Student Fell Out Of Plane

[Geico266]

This can't be good.

http://news.yahoo.com/police-tenn-search-man-fell-plane-001011029.html

Zodiac 601 canopy hinges on the front. How it can fall off is crazy. Student didn't have his seat belt fastened?

 

[Jim Logajan]

This story shows what appears to be the CH-601 - canopy is still attached and if there is damage to it, not visible to me:

http://www.chattanoogan.com/2013/3/29/247767/Student-Pilot-Falls-From-Small-Plane.aspx

EDIT: hot-link to the photo of the plane:

 

[Jim Logajan]

Please tell me it wasn't the fault of the plane.

OK: it wasn't the fault of the plane.

Also, I believe the wing issue was limited to the XL model, not earlier 601s.

 

[Jim Logajan]

Normal stick force the further you deflect the control surface, the more force is required. With divergent stick force the further you deflect the control surface less force is required. I read somewhere in regards to this thread that that is a characteristic of the 601 type. If so, it is possible to run into a situation as with the plane I was referring to where if you move the stick far enough it can run away and you have to force it to neutral. This is a very bad design problem and there is more than one Exp with the potential to have this issue.

Here is the FAA Special Review Team Report of the 601XL that was produced in response to the anomalous wing failures; stick forces were of interest:

http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/gen_av/light_sport/media/Zodiac.pdf

So long as operated within the POH CG limits, section 4.4 states:

A manufacturer’s flight test report dated November 2005 was used as the primary source of data for the FAA to evaluate the stick-force characteristics of the CH 601 XL against the FAA accepted version of the ASTM International, F 2245-07a, 4.5.2.2. The results were also compared to 14 CFR Part 23 § 23.155. The FAA found the manufacturer’s Flight Test Report data is compliant with the ASTM standard. Although not required to comply with 14 CFR part 23, we found the data also meets the standards of 14 CFR Part 23 § 23.155(a) and (c).

ASTM 4.5.2.2 states, “Longitudinal control forces shall increase with increasing load factors.” For reference, 14 CFR Part 23 § 23.155(c) states, “There must be no excessive decrease in the gradient of the curve of stick force versus maneuvering load factor with increasing load factor.”
So while the stick forces may be light, they don't appear to be divergent.