Garfly

This chap offers a lengthy analysis of his (not very) near miss in the circuit at Sleap airfield, Shropshire. If you don't have 20 mins to give it, there's a brief discussion of Electronic Conspicuity devices (Pilot Aware /SkyEcho) at 11.30 for a minute or two.

Legals are a luxury for the living, which, thanks to the Cirrus chute, is everyone in this case ;- )

To me the Denver midair shows again that 'see and avoid' and 'a proper lookout' while good and necessary are not sufficient, even when alerted to danger - in this case by the tower. How often do we need to be told that the best of scans are blocked by solid objects, often in crucial directions. A scan of a screen display (for nearby threats) - even in the circuit - need be no more distracting than a glance in your mirrors when driving. Nobody suggests mirrors are dangerous or 'useless' on motor vehicles - though, to be sure, fixating on one could be. Mirrors show us what no amount of p

One story doing the rounds is that this Cirrus pilot was a student type - on his first solo. (Though another mentioned a pax.) Amazing that the Metroliner held together and that its control cables stayed in control. Close parallel runways like that must be a real hazard. The Cirrus pilot did report the Metroliner in sight at one point but his attention would have then moved on to the threshold. Maybe he forgot that he was cleared for 17R and was lining up on the left one.

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/plane-crash-denver-centennial-airport-mid-air-collision-parachute-2021-5?r=US&IR=T

https://airfactsjournal.com/2021/05/wolfgang-langewiesche-on-pilot-proficiency/

And now for a Soviet entrant in the rejected aircraft stakes, the M15 Belfegor. The jet powered ag wagon was supposed to replace the old-fashioned AN-2 in the role but some of the few that were eventually made went straight to museums, while the AN-2 is still doing the job to this day. These Polish videos come with english subtitles when watched on YouTube:

And, since too much DC-6 lore is never enough:

This video gives an idea of normal DC6 ops at what appears to be the same strip. It suggests that a close terrain following approach was SOP there. I reckon that berm of gravel hidden in the bushes at the threshold was the unexpected factor that spoiled their day. The hill hugging glide-slope is reminiscent of the famous RWY10 approach at St. Barths in the Caribbean (below)

How it was supposed to go:

Ah, I see what you were getting at Nev. Anyway, the thread about the SAAB overrun in the Aleutians also indicates how marginal some of the RPT strips in Alaska really are. In that case, though, we have the exact opposite problem, a deadly overrun caused, in part, by a sudden backing wind that putting 30KT on the tail. (Unfortunately that crash was a fatal - a broken prop through the cabin killed one guy.)

I suppose most pilots think that if they remain in VMC then ice is not going to be a big problem, but as this PPrune post shows, that ain't always the case. https://www.pprune.org/private-flying/216307-ice-warning-vmc-below-freezing-level.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PenAir_Flight_3296 https://www.alaskapublic.org/2020/12/18/ntsb-investigation-into-fatal-dutch-harbor-plane-crash-reveals-mechanical-problem/

Reportedly, he'd planned to complete the flight in VMC - though he was IFR rated - and that still looked do-able at take-off. Maybe another case of (even) experienced instrument flyers losing it when caught in a sudden unexpected white-out. He was a very talented and well loved surgeon, by all accounts.

I thought they got into trouble because they were trying too hard to use every centimetre of it. As to the rest of the runway it's hard to tell in the video but you get some idea from the Google Earth pic.

The first shot of this video about the accident is as moving as it is rare: a static wide shot of a peaceful winter landscape - almost like a painting - then an ominous digital zoom directs our gaze to the distant cloud base and we suddenly get it, it's a moving picture ... http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2019/01/piper-pa-23-250-aztec-e-n14372-fatal.html

Regarding dangerous faulty assumptions, this recent article from Air Facts Journal has something to say Overweight in a Twin Otter—but how? https://airfactsjournal.com/2021/04/overweight-in-a-twin-otter-but-how/

Ain't nothing hooney or risky to see here, monsieur, au contraire! ;- ) But along with his films, Fred publishes a terrific blog: http://speedjojo.blogspot.com/p/accueil.html Especially for Jodel fans:

I believe this is the distinction that Nev was talking about. What's The Difference Between A Spin And A Graveyard Spiral? https://www.boldmethod.com/learn-to-fly/maneuvers/what-is-the-difference-between-a-spin-and-a-graveyard-spiral/