The pilot reported that he taxied the ski-equipped Aeronca 7AC to a snow-covered area adjacent to the runway at the airport in Cook, Minnesota.
He made two passes over eight inches of fresh snow to create a makeshift runway.
He then added engine power and started to take off toward the west.
At rotation speed he heard and felt a “whack” along with a “bump,” and the plane began to decelerate.
The airplane felt “mushy” as it became airborne, and the pilot leveled the nose to maintain control.
He observed the right ski hanging straight down.
With the airplane approaching trees, he pushed the nose down and landed in the remaining open area.
The airplane slid about 20 feet before it came to rest.
Its lower fuselage structure sustained substantial damage.
After the accident occurred, the pilot noted that the fresh snow obscured various ice chunks and frozen drifts.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to ensure the snow-covered takeoff area was safe, which resulted in a collision with ice and subsequent landing gear damage.
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This January 2022 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
The “crust cutter cable” mentioned by JimH above also is a safety cable. If the bungee or cable fails, the crust cutter will not allow the ski to tip forward more than a couple of degrees. A safe landing is still possible. Sounds like the bungee cord/cable assembly failed, and the crust cutter was not properly installed.
A very low time pilot installs skis on his aircraft… Is a pilot allowed to do that ?
I know that we can service tires and wheels, but the AC doesn’t mention skis.!
It’s interesting that no endorsement is needed to fly on skis, but you need one for floats.
In my reading , it is recommended to add a ‘crust cutter cable’ to prevent any frozen material from breaking the bungee cord, causing the ski to go ‘nose down’.
So, more stupid pilot tricks, and a severely damaged aircraft.
According to 14 CFR Part 43: “Replacing wheels and skis where no weight and balance computation is involved”…is considered “Preventive Maintenance”…as long as you meet the other stipulations.
I read 43[c] 18 on replacing wheels and skis. But I did not read it allowed replacing wheels with skis, or the reverse …?
BTW, the type certificate for the ’46 7AC does not mention skis, as does some other years , ’47. ’48… So it seems like a form 337 would be required.
Well I guess he learned the hard way, what not to do. Experience first gives you the “test” then teaches you the lesson!
I wonder how many pilots forget about “common sense”? Safety is not a gift, it is earned, sometimes the hard way as this pilot learned. Especially when i see articles on pilots that forget to “remove the tow bar before they get into the aircraft. How can you miss this? You have to “step over” the tow bar while doing your preflight check.
Juan Brown had a recent slide that said it well: “Aviation in itself is not inherently dangerous. But to an even greater degree than the sea, it is terribly unforgiving of any carelessness, incapacity or neglect.” The pilot made assumptions about what lay under the top layer of snow. We know how to unpack the word ‘assume.’ Then there are the immortal words of Ronald Regan: “Trust but verify.” Moral of the story: Never assume anything in aviation. Another one of life’s lessons learned: Walk the ‘runway’ with a shovel to dig a little deeper in the snow to see what might lie underneath waiting to kill you. He’s lucky he lived.
Regards/J
Mr. Potter;
The quote “Aviation in itself is not inherently dangerous. But to an even greater degree than the sea, it is terribly unforgiving of any carelessness, incapacity, or neglect”…was originally coined by Captain A.G. Lamplugh, of the British Aviation Insurance Group, in the early 1930s.
Let’s hope Mr. Brown gave it the proper ‘credit” on his slide.
I don’t get it…..It says “area adjacent to the runway”…..why not on the runway?
I suspect that the runway was plowed and dry…not acceptable for skis.
Well, heck. A little WD-40 on those skiis and they could handle a dry runway (;->))
/J
Looks like a fix job for Bill Pancake!