[JYO] Experimental plane crashes; local pilot injured
- From: FlyboyEd@xxxxxxx
- To: jyo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 23 May 2003 06:45:02 EDT
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href="http://www.timescommunity.com/site/tab2.cfm?newsid=8073544&BRD=2553&PAG=461&dept_id=506066&rfi=6";>http://www.timescommunity.com/site/tab2.cfm?newsid=8073544&BRD=2553&;
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By Bill McIntyre
05/20/2003
Workers were struggling Tuesday night to dislodge a turn-of-the-century
replica airplane stuck in a tree 30 feet above ground after the pilot crashed
the
night before.
Bethel's Ken Hyde, who builds exact replicas of Wright Brothers aircraft at
his Discovery of Flight Foundation, was at the controls at the time of the
accident.
"I was dodging trees and power lines trying to get back to the airport,"
he said.
The plane came to rest in the wooded backyard of Christopher and Joan
Bonsignore's home at 9396 Donnybrook Drive, about a mile and half from the
Warrenton Air Park.
Grounded?
Hyde and his associates were field testing the taxi
capability of the two-seat Model B Wright airplane at the north end of Horse
Feathers airfield early Monday evening.
A taxi test lets pilots try to maintain
directional control and keep the craft going straight until it attains speed
to take off.
Hyde explained that liftoff was never in the plan.
"It literally
took a wrong turn," he said.
Hyde said the plane veered toward a ditch, fencing
and some trees, and he worried it would flip. That's when he decided to escape
a ground crash by going skyward.
"We managed to circle about a mile from the
field trying to dodge trees," he said.
Hyde flew the aircraft in circles for
more than 10 minutes without any means to contact his ground team. He struggled
to control the aircraft, which can reach speeds of 45 mph.
But by the fourth
turn Hyde's luck ran out and he finally directed the aircraft away from nearby
homes as it started to tip on its right wing and head into the trees.
"The
trees must have been growing taller and faster than I could climb," he laughed.
Hyde's associates raced to the crash site and local neighbors called for help.
Hyde was pulled from the open-air craft and transported by helicopter to
Inova-Fairfax hospital. He was treated for a broken right arm and several
abrasions
before being released.
"Either a tree or a component of the airplane hit my
arm. I didn't remember hitting anything. I just remember something starting to
hurt like the devil," he said.
Hyde expected to recover quickly. He couldn't
estimate the total damage to the plane but was hopeful that the engine was
still
intact.
Recovering the flyer
As the odd-looking craft made of wood and cloth
hung in the trees, significant damage to the right wing and cockpit area could
be
seen.
Greg Cone, one of Hyde's chief associates at the Discovery of Flight
Foundation, said a system of power lifts and ropes would bring the fragile
airplane back to the ground.
"We need to secure the plane and get it down safely
without any more damage," he said.
Cone said the craft would be dismantled to help
dislodge it from the trees.
"You can take the tail off and collapse the front.
It actually folds. To get it out of the woods we'll take the wings off," he
said.
Cone hoped to complete the job before daybreak on Wednesday.
A pair of
Rappahannock County tree service companies were hired by the Discovery of
Flight
Foundation to help get the plane out of the tree.
Greg Williams, who operated a
cherry picker to rig ropes and secure the plane, said it was the first time he
had ever rescued an airplane from a tree. He said that cats, even monkeys,
were more commonplace.
Williams' work was stalled for nearly an hour while
workers scrambled to free up the heavy equipment after it sunk in the soft,
rain-soaked ground.
Countdown stopped?
Hyde acknowledged that this was the unexpected
first flight of the Model B aircraft. The veteran commercial airline pilot
conceded that the sudden flight and his first-ever crash left him with mixed
feelings.
"I know it flies but it's not as stable as I would like for it to be. It
is repairable," he said.
Northrop Grumman donated funds to construct the Wright
Model B project, which was intended for educational and promotional purposes.
The Model B was scheduled to be on display as the centerpiece of Northrop
Grumman Corporation's exhibit at the Paris Air Show this June. But that is
unlikely now.
The Model B construction and flight testing have also been the subject
of a NOVA public television documentary called "Inventing the Flying Machine,"
that will air later this year.
Paula Apsell, executive producer of the
program, said the crash wouldn't change their broadcast plans.
"This is simply one
setback. We still plan to air the program in November or December," she said.
Hyde built an authentic reproduction of the 1903 Wright Flyer that will be
flown
on Dec. 17 in Kitty Hawk, N.C. as part of a centennial celebration of the
first powered flight. He admitted that the Wrights had their share of crashes.
"This happened on a number of occasions with Orville and Wilbur," he said.
Nevertheless, Hyde was disappointed by the events.
"It wasn't the idea to bend the
airplane, but we'll learn from this incident," he said.
Roger Jaynes, a spokesman
for the Experimental Aircraft Association's Countdown to Kitty Hawk, said
Hyde's crash won't slow down plans to reenact December's centennial anniversary
of the Wrights' historical first flight.
"Ken's fine and we foresee that he
will go on with his duties," he said.
Jaynes said the accident won't knock out
Hyde from competing for one of the two slots available to pilot the Wright
Flyer
in Kitty Hawk during the historic reenactment.
Bill McIntyre may be reached at
<A href="mailto:bmcintyre@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx";>bmcintyre@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx</A>.
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