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2016's 8 Injured Aircraft

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  • 2016's 8 Injured Aircraft

    Just a recap to help anybody with concerns or questions, feel free to add info! I witnessed all of them in person except for the beginning of Chiwami's sequence of events, and Marilyn's incident.

    1. Friday: Pete Zaccagnino in Jet heat 1A,
    -There's been a lot of speculation on what initially started the chain of events from the canopy shattering to a bird strike, etc. Pete stayed high above the course to ultimately try to make runway 14 as he came in from basically show center, but came up short after the engine stopped making power. Instead of trying to quickly turn and make the runway (which would've been very bad) Pete kept the gear up and set it down as gently as he could in the brush off the end of 32. Plane is destroyed

    2. Saturday: Chiwami Tagiaki-Read in Sport Heat 2C,
    -What I've heard and what makes sense is that the engine started smoking coming down the chute, she pulled off the course to make runway 14 and the plane started streaming fire and smoke as she touched down. She got out safely and the fire crew worked to put out the fire. Plane is destroyed

    3. Saturday: Marilyn Dash post Biplane Heat 3B,
    -I've heard from Marilyn that it was a ground loop. I don't really know the cause, but the plane was in the pits and seems to be in easily fixable shape.

    4/5. Sunday: Jeff Rose and Eric Zine post Biplane Gold
    -I saw this situation play out. It seemed like Zine was really anxious to get on the ground after barely holding off Kirk Murphy. He gunned it towards the sky and turned it around very quick to land on runway 8. He got it down safely and kept taxiing to get off at the exit near home pylon. Rose came in very hot and couldn't get the plane on the ground let alone slowed down before coming into contact with Zine. I've seen various times that the biplanes have rolled past each other as the runway is wide enough, but Rose clipped Zine's left wing and sent him in a very rapid 360. Zine spun 180 and rolled backwards until the tail snapped and the plane halted to a stop. Rose got out pretty quick and Zine took a little while, but it appears that he is fine.

    6/7. Sunday: Steve Senegal and Thom Richard pre Formula One Gold
    -A little more speculation here from a video of the incident as well as what I saw. The race began and Thom wasn't moving at all, he appeared to still be in the plane but the canopy was open. Senegal came up on Thom's right side and clipped what appeared to be Thom's right wing with either his left gear or his left wing. This spun Thom in almost a 180 and Senegal's left wheel departed the plane and looks like pretty much tore the left wing off. It slid a little further (while slowly spinning) and ended up backwards. Thom's plane was reported fixable, Senegal's plane maybe not so much. It didn't look awful but it took out a big chunk of the plane. What most likely happened is that Senegal wasn't able to see Thom as the tail wasn't yet up on Endeavor and visibility is obviously very minimal.

    8. Sunday: John Parker post Sport Gold
    -This was one of the craziest maydays and outcomes I have ever seen. John took second behind Jeff and immediately called a mayday after the race. As I was watching Andy put One Moment down I lost John in the sky until he came into view around the guide pylon (appx). He supposedly thought he was going to make 14, but didn't have nearly enough power as the plane was thrashed. The next thing I saw was John attempting to take the plane off roading through the brush pointing it right at the centerline of 14/32. The plane hopped up when it hit the runway and came to a stop, still standing on its gear. I was standing there in shock of what just happened and seeing the damage in person later I was even more amazed. I would post a pic but still to this day cant figure out how to. The bottom side was scratched up, the scoop was torn up a little and filled with sticks and leaves, they cycled the gear doors and more sticks fell out. The tail wheel was smashed into the airframe and there were some more dents here and there but the plane was in incredible shape.

    Scary year but very happy everyone is alive and well!
    Reno from '99 to '22

  • #2
    Re: 2016's 8 Injured Aircraft

    Thank you very much for this! It's nice to have an informed summary of all the various incidents. This kind of thing is very important for future historians of the sport.

    Anybody have any idea why Senegal was staged behind Thom? That seems quite strange -- he should have been in the front row, from the Heat race results. And Thom's canopy was open -- are you sure about that? There's almost no way in the normal sequence of a Formula 1 start that that could be the case unless he ejected the closed canopy for some reason literally as the flag dropped. The starter should be standing there with the flag raised looking right at the front row. A good starter would never drop the flag if he sees somebody in the front row with an engine not turning or worse, a canopy open.

    It all seems stranger and stranger. Does Formula 1 still take selected photographers out to the start area to photograph the start? If so does anybody know who was out there?

    Neal

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    • #3
      Re: 2016's 8 Injured Aircraft

      Originally posted by wingman View Post
      Thank you very much for this! It's nice to have an informed summary of all the various incidents. This kind of thing is very important for future historians of the sport.

      Anybody have any idea why Senegal was staged behind Thom? That seems quite strange -- he should have been in the front row, from the Heat race results. And Thom's canopy was open -- are you sure about that? There's almost no way in the normal sequence of a Formula 1 start that that could be the case unless he ejected the closed canopy for some reason literally as the flag dropped. The starter should be standing there with the flag raised looking right at the front row. A good starter would never drop the flag if he sees somebody in the front row with an engine not turning or worse, a canopy open.

