WATCH: Precautionary Landing Epitomizes Airshow Safety

Watch video below from the brief takeoff and precautionary landing.

GENESEO – Raindrops rolled down the Piper Cub’s windshield as she made it to about 50 mph and lifted off the wet grass at 10:02 a.m. Her engine suddenly lost power at about 75 feet, changing its tune from a hearty little roar to a fatigued purr, and the pilot calmly touched her down with plenty of runway left.

To the untrained eye, video from the GeneseeSun.com reporter on board looks like a normal but very short flight because the pilot, Pat Herrmann with the National Warplane Museum, handled the complication safely and skillfully. Though skilled mechanics later tested the aircraft and found no issues, Herrmann’s decision to land the plane and get her off the field of the airshow at the slightest sign of a problem epitomizes the Museum’s standard of airshow safety.

“We actually just lost our power on the takeoff climb,” said Hermann as he taxied in from the precautionary landing. “I didn’t like it, and had plenty of runway left, and I made a landing.”

After another a solo test run to replicate the issue, Herrmann had the plane thoroughly checked by Craig Wadsworth, the Museum’s Director of Maintenance and Restoration. Wadsworth theorized that the fuel could be contaminated by droplets of rainwater, or the carburetor could have iced up at high engine speed due to the high moisture in the air. He and several Museum volunteers cleaned and checked the engine for any problems. Hours later, after the airshow, he rode in the plane and found no issues.

“It could have been a number of things but it flew just fine,” Wadsworth told Herrmann. “Still, you absolutely did the right thing. Safety first.”

The National Warplane Museum’s annual airshow, the Greatest Show on Turf, assembles some of the country’s most skilled pilots and historic aircraft to swoop, dive, and low pass over tens of thousands of people at the grass airfield in Geneseo. Everyone involved in organizing the airshow and handling these machines respects their power and arrives at the show well prepared for anything to go wrong.

Experienced pilots like Hermann have the controls. If something goes wrong, they have well-prepared procedures to keep everyone safe.

Volunteers guide the crowd and open spacious paths for aircraft to power up engines or taxi.

A fire truck and two ambulances with Geneseo Fire and Ambulance, as well as a medic’s vehicle with Livingston County EMS, stand by on the airfield for any emergency during the airshow. A Life Net emergency helicopter lands on the field every morning of the airshow. It is itself a static display, but it also stands by as emergency transport if needed.

The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office’s mobile command center is always present at the airshow. Members of the Sheriff’s mounted patrol survey the crowd on horseback, and multiple Deputies cruise the field on ATV’s.

In past airshows, these first responders have mostly handled cases of heat exhaustion. This year, no health or safety issues were reported.