At 10:50 AM 3/1/2002, Stan Wilder wrote:
>If I were truly worried about making this awesome mistake I'd store my
>car keys on a hook or magnet on the Pop-top locking devise. That way I'd
>have to drop the top to get the keys. That in itself should be a good
>reminder that the top needed to be secured.

tsk tsk tsk...pride goeth before a fall. <g>  Remember all the people who
landed their airplanes with the gear up even though they had a checklist
*and* a mechanical voice in the cockpit yelling at them.  Or the
twin-engine pilot who took off with a garment bag draped over the
stabilator -- plane didn't fly for beans.  Or these helo accidents:

>The following examples illustrate this type of external load accident and
>the resulting consequences:
>
>     * A Soloy 47G helicopter assisted in the installation of electrical
> transmission lines during a Part 133 operation.
>
>The helicopter departed with a 150-foot long-line attached and no external
>load on the hook. According to the NTSB, there was no reason for the
>long-line to be attached since the operator was transporting passengers in
>conjunction with their construction and inspection duties. After liftoff,
>the helicopter moved forward approximately 200 feet toward a tree line. As
>the helicopter began a left turn away from a man-made obstacle, the
>long-line tangled in the trees, causing the ship to crash. The helicopter
>was destroyed on impact, fatally injuring one of the three occupants and
>seriously injuring the other two.
>
>     * An Aerospatiale 316B was moving equipment in mountainous terrain. A
> 100-foot cable was attached to the helicopter for the purpose of carrying
> the equipment. Later, the operator needed to transport several workers to
> a hilltop site, and the helicopter was pressed into temporary passenger
> service.
>
>According to eyewitnesses, the helicopter took on several passengers, then
>the pilot initiated a normal takeoff rather than the vertical takeoff that
>workers are accustomed to seeing when a slingload is attached.
>
>As the helicopter departed, the cargo hook snagged on an equipment trailer
>adjacent to the takeoff area. As tension on the line increased, the hook
>broke free of the trailer and the cable recoiled into the main rotor
>blades, rendering the helicopter uncontrollable. The helicopter suffered
>substantial damage on impact; all five of the occupants sustained serious
>or fatal injuries.
>
>     * A Bell 206B-3 was transporting seismic equipment in an aluminum
> basket attached to the end of a 100-foot long-line. After flying for
> approximately two hours, the helicopter completed its planned activities.
> The operator repositioned the 206 to an adjacent landing zone for routine
> maintenance and inspections.
>
>During the flight to reposition the helicopter, the 206 reached an
>altitude of approximately 50 to 60 feet AGL when the aluminum mesh basket
>caught on a nearby fence. The helicopter was substantially damaged;
>however, the helmeted pilot received only minor injuries.
>
>According to the NTSB report, the pilot started the takeoff without
>determining whether the 100-foot long-line was still attached to the cargo
>hook. The pilot stated he forgot that the long-line and basket were still
>attached to the helicopter.
>
>Not unique
>
>All of these mishaps involved Part 133 operators and properly certified
>pilots. The accidents were not unique to any one region of the United
>States, and involved a range of helicopter types to carry out various
>missions. In all of these and other related accident reports, the NTSB
>cited the pilot-in-command as performing an "inadequate or incomplete
>preflight" as well as the "pilot's failure to maintain adequate ground
>clearance with the aircraft's attached cable/long-line."
>
>More importantly, several pilots and their passengers lost their lives or
>suffered serious injuries in accidents that, had the pilots been more
>vigilant, would never have happened.
>
>Back to Rotor & Wing News and Highlights

david

--
David Beierl - Providence, RI
  http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
'84 Westy "Dutiful Passage"
'85 GL "Poor Relation"