The Crash

By a beautiful morning of February 1999 we were , my son Patrick and myself, flying over the Normandy countryside around Mézidon when we felt a light vibration (a little like carburetor icing, but my Lycoming is injected), by the time I changed tank, checked magnetos, a stronger vibration came on and the engine stopped…we were gliding. We could hear the propeller turning in the back. At 1500 feet , I just had time to send a mayday to give our position and to say that we were making an emergency landing in a field; meanwhile it was necessary to manage the situation: ploughed fields (that was the only option) not too far from homes (easier to get help), high tension wires which I will have to knit, find the good slope, get the landing gear down so that, if it goes, most of the energy will be burned off before we stop, cut off  fuel and  contacts and of course, fly the plane until the end. The landing will be shortest of my career ( 50 meters) but it leaves us completely unscathed, which is not the case of the left wing, it looks badly ruffled.

Two immediate observations, Patrick’s sang-froid surprised me very much and I was pleased, the composite structure resisted the shock extremely well (except the wing, all seemed in good condition, one would think that the plane had just made a belly landing).

The following day, after searching for a trailer, a driver and man power (thank you very much buddies), when we came to get the wreck off the field, we discovered that the driveshaft had broken approximately 30 cms away from the aft bearing cage.

We had to saw the wings off to get the wreck on the trailer and we returned to the hangar by road.

There I really thought that the Orion’s adventure was finished for us. There was nothing left but to dismantle everything and try to resell the parts, the engine and the instruments!!!

Then after some days of decanting, we made the following observation: except the wing, everything was still  good, therefore either we made or found a new wing !!

We were far from believing that the few months we thought necessary to rebuild would turn out to be 5 years (when one loves, one does not count!)

What happened?

After examination,  the accident’s origin was as follows: a few months earlier, I had the good idea to have the driveshaft checked in a specialized shop for Glaenzer Spicer. When I got the driveshaft back, it was very beautiful and had been repainted. But what I had not noticed right away was that the original fly-weights had been ground, and wildly at that, then new runners had been welded but un-correctly or at least they had not been checked and thus - by metal fatigue- one weld started a crack that propagated around the shaft for finally breaking when the shaft came in contact with the inside of the fuselage.

Findings after this crash :

I had heard some horendous stories on the Orion’s formula and these “stories” were hawked by good souls in the aviation’s world and I continue to hear them from time to time, namely:

ü      The driveshaft caused vibrations.

ü      In the event of engine stoppage, the propeller would turn wildly, making a disc brake which would make the plane un-controllable.

ü      In the event of a crash , the shock would force the engine to penetrate in the cockpit crushing its occupants.

ü      The Orion was hard to pilot because unstable.

Well if this event did not cause more vibrations than what I described, then,:

·  The driveshaft doesn’t vibrate. When I was an ALAT pilot (Aviation of the Army) in Algeria, I had engine vibrations  once and I can guarantee that I could not read the instruments, and that was vibrations!!

·  We were hearing the propeller very well, but never did we feel brutal braking nor did I have any difficulties controlling the airplane.

·   Neither did the engine nor the bulkhead move forward during the crash and thank’s God.

·  The Orion is a pleasure to fly and if it did not glide for a very long time it is only because 1500 feet does not leave you with many options, and, of course, I wish good luck to those who did not have this opportunity yet; but undoubtedly, they will fare much better.

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