It
started out at
the
self-service
Avgas pump.
A guy fueled
his Cherokee,
but knew he
had a dead
battery.
Pushed
the plane
back, hopped
in, primed the
engine, left
the
throttle
half open,
mags on, and got back
out.
Gave the prop
a swift swing,
and the engine
fired right
up.
Right up
to around 1800 rpm
I guess.
The plane took
off, straight
for the fuel
farm.
Fortunately,
the prop hit
this concrete
filled steel
post, designed
for this very
situation:
to
keep idiots
from running
into the fuel
tanks.
Here's
what happened
next: Prop hit
the post, and
the crankshaft
sheared right
off the
engine sending
the prop, hub
and spinner
flying like
you only see
in cartoons,
landing
on the roof of
a hangar, about
150 yards
away.
Here it
is:
Aftermath:
And no,
this did not
buff right
out. Plane was
sold for $400
on the spot, parted
out and
sold on
eBay.
With
today's
medical
expertise and
knowledge, we
can fix a lot
of things.
Stupid is not
one
of them. Guy
had no
insurance, and
was under
scrutiny of
the FAA for
running
another
plane out of
fuel, and
landing it on
highway 41 in
Ft Myers I
believe.
He
should just
quit flying
all together..
fly-web.us)