30
Wednesday, April 17, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
PLANE: Pilot seeks
teachable moment
in incident
Continued from page 1
Madras airport, Lansburgh
and his passenger pilot
returned to Sisters to find the
winds had picked up consid-
erably since their departure.
Located on the east slope
of the Cascade mountains, the
Sisters Airport can experience
strong and often unpredict-
able winds that can make it a
technically challenging place
to land. In an effort to teach
a lesson in difficult flight
conditions, as it turned out
the <teachable moment= was
in considering options, such
as diversion to another air-
port to wait out the weather.
Lansburgh hopes to turn the
incident in to a lesson for all
pilots flying at airports like
Sisters.
About five miles from the
airport, Lansburgh learned
from the radio-activated
Super AWOS (Automated
Weather Observation System)
that wind conditions at Sisters
had become turbulent, and
cautioned of crosswind and
wind shear. Once he had the
airport in sight, he found the
three wind indicators con-
flicting. The wind socks at
the ends of the runway indi-
cated erratic wind in opposite
directions, while the flag in
the middle was hanging flat
indicating no wind. From that
information, he decided the
best choice was landing in the
direction of Runway 20, and
entered a standard left pattern
for landing.
On final approach,
Lansburgh acknowledged the
NOTAM (Notice to Airmen)
filed by the Sisters Airport
regarding the flooding and
closure of 200 yards at the
north end of the runway. He
prepared to land long, over-
flying the flooded area of the
runway. Once below tree line,
they continued to experience
turbulent and windy condi-
tions. Lansburgh, attempting
to get cover from the wind by
getting closer to the trees on
the right, made a safety deci-
sion to sidestep the plane to
land into the more forgiving
dirt to the side of the paved
runway. The landing was
uneventful, as Lansburgh per-
formed a normal roll-out after
touchdown. He was surprised
when the plane suddenly
flipped forward, the propel-
ler caught the ground, and he
found himself hanging upside
down from the seat belt in the
plane.
The extent of the many fac-
tors involved, including man-
aging gusting winds which
were shifting directions,
avoiding the flooded area, in a
light tailwheel airplane, is still
unclear to Lansburgh.
<It just happened in an
instant,= he recalls.
The jury is still out regard-
ing other possible effects
which may have contributed
to the cause of this incident.
Tailwheel airplanes, like
Lansburgh9s PA-12, can be
tricky to land in conditions
like these. Also known as
<taildraggers,= the configu-
ration offers advantages in
backcountry and short-field
environments. In order to fly
a tailwheel airplane, a pilot
must receive special train-
ing and an endorsement.
Lansburgh specializes in
giving this type of training,
and has become well-known
nationally as <Tailwheel
Town.=
Lansburgh has been a
pilot for over 30 years with
over 6,000 hours of flight
time without incident. With
a colorful career in aviation,
CUSTOM HOMES • RESIDENTIAL BUILDING PROJECTS
Serving the Sisters Area Since 1976
Lansburgh9s diverse experi-
ence includes being a Coast
Guard helicopter crewman,
air-show pilot, aerial film-
maker, certified airframe and
powerplant mechanic, owning
a glider operation, and man-
aging the Sunriver airport.
Lansburgh was instru-
mental in the beginning of
the Flight Science program
at Sisters High School, both
as a teacher at Sisters High
School, and as flight instruc-
tor for students learning to
fly. He was the founding CFI
in what has become Outlaw
Aviation today.
Lansburgh is a well-
respected pilot and instructor
within the aviation commu-
nity because of his outspo-
ken advocacy for training
that pushes students9 comfort
zones in a way that gives
them the tools they need to
handle any situation that
may arise while they are fly-
ing. Thousands of pilots
have studied the videos on
Lansburgh9s website, www.
tailwheelersjournal.com.
<To have this happen to
a pilot as accomplished as
Brian is a clear reminder in
pilot decision-making and
potential consequences,= said
Walt Lasecki, also a CFI with
Outlaw Aviation, who wit-
nessed the incident.
<What I would like other
pilots to know is that when
the conditions put you in
a scenario that is possibly
beyond your capabilities, or
your plane9s capabilities, it9s
better to fly a go-around than
try to land,= Lansburgh said.
<Pilots often have incidents at
their home airports because
of 8get home-itus,9 and an
PHOTO PROVIDED
Brian Lansburgh is a skilled and experienced pilot — who ran into trouble
with the wind last week
unwillingness to be inconve-
nienced by repeated attempts
at landing, or simply going
to another airport. I could9ve
just flown back to Madras or
Redmond and waited until
the wind calmed down before
returning to Sisters. That
would9ve been far less incon-
venient for me than spending
the next year fixing my plane,
which is what I9ll be doing.=
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