You can also see it's small size. Check the wing span vs. the car lanes.
Posted on 01/10/2015 7:22:59 PM PST by BenLurkin
killed Friday when his small plane went down in Van Nuys are discussing his contributions to JPL and NASA.
Alberto Enrique Behar, 47, crashed into the busy intersection of Hayvenhurst Avenue and Vanowen Street in Lake Balboa. He was the sole occupant of the experimental single-engine Lancair plane, which he used to commute from his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., to this job in Pasadena, according to a friend.
The friend described Behar as a husband, father of three, and renowned scientist.
(Excerpt) Read more at losangeles.cbslocal.com ...
You can also see it's small size. Check the wing span vs. the car lanes.
43 gallon tank.
At 6.2 lbs. per gallon, a full tank would weigh 266.6 lbs.
160- HP engine. Can have up to a 210 HP engine.
Useful load 645lbs. (passengers, luggage and fuel.)
Range 1,450.
Single occupant of 200lbs. approx., leaves 445 lbs. for fuel and luggage...
The cause could be fuel starvation although the numbers don't add up, however- lack of a fire is perplexing if sufficient fuel WAS on board. Not sure how quick the NTSB will publish their investigative report?
Looks to me like the aircraft “nosed in” very close to where it rests.
Lack of fuel will be the first thing investigated here. Stall and spin on final. Bad combination of things at the end of a probably otherwise uneventful flight.
A number of things probably came together in a bad way to kill an experienced pilot who apparently managed risks daily in his job and physical risks in his avocations.
My brother-in-law has been a scientist at JPL for 25+ years. A lot of his colleagues are IFR rated pilots who fly often.
Oldplayer
From one of the articles...
In response to an email inquiry, a spokesman for the FAA said only that the Lancair had crashed under “unknown circumstances” after departing from Van Nuys Airport.
Perhaps an engine failure on takeoff and an attempt at the “impossible 180 turn”?
Just did a Google Earth search of what's south of the airport. Golf courses, ball fields, etc. If a 180 degree radius is plotted (west to east) from the impact point back to the end of the runway, or even a shorter distance back to the south most boundary of the airport property, one can see that a powerless aircraft could reach said "open space."
The lesson that I take away from this is to study the terrain at any airport I might fly out of and decide prior to departure where I'm putting down a disabled aircraft, based on my altitude at the moment of power loss. In other words, if I want to make a 90 degree course turn to my right after take off, which will put me over a city, I want to be at an altitude of sufficient height PRIOR to turning, that will permit me to then make the necessary turn back to the airfield, otherwise; I HAVE to continue in the take off direction and land forward all the while continuing to maintain control by flying the plane to the touchdown/impact point.
Not every metropolitan airport has such green space at the ends of the runway, let alone one end. The north end of Van Nuys airport has practically none. A power loss in that direction would be ugly. The main road running north and just a bit to the west is about it.
Granted I wasn't in the pilot seat...
> He was the sole occupant of the experimental single-engine Lancair plane, which he used to commute from his home in Scottsdale, Ariz., to this job in Pasadena
http://www.flyingmag.com/aircraft/turboprops/lancair-evolution Â
> The Lancair Evolution is a four-seat, all-composite, pressurized, high-performance, single-engine, turboprop-powered airplane.
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