To the Editor:
Your June 4 article about the crash at Harvey Field contains some questionable information.
Normal approach speed for a Cessna 177 is 70-80 MPH with full flaps. Over the threshold, the air speed should be 70, with the throttle gradually coming to idle. If the approach was as described, this pilot should have gone around for another approach at the proper settings.
As for Harvey Field’s dimensions, they pose little hazard to pilots who have used airports with the stated parameters. My 18-year experience based at the Harvey Field proved uneventful. If a pilot is not qualified or confident to land at short fields, doing so should be practiced beforehand or avoided. As for pilots lacking skills, that’s on them, not the airfield’s. Mr. Katz may not like airports such as Harvey, and that’s his right. However, there are hundreds of these airports in our country with skilled pilots enjoying the freedom to fly from them.
A Cessna Cardinal can be safely landed at Harvey by flying within its flight envelope. I personally have accomplished this act dozens of times in the 125 hours of time in a Cardinal 177RG. In 1,100 hours of flight time out of Harvey, I have not been ‘blown’ from the runway by a crosswind.
This accident was not the fault of the airfield’s dimensions or the aircraft.
Mel Eaton
Certified Flight Instructor, retired
Clearview
Editor’s note: We re-reviewed the transponder data used for this story’s facts, and have updated the piece. The airspeed was still seen as too fast during the stages of approach.
