Posted on 06/21/2025 1:12:55 PM PDT by BenLurkin
MOCKSVILLE, N.C. — The pilot of a small plane that crashed near a North Carolina airport this month had raised a wheel after landing to avoid hitting a turtle on the runway, according to a National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report.
The pilot of the Universal Stinson 108 and a passenger were killed in the June 3 crash near Sugar Valley Airport in Mocksville, officials said. A second passenger was seriously injured in the crash.
A communications operator looking out the airport office window advised the pilot that there was a turtle on the runway, according to the report released this week. The operator reported that the pilot landed about 1,400 feet down the 2,424-foot runway, then lifted the right main wheel to avoid the turtle. The operator heard the pilot advance the throttle after raising the wheel, but the airplane left her view after that.
(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...
Back when I was a young kid, I was riding in my grandma’s Ford pinto coming home from town. She made a corner on the dirt road and right in the middle of the road was a huge loggerhead turtle. Granny screamed and I screamed and we plowed right over the turtle, almost getting high centered on the giant. We stopped and I got out and checked out the big beast. It’s shell was cracked across the width of the shell, but it kept going and left the road.
Guess we were lucky the pinto didn’t explode!!
Lot of difference between a tiny box turtle and a big mofo snapping turtle.
Any news on what spect/size they’re talking about?
We know.
Would hitting the turtle have caused a problem?
I would imagine it would.
never seen a video of sea turtles laying eggs in the sand, covering them and returning to the water?
I hit a woodchuck once. Not even an opportunity to try to brake or avoid it. It shot out from the side of the road and ran right in front of my, right un der the car.
I was not a fan of woodchucks at that point an way, so I was not disappointed or upset that it bought it. I did check for damage though. There was none.
lol
Good way to get Salmonella. Better, I suppose, than an Armadillo, which in addition to Salmonella, also carry leprosy.
Gopher tortoises in south Georgia can be 15 inches long and weigh up to 15 pounds per AI. I’m sure I saw one years ago which was closer to 2 feet long. But I don’t think they’ve gotten to North Carolina yet.
Or a Protester
I think of the snappers and box turtles near me. They spend most of their time in the water, but you still see them in the brush next to hiking paths or even crossing roads.
I immediately thought tail-dragger landing to go sour from raising a wheel. Looked in the article for the type and then for a picture and sure enough.
Taildraggers are notoriously very sensitive to landing accidents they call “ground loop” i.e. deviation in ground path positive feedback leading to main gear going sideways and rolling the aircraft over. The center of mass being behind the main gear lets it kind of skid out (iirc).
Sure enough, it was a taildragger. You could have probably gotten away with raising a wheel in a tricycle gear. Probably felt the ground loop developing and tried to recover by getting airborne again, not enough room, speed, time. Just my guess.
Yeah. Bigger issue in my view than the turtle was the 1400 feet of runway behind him.
I haven't heard of road lobsters. I wonder what they would do to an EV batter pack..
Kudos, Grok is useful!
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