WHAT WENT WRONG?

DENINED
IN PAR-

After take-off from a remote island in the Torres

Strait, this pilot heard a dull thump. Wrapped around
the wheel and the strut was a liana vine.

David W.Mathison

the ground conditions. Also, I was not an

N A TROPICAL FRIDAY EVENING AT
experienced pilot and I had only recently
about 6 o'clock, I landed on "Mer"
Island in the Torres Strait in my bought the aircraft, so I think there was a certain desire to prove myself a responsible and
four-seater Cessna 172. The flight from
thoughtful pilot - even at the risk of being
Thursday Island had been uneventful.
My wife and land two high school students over cautious.
I aligned the nose of the plane with the centre
were delighted at the prospect of a weekend
away from the more commercialised life on of the strip and did the pre-flight checks. I
then put down flap, stood on the brakes and
Thursday Island.
We were met by the families of the students applied full power. I distinctly remember
rolling forward and waving to the families
at the strip.
On the trip down the hill the height of the waiting by the edge of the airstrip.
My initial confidence disappeared in the
strip above sea level was brought home to me.
next few seconds. I remember turning to my
I had been told that one of the hills on the
wife and saying, "I'm not getting enough speed!"
island had been bulldozed to create a wide,
I could see the end of the strip looming ahead
grassy airfield and that at both ends of this,
with only sky beyond it.
the island fell away with
Although I was not yet
steep and rugged slopes
"The plane lifted
at lift-off speed I was very
into the sea.
close to it, so I chose to
But the strip regularly off and then,
pull back on the controls.
took a two-engined
Islander which made unnervingly, settled The plane lifted off and
commercial runs around back onto a fast dis- then, unnervingly, settled
back on to a fast disapthe Torres Strait, so I was
not overly concerned appearing airstrip." pearing airstrip. I thought
of trying to stop, but I
about take-off.
knew it was too late.
By 7 pm, my wife and I
I could do nothing else but pull back again
were ensconced in a room full of shadows, listening to the sea outside lapping on the sand. on the controls. The end of the airstrip was
The weekend was a sublime dream. Recent immediately in front of us, then suddenly
rains had taken the edge off the heat. When below the plane. We were airborne and we
Sunday afternoon arrived we felt cheated that were sinking.
There, right in front of me, was a ridge of
time should intrude on "paradise".
The trailer was loaded. We hopped on stone and grass topped with tall trees. We were
board and the students and their families in a sort of valley or hollow heading directly
for dense timber. I remember thinking - with
joined us for the ride up to the strip.
After sincerely felt farewells, the four of us absolute clarity - that to pull back excessively
boarded the plane taking with us some small on the controls would be fatal; we would certainly stall. But I had to lift the nose.
gifts and a few coconuts.
I kept forward pressure on the controls for
I was satisfied that we were well within the
take-off parameters of the Cessna as we had a few more seconds to gain airspeed, then I
burnt off considerable fuel. I remember pulled back firmly, but gently - overriding the
thinking as I was taxiing out that a short-field fatal instinct - and almost at that moment, at
take-off might be appropriate as I had a full tree top level, I heard a dull thump.
We were flying away normally, it seemed,
complement of people aboard. It was not a
long strip, and I was not completely sure of and gaining height. I then looked out my side

10 FLIGHT SAFETY AUSTRALIA AUTUMN 1997

of the plane to see what the noise had been.

Wrapped around the wheel and its strut was
a liana vine.
After checking thoroughly, I determined
there were no other problems. We were safe
enough in the air, but I was left with a nagging
concern about landing with a vine around a
wheel. Further inspections of the wheel convinced me we could land safely as the vine was
not likely to present a serious problem.
This has been my only close encounter with
the prospect of catastrophe.
But why had I got into this predicament in
the first place? There were a number of now
obvious reasons which at the time seemed relatively unimportant. The brief showers that
had fallen over the previous days had softened
the ground. The well-rolled soil of the airstrip
did not escape this softening. This was pronounced in the centre of the strip. The tyre
pressure of the Cessna wheels was not as high
as it should have been for the conditions (yet
I carried a hand pump with me). Another significant factor was the increase in grass
growth on the strip over the previous days.

'Mer" Island: a short strip with uns

round conditions.

ANAUSIS US

importance of thorough pre-flight

preparation, especially when operating on
unfamiliar grassy strips. It also emphasises the
need to have a sound knowledge of your aircraft and of the factors affecting the aircraft's
performance. It can sometimes be difficult to
switch from a relaxed, holiday mode to the
disciplined, professional attitude required for
flight operations. However, flying is not like
driving a car; we can't simply hop in or go on
the hunch that we are "well within the take-off
parameters".
Before take-off, the pilot should have completed a weight and balance sheet for the aircraft and calculated his take-off distance using
the appropriate performance charts in the
Cessna 172 flight manual. His calculation
should have taken into account all factors
affecting the performance of the aircraft, in
this case, density height (warm day, high field
elevation) and the type of runway surface
(grass strip, soft/short field). The pilot should
also have selected an abort point before taking-off. This would have ensured that there
was no hesitation in making a decision to
abort if the aircraft has not reached take-off
speed by the predetermined point.
While it is true that most light aircraft, such
as the Cessna 172, can take-off in less than
500m, it must be remembered that perfor-

mance charts are based on the following conditions:

Sea level.
Standard temperature (15C).
Hard level runway or short dry grass.
Nil wind.
New aircraft with the engine in excellent
condition.
Any change in these conditions can increase
the take-off distance required quite substantially. For example, for each 1,000 feet above
sea level, most light aircraft handbooks will recommend adding at least 10 per cent to the takeoff distance required. An increase of 10C can
add 20per cent to the
take-off run. In addition, the take-off distance can be increased
by a further 25 per cent
for operations in long
or wet grass, or when
taking-off from a soft
field (see diagram).
The pilot indicated
that he "put down
flap", but he does not
say what flap setting he
used. While the Cessna
172 pilot operating
handbook states that
10 of flap should be
used for short or soft
field take-off, it must
be remembered that

the use of excessive flap, in this case more than

10 during take-off, can greatly deteriorate
climbing performance.
Finally, the pilot may also have succumbed
to the subtle pressures of showing his friends
he was a skilled new aircraft owner.
This, coupled with a lack of adequate preflight preparation, can easily trap the unwary
pilot.
Prue Anderson and Irene Henley, department of
aviation studies, University of Western Sydney,
Macarthur.

FLIGHT SAFETY AUSTRALIA AUTUMN 1997 11