On Mar 19, 2022, at 8:38 AM, Mike Dwyer <q200pilot@...> wrote:



Ian,

I liked the firewall tearing off.  Fyi, when the canard ripped off it took the header tank with it and cracked the main tank so I had a total fuel spillage.  

No fire for 3 reasons.  1) had been gliding for a while and engine was off and cool.  2) landed on grass. 3) electrical design that I had not planned on.  A large cable came up to the starter solenoid and was high up on the firewall, engine side.  That wire stayed hot, so not great.  Then I ran all the aircraft systems from a smaller hot wire that ran to a plug under the instrument panel.  That plug separated in the crash basically shutting down everything.

That turned out to be a good idea.

Mike Dwyer Q200

On Sat, Mar 19, 2022, 12:42 AM Ian Ashdown <ian.ashdown@...> wrote:

Hi,

Never met Mike, but have seen all his YouTube videos, and I too am very glad he came out of this OK.

I had similar thoughts about the canard and also the firewall.  I’m expecting to receive my unbuilt kit in July and wonder if this can be treated as a learning opportunity for new builders such as myself.  

I have several safety concerns about the crashworthyness as designed.  I have planned to look at a ‘false floor’ to provide a flat area for  the pedals and potentially conceal plumbing, wiring etc.  I also feel that the attachment of the firewall bulkhead to the fuselage seems a little ‘minimal’; this crash possibly indicates that may be true.  My major concern are the fuel tanks/system.  Very fortunately there appears to have been no fuel spillage in this case, but from my research it appears many were not so fortunate.

Obviously a major accident is never going to have a good result; my concern is the minor accidents that have potential to have a very bad result, but could possibly be mitigated with better design or manufacturing.

Is there a case for a ‘lessons learned’ discussion?

Again, very happy Mike survived this accident and feel badly for the loss of his aircraft.

Ian
SoCal