Coffin Dancer and flying claims

tinerj

tinerj

Cleared for Takeoff
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tinerj
Jeffery Deaver writes mystery/suspense books and they are usually well researched. But in Coffin Dancer he makes some statements (as narrator) that I have trouble believing. Some are minor nits to pick:

"He wore long sleeves ... to hide the leathery burn scars ... from the time ... he'd climbed into a flaming Cessna 150 to rescue a pilot and passenger." I don't think it is possible to climb into a Cessna 150 that is occupied by two people. There simply isn't enough room.

Another story is about a husband and wife pilot team who are both commercial pilots who fly a pontoon-equipped Cessna 180 to Red Lake, Ontario, setting down with "about six ounces of fuel left in the tank . . . " I don't want to fly with them. Haven't they heard of fuel reserve?

But my main question concerns the suspected airborne disposal of a murder victim at sea during a night flight. The private plane is flown by its owner on a VFR flight out of Mamaroneck Airport near White Planes. "LaGuardia had him for a while. Straight out over Long Island Sound. Then he dropped below radar for ten minutes or so." [A judge issued a temporary arrest warrant because of ...] FAA violations and reckless endangerment thrown in. No flight plan, flying below FAA minimums."

OK. Under what conditions must a VFR flight file a flight plan? Under what conditions while flying over Long Island Sound would there be minimums?
 
It's fiction for the masses dude, did you forget to take a few stupid pills before reading?
 
tinerj said:
Jeffery Deaver writes mystery/suspense books and they are usually well researched. But in Coffin Dancer he makes some statements (as narrator) that I have trouble believing. Some are minor nits to pick:

"He wore long sleeves ... to hide the leathery burn scars ... from the time ... he'd climbed into a flaming Cessna 150 to rescue a pilot and passenger." I don't think it is possible to climb into a Cessna 150 that is occupied by two people. There simply isn't enough room.

Another story is about a husband and wife pilot team who are both commercial pilots who fly a pontoon-equipped Cessna 180 to Red Lake, Ontario, setting down with "about six ounces of fuel left in the tank . . . " I don't want to fly with them. Haven't they heard of fuel reserve?

But my main question concerns the suspected airborne disposal of a murder victim at sea during a night flight. The private plane is flown by its owner on a VFR flight out of Mamaroneck Airport near White Planes. "LaGuardia had him for a while. Straight out over Long Island Sound. Then he dropped below radar for ten minutes or so." [A judge issued a temporary arrest warrant because of ...] FAA violations and reckless endangerment thrown in. No flight plan, flying below FAA minimums."

OK. Under what conditions must a VFR flight file a flight plan? Under what conditions while flying over Long Island Sound would there be minimums?
Click to expand...

When the non skydiving passenger departed the plane, he was instantly flying too close to a person. :)
 
tinerj said:
OK. Under what conditions must a VFR flight file a flight plan?
Click to expand...

DC SFRA for one, though that doesn't apply here. Also TFRs that make the airspace they affect behave a lot like the DC SFRA.
 
jpower said:
DC SFRA for one, though that doesn't apply here. Also TFRs that make the airspace they affect behave a lot like the DC SFRA.
Click to expand...
So what you are saying is they flew out over the TWA 800 recovery zone where the search for those two missiles goes on in black ships, on moonless nights.
 
steingar said:
The saddest thing is that is one of the more realistic and well done scenes from any of his more recent movies.
Click to expand...

I found the fact that the stuff the plane was doing was the most realistic part of the scene (WTF was up with that sky?) to be the saddest thing.
 
tinerj said:
Jeffery Deaver writes mystery/suspense books and they are usually well researched. But in Coffin Dancer he makes some statements (as narrator) that I have trouble believing. Some are minor nits to pick:

"He wore long sleeves ... to hide the leathery burn scars ... from the time ... he'd climbed into a flaming Cessna 150 to rescue a pilot and passenger." I don't think it is possible to climb into a Cessna 150 that is occupied by two people. There simply isn't enough room.

Another story is about a husband and wife pilot team who are both commercial pilots who fly a pontoon-equipped Cessna 180 to Red Lake, Ontario, setting down with "about six ounces of fuel left in the tank . . . " I don't want to fly with them. Haven't they heard of fuel reserve?

But my main question concerns the suspected airborne disposal of a murder victim at sea during a night flight. The private plane is flown by its owner on a VFR flight out of Mamaroneck Airport near White Planes. "LaGuardia had him for a while. Straight out over Long Island Sound. Then he dropped below radar for ten minutes or so." [A judge issued a temporary arrest warrant because of ...] FAA violations and reckless endangerment thrown in. No flight plan, flying below FAA minimums."

OK. Under what conditions must a VFR flight file a flight plan? Under what conditions while flying over Long Island Sound would there be minimums?
Click to expand...

Snakes on a Plane must drive you crazy.
 
Dave Krall CFII said:
It's fiction for the masses dude, did you forget to take a few stupid pills before reading?
Click to expand...

Actually, I put on my thinking cap rather than taking stupid pills (that's covered without pills.) I've learned that to enjoy books, movies, (and members of the opposite sex), it's wise to focus on the better attributes than become too discouraged at the occasional chuckleheads.
 
Dave Krall CFII said:
Cessna cockpit as torture chamber, nothing new there, but the flash shot to the seat warning placard during the climax got a laugh!
Click to expand...
Watched Falling Skies and there is a scene where a Beech 18 gets shot down by the aliens. As the pilot struggles to pull up to try to turn a crash into a crash landing, there's the "whoop whoop" you would associate with modern avionics issuing an overspeed or ground proximity or something.
 
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