K
KennyFlys
Guest
Yes, the thread title is a joke. But, we can joke about it now. Often, we usually do when the pilot survives. But, when a pilot dies after a crash and whether it's their mistake or otherwise, we bow our heads and hold back the criticism.
We've had a pilot visit with us this last week while he flew the area doing aerial photography in a Cessna 150. He's an accomplished pilot and has been for many years. Like myself, he took a long break from flying then returned a few years ago at the allure of his current job.
He put down at a small airport here in Texas and had lunch while getting full fuel. After an hour down, he began departure. During his takeoff roll winds went from nearly aligned with the runway to a direct crosswind and gusted to well over twenty knots.
One gentleman told me several pilots were commenting on the wind and sudden gusts. Shortly after that, a man is seen walking across the runway toward the terminal. No one had seen the plane go down but they knew why it was so easy to happen.
He had lifted about ten feet off when he was rocked violently to the right and could not recover. The plane went into the field along the runway where he continued to roll into a group of trees.
You can see where both wings were folded back not unlike an F-14 Tomcat's scissor wings. The wind screen popped out like a cork with nothing to hold it back. Both fuel tanks were ruptured. Fortunately, there was no fire as quite a bit of fuel poured into the cabin.
He couldn't open the door so he climbed through the newly created hole from the missing windscreen. Badly shaken, he escaped and got away from the plane.
I suppose it could have been avoided had he simply stayed on the ground. But then, you can't always predict what winds are going to do. I constantly watch them whip back and forth between downwind and crosswind. Sometimes, I joke that the new runway is going to force me to cut back on crosswind practice. I've improved greatly since I've been here.
At least this pilot is alive and safe. He's probably sleeping on pins tonight awaiting an interview with the NTSB and FAA on top of thanking God he's still here to go home to his wife. I spent some time with him over the last few days at dinners and talked quite a bit.
When he called asking for a ride to get back to my airport, he told he had an accident. I never expected to see what you're about to see. He said it was pretty much totaled, my still thinking it wasn't that bad. My first view was indeed a shock.
I'm glad he's safe. I don't do well with death as a few of you know. My boss has watched friends die in crashes at my airport. I fear the day will come when I'll witness the same. It's come pretty close, once already. This one pushes it home a bit more.
If you're not proficient in crosswind operations, get a competent CFI and go work on them. Not so you can takeoff in stronger winds but so you can be better prepared for those sudden changes in direction and gusts.
We've had a pilot visit with us this last week while he flew the area doing aerial photography in a Cessna 150. He's an accomplished pilot and has been for many years. Like myself, he took a long break from flying then returned a few years ago at the allure of his current job.
He put down at a small airport here in Texas and had lunch while getting full fuel. After an hour down, he began departure. During his takeoff roll winds went from nearly aligned with the runway to a direct crosswind and gusted to well over twenty knots.
One gentleman told me several pilots were commenting on the wind and sudden gusts. Shortly after that, a man is seen walking across the runway toward the terminal. No one had seen the plane go down but they knew why it was so easy to happen.
He had lifted about ten feet off when he was rocked violently to the right and could not recover. The plane went into the field along the runway where he continued to roll into a group of trees.
You can see where both wings were folded back not unlike an F-14 Tomcat's scissor wings. The wind screen popped out like a cork with nothing to hold it back. Both fuel tanks were ruptured. Fortunately, there was no fire as quite a bit of fuel poured into the cabin.
He couldn't open the door so he climbed through the newly created hole from the missing windscreen. Badly shaken, he escaped and got away from the plane.
I suppose it could have been avoided had he simply stayed on the ground. But then, you can't always predict what winds are going to do. I constantly watch them whip back and forth between downwind and crosswind. Sometimes, I joke that the new runway is going to force me to cut back on crosswind practice. I've improved greatly since I've been here.
At least this pilot is alive and safe. He's probably sleeping on pins tonight awaiting an interview with the NTSB and FAA on top of thanking God he's still here to go home to his wife. I spent some time with him over the last few days at dinners and talked quite a bit.
When he called asking for a ride to get back to my airport, he told he had an accident. I never expected to see what you're about to see. He said it was pretty much totaled, my still thinking it wasn't that bad. My first view was indeed a shock.
I'm glad he's safe. I don't do well with death as a few of you know. My boss has watched friends die in crashes at my airport. I fear the day will come when I'll witness the same. It's come pretty close, once already. This one pushes it home a bit more.
If you're not proficient in crosswind operations, get a competent CFI and go work on them. Not so you can takeoff in stronger winds but so you can be better prepared for those sudden changes in direction and gusts.