      It all seems stranger and stranger. Does Formula 1 still take selected photographers out to the start area to photograph the start? If so does anybody know who was out there?

      Neal
      There are plenty of unanswered questions but I have video proof I watched over and over and the canopy is up
      Reno from '99 to '22

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: 2016's 8 Injured Aircraft

        Hope for Marylin's sake I'm wrong, but a pilot friend of mine said he saw a wrinkle in the leading edge of the lower wing, and with the gear looking out of kilter, could be some firewall issues as well.
        No pixels were harmed, honest.

        http://www.ignomini.com
        http://www.pbase.com/ignomini

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: 2016's 8 Injured Aircraft

          Originally posted by GRNDP51 View Post
          There are plenty of unanswered questions but I have video proof I watched over and over and the canopy is up
          I apologise if it sounded like I was doubting your word, as I certainly did not mean to sound like that. It's just such an extraordinary thing to hear that I could hardly believe my eyes.

          And thanks again for the great post...

          Neal

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: 2016's 8 Injured Aircraft

            Originally posted by wingman View Post
            I apologise if it sounded like I was doubting your word, as I certainly did not mean to sound like that. It's just such an extraordinary thing to hear that I could hardly believe my eyes.

            And thanks again for the great post...

            Neal
            I re-read that over, that was my bad I didn't mean for it to come off like that. I couldn't believe it either it just didn't make any sense! I looked at it close just to make sure the canopy was open and sure enough...
            Reno from '99 to '22

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            • #7
              Re: 2016's 8 Injured Aircraft

              Did the pace plane have troubles on Sunday? Or did it get in the air?
              Random Air Blog

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              • #8
                Re: 2016's 8 Injured Aircraft

                Originally posted by Samuel View Post
                Did the pace plane have troubles on Sunday? Or did it get in the air?
                For Unlimited? Canopy wouldn't shut, got it shut after 2-3 mins and went up after the last racer took off, had to play a little catch up but Steven lined them up very well
                Reno from '99 to '22

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                • #9
                  Re: 2016's 8 Injured Aircraft

                  Originally posted by GRNDP51 View Post
                  For Unlimited? Canopy wouldn't shut, got it shut after 2-3 mins and went up after the last racer took off, had to play a little catch up but Steven lined them up very well
                  So they did start off Voodoo?
                  Random Air Blog

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                  • #10
                    Re: 2016's 8 Injured Aircraft

                    Originally posted by Samuel View Post
                    So they did start off Voodoo?
                    Pace plane caught up to them around Peavine and took over from there. If he had not been able to take off, Stevo would have lined them up and called the start. One of the contingouncy plans in place.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: 2016's 8 Injured Aircraft

                      The pace plane started the race as normal. They have had canopy issues with the pace plane in the past as I recall. I must say, standing out and pylon 2 at the start of the Unlimited gold race is an amazing experience.

                      Will

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                      • #12
                        Re: 2016's 8 Injured Aircraft

                        Originally posted by ignomini View Post
                        Hope for Marylin's sake I'm wrong, but a pilot friend of mine said he saw a wrinkle in the leading edge of the lower wing, and with the gear looking out of kilter, could be some firewall issues as well.
                        Bent the gear, right lower wing damaged. (probably easier and more cost effective to replace than fix). No prop strike, no fuselage damage. On a trailer this morning headed to the shop for repairs. Cause of the ground loop was the tail getting caught in one of the nasty expansion joints in the runway. Those joints cause several sketchy moments and bent / broken parts this year.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: 2016's 8 Injured Aircraft

                          Originally posted by GRNDP51 View Post
                          For Unlimited? Canopy wouldn't shut, got it shut after 2-3 mins and went up after the last racer took off, had to play a little catch up but Steven lined them up very well
                          I was listening to the exchange between Pace, Voodoo and Race Control on the scanner. Hinton Sr. told the tower that he was troubleshooting a problem in the cockpit, but was not more specific at that time. He made arrangements with Hinton Jr and Race Control for Voodoo to take the unlimited gold race down the chute.

                          The pace plane taxied off the runway and the field departed. They fixed the problem on the pace plane almost immediately after the others got off the runway and departed just after the unlimited field. Right after takeoff, Pace called Voodoo and said that they had needed to "unjam a switch".

                          The conversation was interesting because the way Hinton Sr addressed Hinton Jr as "Steve-o" in a pretty familiar way struck me in particular that it was a father to son conversation.

                          Presumably since he doesn't have smoke on Voodoo, Hinton Jr made many position and speed calls on the radio. He kept the field at 250 knots for quite a while so that pace could catch up.

                          -Wade

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                          • #14
                            Re: 2016's 8 Injured Aircraft

                            Thom Richard posted video that's insanely dramatic -- and scary:

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: 2016's 8 Injured Aircraft

                              Scary is right. He was lucky to only have his hand smashed by an airplane. Yikes.
                              You'll get your chance, smart guy!

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