The following article appeared in the January 2006 issue of The Tailspin, EAA Chapter 74 s newsletter.  (reprinted by permission of newsletter editor.)

Broken Wings

by Bob Hayden

    This is a tale of three airplanes.  It ends badly for two of them, and it doesn't look good for the third.  Let me tell you a tale of ill happenings, public hysteria, and knee-jerk reactions in high places that made bad things worse, and destroyed a lot of good airplanes for no good purpose.

    Return with me to a time not too awfully long ago, when a Beech 18, the beloved and original "twin Beech", was flying along the California costal beaches.  California beaches being what they are, the Beech was flying in close to shore and plenty low so that everyone on board could enjoy the view.  Suddenly, in full view of hundreds of beachgoers, a wing separated from the aircraft which immediately crashed into the surf, killing all on board.

    Not too awfully long after that, a pilot was flying his recently purchased, well-used Cherokee 140 on a trip when suddenly a wing separated from the aircraft, which then immediately crashed, killing all on board.

    Just a few days back, a Chalk airways Grumman departing for Bimini was outbound along Government Cut when a wing came off the airplane, which crashed into the sea, killing all on board.  There are clear similarities in all three of these accidents.  Three planes, all rather old and well used.

    Three wing separations, all of which were found to have associated cracks in the spar of the failed wing.  The obvious answer - ground all of each type of aircraft until the entire fleet has spar inspections and repairs as necessary.  The only hitch - to inspect the spars, the wing must be dissembled, then dye-penetrant, Zyglo, or X-ray inspected in addition to visual inspection.   Any deficiencies found must be corrected before the plane is returned to service - or junked as too expensive to repair.

    Hundreds, if not thousands, of perfectly good airplanes were junked when the owners could not afford inspections that cost more than the worth of the aircraft.  In the case of the Beech, the approved procedure was to tear the wings apart for inspection, or install an external spar strap from behind one engine, under the fuselage, to behind the other engine, to "reinforce" the spar and prevent overload cracks.  The cost was horrendous.  Cherokees hit the salvage yards in droves, since the inspection cost more than the plane was worth - and the worth of all these planes fell like streamlined brick when these "cures" were announced.  The Grummans - well, all these type aircraft are grounded now until an official decision on their fate is made, but I can see it coming, can't you?

    Now let me tell you the rest of the story.  The Beech that crashed off the coast of California, it developed, had been observed about 30 minutes earlier "buzzing" a beach about 50 miles away.  During the "Buzz Job", the right wing - the one that later separated - was seen to strike the water, after which the aircraft climbed several hundred feet and proceeded on to the next beech, where the accident occurred.  Spar cracks had nothing to do with this crash, it was pure stupidity.  The Cherokee, it turned out, had been flown some 14,000 plus hours doing ultra low-level maneuvering.  It was not your typical used airplane, regardless of hours of flight time.  The wonder is that the wings stayed on as long as they did!

    The Grumman - well, there's more to that story, too.  The plane had been converted to a turboprop, and was a flying boat type of amphibian.  The engines were high mounted to keep the props clear of the spray, and the visibility from the cockpit is not the best in the world.  It would appear that there was a failure somewhere in either the fuel or exhaust system - maybe both - that resulted in a fire in the starboard wing.  Numerous witnesses saw and videoed the aircraft flying along streaming a trail of fire and smoke behind it.  There was no Mayday call transmitted.  There was no attempt to turn back to the seaplane port.  There was no attempt to pull power and land in the smooth waters of Government Cut.  It is obvious that the crew was unaware of the fire, and probably so were the passengers.  The flames and smoke pouring over the upper surface of the wing would only be visible to anyone on the plane if they turned and looked behind the plane as it flew.  Just like the shuttle Columbia, the blowtorch over the wing melted the aluminum structure, weakened, the spar and finally blew the fuel tank.  The rest is history.

    The cracks? Well, lots of cracks are found in planes, and most of the time they are of no particular cause for alarm.  They are inspected, and frequently require no more than ongoing awareness that they need to be watched.  If they progress, deepen, or otherwise appear  to becoming a possible danger, then action is taken.  The Grummans?  Well, the NTSB will undoubtedly follow its old pattern and declare that all of them are unsafe until and unless inspected, those grand old planes will be scrapped, and one of the oldest continually operating airlines will close its doors.  Public opinion will overrule competent, logical investigating again, and we will all suffer from "political correctness" one more time.

    Shed a tear for the old Grummans, folks - we wont see their kind again. 

Be careful out there.

Bob