B-24 Landing Gear Mishap

[NCnam]

My uncle saw this when his plane landed at Charlotte Douglas this past weekend. Caught the tail end of what could've been a horrible loss.

[m1ashooter]

Oh crap.

[Sabrejet]

Let's hope the airframe wasn't compromised and that she'll be fixed and airborne again soon....once the CAA have had their say!

[Johnny Signor]

Yeah , the "24 " has/had a bad rep during WW-2 for the nose wheel loss, it looks like it caught up with them , hopefully she'll get the needed repairs and be back in the air soon !

[Teamski]

The good ole' CAF. I see that certain things never change.....

 

-Ski

[Jack's Son]

I hope there will be news updates in that area. I'd like to know the outcome of the repairs that are needed.

[Johnny Signor]

Yeah the CAF has had a string of "mishaps" over the years , the B-26 Marauder loss ,the Helldiver and Spanish built 109 with gear problems , etc etc ............

CAF- Crashes and Fixes......................................

[Third Herd]

They also lost a PBY and an HE-111.

[Teamski]

And don't forget about the F-82......

 

-Ski

[Sabrejet]

More info here:

 

http://www.worldwarbirdnews.com/tag/crashesaccidentsmishaps/

[MWalsh]

Just read the story on it from the link you provided Sabrejet. Dang! That happened with 16 passengers on board! And they had to fly around for an hour buring fuel first. Bet THAT was the longest hour of many of their lives...

 

The scary part is that from what I understand, the ability to carry paying passengers is a tenuous matter at best, this sort of thing is why. I had the privelege to fly on the Collings Foundation B-24 about 15 years ago, it was a fantastic experience. I'd hate to see people no longer be able to do that.

 

It is all the more reason to do such things now, and see these warbirds at airshows now, before the day comes when they are all grounded. Hate to see it, but that I suspect its not out of the realm of possibilities if something horrible were to happen.

 

MW

[rr01]

I received the below E~mail alert this past week which was originally initiated late last month.

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Recently we had an alert for some Congressional b*z* who had proposed legislation that would have shut down vintage Warbirds from flying...that failed as he could not get any co-sponsors(?).

 

Now, the FAA y*y*s, are trying to ground all War Birds by changing the regs.

 

Time to gather together and contact the FAA and our Congressional Reps!!

 

Rudy

 

 

 

----- Original Message -----

 

From: Collings Foundation

To: rudy

Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2012 11:15 AM

Subject: Collings Foundation's May eNews

 

 

Warbird Operators in danger again!

FAA Moratorium on Living History Flight Exemptions (LHFE)

Recent actions of the FAA in Washington is increasingly

hostile to historic warbird operators across the United States.

This Memorial Day we are reminded of all of the sacrifices made by our nations veterans. But the FAA wants to take away our Veteran's ability and yours to fly in their historic aircraft.

We need your support and help!

 

When the FAA says they would like to "re-evaluate" the Living History Flight Exemption (LHFE) - it is easy to guess what that means. It means the FAA is looking for ways to greatly restrict or all together stop issuing LHFE exemptions. Collings Foundation and the entire warbird community need your help to protect our freedom to offer flights in these aircraft. Without this exemption from the FAA we cannot offer rides to the public. The Wings of Freedom tour and flying of most historic aircraft will end without public support.

 

One would assume that something as drastic as a moratorium would have been precipitated by a major problem, like the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, but it was not. In fact all of the LHFE operations that have ever taken place have a perfect safety record, there has not been one accident, fatality or serious injury that has taken place during an LHFE flight.

 

The FAA Moratorium (FAA-2011-0286) that was established on March 23, 2011 has had a profound negative impact on not only the LHFE operators, but also on the veterans, their families and the public have all been deprived of experiencing historic aircraft. This Memorial Day reminds us of all of our nations heroes that have left us. The Veterans Administration estimates 1,000 WWII Veterans pass away each day. The Vietnam Veterans Association states that an average of 390 Veterans that served in Vietnam pass away each day. This totals 10,758 Veterans each week that pass on, so our time is limited to personally honor these brave men. From the start of the Moratorium until the proposed open meeting we will have lost 645,000 veterans, many of them missing the chance see or fly on “their” airplane. Time is running out for Vietnam Veterans, as only 850,000 of the 2.7 Million that served “in country” are still alive!

 

Currently, aircraft that have a LHFE exemption are also at risk as there is no guarantee from the FAA that these letters will be renewed (especially considering recent actions taken by the FAA). The FAA has proposed a rule change involving the LHFE. The issues that the FAA have brought forward are virtually the same issues that has already been addressed at a conference in Oshkosh ten years ago at a meeting chaired by Director of Flight Standards, John Allen.

 

Some of the information in the FAA's notice is erroneous and meant to mislead the public (in a negative way). The current staff at the FAA chooses to ignore the existing policy and is using this opportunity to rewrite the regulations. (To see article written by Aero News regarding this issue click here).

 

Examples of the FAA and DoD hostility include the LHFE exemption program moratorium, the recent change of how the airworthiness certificates for former military jet aircraft are issued and the attempt to modify the Title 10 Section 2571 to prohibit any transfer of Government aircraft or parts for any purpose other than static display (see April's eNewsletter regarding Congressman Michael Turner). We are certain that changes in the LHFE program are just another way to limit warbird operation.

 

The FAA is hosting a public meeting to discuss LHFE in Washington DC, June 26th thru June 28th. The FAA is looking for input from the public. If you would like to see historic aircraft continue to fly in honor of our Veterans and be able to experience flying in these aircraft your support is needed. Tell the FAA and your local representative to leave the existing LHFE alone. This policy should be expanded, not contracted. It is important to present a cohesive front to the FAA before the rules become more draconian.

 

Talking Points (for FAA letters):

 

1) Leave the current LHFE policy alone.

 

2) Allow operators to offer aerobatic flight.

 

3) Allow operators to let the passenger manipulate the flight controls.

 

4) Allow "replica" aircraft like the Me-262 to receive an LHFE exemption.

 

5) Remove the unnecessary provision that forces us to have arrestor gear for the

F-4 and TA-4

 

6) End the unnecessary moratorium immediately and process the Collings Foundation's requests as expeditiously as possible.

 

To view the FAA's summary of concerns to be addressed in the meeting letter

CLICK HERE (If you can not view - go to top of email and click on "at this link" then click on letter again to download directly from our server)

 

To view the Collings Foundation's formal letter to John Allen, Director of Flight Standards in response to concerns listed CLICK HERE (If you can not view - go to top of email and click on "at this link" then click on letter again to download directly from our server)

 

All comments have to be received by June 18th.

For those unable to attend the meetings, written comments (identified by docket number FAA-2012-0374) may be submitted using a number of methods (shown below):

 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the instructions for sending comments electronically. Attach the Collings Foundation's letter to John Allen. We encourage you to CC the Collings Foundation at: [email protected]

 

Mail: Send comments to Docket Operations, M-30, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590.

 

Fax: Fax comments to Docket Operations at 202-493-2251.

 

The FAA claims that, "written comments to the docket will receive the same consideration as statements made at the public meeting."

 

Additional important contacts:

FAA acting administrator Michael P. Huerta. CLICK HERE

Your local Representative. CLICK HERE

Transportation Committee Members. CLICK HERE

 

If you are planning on attending the meeting: Due to limited space, the FAA notes that, "attendees are required to please reply (RSVP) to [email protected]. Seating will be on a first-come-first-serve basis." If you are not going to speak you can yeild your time to another speaker - like Rob Collings. (RSVP by June 18th)

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Help us "Keep E'm Flying" for Future Generations