Close Calls at Airports

[martyd]

I have had many 'close calls' of one nature of another from construction, autos, shooting, being an RN and airplanes.

Over the years I have tried being 'Nonchalant' and 'O Well' with humor about my events.

Anyway, this is my attempt at poking fun at one area of my 'close calls' -- Flying.

**********************************

Truth be said:
I will not fly unless I ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO.

Reason #1:
Managers said West Coast folks could leave Florida convention early and not work the last day, my scheduled flight was for the evening of the last day, I was able to get a flight out the morning of the last day. My original scheduled flight crashed in bad weather, no survivors.

Reason #2: I am a Private Pilot with single and multi engine as well as instrument ratings. I have had 3 inflight emergencies all following annuals on 3 different aircraft and 1 near miss in flight.

One was an inflight electrical fire with emergency landing at an airport, another was power loss and not able to maintain altitude due to loose spark plugs with a gliding landing at an airport, and finally one with the mechanic's failure to replace but charted he had replaced a known corroded fuel selector valve in a twin resulting in both engines failing and a gliding crash landing.

No injuries for me or my passengers in any of these.

I was about 20 feet from a mid air collision with a student glider pilot who forgot to use his radio and inform folks in the landing pattern he was inbound, he was 1000 ft or so above the pattern altitude and did a quick spiral down - no one in the pattern saw him until he and I almost hit each other. Gliders get priority over power aircraft when landing. He landed safely and I decide to go to another airport for dinner.

In my mind 4 times was pushing my luck, sold my planes and have not flown or been in a private airplane since.

All of the above is true.

*******************************
I have not flown on a commercial flight since 2017.

According to the FAA from January 9, 2023 through March 9, 2023 there has been 8 "Close Calls" at US Airports.

I now know why the Airlines have Close Calls

 

[s&wchad]

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZyCGws2r08[/ame]

 

[Rustyt1953]

 

[Skeet 028]

I too do not intend to fly commercially again. I worked at an airport(crash/rescue...yep). I know how the airlines fix...or don't...their aircraft. Many years ago I had a Cessna 170..beautiful plane...sold it and delivered it to a fellow in Alaska from Maryland. Lots of fun on that trip. I was told that plane crashed 2 or 3 owners later. Owned a Tri-Pacer for a while. niceplane but underpowered in my opinion. Didn't matter..couple years after selling it another pilot taxied his 150 into it...total. 3rd plane was an early Ercoupe...fun as anything could be...when you could get it started. Had old style mags and you had to prop it to start it...no starter/electrical system. Changed the mags...fixed...sold it ,,,bought my last plane. It was a drug courier Cessna 310 twin abandoned on an airport. Got the darn thing for less than the price of one prop. Had an AE friend who helped get it airworthy enough to get a ferry permit and flew it to his place. Not with me in it though. With no logs or records it was a pain to get right. Flew it twice...got that odd feeling and decided to sell it. Made good money on it. It flew off on a ferry permit and never heard another word about it...thank goodness...Bermuda Triangle? After 3000 hours I decided to hang up the wings. As far as commercial...too many people on a metal tube packed like sardines. No thanks

 

[SMSgt]

My mom and kid sister were to fly on a flight from Lexington, KY, to Charlotte, NC. Missed the flight because kid sister's potato salad at the airport restaurant has glass in it, resulting in a trip to the ER. The flight crashed with no survivors. I don't fly because I always have a battle with TSA. The airlines can go broke for all I care.

 

[alwslate]

I am just a VFR private pilot. In my opinion the most dangerous flight you will ever take is the first one after a so-called mechanic has done an annual inspection on your plane.

 

[jeffrefrig]

I've never flown in my life. Thanks to this I probably never will now. Thank you.

 

[martyd]

I am just a VFR private pilot. In my opinion the most dangerous flight you will ever take is the first one after a so-called mechanic has done an annual inspection on your plane.

alwslate: You are absolutely correct!

3 times I had problems following an annual inspection.
I wish the mechanics had to put an hour on the plane following their inspection!

