A cautionary tale...

maybe i should have posted it in medical topics because it made me sick reading it
 
"I believe I can roll this plane."

You was wrong.

Next?
 
and this does nothing for the misconception that private pilots are 'barnstormers' that is held by the non-aviation community.
 
mikea said:
"I believe I can roll this plane."

You was wrong.

Next?
Click to expand...
Next is death.
Then he shuts down one....of course, had his starter been unable to obtain 800 rpm, the feathering pins would not come out and he'd then have a real bona fide emergency.

This guy was an emergency....as in, what "emergency revocation" is for.
 
I have to wonder what NTSB accident category this would fit in. I don't believe they have one for "Incredibly Stupid" or "Death Wish."

This nearly unbelievable. :rolleyes:
 
Quoted from the report
"The airplane was destroyed. The private pilot and 4 passengers were fatally injured. ""

The problem I see is, that 4 other folks thought he was a good pilot.

We need a method of informing the public that he is a nut case.
 
Can't believe that one of his "friends" (the one talking to the trooper) planned to buy and aircraft from the deceased pilot, KNOWING that the pilot had a history of reckless flying and "overstressing aircraft", as he put it.
 
There is a big difference between:

'This airplane can be rolled'

and

'I can roll this airplane'

Apparently the airplane demanded more skill then this guy had.
 
Bumping up Troy's post with emphasis added...

Troy Whistman said:
Can't believe that one of his "friends" (the one talking to the trooper) planned to buy and aircraft from the deceased pilot, KNOWING that the pilot had a history of reckless flying and "overstressing aircraft", as he put it.
Click to expand...
 
I don't get the appeal of rolling a Baron in the first place. I used to do a little auto-cross racing in a Miata. I also drive an F-250. Just because I could run my truck around on a skid pad doesn't mean it would be cool, or even fun. :dunno: Of course, it would apparently suck a little less than rolling a Baron.
 
SkyHog said:
I don't get it, why did he feather one engine in cruise? Just for fun?
Click to expand...

He saw Bob Hoover cage one engine and then do an 8-point hesitation roll.

Mama Nature said, "You, sir, are no Bob Hoover."
 
A jacka$$ who took 4 innocents with him. We all pay the price for idiots like that.
 
I don't intend to justify this person's actions but this tragedy could have been prevented. This person was sending out distress signals that were not detected. What I learned from reading that NTSB preliminary report is that if I hear a fellow pilot say absurd things like this pilot was saying, I would report him immediately (to his wife, the FSDO, the FBO, his other friends... whoever is willing to listen) even at the cost of loosing a friendship.
 
TeenDoc said:
I don't intend to justify this person's actions but this tragedy could have been prevented. This person was sending out distress signals that were not detected. What I learned from reading that NTSB preliminary report is that if I hear a fellow pilot say absurd things like this pilot was saying, I would report him immediately (to his wife, the FSDO, the FBO, his other friends... whoever is willing to listen) even at the cost of loosing a friendship.
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I've gotta disagree here ...

This guy put out distress signals that were IGNORED by everyone around him. They all saw them, and told the FAA about them after the fact, but they did NOTHING about him while there was still time to do something. I can certainly understand the social resistance to acting on it, but by not acting, look what was lost!
 
etsisk said:
I've gotta disagree here ...

This guy put out distress signals that were IGNORED by everyone around him. They all saw them, and told the FAA about them after the fact, but they did NOTHING about him while there was still time to do something. I can certainly understand the social resistance to acting on it, but by not acting, look what was lost!
Click to expand...

I think you're both saying the same thing. :yes: People didn't speak up or go through the proper channels to get this guy to quit or change his ways.

http://www.avweb.com/news/pilotlounge/182666-1.html

As a follow-up to that article... I've spoken with Rick on the Pilotcast and in person, and that is a story he tells often. The guy (in the article, not the one in this thread) still hasn't spoken with him... But he did, at some level, hear what he was being told. Most importantly, he is still alive today.
 
I agree - we're saying almost the same thing - I'm just not as charitable as Gilberto and don't think they were MISSED, is all - I think everyone did the personally comfortable thing and did nothing. It would be a tough position to be in, for sure.
 
This is an eerie echo of a conversation I was having tonight. We have a pilot at our airport who has become somewhat of a "joke" because people feel he's a poor pilot. He makes decisions that many characterize as unwise or even unsafe, and reports are that a large number of people who fly with him literally get sick in the plane. (I've heard number above 15.) I'm not aware of anything he's done that violates FARs, and have only personally witnessed one or two of the unsafe incidents. The rest are anecdotal. And I'm certainly aware of the tendency of anecdotes to get blown out of proportion or even multiplied.

So, the question is, what do we do about him? We're starting by asking one of the people who has instructed him and who we believe to be respected by him to speak with him. If we don't see changes after that, what do we do? Talk to an FAA Safety Counselor? Talk to the airport manager?

I actually mentioned the above discussion about the Baron when we were discussing our pilot, because we all agree that we do not want to be talking to the NTSB or FAA after something fatal has happened. OTOH, we certainly don't want to be seen as self-appointed airport police trying to get people into trouble, or to cause someone undue problems with the enforcement arm of the FAA.

I suggested the Safety Counselor might be the way to go here. What say you?

Edit:
I just went back and read Rick's article. Based on that, I should point out that many of those who have concerns about this pilot are instructors, though I don't know how many of them have actually flown with him. And he does have quite an ego!
 
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bbchien said:
Uunspecified psychiatric disorder.....
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I was a little more charitable on the other forum to respect one of the previous posters, but was also thinking the same thing.
 
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NC19143 said:
Quoted from the report
"The airplane was destroyed. The private pilot and 4 passengers were fatally injured. ""

The problem I see is, that 4 other folks thought he was a good pilot.

We need a method of informing the public that he is a nut case.
Click to expand...

Or, four unsuspecting souls were lost. Who knows, this guy could have put a notice up somewhere, "Need a ride to SnF, four seats open"

I sure hope these weren't some unsuspecting souls just looking for a ride to SnF. I'd be loath to ride with someone who I didn't at least know something about how they fly.
 
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