AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2015 - 92

P&E

NEVER AGAIN

Tumble on the ridge
Photo mission gone wrong
BY GARRETT FISHER

92 | AOPA PILOT March 2015

unimpressive, and my return to proper orientation to the sky was
aided by getting rolled harshly 70 degrees to the right, along with
vertical turbulence. I hit my head multiple times on the frame above
the seat, and gear was flying around the cockpit with a vengeance.
During the violence, I was fighting the airplane like it was a
misbehaving fighter jet, using all of the agility I had to control my
upper body and keep my vision pointed out the windshield. There
was only one quick glance possible at the airspeed indicator, which
read 60 miles per hour with cruise power in a descent. A brief lull
afforded the opportunity to pull the waist belt extremely tight and
lower the airplane to maneuvering speed before the next round of
vertical turbulence-yet again I managed to bang my head on the
ceiling. The accessories in the baggage area that were not secured
were getting thrown around, and I used the next calm window to
reset the ELT, just in case.
At this point, I thought I was getting away from the turbulence,
as I was no longer close to the escarpment. I noted that, in the
melee with the wind, I had lost 1,000 feet of altitude, despite being
trimmed for cruise. I tightened the waist belt as hard as I could,
just in case, even though I thought it was over. One final bang still
managed to knock my headset off, and I responded by tightening
the shoulder belts as hard as they would go. After a consistent and

JAMES CAREY

THE FLIGHT WAS PLANNED to be a photography exercise, documenting the terrain of
the New River Basin in Virginia and West
Virginia. The forecast called for sunshine,
light westerly winds in North Carolina, with
a breezy day in the Virginias.
I set off from Lincoln County
Regional Airport, outside of Charlotte,
North Carolina, in my Piper PA-11 with
a Continental O-200 engine. It is a simple aircraft with no electrical system. The
route of flight was straight over the Brushy
Mountains and north into the Blue Ridge
Plateau in Virginia. The ascent itself into
Virginia was uneventful, except the wind
was absolutely howling with moderate turbulence in the higher terrain.
After 20 minutes of flight in these conditions, it became clear that there was no
way I could pull off any successful photography. I turned around at Hillsville, Virginia,
returning along a similar flight path.
The turbulence was continuous and
annoying to manage while still in Virginia.
My ascent up the Blue Ridge Plateau had
been uneventful, so I planned a similar
descent. I decided I would get a little closer
to the terrain right at the ridgeline-as there
were no buildings, vehicles, or people-and
I could glide off the ridge into the Piedmont
if the engine quit. I was paying close attention as I descended toward the ridgeline to
the activity of the trees responding to the
wind, and it appeared to be a lee-side area
with much quieter conditions.
Upon getting 250 feet past the ridgeline,
I encountered a mix of severe turbulence
and wind shear unlike anything I thought
was possible with flyable wind speeds. The
aircraft was almost instantly rolled 110
degrees to the left, partially upside down,
while about 300 feet above the ground.
I instantly applied full right aileron and
heavy right rudder. The roll rate in a Cub is
AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2015

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