Ben Longden

Jan 26. The Age. An airliner carrying 54 people crashed into a truck in the south of France today, killing the driver, the transport ministry said. The incident happened at the Pau-Pyrenees airport after a bird flew into the Regional Airlines plane's engine as it was taking off, forcing it to make an emergency landing. The 50 passengers and four cabin staff on the Fokker 100 escaped injury and were evacuated from the plane, which was flying for Air France between Pau and Paris' Roissy airport. "The aircraft, which was taking off, had to carry out an emergency landing next to the runway after a bird flew into one of the engines," a statement from the ministry said. The plane hit a small public works truck travelling on a road around the airport and the driver died in the accident, it said. In a separate statement, Regional Airlines said a second person in the vehicle was injured. The Fokker came to a stop several hundred metres after hitting the truck.

Probably the quickest way to have a guided tour of the kit itself, and the true grit involved in building one. Ben

Anyone hear about a Cessna 182 over running into the fence at an AD east of Melbourne over the weekend? I thought I heard it was a plane load of skydivers, hot humid day and the takeoff was aborted as the takeoff performance was somewhat poor. Any ideas? Ben

Sorry about the basic question... I see posts referring to rule this that and the other and aircraft with 19, 24 as part of their registrations. Anyone care to make a quick, simple english translation? Ben

ERSA perhaps? Ben

Thats the one!!! Ch 10 also mentioned that it was an aborted takeoff with a hard landing... But then again, having worked in the media for 25yrs as a news snapper a lot of "theories" get published as "facts" well before the truth is established.. Reminds me of an old editors saying... "why let the facts get in the way of a good story?..." Ben

..... its already up on the wall at Air Shepparton..... (onya Matt!) Ben

While we hear, so to speak, about the nongs who for some reason known only to themselves disregard the radio, lets put in a good word for those who do.. and practice good airmanship. This morning I was having a check ride prior to a few solo circuits at Shepp, and as instructed, I followed the best practice of a taxi call, entering & backtracking call - and then heard MWZ, a King Air operated by the Ambulance Service give a 20 mile inbound (at 10,000 ft IFR) and then as I was on climb out, the pilot asked me, by personal callsign - Tecnam 4673 - as to my location in the circuit. Top marks for airmanship, especially considering his very quick turnaround... the turbines had barely spooled down before he was off again. Ben

Gidday Pete, I thought I heard the sound of a radial last evening... The big question is.. did the other pilot learn a lesson? Ben

That is so true. An example; I was about to depart Shepparton on a solo flight, and 18 was the active, and had been fairly busy in the preceeding hour. As I was taxiing, I saw a moving red dot above the tree line to the south.. and it was a red chipmunk on finals for 36. No radio calls, nothing. Now, after I did my flight, I had no option but to park in front of the club rooms, as our Chipmunk friend had parked - sort of - in front of the fuel bowser blocking all access on the taxi way to 18, which meant ALL departing traffic had a 500m backtrack to make. I did poke my head in the Chippy... and yes, it was fitted with a radio. So whatever happened to Aviate, navigate and COMMUNICATE? Ben

Well done, Gary. The attention to detail with the background is excellent. The only other things that gives it away as not being a non composite pic and recent is just under the cowel.... the lack of a prop blade.. and the GREEN grass.. Now, if ever you want to do the shot for real, lemme know!!! ;) Ben

Er.. wasnt a chinese student from Moorabin perhaps? Ive nearly been run over IN the circuit by these jokers... and yes, CASA did end up speaking to the school and politely suggested their students have a radio, a brain and eyes - and switch all three ON before getting in the plane. Ben

Its very easily done, and usually by those who have never flown in anything smaller than a 737. Its called bureacracy. Ben

Fantastic.... I would love to get my twin command IFR... Oh well, nothing time and $$$$ wont fix..;) Ben

I just tell folks that in 25 years of being a volunteer road accident rescue worker, I stopped counting fatal car incidents at 100. But Ive only ever attended one aircraft incident - and that was an excercise. Ben

To find out what the cause of the incident was, through the appropriate channels, especially considering the investigative resources is the best way to unravel the mystery of this terrible incident. Theories have no place when the facts can be uncovered to reveal the truth. What is the real tragedy is the loss of two highly skilled aviators, and the terrible loss to their families. Like everyone, I would like to know what happened - but then again, so would the families. Ben

I cried laughing.... ..Ben

It was a new ship.... 2006 registered.... Ben

And this from The Age..

