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SMALL AIRCRAFT SAFETY
2025



FULLERTON RV VANS CRASH, Fullerton California, Vans Rv aircraft, RV 10 CRASH

FULLERTON RV VANS 10 DISASTER - VIDEO ANOTHER VANS RV CRASH


January 4, 2025

VIDEO OF CRASH

It is reported that a low-wing Vans RV 10 aircraft crashed into a building just short of the runway in Fullerton, Ca. on Jan. 2, 2025, I think about 2 pm.

Did the Aircraft Experience Engine Trouble?

If you have engine trouble at low altitude it is generally not recommended to try to return to the runway but if you elect to make it back to the airport, you must calculate the glide ratio correctly.  Unless the Van's Rv 10 aircraft has an improved glide ratio over the former Van's RV aircraft it has only about a reported 7.89 to 1 or about 8 to 1 glide ratio according to online information.  This is compared to Cessna's Skylane with glide ratio of about 9.1 to 1.  The Cessna 172 is about the same listed at about 9 to 1.  This means for every foot of altitude the plane can travel forward 9.1 or 9 feet, a pretty good performance.  I think a smooth riveted Mooney 201 aircraft can beat that with a ratio of about 10 or 11 to 1. 

Lots of factors come into play when calculating how far a plane can glide without power, how many people are on board, how much fuel is still onboard, what the wind is doing, etc., whether the wings are kept level.

This unfortunate pilot who lost his life in this Van's RV 10 homebuilt aircraft had his daughter onboard.  There hasn't apparently been a statement issued on the amount of fuel onboard but there must have been some fuel left since there was a giant fireball when this plane crashed into the warehouse.

It appears the plane must have suffered an engine problem just after takeoff since, at about 900 feet altitude the pilot almost immediately radioed that he needed to return to the airport.

Returning to the runway even with 2 or 3 hundred feet of altitude is risky, but it seems he should have been able to successfully return almost to the runway, but, unless he calculated the loss of altitude would not guarantee he could make the field he made a serious fatal mistake.  He should have immediately directed the aircraft to an open area or even a highway while he still had maneuvering speed left and made some attempt to land and get the aircraft on the ground.

If he had slowed down due to not lowering the nose he may have stalled or stall-spinned into the building where he crashed.  You have little-to-no control after the airspeed has dwindled and you have to constantly lower the nose for correct attitude, 'pitch for control', to avoid a stall and stall-spin.  Also, turning with ailerons can cause loss of precious altitude and a stall at slow speeds.  Once the aircraft enters a stall or stall-spin you need several hundred feet or maybe six or eight hundred feet to regain control of it and enter a glide.  Serious spins can require even more altitude to recover, maybe more than a thousand feet.

So, it appears this unfortunate pilot had engine trouble at a critical phase of flight operations and tried to return to the field and did not make it and might have stalled or stall-spinned into the building, however, the doomed plane was in a banked dive attitude indicating complete loss of control.  Was this plane sabotaged?  If so the pilot had little-to-no control of the aircraft.

My Experience With Flying in Strong Winds

I was executing a turn in one flight lesson in a Cessna 172 Skyhawk and when I lifted the wing with ailerons the wind blew us over nearly wings perpindicular to the ground and I probably lost considerable altitude trying to right the aircraft with opposite aileron input.  So if the doomed aircraft was impacted by those Santa Ana winds in Fullerton it could have severely upset the attitude and being low to the ground proved fatal.  Funny how those malevolent winds come along at such critical moments.

Some pilots elect to fly with altitude to the runway and then perform a slip to get low and land.  This slip maneuver is very handy since the aircraft can maintain enough altitude to get 'over the fence', as they say, if the engine quits and no power is available.  No wonder it is said that altitude is your friend.

Cessna Aircraft Highly Recommended

I still prefer the Cessna high wing aircraft design which is very stable and places the fuel tanks above the fuselage at the top of the cabin so that during a hard landing or crash the fuel is not subjected to the hot friction of the crash and might not burn.  In an extremely hard crash I guess it could burn anyway but there is generally less chance to burn than the low wing aircraft where the wings are literally right next to the ground.  When the gear collapses in a low wing aircraft the fuel tanks are riding and scraping the ground, very hot and dangerous friction.  I don't mind climbing a small stepladder to fuel the high wing design, a good investment in safety.

The Cessna 182 Skylanes and 172 Skyhawks are remarkably safe and stable aircraft with excellent safety records. If they require a bit more fuel and go slower than a Cirrus or Vans RV then I'd rather get there in one piece than not to get there at all - get there dead.  Also, I like that wing strut that adds a near 45 degree brace to the wings for good strength.  Unlike most low wing small aircraft these Cessna planes have 2 doors, one left and one right, and are easily entered and exited from.  Why would you want anything else?  Most low wing aircraft have only one door on the right side where the passenger sits and the pilot is relatively trapped in on the left side with no door.

Again, landing the aircraft is a very critical phase of flight operations -'low and slow, look out below' is the old saying.

Infoeditor

RV 10 CRASH
Investigation, cleanup underway in deadly Fullerton plane crash

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSHSR7aHdKs




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