B-29 Tragedy.

[BG-09]

I can not believe it. It is a TRAGEDY:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tJb-bmgBC0&NR=1

Unbelieveble... Speechless.

[Splitter]

Awwww, that is a tragedy!

Splitter

[BLR_Tonin_fr]

Just watched the all story of 6 part.

I'm speechless as well as sad.

Thanks for sharing.

[mazex]

I saw the whole TV-show some years ago and yes - it's a tragedy that they even thought of taking a plane that had been there in the snow for 50 years and take of from a badly plowed lake even if the engines etc where "new"... Hell - if taxing a plane in bad shape why not make sure the runway was smoth before trying? You can clearly see the violent oscillations that occurrs. Why not take it a bit easy while taxiing? Probably afraid to get stuck in the badly plowed strip...

Why not spend the time dismantling it and persuade the guys at Thule to borrow them a fat heli to lift the stuff away?

[major_setback]

At first I thought ..wtf, wtf, wtf...what are they doing!! Then later...oh dear, oh dear, oh dear...
..such a disappointment, such a waste!!
Who let those idiots do that???? Such a priceless machine in incompetent hands. Dear God!
I don't know what I feel more sad about...the fact that such a beautiful priceless machine is lost, or the fact that people will even do that. It was obviously liable to fail at some time in a first flight after so many years without proper maintenance...it was just very, very lucky that no one was killed.

Ohhhhhh, the lack of humanity!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fooooooooooooooooooooooooooools!

[Romanator21]

Especially tragic because the engineer, Rick Kriege, literally worked himself to death on this project. All squandered in seconds by poor planning, poor judgment, impatience, and greed.

[Feuerfalke]

Maybe it was just doomed to stay right there.


Luckily nobody got hurt, luckily, it didn't catch fire after it was airborne.

[Urufu_Shinjiro]

I haven't seen all six parts, but was there any other way to get that plane out of there OTHER than fly it out? Seems an experienced test pilot who's built his own planes before would know enough not to do this unless there wasn't any other choice.

[Romanator21]

But he still rushed the entire project - notice how it was taxiing. One should never attempt to takeoff any plane from a "runway" like that, much less a 50 year old one. Could you imagine that going at full speed?

Their bulldozer did not have proper flattening equipment, just the plow. They had less than half the runway that was required in the operating manual. The APU broke loose from the bouncing and caught fire, but it wasn't supposed to be on after engine start-up in the first place.

You can hear Darryl say "someone left the APU on..." but as PIC it's his responsibility to ensure that it was off, and his responsibility to have the balls to say "no-go" in the first place and take more time to make sure everything is right.

There are just a string of things that are absolutely wrong with this. In the second or third part, he's talking with a weather briefer on the radio, who advises against flying due to weather - but he goes anyway. It may all seem like minor cock-ups, but it all adds up with disastrous consequences. This is how 99% of air accidents happen.

I get the impression that he was just too impatient, too complacent, too much of a fighter-jock to take on a serious project such as this. It was better left to more competent leadership.

That's my rant...

[WTE_Galway]

I remember that debacle. people at the time claimed they should have dismantled it and flown it out in parts.

If I recall correctly the fire was caused by jury rigged temporary generators not the 50 year old airframe ?

I also remember alot of recrimination becasue they not only lost a rare warbird but also 4 equally rare newly rebuilt Wright R3350's