REFLECTOR: The demise of Blonde Streak

Scott Derrick scott at tnstaafl.net
Sat Aug 12 09:27:56 CDT 2006


wow.... :-(

Keith Hallsten wrote:
>
> A sad event has occurred in the canard community. Brian DeFord's 
> beautiful Cozy IV “Blonde Streak” burned to the ground. For more on 
> the airplane, see _http://www.deford.com/cozy/index.html_. Here’s the 
> story in Brian’s words:
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Where do I begin?...
>
> Saturday, Aug 5, I spent a couple of hours at the airport re-attaching 
> some rebuilt baffles on the engine after returning from 2-1/2 weeks of 
> vacation. Haven't had a lot of time to fly this summer - last time was 
> in May - due to heavy priorities at work and home. Been kinda hot here 
> in Phoenix too and I've been doing all my work outdoors on the ramp.
>
> After getting everything all buttoned up I wanted to start the engine 
> as it had sat for so long. No go - the battery just wasn't up to it. 
> So I removed the battery and took it home to charge it over the weekend.
>
> My first day back to work was Monday, so I decided to bring the 
> battery with me and install it after work. About 5:45 I arrived at the 
> airport and proceeded to install the battery. The plane was on its 
> nose as usual when I work in the back seat. After getting the cables 
> hooked up I hopped into the front seat and turned on the master, 
> checking the VM1000 engine monitor to see that the voltage was where 
> it needed to be and turned the fuel valve to the fullest (right) tank. 
> OK, before starting I want to do a walk around and make sure 
> everything was clear. I hopped out of the plane and switched on the 
> nose gear motor to extend the nose gear. After it was out I walked to 
> the front of the plane and as I approached the canard I saw and 
> white/grey smoke drift by the canard. As I looked up I could smell the 
> distinct odor of burning electrical wiring and saw the smoke coming 
> from the top of the cowl.
>
> I raced around to the cockpit and shut the fuel valve off (but didn't 
> think to shut the master off) and then in a panic could not remember 
> where my fire extinguisher was. I tore the front seat cushion off 
> thinking it was under my seat (that's where I kept it until I had the 
> plane upholstered). When I didn't see it under the seat, the real 
> panic set in. I called the tower from my cell phone and told them to 
> please send the fire truck to tie down 330, got confirmation and hung 
> up. At this point I still thought it was just some wires burning so I 
> raced to the cowl with my screwdriver and removed the 4 screws 
> temporarily holding the top cowl on. As soon as I removed the cowl 
> flames jumped up between the firewall and the engine. I kept thinking 
> "where is the fire truck?" and looked to see if it was coming but 
> didn't see a thing. The fire was crackling now.
>
> We had a storm moving into the valley last night - typical this time 
> of year. The winds were picking up from the south and were blowing 
> from the engine to the nose of the plane. I called 911 and told them I 
> needed fire trucks at the Chandler airport immediately - they were 
> already on the way. Seems Chandler Municipal doesn't have a fire truck 
> and that's who the tower called.
>
> I could not see the origin of the flames other than they were coming 
> from that space between the engine and firewall. The winds were 
> blowing the flames out through the NACA scoop and the smoke was 
> turning from grey to black. In almost an instant the flames reached up 
> from the scoop around the aft fuselage. The smoke was billowing black 
> within a matter of a few seconds. I think this is when I first 
> realized the plane was going to be lost. It was just going so fast. I 
> could hear the sirens faintly in the distance and knew they would 
> never make it in time.
>
> I got in my truck which was parked a couple of feet in front of the 
> nose of the plane and moved it further away. All I could do at this 
> point was watch it go up in flames. The fire trucks arrived but by the 
> time the first drop of water hit the plane it was mostly just a small 
> pile of rubble where the fuselage had been. When the fuselage was 
> consumed the plane took a final tip backward onto the winglets. The 
> firemen ended up having to pour foam on the flames as water just 
> wasn't stopping it. The flames that by this time were mostly engulfing 
> the strakes and inboard wing sections. The news helicopters got a 
> "breaking story" just at the end of the 6pm newscasts as the thick 
> black smoke poured from the remains.
>
> The wife of the FAA safety investigator just happened to drive by the 
> airport as the plane was just starting to go up. She called her 
