Accidents and Incidents
Singer-songwriter John Denver died while flying a LongEz on October 12, 1997. The NTSB believes that he inadvertently pushed on his right rudder pedal while twisting to the left in his seat as he struggled to operate the fuel selector valve. Contributing factors in the crash were other pilot errors, a design that led to an overly optimistic pre-flight fuel-check estimate, a known defective (very hard to turn) fuel valve, and non-standard placement of the fuel selector valve by the kit plane's builder, at variance with Burt Rutan's specs.
Denver was aware of the faulty valve prior to take off and had previously flown the aircraft only for approximately thirty minutes in an orientation flight the day before the accident, although he was an experienced pilot. The NTSB cited Denver's unfamiliarity with the aircraft and his failure to have the aircraft refueled as causal factors in the accident. The aerodynamics of this unusual aircraft did not play a role in Denver's crash.
The author James Gleick crash-landed his Long-EZ at Greenwood Lake Airport, in West Milford, New Jersey in 1997. Gleick was seriously injured and the passenger, his 8-year old son Harry, was killed.
Read more about this topic: Rutan Long-EZ
Famous quotes containing the words accidents and/or incidents:
“Depression moods lead, almost invariably, to accidents. But, when they occur, our mood changes again, since the accident shows we can draw the world in our wake, and that we still retain some degree of power even when our spirits are low. A series of accidents creates a positively light-hearted state, out of consideration for this strange power.”
—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)
“An element of exaggeration clings to the popular judgment: great vices are made greater, great virtues greater also; interesting incidents are made more interesting, softer legends more soft.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)