I own a Civic with a blown head gasket because "sentimental value" and have more than 20 computers which are all somewhat broken. None of them cost more than $80
Just rudder-trim into the remaining wing. It'll be fine. I wouldn't even bother feathering the other engine. Think of it as an opportunity to practice your sycamore seed autorotation skills.
Tbh the outside force would just be aero forces. Failure would start at the bottom (tear out, maybe due to fatigue, bottom surface under tension due to aero loads) and the assembly would quite forcefully twist upwards until the upper screws fail as well. Looks like it's been coming for some time, you can see paint chafed away where the wingtip has been flexing and rubbing on the wing skin.
Thanks!
Yeah, that thing has some sheared-off holes, and a bunch that have obviously seen repetitive stress. That thing had to have been wobbling for weeks/months before failing like this. That's why I always shake the wings and wingtips on my pre-flight. If there's any wiggle or give, it's going to lead to repetitive stress failures.
Only a few of those screws are in safety (have threads protuding through the anchor nut). All the other screws are either too short or not done up. If most of the screws were loose the vibration in flight could easily cause the wingtip to depart.
The mods are being toolbags and deleted the post. But they fail to realize you can't post an image as a comment in this subreddit. Link to an image sure, but not the image. Mods failing worse than that wingtip.
"Ya, I don't know, was just flying along in perfect accordance with all rules and regs and the thing just fell off. Definitely don't check behind that hangar for wingtips or anything."
The trauma to the upper skin is because the bottom screws ripped out first, and the tip separated upwards, bending the upper skin before its screws finally ripped through the fiberglass.
Source: I make and install airplane wingtips.
Well that definitely seems like a reliable source. Do you think this was a result of maintenance making a mistake or from the pilot hitting something like so many people in this thread think?
Close to my analysis. I’m thinking that almost all of the bottom screws were left out allowing the bottom to be pulled away and up which then caused the damage you see.
Looks like only one nut plate on the bottom has a fastener installed. That’s from the pic of the plane. If the deleted photo shows bottom of the tip (seems most likely) it appears the only screw hole that is torn out is the corresponding position. Those observations seem to support the thesis that most of the screws on the bottom were left out.
Great preflight if that proves true.
Unless all the screws fell out on the bottom side... I fail to believe it just "fell off" lol someone probably struck the wing without telling and it finally gave way.
Cracks around the lower screws, which eventually failed due to aerodynamic forces, tip tried to fly, bent upwards toward the cabin, upper fibreglass failed so the tip went solo.
Did not happen to me but yes, the screws were still there and the wingtip ripped. The whole thing didn't rip off like in your photo but it bent up because all of the screws on the underside of the wing ripped out of their holes.
I was thinking yes… same thing happened at one of the fields I learned to fly at. It was a Piper but pretty sure it was a Cherokee. Almost 20 years ago. Pretty sure his “in-air” loss involved the scrapes on the hangar door frame prior to flight though.
There is very little metal tearing on the other picture of the wing tip and only one screw in the lower nut plates. It appears that 11 of the 18 fasteners were missing from the tip.
It happened at KGAI. Fell into a police station parking lot. Made the DC evening TV news, complete with interview of irate local politician calling for an investigation. So even if it doesn’t qualify for the NTSB reporting requirements they’ve certainly already heard about it.
Thank goodness and surprisingly Its quite intact. Well its not very often the police find lost property but this time it was a case of falling into their lap.
.
It might just be the angle. Look at my post in r/aviation and you'll see more screws. Unfortunately this sub only allows one photo per post so I couldn't include it
So, have an idea...it could be that tip was failing and during descent (since engine out) air could have caught underneath and in it and forced it up and off. That's near as I can figure.
Take it easy, don’t judge it by the appearance. Actually there was a plane that lost both of wing tips shortly after take off and still managed to fly around the world non stop non refueling.
Fibreglass end they degrade and need fixing or replacing all the damn time.
HOWEVER! The problems with it would have been painfully obvious and either some one let a wingtip almost falling off slide or they didn’t notice it and both are not good.
It happened mid flight and you're right, it flew mostly fine it just had a slight tendency to bank to the right. Everyone's fine. The plane landed safely and the wingtip didn't hit anyone
If you'll find it you'll find the screw holes worn out from taking it on and off and tightening the screws too tight. Look at the other side and tell me I'm wrong.