> husband and he was on the scene before the flames were out. From first 
> whiff of smoke to no more flames took all of 20 minutes. What was left 
> was a pile of melted goo where the fuselage had been and a bunch of 
> ash blowing around. The wings and spar held together, but the 
> structure of the wings was gone except for the outboard two feet or 
> so. The winglets remained upright with hardly any damage. The engine 
> top side hardly looked any worse for the wear - the flames had all 
> moved forward of the engine - but 2 of the 3 prop blades were mostly gone.
>
> After giving the investigator my report, as well as the police and 
> fire officials, I started making plans to get the mess cleaned up. I 
> went home and got some shovels and a broom and returned half an hour 
> later to start shoveling the loose debris into my truck. The airport 
> used their street sweeper to vacuum up much of the small stuff and we 
> dragged the engine/wing hulk forward a bit and wrapped it in a tarp 
> for overnight.
>
> Tuesday morning at 6am my dad and I came to get the rest of it. We 
> used an engine hoist to pull the engine off the firewall and stored it 
> in a friend’s hangar (friend has a new Cozy in the test flight stages 
> and did a fly-by for me as dad and I cut through the spars to separate 
> the wings from the firewall). We cut off the landing gear legs to 
> reduce the weight somewhat and then picked up the firewall piece and 
> laid it in the truck followed by the two wings. After covering it in a 
> tarp we took a slow 45 minute drive through town to the landfill and 
> deposited the remains there.
>
> Nothing is left other than the engine. I'll try to get some salvage 
> from it. No hull insurance, just liability and medical. I'll probably 
> pay to have the tiedown space re-paved. Kind of sad.
>
> As I walked up to the plane last night for the first time after 
> talking to the fire officials, a piece of paper blew across the tarmac 
> and landed at my feet. It was the only thing I could see from the pile 
> of rubble that had any white color to it. I reached down and picked it 
> up - it was a page from the New Testament of the Bible that I always 
> kept in my flightbag, singed around the edges. I put it in my pocket 
> and when I got home that night my wife and I took it out and read 
> God's personal, wind-delivered message to me. The page was from I 
> Peter and chapter 4. Verses 12-13 in the middle of the page read, " 
> Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to 
> try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you; But rejoice, 
> inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his 
> glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy."
>
> Thank you Father for protecting me last night. I'm so thankful this 
> happened while I was on the ground and no one was in the plane with 
> me. Thank you for giving me so much joy in the building and flying of 
> "Blonde Streak". I certainly don't understand what happened or why, 
> but I don't question Your Sovereignty. You know my feelings of hurt, 
> my questions of how did this happen and what went wrong. And while I 
> may never know the reason for why this happened until I am in eternity 
> some day with You, I am content that You know what is best for me.
>
> Thanks for listening,
> Brian DeFord
>
> ********************************************************************************
>
> IDENTIFICATION
>
> Regis#: 309BD Make/Model: EXP Description: COZY MI-IV
>
> Date: 08/07/2006 Time: 0120
>
> Event Type: Incident Highest Injury: None Mid Air: N Missing: N
>
> Damage: Destroyed
>
> LOCATION
>
> City: CHANDLER State: AZ Country: US
>
> DESCRIPTION
>
> ACFT, WHILE PARKED AT TIE DOWN, DURING INSTALLATION OF A BATTERY, CAUGHT
>
> FIRE AND BURNED, CHANDLER, AZ
>
> INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 0
>
> # Crew: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
>
> # Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
>
> # Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
>
> WEATHER: NOT REPORTED
>
> OTHER DATA
>
> Departed: Dep Date: Dep. Time:
>
> Destination: Flt Plan: Wx Briefing:
>
> Last Radio Cont:
>
> Last Clearance:
>
> FAA FSDO: SCOTTSDALE, AZ (WP07) Entry date: 08/08/2006
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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-- 

-
    The most effectual engines for [pacifying a nation] are the public papers... [A despotic] government always [keeps] a kind of standing army of newswriters who, without any regard to truth or to what should be like truth, [invent] and put into the papers whatever might serve the ministers.

    Thomas Jefferson to G. K. van Hogendorp
    Oct. 13, 1785. (*) ME 5:181, Papers 8:632 



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