have nets over the baggage compartment in my Mooney and nothing on the front seats except the ole glutimus Maximus!
This kid was probably doing some light acro, from experience, the seat cushions can become dislodged (even being belted down) and jam the controls.
It could be the seat cushion was the cause of the control lock, or it could be that he simply slipped it until he stalled it into the ground. Or the issue could be something unknown. The NTSB grabbed onto the easy answer and went with it. The could have just as easily concluded that the cause was inconclusive. If so, what do we learn from this accident other than exactly nothing?
The point of the article is about keeping a clean and secure cockpit. I installed 5 point harnesses in each of my planes. Anytime the plane is flying, any unused seat has the 5 point harness secured over the seat precluding movement of cushions or anything else I may have placed in the seat for transport during the flight (flight bag, parts, etc).
I’m with you. Without getting into the forward/side slip debate how in the world would a slip, properly flown, be so nose-low as to cause a seat cushion to slip?
OK. I’ll enter the debate. A forward slip follows the intended flight path with the heading displaced (think no crosswind). A side slip follows the intended flight path with the longitudinal axis in line with the intended flight path (think crosswind).
Can’t resist.
I hereby coin a phrase: “The F150 Pickup Syndrome.” A lot of guys I know keep their pickup trucks trashed with all manner of tools, parts, empty McDonalds bags and cups and other detritus that joshes around the cab in due course of driving. But add the third dimension and much stronger forces, that junque causes trouble. There have been other tales on this service about stuff migrating around the cabin and getting in the way of the controls. This pilot is lucky to get away with his life. Your airplane ain’t your pickup truck.
/J
I’m glad to see someone else question NTSB findings and do so with analysis of what was going on. If that seat cushion could get into that position in an airliner, there’d be an AD about stowing it and the pilots wouldn’t be hit with failure to ….