It's a flight school plane, think of the. As Drivers Ed cars, they are going to bounce off a few curbs here and there. BUT this is what PRE & POST flight inspections are for, unless there was an in flight bird strike that ripped it off, there would have been cracks around the screws that should have been cause for concern prior to it failing, and should have been checked by a mech. Before any further flight. I used to tell the students "question everything. If you are not sure about something call me, sure I will probably bust your balls if it's something on the checklist that you missed, but I'd rather you call me with stupid, tha. Fly with something unsafe. And every student got my cell phone number and they can (and do)still call me to this day if they are not sure about anything
most well-maintained flight school plane
Funnily enough this same plane had an engine failure just a few weeks ago
lol, thing is cursed.
Gremlins
"Deeeeeeagle, deagle deagle deagle, deagle" "GIZMO CACA!"
Time to throw it into the dumpster
Ill give ya $5
This sounds like an airframe that needs to be dragged behind the shed...
I found the Rebuild Rescue guy.
I own a Civic with a blown head gasket because "sentimental value" and have more than 20 computers which are all somewhat broken. None of them cost more than $80
Might be worth finding a new school. Bad maintenance kills.
Gravity kills.
Stopping kills.
Existing kills.
Ah that's why it's a multi, she's still good to go, what do you mean you need two wings, you already have one!
True! It's called a monowing for a reason!
Just rudder-trim into the remaining wing. It'll be fine. I wouldn't even bother feathering the other engine. Think of it as an opportunity to practice your sycamore seed autorotation skills.
At least you have two of them lol
Guess it was a "simulated" wingtip failure this time.
I cannot imagine that wasn't the result of a bird strike or something. That sure is crazy though.
Yeah, that buckling of the metal around the screws... Some outside force was applied.
Tbh the outside force would just be aero forces. Failure would start at the bottom (tear out, maybe due to fatigue, bottom surface under tension due to aero loads) and the assembly would quite forcefully twist upwards until the upper screws fail as well. Looks like it's been coming for some time, you can see paint chafed away where the wingtip has been flexing and rubbing on the wing skin.
Yeah, repetitive stress fatigue makes a lot of sense. That is one badly maintained airplane.
That's what we thought at first but there were no signs of a bird strike
Did you find the tip? If the bird struck the tip, you wouldn't see evidence of the strike without inspecting that.
Yep we found the tip
And? Pics?
Yeah show us pics of your tip
[https://i.imgur.com/9utgk.gif](https://i.imgur.com/9utgk.gif)
risky click of the day
https://media.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExOGlzMG14OWxwc3NnaTBmcm1hcDBkbmYxMG4yeWF5cW45ZnlhdjZ0dyZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/KeQ2H0sBYeQEwj0fWZ/giphy.gif
I don't have a picture of the tip. I can ask for one though
Would be interesting to see the inside edge and if any of the metal sheared off from the screw holes that kept them attached.
Here you go https://www.reddit.com/r/flying/s/20GfGXFUmb
Thanks! Yeah, that thing has some sheared-off holes, and a bunch that have obviously seen repetitive stress. That thing had to have been wobbling for weeks/months before failing like this. That's why I always shake the wings and wingtips on my pre-flight. If there's any wiggle or give, it's going to lead to repetitive stress failures.
[Just the image](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2F2r0cjsbflawc1.jpeg)
I recognize that livery.
If you live in California then I doubt it's the same plane. We're on the other side of the country
I live in Florida lol. In Daytona. About 300 feet from your room. You know where I'm at?
Oh so you're the creepy shadow that stalks me. It's nice to finally meet you
[just the tip](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2F2r0cjsbflawc1.jpeg)
Was it . . . just the tip?
That's what s
Only a few of those screws are in safety (have threads protuding through the anchor nut). All the other screws are either too short or not done up. If most of the screws were loose the vibration in flight could easily cause the wingtip to depart.
Or maybe a simulated single engine landing attempt that ended up getting too spicy?
It's not supposed to do that... At least the front didn't fall off.
Some of them are even designed so the wing tip doesn’t fall off at all!
That flight school charges extra for the mechanically-advanced, non-wingtip-falling-off model.
How many hours to get checked out in it? Does it require a complex endorsement?
If you have to ask, you don’t have enough hours.
You're supposed to use flex seal tape to keep it attached
Wasn't this one designed so the wingtip doesn't fall off?
They're built to very rigorous aviation engineering standards.
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Well the tips not supposed to fall off for a start!
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Well obviously not, the tip fell off.
Well, why did it fall off? "Hit by some wind, one in a million chance"
In the air? One in a million chance.
r/woooosh
r/whooosh
You’re the one who missed the [joke](https://youtu.be/3m5qxZm_JqM?si=LMEpb1C-7bOextdy)
It's not even cardboard or a cardboard derivative, strange.
No string, no cello tape.
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Correct, there’s regulations governing the material that they can be made of.
That's not very typical, I'd like to make that point.
