Think This Was a Suicide?

[MillCreek]

Does a 172 even have an autopilot?  Especially since this was a rental. I could see how otherwise once it was properly trimmed, it could just keep puttering along in still air.

[Fly320s]

I guess in the end, that comes down to how much of an autopilot it had; if it was just a wing leveler, and had to deal with a sudden loss of ~200lbs at stall speed and <50ft AGL, would it damp the oscillation quickly enough?

Does a 172 even have an autopilot?  Especially since this was a rental. I could see how otherwise once it was properly trimmed, it could just keep puttering along in still air.

This plane had an autopilot, but they are aren't standard equipment.  It was probably just a wing leveler as those are more common, but it could have had altitude hold.

I bet the plane would stay stable if the sole occupant jumped out.

[KD5NRH]

This plane had an autopilot, but they are aren't standard equipment.  It was probably just a wing leveler as those are more common, but it could have had altitude hold.

I bet the plane would stay stable if the sole occupant jumped out.

2400lb plane losing 5-8% of weight that was off center?  I'd expect both a sudden climb and likely some roll before it accounted for the change in CG.  Just not sure how quickly the wing leveler would react to that.  (i.e. quickly enough to avoid second and subsequent oscillations, and/or quickly enough to avoid further altitude loss from the roll)  If he was already at the edge of a stall and low enough to feel like he could survive a jump, that doesn't leave much margin.

[Fly320s]

Off center?  Yeah, by the width of a seat cushion.  The AP could handle that drastic change.

Yes, less weight could induce a climb if the AP was only single-axis.  Or a stall from the sudden pitch up.  Or the pilot could have planned for that so the plane crashed far away.

[Boomhauer]

If the plane somehow got to a "still flying and controllable, but not for much longer" state and there was nowhere to land, I could see the attraction of turning into the wind, flaps full, and jumping out as low and slow as possible, aiming for what appears to be the deepest snowbank around.  Not sure how long a 172 could continue on once the pilot left, though.

Or you know you would just put it down in the best area you could find and use the structure of the aircraft to absorb the energy of the crash

[Fly320s]

Or you know you would just put it down in the best area you could find and use the structure of the aircraft to absorb the energy of the crash

That is so boring.  And safe.  Who wants that?

[KD5NRH]

Or you know you would just put it down in the best area you could find and use the structure of the aircraft to absorb the energy of the crash

Inexperienced pilot, not much practice picking emergency landing spots, but several touch-and-go and or not-quite touch landings would likely give him some confidence in skimming along under 10-20' AGL at stall speed.  Given a choice between a 15' fall at 50mph and being inside 2500 pounds of 1955-design (Crumple zones? Airbags? Maybe we'll invent those in a few more decades.) cheap airplane hitting an immovable object at the same speed, it's far from unthinkable that he'd choose the former.

[Fly320s]

Inexperienced pilot, not much practice picking emergency landing spots, but several touch-and-go and or not-quite touch landings would likely give him some confidence in skimming along under 10-20' AGL at stall speed.  Given a choice between a 15' fall at 50mph and being inside 2500 pounds of 1955-design (Crumple zones? Airbags? Maybe we'll invent those in a few more decades.) cheap airplane hitting an immovable object at the same speed, it's far from unthinkable that he'd choose the former.

Your logic is infallible.   There is no reason for us experienced pilots to atrempt to refute your theories.

[RocketMan]

Out-of-the-blue thought - maybe a dumba** attempting an "ultimate selfie"? Sets the autopilot, leans out the door onto the strut step for said selfie, and achieves Epic Life Fail.

Brad

Not a bad hypothesis, actually.  Lots of dumbasses taking fatal selfies these days.