Seat Suddenly Drops Down Resulting in Accident

[pelmet]

Reminds me of an incident that happened to me quite a few years back in the sim. It was right in the middle of a circling approach when my seat suddenly dropped down fully. I was expecting the other guy to immediately say I Have Control but he was just staring at me. So, I yelled You Have Control and and we on. Can't remember if we continued the approach or not. It is a good idea to give an adjustable seat a good shake before takeoff. Usually, I do it back and forth but in more than one direction could be a good idea on some aircraft.....

https://www.canada.ca/en/air-force/corp ... logue.html

[pelmet]

It is a good idea to give an adjustable seat a good shake before takeoff. Usually, I do it back and forth but in more than one direction could be a good idea on some aircraft.

From TSB...

C-FWSV, a Westjet Boeing 737-700 was being operated as flight WJA514 from Comox Airport
(CYQQ), BC, under instrument flight rules, to Calgary International Airport (CYYC), AB. During the
takeoff roll, the first officer's seat became unlatched and moved fully rearward. At the time of the
seat malfunction, the first officer was acting as pilot flying. Control was transferred to the captain,
who rejected the takeoff at approximately 120 knots, and brought the aircraft to a stop. The crew
requested an aircraft and brake inspection by aircraft rescue and firefighting services. Following the
inspection, the aircraft returned to the gate under its own power and passengers were deplaned.
There were no injuries and there was no damage to the aircraft.
A maintenance inspection of the first officer's seat found excessive play in a seat control handle,
resulting in difficulty engaging seat locking pins. The seat was removed and replaced, and the
aircraft was returned to service.

[Big Pistons Forever]

I had a similar thing happen as PF to me in a Convair 580. About 10 knots below VR my seat dropped to it's lowest position which meant I could no longer see the runway. The seat made a huge bang when it dropped and which caused the Captain to turn and look at me. My You have control and his I have control calls were pretty much said at the same time and he continued the takeoff

[pelmet]

I had a similar thing happen as PF to me in a Convair 580. About 10 knots below VR my seat dropped to it's lowest position which meant I could no longer see the runway. The seat made a huge bang when it dropped and which caused the Captain to turn and look at me. My You have control and his I have control calls were pretty much said at the same time and he continued the takeoff

Continuing the takeoff seems like a good idea.

[co-joe]

I remember there being a write up of a fatal stall spin accident in a light single years back, where the pilots seat became unlatched and rolled right off the back of the rails taking him and basically the control column with him. C-182 maybe?

[CpnCrunch]

I remember there being a write up of a fatal stall spin accident in a light single years back, where the pilots seat became unlatched and rolled right off the back of the rails taking him and basically the control column with him. C-182 maybe?

Yes, there have been a number of fatal Cessna accidents due to this. From what I understand there is both an A/D requiring periodic inspection of the seat rails and hardware, and a service bulletin for secondary seat stops which is an additional safety measure. I think most Cessnas have the secondary seat stop these days, as it's a relatively cheap and simple addition.

Generally it's a good idea to do the Cessna shuffle after adjusting your seat.

[Dry Guy]

I had a similar thing happen as PF to me in a Convair 580. About 10 knots below VR my seat dropped to it's lowest position which meant I could no longer see the runway. The seat made a huge bang when it dropped and which caused the Captain to turn and look at me. My You have control and his I have control calls were pretty much said at the same time and he continued the takeoff

Continuing the takeoff seems like a good idea.

Yes, I'm surprised they did a high speed rejected takeoff in the other incident.