Posted on 09/16/2005 2:50:04 PM PDT by linkinpunk
Jeep, Doing 80MPH, Drives Under Plane To Fix Landing Gear
UPDATED: 5:16 pm EDT September 16, 2005
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- It was a literal fix on the fly at the New Smyrna Beach Airport. Three men in a jeep drove within feet of a small plane to fix its landing gear while it was still in the air.
The jeep had to go just about as fast as it could go down the runway, and the small Cessna had to slow to almost stalling speed for it to work.
"It's not something, from a safety standpoint, we would promote under normal circumstances," said New Smyrna Beach spokesperson Shannon Lewis.
An instructor and student were approaching the airport, ready to land, when they noticed their landing gear wouldn't lock in place. They radioed in their predicament and then circled for about an hour before crews on the ground could come up with a plan to get them down safely.
"We went through the normal procedures, emergency procedures, did a little bit extra by driving out," said Tony Perna, Epic Aviation.
With emergency vehicles in place, the Cessna flew in low and slow with a jeep right beside it. After several passes at about 80 miles per hour, the three-man crew in the jeep was able to see the problem and figure out how to fix it.
On a final pass, the men used a five-foot long pole to push the landing gear into place and lock it. With that done, the plane was able to land safely.
The instructor was flying the plane during the low passes. Epic Aviation would not let Channel 9 speak with him.
The airport will now investigate to see if the impromptu in-flight inspection broke any major rules.
"Investigating the incident and determining if any action needs to be taken," said Lewis.
When the airport is done with their investigation, they will forward their report to the Federal Aviation Authority.
Wowser. Would have loved to try a cat launch just once. :-)
Yuppers. Was after the first sortie of the morning. They were arming up for the next sortie and a hung bomb exploded. 500 pounders stacked between the aircraft. One plane after another BOOM!
I never got time in the RG model. Plenty of time in Cherokee 180s, Arrows, and Moonies. Have some time in an Aztec as well.
They go about 130 kts for about 6 hours... Usually out last pilots and passengers...
It's the government, stupid! Apologies for rudeness.
Cherokee is like a mule. It is 250k I meant. I typicaly put 350k miles on them. Engine and transmission is probably the best around. Once I had hydraulic line from transmission leak out all the fluid, made it to the exit. Fixed, filled up and thing worked like before. Probably the best used car buy around.
I don't like the sissy Liberty.
By "bragging" I mean "speaking well of."
Fire the guys in the Jeep! Thats all I've got to say.......
...only in a Jeep!
Beg to differ my friend...there are SUV's but only one Jeep.
All those lard laden SUV"s out here are no match for a "JEEP"
The JEEP is a stand alone vehicle in his category, period!
Let me guess...XJ right? Cherokee 4.0/AW4 transmission last forever. I know a fellow who has 385,000 miles on it and still drives strong!
I know that....play on the "evil SUV runs over baby carriage" thing...get it?
You do not know what you're talking about...just swallowing innuendos without facts on hand.
The recall you are talking about, is a debris shield between #3 and #4 injectors, top of the intake manifold to keep hey out of engine compartment and thus preventing unwanted fire due to heat.
This is because the Jeeps are used a lot in the farm belt countries.
Recalls of any kind do not imply a failure but an preventive improvement in that direction.
Hi! :-)
You can tell if it was an "E" model by looking at the nose. Does it have a pitot tube sticking out of the front of the radome (nose)? If so it's either an "E" or an RF-4C. The "E"s also have the Vulcan cannon built in the nose as well.
Didn't I see that in a movie once?
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