Kyle Franklin Accident

[mike roe]

This happened Saturday,first show for them this season. This airplane just completed a extensive 3 month maintenance and inspection. Keep them in our prayers.

BROWNSVILLE - Husband and wife stunt pilots Kyle and Amanda Franklin spent years doing high flying twists and turns. But Saturday, witnesses attending the Air Fiesta Airshow in Brownsville watched as things went terribly wrong for the pair. During their wing walking routine, amateur video showed the engine on the couple's plane burst into flames. 25-year-old Amanda Franklin managed to make it inside the plane and fasten her seat belt just seconds before the crash. Fire crews on standby at the airport rushed over to help. What's left of the "Mystery Ship" airplane could be seen lying on the ground in a wooded area were it crashed near the airport. One of several witnesses to the crash was volunteer fire fighter Maurice Bray. He told CHANNEL 5 NEWS many of the spectators thought it was all part of the act. As a firefighter, thought, he knew better. "I've seen it before as a volunteer firefighter." Bray said, " I actually wrote their names down, Kyle and Amanda Franklin. the first thing in church I am going to have a prayer for them." Emergency crews rushed the Franklin's to the hospital. Kyle suffered cuts and burns on his hands and arms. Amanda needed to be air-lifted to Brooks Army Medical Center's burn unit in San Antonio. She was burned on most of her body. Just two days earlier, CHANNEL 5 NEWS spent a little time with the couple. The two were pilots at very early ages, both family's were familiar with airplanes and air shows. They said their love of aerobatics kept them flying even after a family tragedy. The couples fathers, Jim Franklin and Bobby Younkin died several years ago flying in an airshow in Canada. Everyone we spoke to hopes Amanda and Kyle Franklin will pull through

[mekstrand]

Franklin Update



All, Please forward this letter on to who ever you see fit...



  Good morning all. Let me first express on behalf of Amanda, Kyle, Myself and both of our families so many thanks for all of your prayers and well wishes. We are all so fortunate to have such a wonderful support network in all of you.



 We are still waiting for updates and it could be many hours, days, or weeks before we know exactly how the recovery process will play out between Amanda and Kyle. I can however report that Kyle was not injured and or burned as badly as reported earlier by the media and is expected to make a full and rapid recovery. I can also say that the updates we are receiving on Amanda are increasingly optimistic and though she has a long road of recovery ahead of her, the doctors are giving us the impression that things are not as bad as first reported and her chances for a full recovery are getting better not worse. The first 24 hours will set the tone for the story ahead.



I also have to extend a very sincere thanks to my brother-in-law Kyle who I strongly credit for the fact that my little sister is still with us. Having witnessed the accident and being on of the first on the scene, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that he made no less than five quick decisions in the air and on the ground that gave her a second chance at life!!

 

When the engine quit, Amanda was on the top wing in the rack. Kyle continued to fly the airplane in a straight and level fashion as long as he could to give Amanda every opportunity to unstrap and get into the front cockpit where she would have the best chance in the event of a hard landing. He also resisted the tendency to turn for the pavement which typically induces a fatal stall/spin situation. He avoided a landing in the pyro field which could have proven to be fatal, and faced with the only other option of land in mesquite woods, Kyle landed into the wind drastically reducing the forward speed at impact. Upon reaching the scene, I noticed that he set the airplane down in the only Waco sized piece of ground in that dense woods that didn't have tall trees in it. Kyle sustained the majority of his burns trying to pull his wife from the wreckage and when his efforts produced no results, he stayed in the cockpit and transmitted a repeating distress call about the post impact fire that had started. I honestly believe this motivated the rapid responders to press through the brush and douse the airplane at a more rapid rate which meant the split second difference that saved Amanda, who was still in the plane.

 

The first responders on the scene did an excellent job of responding to the situation in a rapid manner. Having a professional air boss teamed up with professional CFR personnel made a world of difference that could be the single most important factor that both Amanda and Kyle are still with us.

 

Please continue to send your thoughts and prayers this direction because we sincerely believe they are helping. I will pass updates along as I receive them.

 

Sincerely

Matt

[GAHorn]

.... This airplane just completed a extensive 3 month maintenance and inspection. ...