January 02, 2007 11:32am NEWS Limited. A PILOT walked away unhurt after his light aircraft crashed into a ditch at Melbourne's Moorabbin airport today. The pilot was the only person aboard a Cessna 172 training aircraft and was performing a touch-and-go circuit when the plane veered into a ditch shortly after 11am (AEDT) today, Moorabbin airport manager Phil McConnell said. The aircraft was substantially damaged. Fire crews contained a fuel leak from the battered aircraft, Metropolitan Fire Brigade incident controller Col Matheson said on Southern Cross radio, "We have a fuel leak out of one of the wings and the brigade has laid down a layer of foam ... to make sure it doesn't ignite," he said. "(The pilot) is reasonably well-shaken."

Vot ver zey zinking..... ;) Ben

Now.... if the good Dr Seus wrote all the instruction manuals for Bill Gates, then most IT techs would be out of a job... ;) Ben

From News Limited; December 27, 2006 06:51pm THE 57-year-old man who died in a glider shortly after it crashed at Gulgong, in central western New South Wales, was an experienced pilot, an eyewitness said today. The glider was launched from the Gulgong airstrip early this afternoon but crashed into the same strip just seconds later. The owner of the airstrip, Ian Harris, saw the accident. “It was a winch launch, which is a common thing,†said Mr Harris, who lives in the area. “(The crash) was on take-off in a fibreglass aircraft with an experienced pilot.†Mr Harris said the glider was only airborne for “about five seconds†but said he could not speculate on the cause of the crash while it was being investigated. “We can't comment other than it was just one of these terrible accidents,†he said. The first ambulance crew to arrive at the crash reported the man was in a serious condition, trapped in the overturned glider. An NRMA CareFlight medical trauma team were called on to help about 2pm (AEDT) but abandoned the rescue mission when advised mid-flight the man had died. “We went out towards that one but we were called off because the occupant was dead,†a CareFlight spokesman said. NSW Police are investigating the incident.

If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee. (Hardly seems worth it.) If you farted consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb. (Now that's more like it!) The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body to squirt blood 30 feet. (O.M.G.!) A pig's orgasm lasts 30 minutes. (In my next life, I want to be a pig.) A cockroach will live nine days without its head before it starves to death. (Creepy.) (I'm still not over the pig.) Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories a hour (Don't try this at home, maybe at work) The male praying mantis cannot copulate while its head is attached to its body. The female initiates sex by ripping the male's head off. (Honey, I'm home. What the...?!) The flea can jump 350 times its body length. It's like a human jumping the length of a football field. (30 minutes... lucky pig! Can you imagine?) The catfish has over 27,000 taste buds. (What could be so tasty on the bottom of a pond?) Some lions mate over 50 times a day. (I still want to be a pig in my next life...quality over quantity) Butterflies taste with their feet. (Something I always wanted to know.) The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue. (Hmmmmmm......) Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people. (If you're ambidextrous, do you split the difference?) Elephants are the only animals that cannot jump. (Okay, so that would be a good thing) A cat's urine glows under a black light. (I wonder who was paid to figure that out?) An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain. ( I know some people like that.) Starfish have no brains (I know some people like that too.) Polar bears are left-handed. (If they switch, they'll live a lot longer) Humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure. (What about that pig??)

Why filter it out? The more knowledge you have the better navigator you will be, because you have a greater understanding. Ben