The following is an article submitted by me and printed in Ultra Flight Magazine, June, 1994.
Did you ever have one of those days? You know the one's I'm talking about. Just when everything seems great, the sky falls. In the case of Bob Ledbetter, he fell from the sky!
Bob has a lot of stress. Between his job as a police officer in the college town of Carbondale, Illinois, and as a Sgt. Major in the Army Reserve, "quiet" time is very important. After an introductory flight by Mark Smith of Mt.Vernon, Indiana, Bob found ultralights to be exactly what he was looking for.
Bob, Steve, and I had made plans to spend the afternoon flying. The weather was great and all three Quicksilvers' were ready to challenge the blue. Bob and I always followed Steve in our MX's. Steve's
lime green MXL is fast. The oversized pod, wheel pants, flat dual surface wings, and a 503 with dual carbs keeps him way out in front. Thanks to our CB radios and his twin blinking strobes, we can keep track of him most of the time.
Lake Egypt is a large body of water used to cool the coal fired generators of Southeastern Illinois Electric. Pontoon, ski, and fishing boats of all sizes and colors accent an already majestic scene from the air. Kids on "Jet Ski's" wave as you fly over, then challenge you to race to the other end of the lake with them.
Steve was in the lead as usual. I was second as my 503 turned the big prop through the thermals that covered from the lake. Bob was working his
MX's Cuyunna UL II hard to keep altitude as we drifted from north to south doing our best "aviator waves" to those who could not fly that day."Engine out, I've lost power", cracked across the CB. It was Bob.
Steve and I started to turn our planes to see where he was. Both of us stayed off the air to hear more details.
"Guys, I'm going down". It was like in the moves when the commercial pilot is about to crash with 300 people on board and he sounds like he is placing an order at the Burger King drive-thru window. No big deal.
The first thing that I remembered was the high power lines we had just flown over that criss-crossed the lake. Being careful not to do anything that would put me in trouble too, I tried to watch the water and everything around as I dropped to less than 100 feet to get a better view.
"Did you guys hear me? I'm going down near the bank…in the water!" Still no panic, kinda' like when you forget the ketchup for your fries at the drive-thru window. You're aggravated, but no big deal..just a little inconvenience.
"We hear you, but I can't find you", I answered as I continued to search the narrow inlet for the blue MX.
Then it happened. All of his training as a police officer, a military leader, a man that had raised children and looked read danger in the eye, he blew it. "Aw F___K!" was the last transmission the CB carried before the MX tried a water landing without pontoons.
Knowing that he was going to land in the water, Bob had unbuckled his safety belt. He was pretty sure he would have a little time to get free, but every second he could buy would be to his advantage.
As the plane came to rest on the water's surface, the nose sank rapidly. Nothing about the MX seemed to float, including Bob as he went underwater with the small plane. As it sank, Bob simply let it fall away from him. The helmet worked like a bobber pulling at his head. He reached under his chin and undid the strap to keep the helmet from choking him as it pulled him up. When Bob popped to the surface, with helmet in hand, I spotted him treading water. Steve had been in a position to see the plane land, but still did not see Bob on the surface.
"He's OK!" I shouted to Steve on the CB (not being as cool as Bob under pressure).
The operator of a ski boat saw the figure in the water. He did not see the plane go down, so at first just thought it was a skier who had ended a ride..but since he did not see a boat anywhere he decided to check it out. Imagine his surprise when he pulled Bob aboard to find that he had just been flying only a few moments ago.
It was two months before the plane was found. Divers and the latest underwater fishing scopes could not locate the MX, even through we knew where it went down. Most of the lake had been an orchard before the creek was converted into a lake. The bottom, some 18 to 20 feet below, was covered with the remains of those trees making dragging operations impossible and the poor visibility hindered the divers.
When they did find the plane, the king post (the support on top of the wing) was nestled in the channel and the wings were flat on the bottom of the lake. Upside down, only the little wheels sticking up would give a clue to its location.
Divers
attached plastic barrels to the frame and filled the containers with compressed air to raise the plane. The extent of the damage? A small tear near the trailing edge of one wing and two tubes that were bent by the divers bringing the plane to shore. Of course the CB and ultameter were shot and the engine required a rebuild, but other than that, all was well!By the way, the cause? The flex-drive had snapped just forward of the pillow block (rear bearing). The steel shaft that connects the engine to the propeller had broken which caused the drive belts to come off.
We now fly around the lake. We have considered a name change because of the frustration of not being able to find the plane when we knew where it went down. Do you think the Power Company would go for "The Bermuda Triangle Lake"?
Click here to see a Quicksilver MX I modified