I can't decide if this was the right thing to do in this situation or not. Apparently he flew it 80 miles back to wherever he came from afterward.



But its for sale now so he must've made the right decision, cause he's still around!

Wow! Good example of dumb luck trumping everything else....

Gump

The real tragedy here is that you know that video was shot in 1080p from a smartphone. The original shooter then put it up on Facebook without choosing to preserve quality, then someone snaked it to upload to Youtube and it looks like shit.

But after that minor complaint, I'd haul ass too to avoid the embarrassment!! Hahaha. It's like he was doing a skateboard grind or something.

I believe I would have shut her down and rode it out. Juss sayin. Idk. I guess it is better to be lucky than good.

wow how did he not have a prop strike?

He DID have prop strikes. Hard ones.

He's more than really lucky that when he went to haul ass to avoid embarrassment, props and/or engine didn't depart the aircraft at about 500 ft AGL. Good way to end up real dead real fast.

Don't any of you guys try what this moron did.

Gump

Looked to be right on the edge of a stall as he climbed out. Some nose down might have helped gain a little airspeed. Lucky guy.

daedaluscan wrote:Looked to be right on the edge of a stall as he climbed out. Some nose down might have helped gain a little airspeed. Lucky guy.

Yes. I think had he been loaded any heavier, it would have been a tragic outcome.

Zzz wrote:The real tragedy here is that you know that video was shot in 1080p from a smartphone. The original shooter then put it up on Facebook without choosing to preserve quality, then someone snaked it to upload to Youtube and it looks like shit.

lol. So you say you're a video producer?

Crzyivan13 wrote:I guess it is better to be lucky than good.

Every time!

I'd have done the same thing, so nobody would make fun of my poopy pants. Seriously, those props look like they got beat to jelly. How did they even make power enough to go around?

Damage: Minor
LOCATION City: FORT PIERCE
State: Florida
Country:
DESCRIPTION
Description: AIRCRAFT LANDED GEAR UP, STRUCK BELLY AND PROPS, TOOK OFF AND LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT AT FORT LAUDERDALE AIRPORT, FORT PIERCE, FL

I can't even imagine going forward with the throttle after hearing those props chew concrete. He must have bent all blades equally enough that it created a half-ass balance and kept both props and motors from flinging themselves off the plane.

I once saw a Cessna 421 with all blades on one prop curled under. Other prop was fine. When I asked what the hell happened, they said the pilot and some friends had been out skimming the lake, then flew home and never noticed anything wrong until they pulled power in the pattern and the plane started trying to shake itself apart. Once they got on the ground they figured out that they must have kissed the water with the left prop while in a shallow left bank, but the blades were curled equally enough that the prop didn't come out of balance until they pulled back on the power in the pattern. The geometry revealed that, in order for the prop to drag on one side only, their left wingtip couldn't have been more than inches above the water. The fact that the prop strike didn't just suck them into the lake still mystifies me to this day.

The fact that this guy managed to fly this one home is even more mind-boggling to me.

RanchPilot wrote:The fact that this guy managed to fly this one home is even more mind-boggling to me.

Not only that but how frickin fast was he still moving in order to drag the thing back off the ground after beating the ends of the props off? When I saw that video for the first time I was sure it was just going to be another "skid off the end of the runway into the weeds" moment. Maybe it's just me but it sure looks like he's really cooking on final.

Amazing.

Looked like he scraped along on the belly pretty good too. Customizing I believe is the technical term.

AIr Molokai (defunct) did the same "gear up touch & go" on PHNL RWY (4), CLASS B airspace Continued in the pattern and landed. The ill fainted Cessna-402 just missed a row of hangars. No injuries. The pilot was an a$$ too. I knew him, he stole a radio out of my C-172M.

As ol' PT allegedly said, there's another fool born every minute. This time he was flying an Aerostar.

Cary

Maybe after 80 miles at 2300RPM the prop blades straighten back out due to centrifugal force

I have witnessed two of these near "landings" and both were at Blakley Island. The first was a mint condition stagger wing Beech. In that case the pilot went around and landed. Unfortunately a FAA agent was visiting on of the people there. Thought the pilot was going to have a heart attack. The second was a buddy of mine flying a comanche 250. He also went around and landed. I gave him a ride home, since he was not going to fly it. He did change his pants and take a shower. But the interesting thing is that neither crashed or was injured.

Moss Farmer