Wed, Sep 03, 2003
If It Were, Pilot Might Not Have Had Problem
British brain surgeon Donald Campbell, 55, crashed a rented
Seneca into a house in West Sussex, England, in April of 2001. The
crash's aftermath is finally coming up in court. ANN
News-Spy Mike alerted us to the unusual story, a story
that might be helpful for the rest of us. After all, why make our
own mistakes, when we have so much to learn from other
peoples'?
What seems to have
happened is this: Dr. Campbell put 23 gallons of gasoline into the
Piper Seneca he rented from Sky Liesure Aviation, to cover for his
planned trip. The story said he loaded those 23 gallons, rather
than the 30 that he had counted on having, because he made a
miscalculation in converting liters to gallons. Just what
calculation that could have been, was not mentioned. He asked for
90 liters; he should have requested 113 or so.
Let's see: 30 gallons US is 25 Imperial, is 113.6 liters... 23
Imperial gallons (27.6 US) is 104.5 liters... 87 liters (23 US
gallons) is just over 19 Imperial... but 113 quarts would
have equaled 23 Imperial gallons, and 113 liters equal
nearly 30 US gallons -- so there you have it!
At any rate, Dr. Campbell's flight ended in the Shoreham home of
Helen Monahan, who had left just five minutes before the Seneca got
there to demolish it.
The prosecutor, Phillip Shepherd, said in court, "It would be
bad enough to run out of fuel on the fast lane of the motorway but
it is unforgivable when you are flying over a residential area."
Campbell's eventual punishment or fines are yet to be determined.
Dr. Campbell's past, according to reports from the area, includes a
previous and similar miscalculation, that happened on a rental from
the same firm, a few months previous.
More News
Back-Taxi A term used by air traffic controllers to taxi an aircraft on the runway opposite to the traffic flow. The aircraft may be instructed to back-taxi to the beginning of the>[...]
“Our WAI members across the nation are grateful for the service and sacrifice of the formidable group of WASP who served so honorably during World War II. This group of brave>[...]
“Many aspiring pilots fall short of their goal due to the cost of flight training, so EAA working with the Ray Foundation helps relieve some of the financial pressure and mak>[...]
Blind Speed The rate of departure or closing of a target relative to the radar antenna at which cancellation of the primary radar target by moving target indicator (MTI) circuits i>[...]
Aero Linx: International Airline Medical Association (IAMA) The International Airline Medical Association, formerly known as the Airline Medical Directors Association (AMDA) was fo>[...]