Quote:
Originally Posted by Legionnaire70
February 2010, this plane was taking off and a gust of wind blew it off the runway. All the prop blades wrapped around the cowl. After speaking to the pilot he told me this was his 3rd airplane mishap...
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About ten years ago, I took my daughter to LWM one snowy Christmas eve so we could shovel out my Cherokee 180 and take a late day flight. While shoveling, we were approached by a gentleman who asked me how I liked my Cherokee. He proceeded to tell us that he had a Piper Dakota, and it was the third similar aircraft (PA-28) he has owned (I think he said his first one was a 140 Cherokee, and then a 150 Warrior) Anyway he told us how he had crashed his first plane into a hill while trying to land at Laconia. He had others on board and they all walked away. The second time he crashed, was into the chimney of his own house during takeoff from a private airstrip. Again he had others on board, and they all walked away. He said forgot to deploy his flaps before takeoff. So in his opinion the PA-28 aircraft was a real rugged airplane. After he walked away, my daughter said to me "dad, is that guy a crash dummy or something?" To this day whenever I see a PA-28 I think of that very lucky gentleman on that snowy ramp. I wonder if that is his Dakota with the collapsed nose gear and an appointment for a total engine overhaul?
Happy flying !!