Warbird Information Exchange

More from the picture box. No injuries, couldn't lower gear.

1995, Should have never happened, he could not get his gear up after takeoff, but he cycled it several times and got the gear up, then he was unable to extend it later.

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Matt Gunsch, A&P, IA, Warbird maint and restorations
Jack, You have Debauched my sloth !!!!!!
We tried voting with the Ballot box, When do we start voting from the Ammo box, and am I allowed only one vote ?
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I was there standing next to the runway with my father and watched it. Nothing exciting at all, a simple landing with the gear up.

They did it later in the evening after the main airshow crowd was long gone.

I forget if that was the year the C-47 ran off the runway on takeoff, but it was around that time. I heard nobody locked the tailwheel on take off.

Mark H

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Fly safe or you get to meet me .......

I'm guessing the C-47 to which you're referring is that belonging to the Yankee Air Force, but I think that accident took place around 1986 or '87. The bird's tailwheel obviously broke into free castor, but I don't know if it was ever determined to be pilot error or if the mechanism malfunctioned.

For those not there, the scary part from that episode was that the C-47 ground-looped directly toward the crowd line with a good head of steam. I recall instinctively starting to sprint in that direction to help, as multiple and serious injuries to the crowd (which was trying to retreat) seemed inevitable. The aircraft flopped on its belly just before reaching the crowd. To this day I don't know if the main gear wiped out or if the pilot retracted them intentionally to avoid disaster.

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It was a good idea, it just didn't work.

The C-47 incident I believe was in '91. My father and I were standing in the crowd and went runing when it turned towards the crowd. The main gear was not wiped out and the aircraft came to a stop between 18 and taxi way. The whole thing happened a a pretty low speed but it is still scary when a plane that big is coming at you out of control. The pilot did a great job keeping it safe and getting it stopped. I have a bunch of pictures of it after the incident i will try to dig out and post.

I'll trust your close-up view of the event! I was farther north by the warbird ramp, watching the Gooneys taking off on 18, when the Yankee's C-47 took a 90 degree to the west. My memory might be shot at this point, but I seem to recall the aircraft dropping down as it came to a stop. Was there a ditch or significant depression that the aircraft rolled down into? I never fought through the crowd that day to examine the final result close up.

Glad you and Dad are still in one piece.

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It was a good idea, it just didn't work.

That had to be later than 91, because I remember it. I think Matt is right. 1994.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

It was 1995. The pilot did not want to miss taking part in the mass overflight for the 50th Aniversary of the end of WWII. He had to cycle the gear several times to get the gear up. Then he could not get it down again. He circled for quite a while trying to sort it out with help from the ground. He actually broke off the gear handle in the front cockpit, he then plane on auto pilot and unstrapped and laid over the back cockpit's glare shield and tried the rear gear lever, and broke it off as well.
So out of options, he bellied it in. no one was hurt in the landing, but later that evening while lifting the plane up, one of the crews working on the plane turned and walked into the ground down edge of the prop and laid his face open. So he got a trip to the hospital and some stitches.

I was standing at the approach end on 18 and got video of him flying over and sliding down the runway, he was out of the plane before it quit moving.

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Matt Gunsch, A&P, IA, Warbird maint and restorations
Jack, You have Debauched my sloth !!!!!!
We tried voting with the Ballot box, When do we start voting from the Ammo box, and am I allowed only one vote ?
Check out the Ercoupe Discussion Group on facebook

I was fairly close to where the C-47 came to a stop. It did roll into a depression near the taxiway. The crash crew was there very quickly and began trying to put fire retardent on the engines, which were showing no signs of fire. The plane crew stopped them before they could do any damage......

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Rod Schneider
Ball Ground, Ga

I was there too. They forgot to lock the tailwheel and once they got up to about 45mph. it got away from them. There is a drainage ditch and it went right in up to the wingtips. Good thing as it would have hit a green army jeep parked in its line of travel.
Don't know what the actual damage turned out to be but the word in the warbird area was that it was massive- engines, props, landing gear and wing damage. it couldn't be towed out, they had to have assistance from a big crane. Don't know how it actually turned out.