Warning: Crash video autoplays in article.
A pilot died during a gender reveal party when his plane crashed after dispersing pink smoke in the air above the gathering.
A video posted online shows a couple standing in front of a large lit up sign reading “Oh Baby,” before capturing the pilot flying low to the ground while releasing the pink smoke above the pair in San Pedro, Mexico. Just after flying over the couple, the plane’s left wing quickly snapped and the aircraft spiraled out of control and crashed in a nearby field.
How many times does God need to tell us that gender reveal parties have to stop before we listen?
Gender reveal parties were a mistake. The woman who started them had miscarried every time before, so was celebrating every little milestone of her pregnancy, but people took the idea and started using it as excuse to show off and try to one up other folks.
I don’t mind people doing whatever they want but a lot of them are just not to my liking, but neither are Tupperware parties…I just don’t care about either.
A lot of these end up as headlines though, I feel that those involved would likely be headline regardless. In this case it is just unfortunate.
They dont know what happened? That pilot used a crop dusting plane to do a strafing run, realized he was headed nose first into some palm trees and yanked up on the yoke. He sheered the wing straight off his plane and died for the mistake.
Sure that’s what caused the crash, but why did the wing snap? It didn’t look like the plane was in overspeed, and the airframe should be able to sustain any input maneuvers under normal flight conditions.
the airframe should be able to sustain any input maneuvers under normal flight conditions.
Let me frame it this way for you, my car’s pretty reliable, but at high speeds I know that making a hard turn will end in catastrophe.
making a hard turn will end in catastrophe
Sure, if you end up smashing into a tree. But it’s not like the wheels are going to snap off or the body buckle. If you’re on an empty airfield tarmac, it would be perfectly safe. On some cars there will be a risk of rollover, but designing cars that tip over when extreme input is applied is itself fairly controversial.
I think you’re underestimating his speed and overestimating the strength of airframes. Most planes can easily get to speeds where inputs can exceed structural limits under normal flight conditions. There is even a V speed for it, Va or maneuvering speed. A quick google suggests that Vne, or “never exceed” for the PA 25 is -35 knots and Va is 104 knots. Now I have never flown one and I haven’t completely verified them but they sound about right. At 104 knots he can over G the airframe. Assuming a standard safety factor of 1.5 and a g limit of 3.8 (basic assumptions but I can’t find actual data for the PA25) and at max weight you can expect severe structural damage with full control inputs at 127 knots. If he wasn’t carrying that much and was lighter that number comes down as well. Finally, there’s the fact that it was a crop duster in Mexico so who knows what the maintenance history and actual condition of that wing spar was. Either way, even if it was in top form hitting 130 knots on a show boating low pass isn’t that crazy.
Imagine learning in your teens that your gender is a pink-smoking plane crash claiming a pilot.
I remember the good days when things were simple, when you were either an Apache Attack helicopter or you weren’t.
Equivalent exchange. You’ve got to take a life to make a life.
