Bill Booth - forced landing ;-) 08-27-2013

[holie 0]

http://www.news10.com/story/23269760/small-plane-crashes-in-greenfield

... Bill Booth, the pilot, says he's lucky to have walked away.

"It was pretty violent, but only a second and half and it was over," he said.

The only signs that show Booth was involved in the plane crash are the bandages wrapped around his hand and finger. He was flying this single engine lake amphibian when he had to make an emergency landing in this field.

"Five minutes after leaving airport I noticed strange indications on engine," he said. ...

[Remster 24]

Nothing to do with skydiving operations.

Remster

[DougH 270]

Agreed, this will be moved soon.

That plane got messed up!!! He must have ground looped the shit out of it during the emergency landing, bet that was a hell of a thing to experience, and then look down and find yourself mostly unharmed!

Glad our walked away in good condition Mr. Booth!

When I was packing tandems at a SIGMA dz I always got great amusement asking people if they saw my grandfather on the video waiver, haha. I would hate to tell that something happened to him in a plane crash.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[JohnMitchell 14]

And I posted in the Bonfire a congratulations to Bill for doing an outstanding job of hurting no one on the ground and walking away from the crash. Super nice job of keeping cooler than Fonzi.

[mirage62 0]

Jeez, I bet Booth maintains the hell out of that plane to..........glad he pulled it off.

Kevin Keenan is my hero, a double FUP, he does so much with so little

[rmarshall234 13]

Remster

Nothing to do with skydiving operations.

I couldn't disagree more. A wing is a wing is a wing..

Aside from his thousands of hours as a fixed wing pilot, I'll bet he was applying *everything* he knows and has learned about lift, airspeed, drag, glide angle, emergency procedures, etc. To a fixed wing pilot that is accustomed to landing on long paved runways, I'll bet that field would look impossibly small. For someone that is used to landing a parachute in fields a fraction of that size, I'm sure it looked do-able. It all crosses over.

Way to go, Bill!

[robinheid 0]

rmarshall234

***Nothing to do with skydiving operations.

I couldn't disagree more. A wing is a wing is a wing..

Aside from his thousands of hours as a fixed wing pilot, I'll bet he was applying *everything* he knows and has learned about lift, airspeed, drag, glide angle, emergency procedures, etc. To a fixed wing pilot that is accustomed to landing on long paved runways, I'll bet that field would look impossibly small. For someone that is used to landing a parachute in fields a fraction of that size, I'm sure it looked do-able. It all crosses over.

Way to go, Bill!

+1

I was thinking the same thing watching the news video. The good outcome started when Bill picked out "his" field, then put her down and did what was necessary to stay in the field.

As you say, a wing is a wing and the process and procedure Bill used to create that good outcome is a great example for anyone forced to land out.

BTW, this is the second Florida "Bill emergency landing" that has process/procedure lessons for jumpers: Bill Kitchen (inventor of Skycoaster and Skyventure and now a retired skydiver) had his 182 catch fire while in flight. I've attached the story I wrote about it in the March 2007 issue of SKYDIVING.

Congrats, Mr. Booth. I still remember fondly the rides I took in that little beast with you.


44

SCR-6933 / SCS-3463 / D-5533 / BASE 44 / CCS-37 / 82d Airborne (Ret.)

"The beginning of wisdom is to first call things by their right names."

[rmarshall234 13]

That's a great story, thanks for sharing. I particularly liked the part where the wind blew him to shore and he stepped onto land "without even a damp sock". Reminds me of the Sean Tucker quote..."good luck comes to those best prepared".

[kkeenan 13]

Good work by Bill. Too bad about his primo Lake Amphibian. It's a beautiful plane, and its sad to see it so trashed. From his interview, it sounds like he was cruising pretty fast along the ground after touchdown. It is an amphibian, after all, with a pretty slick hull. He said he was concerned about going too far and hitting something. He may have kicked a bit of a turn.

I've always been concerned about having an engine above and behind me if it came to a rough landing. I'm sure it's designed for a pretty good load in the forward direction - sideways, probably not so much.

Glad he had such a nice out to put it in.

Kevin K.

[Jonesy920x 0]

Technically you can't ground loop a Lake, but I'd be interested if he belly landed it or put the gear down.

Experience is knowing a lot of things you shouldn't do !

[wrightskyguy 1]

Why is this still up? This is not a skydiving incident.

John Wright

World's most beloved skydiver

[rmarshall234 13]

wrightskyguy

Why is this still up? This is not a skydiving incident.

It's not my decision to keep it up but if it were, this is how I would respond:

For those that think they are bad-ass skydivers or aspire to be and especially the canopy pilots, do a little cross training and take some flying lessons. What you learn about flying fixed wing aircraft and operating in the VFR/Part 91 system will help make you a much better and much _safer_ skydiver. I'm sure the same could be said for other aviation related activities, but this I know.

For one of the most recognized and accomplished individuals in our sport to turn a normally life threatening situation into just another "no shit there I was" bonfire story seems to me anyway, testament to the Abe Lincoln philosophy which goes something like this: "If I had 5 hours to chop down a tree I'd spend the first 4 sharpening my axe".

Preparedness, that's why I feel it is relevant.

[jumpwally 0]

Why do you care ? it's not costing anyone or harming anyone ?

smile, be nice, enjoy life
FB # - 1083

[Andy9o8 0]

jumpwally

Why do you care ? it's not costing anyone or harming anyone ?

Hey. You clearly know nothing about the joys of pedantics. It's all about the journey.