It's been my experience that a high percentage of serious failures/malfunctions occur immediately following heavy maintenance. Another set of eyes, inspecting the final inspector's work-product, is always a good idea. In most light-planes...this is the owner/pilot.
Never....NEVER.... be in haste to get airborne following maintenance.
(I am not implying this was the case in the Franklin accident, only being reminded of the axiom.)

[hilltop170]

Unfortunately, I watched the whole thing from the Bluebonnet Belle. It happened right behind us. Kyle did an amazing job of recognition and execution of an emergency landing from low altitude and airspeed. They hit very hard but the Waco absorbed enough of the energy that they were not knocked unconscious and able to respond although Amanda was not able to get out before the fire started.

Kyle had already performed a solo act that day and the plane ran fine. It was obvious when the engine blew, it was very quick and very catastrophic. Sparks showered out of the exhaust as the engine failed and it lost power in a couple of seconds. He had very little time to react.

The fire crews had to cross a big ditch and plow into the mesquite scrub to get into range for the foam monitor to reach the fire but they did it in a matter of seconds and the fire was out in seconds.

Let's all keep them in our prayers.

[GAHorn]

Here's the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9Dw6-YAXtM

Fire/Resuce trucks/vehicles were on the scene within minutes.

[wingnut]

.... This airplane just completed a extensive 3 month maintenance and inspection. ...

It's been my experience that a high percentage of serious failures/malfunctions occur immediately following heavy maintenance. Another set of eyes, inspecting the final inspector's work-product, is always a good idea. In most light-planes...this is the owner/pilot.
Never....NEVER.... be in haste to get airborne following maintenance.
(I am not implying this was the case in the Franklin accident, only being reminded of the axiom.)

this is not the time to give words of wisdom, even if that wisdom is correct, which I agree is. I did some work on Bobby's plane six weeks before his death. He was extremely inquisitive and was very thourough in inspecting my work. I think he would have passed that trait on considering the occupation?

[mike roe]

I didnt want to give the wrong impression on bringing that up. I got it from his website. And I think George will speak for himself. It doesnt reflect on Kyle or his crew. It very well could have been something out of their control. I would imagine putting a engine thru that amount of stress could have a internal piece fail and do catastropic damage in a short time. Only time will tell. Thankfully they survived and from what I hear Kyle was a large part of that.

[W.J.Langholz]

Not meant to offend anyone..........

God isn't done with you....... until he is done with you........

thoughts and prayers

W.

[gparker]

Either Kyle was aiming at a certain spot or that Waco glided like a brick.

[wingnut]

Either Kyle was aiming at a certain spot or that Waco glided like a brick.

Or, maybe like Forrest Gump said " maybe a little bit a both"

[blueldr]

It looked to me like he lost a lot of air speed and lift while he held the plane level, or at least delayed his descent, while his wife was trying to get back down in the front cockpit.

[GAHorn]

I imagine a person standing up in the breeze amounts to quite a bit of drag. He also had to contend with a field of "mines" that had been placed for pyrotechnic displays on another display-routine...he simply couldn't put it down just anywhere handy. (and the runway was probably not a good choice either, despite the appearance in the video that it might be availalble. I think the camera's perspective doesn't give the whole picture.)

[Fearless Tower]

I imagine a person standing up in the breeze amounts to quite a bit of drag. He also had to contend with a field of "mines" that had been placed for pyrotechnic displays on another display-routine...he simply couldn't put it down just anywhere handy. (and the runway was probably not a good choice either, despite the appearance in the video that it might be availalble. I think the camera's perspective doesn't give the whole picture.)

I suspect you're right - from what I've heard, he had two choices - the mesquite trees or the pyro field. I'd have gone for the trees too!

[GAHorn]

MIght be a consideration for future use/displays of pyro-fields.

[hilltop170]

I watched the whole thing as it happened. He was climbing when the engine came apart and he had already passed the pyro field and was on a line away from the runway, not towards it. The wind was also blowing 25G35 and he was head-on into it so his groundspeed was very low as well as his airspeed and he had no flare left at the bottom.