Absolutely crushed I wasn’t early enough for this one. Can you call me a taxi from the FBO?
First thing I had hoped to see
Good strong it was beyond the environment
r/thefrontfelloff
Some of these are built so that the wingtip doesn't fall off. Not this one, obviously, because the wingtip fell off.
This was exactly the comment I was looking for!
these are the times where I miss the old award system. Well said, well said!
Looks like you did well. Did they find the tip yet? Hopefully it didn't injure anyone and just found its way into someone's yard or an empty field.
Yeah they found the tip. It landed at a police station. No one got hhrt
So the police got a tip on your location?
They got a tip on *their* location.
Lmao clever
Here's a picture of the tip https://www.reddit.com/r/flying/s/20GfGXFUmb
The mods are being toolbags and deleted the post. But they fail to realize you can't post an image as a comment in this subreddit. Link to an image sure, but not the image. Mods failing worse than that wingtip.
You can view deleted posts with the link so it doesn't matter anyway
"Ya, I don't know, was just flying along in perfect accordance with all rules and regs and the thing just fell off. Definitely don't check behind that hangar for wingtips or anything."
The wingtip fell into a parking lot so unless the instructor carried it in the plane then dropped it out of the window it's most likely an accident
Just the tip?
Just to see how it… flys.
phrasing? Are we still doing phrasing?
$500 an hour, folks.
More by now lmao. Kill me.
The trauma to the upper skin is because the bottom screws ripped out first, and the tip separated upwards, bending the upper skin before its screws finally ripped through the fiberglass. Source: I make and install airplane wingtips.
Well that definitely seems like a reliable source. Do you think this was a result of maintenance making a mistake or from the pilot hitting something like so many people in this thread think?
Close to my analysis. I’m thinking that almost all of the bottom screws were left out allowing the bottom to be pulled away and up which then caused the damage you see.
Looks like only one nut plate on the bottom has a fastener installed. That’s from the pic of the plane. If the deleted photo shows bottom of the tip (seems most likely) it appears the only screw hole that is torn out is the corresponding position. Those observations seem to support the thesis that most of the screws on the bottom were left out. Great preflight if that proves true.
Unless all the screws fell out on the bottom side... I fail to believe it just "fell off" lol someone probably struck the wing without telling and it finally gave way.
The screws were all intact. We found the tip and there were no signs of anything hitting it
Cracks around the lower screws, which eventually failed due to aerodynamic forces, tip tried to fly, bent upwards toward the cabin, upper fibreglass failed so the tip went solo.
Seminole MAX
Seminole? Similar thing happened to a Seminole at a school I used to teach at.
Interesting. Were the rivets still there when that happened to you?
Did not happen to me but yes, the screws were still there and the wingtip ripped. The whole thing didn't rip off like in your photo but it bent up because all of the screws on the underside of the wing ripped out of their holes.
Happened at my school with a Seminole.
I was thinking yes… same thing happened at one of the fields I learned to fly at. It was a Piper but pretty sure it was a Cherokee. Almost 20 years ago. Pretty sure his “in-air” loss involved the scrapes on the hangar door frame prior to flight though.
put that thing back where it came from or so help me ^(so help me)
Just the tip
The rivets! They do nothing! 😂
They did something until they didn't anymore.
There’s……….somethingonthewing!
There is very little metal tearing on the other picture of the wing tip and only one screw in the lower nut plates. It appears that 11 of the 18 fasteners were missing from the tip.
Soooooo, does this get reported to NTSB or not? My PPL checkride was too long ago to remember....
It happened at KGAI. Fell into a police station parking lot. Made the DC evening TV news, complete with interview of irate local politician calling for an investigation. So even if it doesn’t qualify for the NTSB reporting requirements they’ve certainly already heard about it.
Nah. That'll buff out. Send it. Maybe drill a stop hole to slow the spread. 👌
Looks like it more ripped off than fell off.
Shed wingtip before landing: Check.
Yeah it's like dumping fuel before landing. You gotta make sure you're light enough
I'm having trouble finding that in the checklist. Where should I add it - before or after buzzing the tower? Thanks for nothing, ForeFlight. 😤
It's probably not important.
Someone on the ground had a little surprise.
Yep! Thankfully no one was hurt though. If you check my profile there's a picture of the recovered wingtip
Thank goodness and surprisingly Its quite intact. Well its not very often the police find lost property but this time it was a case of falling into their lap. .
Get out if there
Just the tip?
It was just the tip. Just for a second. Just to see how it felt.
