Jul 16, 2012, 10:30 AM
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Upside-Down Otter
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These photos, below, come from a Facebook thread. I don't have personal knowledge of this event, but I do have the basic facts of where and how it happened. But rather than reveal those right away, let's see if anyone else here knows about this incident. Mostly, I just thought I'd share the hearbreaking photos with a wider audience.
(This post was edited by JohnRich on Jul 16, 2012, 10:31 AM)
Actually, the word I have is that it was being taxied by a mechanic from a maintenance hanger back to the flight line, and a high wind gust caught the tail and flipped it over. So presumably the mechanic was inside at the controls at the time it happened.
Not sure I buy that, all the propeller blades are bent like a ground strike.
The left prop is bent aft as though it was out of feather but low power. The right prop shows S bending which looks like it was in feather at least or not running.
(This post was edited by diverdriver on Jul 16, 2012, 5:18 PM)
Hurricane Alicia damage at SPX in 1983. I have more photos tucked away in my trunk, there were a lot more aircraft upside down...
JohnRich, tell us more.
I initially thought of Hurricane Alicia, which turned over many aircraft at SpaceLand, but after a little thought I not so sure I remember the Otter being one of them. I do have pics of the carnage but it would take some digging to get to them.
Records I could find show that Metro Airline lost a Shorts 330 in a storm earlier the same year (1983) at Beaumont TX. No record of ever losing an Otter, what gives.
I initially thought of Hurricane Alicia, which turned over many aircraft at SpaceLand, but after a little thought I not so sure I remember the Otter being one of them. I do have pics of the carnage but it would take some digging to get to them. Who shot your photos???
I saw the photos posted on a Facebook page, and started asking questions. I don't recall who had them posted, but he was an old-time skydiver.
Here is all the description I have:
"The airplane on it's back is a DHC-6, Twin Otter. The Twin Otter was being taxiid from the maintenance hanger to the terminal in a thunderstrom when a tail wind flipped it over. Being taxiied by a mechanic, not a pilot. 50 knot tailwind, went over a hump in the taxiway, when tail came up, over she went... Control lock was installed, wrong choice. Jimmy Hefferman said it happened in Lawton, OK."
And of course, as you probably know, Metro Airlines was the source of the Otter that Dave Boatman started using at old Spaceland for skydiving, the first in the country to use that plane, now so popular everywhere.
I initially thought of Hurricane Alicia, which turned over many aircraft at SpaceLand, but after a little thought I not so sure I remember the Otter being one of them. I do have pics of the carnage but it would take some digging to get to them. Who shot your photos???
I saw the photos posted on a Facebook page, and started asking questions. I don't recall who had them posted, but he was an old-time skydiver.
Here is all the description I have:
"The airplane on it's back is a DHC-6, Twin Otter. The Twin Otter was being taxiid from the maintenance hanger to the terminal in a thunderstrom when a tail wind flipped it over. Being taxiied by a mechanic, not a pilot. 50 knot tailwind, went over a hump in the taxiway, when tail came up, over she went... Control lock was installed, wrong choice. Jimmy Hefferman said it happened in Lawton, OK."
And of course, as you probably know, Metro Airlines was the source of the Otter that Dave Boatman started using at old Spaceland for skydiving, the first in the country to use that plane, now so popular everywhere.
Otter u-d 1.jpg
But after I got done laughing I starting getting misty eyed, that is a sad picture! 