Historically, other than post annual inspection the most dangerous time flying is 20 min after takeoff and 20 min before landing.

 

[Rudi]

Check out Mentour Pilot videos, they'll keep you grounded.

 

[whitestang]

I have flown only once and that was 15 years ago to Vegas and back. I do not plan on flying again,you miss too many sights and you can't stop when you want.

 

[johngross]

Wow! Not much else is worse than a drunk and blind pilot!!

I now know why the Airlines have Close Calls

 

[ACORN]

A customer of mine is a private pilot. He had some work done to his plane. Took it up and the engine quit. He had a choice to either put it down in the river or a field. He chose the field but cracked it up pretty bad. He was banged up but survived.
The cause was attributed to a fuel line fitting not being tightened.

 

[vt_shooter]

I used to fly, not a ton of hours, about 350. I had one close call, a near hit with a C150 that climbing out and not looking, I could not see him because he came up from straight ahead of me and below the cowling of my airplane. Missed by about 30 feet. But I think I've had more total close calls driving, but at a much lower rate of close calls per hour of driving vs flying.

 

[NYlakesider]

I went to school with this one fellow that could screw up putting a state registration sticker on a cars windshield.

Ran into him about 10 years later and asked him what was he doing. Fixing large jet aircraft, had to think twice about using that airline after that revelation.

 

[Sistema1927]

I am just a VFR private pilot. In my opinion the most dangerous flight you will ever take is the first one after a so-called mechanic has done an annual inspection on your plane.

That is why I always did "owner assisted" annuals on my 172B. I would take 3 days off from work, and did all the grunt work with the A&P/IA doing the inspection, even as I was looking over his shoulder, learning all that I could.

There were three benefits with this:

1) I saved a ton of money, allowing me to fly more.
2) I got to know my aircraft inside and out, making me a better informed pilot.
3) I developed a good relationship with my A&P.

I was never leery of that first flight following the annual.

 

[Hair Trigger]

I am just a VFR private pilot. In my opinion the most dangerous flight you will ever take is the first one after a so-called mechanic has done an annual inspection on your plane.

The biggest chance of an engine failure in General Aviation occurs in the first 100 hours after an engine overhaul. You'd think it should be the last 100 hrs. before it needs the overhaul.

 

[dave1918a2]

Did You ever stop to think You just might be cursed. I don't fly anywhere.

 

[arjay]

I am just a VFR private pilot. In my opinion the most dangerous flight you will ever take is the first one after a so-called mechanic has done an annual inspection on your plane.

A friend and his son fought a jammed elevator for 30 minutes (stuck,unstuck,stuck)before they could finally land it only to find a screw driver rolling around. So long ago I don't remember the details
They each had a dead stick with their biplane due to a jammed fuel selector they were sure was fixed.Once on a mountaininterstate by the son and once on a rural road by pop.Those guys were always encouraging me to take it up…nope lol

 

[llowry61]

I have my private license with an IFR rating. I have not flown in many years, but I have scared myself on many an occasion.

A low hour IFR pilot is just as bad as the first 100 hours after a rebuild. We know just enough to get into real trouble.

I flew a Tomahawk as a trainer then Cherokee 180 for my instrument rating.

After getting caught in some pretty intense IFR conditions while flying VFR and trying to file enroute I reevaluated my commitment to aviation.

I decided I would be an old bold non flyer.

 

[alwslate]

I confess to never wanting an IFR rating. One of my best friends at work and his wife were killed flying at night in foggy weather shortly after he got an IFR rating. If the weather's not fit for VFR flight I'm staying on the ground.

 

[arjay]

My ma took up flying in her early 50s and bough a 182,got her ifr rating and around 70 or so she retired from it and sold her plane. She enjoyed it along with my son,but that was one bug that never bit me lol.

 

[Exaviator]

In forty years of professional flying and 22,000 hours I had only three serious close mid-air encounters. One whilst in cloud and in the holding pattern at Tehran (Iran) when I found myself staring into the cockpit of a C-130 at the same altitude and going in the wrong direction. The second in Indian airspace when an opposite direction B-747 was cleared to climb through my level (FL330) only saved by the onboard TCAS. The third in Russian airspace and a similar situation. All three involved aircraft either using a foreign language, or on another radio frequency. Usually, these occurrences are minimised by situation awareness, or TCAS.