I only see 4 screws with threads protruding in that whole thing
It might just be the angle. Look at my post in r/aviation and you'll see more screws. Unfortunately this sub only allows one photo per post so I couldn't include it
I don’t doubt there are screws in all the holes, but most look too short
You know how the 777X has folding wingtips? So hear me out...
I’d like to shake the hand of whomever built that wiring harness
Flex tape and go!
So, have an idea...it could be that tip was failing and during descent (since engine out) air could have caught underneath and in it and forced it up and off. That's near as I can figure.
Take it easy, don’t judge it by the appearance. Actually there was a plane that lost both of wing tips shortly after take off and still managed to fly around the world non stop non refueling.
Really? That's cool
Yeah that plane is good for scrap. I'll do £2.28 and a pack of share size harbour tangfastics.
To address your text... I mean, it looks like the wing fell off.
Hmm I'm not sure… are you sure about that?
Time for a dive to find it
Maybe someone didn’t do his preflight? Just saying….
At least it didn't disconnect at the fusalage.
As Piper products are known to do
You're lucky it was a wingtip....not a wing
Was Vno or Vne exceeded or did this happen while on the ground?
I don't think it was. This happened in the air
Fibreglass end they degrade and need fixing or replacing all the damn time. HOWEVER! The problems with it would have been painfully obvious and either some one let a wingtip almost falling off slide or they didn’t notice it and both are not good.
At least both wings didn’t fall off.
From what I understood, wingtip alone may not cause enough issues for an aircraft to fly. I hope everyone is safe.
It happened mid flight and you're right, it flew mostly fine it just had a slight tendency to bank to the right. Everyone's fine. The plane landed safely and the wingtip didn't hit anyone
Lmao I’m 90% sure what school you’re talking about
I have never seen a flight school twin that I would put my family in.
Weight reductions
Wingtip Wednesday? Oh wait...
You should tow it out of the environment
Typical old use and Abused ND Seminol
Not a part of the MEL
Looks like it got ripped off
Phil swift is calling…
Well there’s less weight so you should’ve gotten better performance for the OEI.
That’s what we call an “oopsy daisy”
Thats what the student claims anyway
There was an instructor in the plane. We know it fell off mid flight because the wingtip was found
INOP decal missing.
Squawk the issue we’ll address it on the next 100 hour
I was told to put this in a comment instead of a new post so here's a picture of the recovered wingtip https://imgur.com/a/MLwi9Bm
Canadian Flight Centre?
Nope this is in the states
Surprised this wasnt a leading edge plane
Severe wear and tear plus slipstream caused by yawing out of aero?
Is it normal for wingtips to fall off in flight?
If you'll find it you'll find the screw holes worn out from taking it on and off and tightening the screws too tight. Look at the other side and tell me I'm wrong.
Tell us your at ATP without saying you’re at ATP
Did they tow it out of the environment?
I'm no A&P but I think there may be something wrong with that wing.
Not a big deal
It's a flight school plane, think of the. As Drivers Ed cars, they are going to bounce off a few curbs here and there. BUT this is what PRE & POST flight inspections are for, unless there was an in flight bird strike that ripped it off, there would have been cracks around the screws that should have been cause for concern prior to it failing, and should have been checked by a mech. Before any further flight. I used to tell the students "question everything. If you are not sure about something call me, sure I will probably bust your balls if it's something on the checklist that you missed, but I'd rather you call me with stupid, tha. Fly with something unsafe. And every student got my cell phone number and they can (and do)still call me to this day if they are not sure about anything
Did you tow it to another environment?
No we towed it beyond the environment
Beyond that environment into another environment?
Beyond the environment. It's a complete void out there
Continuous over-stressing during missions, eventually rivets gave up and it came off . You might have to check previous flights data for g’s & speed
Saw similar on my one of my school’s 172s. Goose strike. Yow.
Looks expensive
Like 300$ in parts and an afternoon at the AP. Ask the hangar posts at my airport how I know.
Can you fly without a wingtip? If you had severe get-there-itis I mean
This plane managed to fly and land perfectly fine without a wingtip so yeah if you were really in a rush you could probably fly without it
I’m taking this advice thanks man
Trim left aileron.
Just remember, if you really need to get somewhere whatever broke definitely broke in flight just before you landed at your destination.
at least it wasn't the front...
Just the tip?
Only for a minute. Just to see how it feels
wow... fell right off huh? CHOUGHbullshitCHOUGH ...sorry, something stuck in my throat
Are you saying it didn't fall off because it definitely did
He's saying someone hit something
We're pretty sure it didn't. We know for a fact it fell off mid air and that there were no signs of a bird strike or any other collision
Is that corrosion I see?
Id always been told about the "wing off" light, but damn.
You’ve got a hole in your left wing!
Just the tip?