 

[bgrafsr]

The last time I flew was while on the PD. Had to fly to LA to pick up a prisoner and bring him back.
I won't fly now because I won't put up with the **** from TSA.
A good friend used to fly for UPS until his diabetes grounded him. He will not fly anymore either.

 

[ggibson511960]

The industry struggles. An ex-associate got stuck in Europe last week on an airliner when a passenger tray table was stuck down for too long and the flight crew timed out. New York Air Traffic Control Center is 50% understaffed. Runway incursion near misses at JFK and Austin almost took hundreds of lives. We narrowly averted having an FAA director with ZERO aviation experience. The FAA has yet to solve the 5G frequency interference with radar altimeters mandated in emergency helicopters and Cat III landing systems.

 

[alwslate]

I have my private license with an IFR rating. I have not flown in many years, but I have scared myself on many an occasion.

A low hour IFR pilot is just as bad as the first 100 hours after a rebuild. We know just enough to get into real trouble.

I flew a Tomahawk, AKA Traumahawk, as a trainer.

Yeah my above mentioned friend died very shortly after getting an IFR rating. I started off as a student in a Tomahawk and then switched to a Warrior to finish my training. I will never fly a Tomahawk again.

 

[Hair Trigger]

Flying (as a pilot) is a perishable skill and requires constant practice to be competent and safe, regardless of all the ratings you have. I never had my pvt license, but flew fairly often with a friend who owned his own plane. I'd work the radios when we went cross-country, and I'd need refreshers from him if I didn't fly for as little as a month.

My SIL is a charter pilot with just under the 1500 hours he needs to get hired by the majors, has his instrument, commercial, multi engine and instructor ratings, and says he learns something new every day, like how to get a B200 King Air in and out of a 3200 foot airstrip when each end of the runway ends on a beach. (He flies to the Bahamas at least twice a week). Lots of practice, and you need to fly frequently. Even a week off feels strange to him when he climbs back in the cockpit.

 

[Sistema1927]

All the fancy equipment in the world won't save you from incompetence.

For example, I knew a guy who had a brand new Beech Baron with full glass panel including WX radar and HSI. ATC warned him of a thunderstorm on his path, to which he responded that he saw it on his radar. He then flew into it, killing himself and his three passengers.

 

[Lee in Quartzsite]

I owned and flew a Cessna Cardinal for 11 years and logged over 2800 hours, all VFR. During that time I had what some call "Near misses", 5 in total. Two were in the landing pattern with planes going the wrong way, and THREE while under the control of FAA radar flight following! One mid-air was close enough I could see all 4 people in the other airplane. When I called and spoke with an FAA supervisor at a Flight Service Station he simply stated "We all make mistakes". I was beyond words!

Now driving is my preferred method of travel, but I do miss flying.

 

[MDF4]

[FONT=&quot]Airport incursions[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I've seen many possibilities over the years. The first thing comes to mind is the two 747's Tenerife incident due to an overzealous Captain.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]LAX…737 landed on top of a commuter cleared to threshold. 73 was on short final with AOA most likely could not see the holding A/C. ATC at fault.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The worst that I witnessed; we were visiting some friends one summer morning and the kids were in the front yard playing. We heard a loud bang and 3 of the kids came bursting through the door screaming airplanes crashed! I ran out front and my elder daughter was standing there mesmerized with the carnage of two ancient Cessna 140's laying in pieces. I was holding her and making sure she wasn't hurt when she looked up and with tear swollen eyes said, " Daddy there is a leg and foot still in the tennis shoe over there." There were body parts everywhere.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]There is an uncontrolled recreational airport within a mile of the homes and with what we refer to as "June gloom" these two beige colored Cessnas didn't see each other. End of the line.[/FONT]

 

[Old 44 Guy]

y last flight was in 1999. I'm tired of being treated like a tired sheep & being charged big bucks for it.