Rosita Lloyde

Hi all, its been a year post accident and just want you all to know that I have been flying again. Was fine with the take off and flight, just the landing was a bit nerve wracking, but hey I did it! Dave still in love with his Zodiac, with a few fuel tank leak problems though. Had to have a new one made. Is planning o

n a fly today.

the new plane sure looked nice at LOXTON.... take it easy

Gidday all. It's been 7 months since our plane crash and my injuries have healed well. Am even thinking about going up for my first flight post accident. Hope you are all enjoying the lovely Autumn weather and getting as much flying in as possible! Cheers.

Hi Rosita and DavidI'll echo what others have suggested - it is great that you are sharing your experience here, and there is always the chance (although you probably won't know it if it happens) that someone will read it one day, and that may remind them to go and to a little refresher training which the next day will save their life too. Don't underestimate just how much good can come out of an unpleasant situation.

 

And just another thought regarding "getting back on the horse". I work mostly in the disability field, and one day was asked to conduct an assessment for a gentleman who had been standing at a street corner in Melbourne's CBD waiting for the lights to change. A bus went around the corner, and due to the camber of the road the mirror of the bus managed to hit the gentleman in the head - he won't ever walk again. Sometimes bad things happen, but what really counts is whether you choose to live your life and enjoy what you love, or don't. Pull the situation apart, work out what worked, what didn't and what if anything can be done better next time. And then go out and make those choices. That young man might never walk again, but is so passionate and driven to live his life that I believe in many ways he has a more complete and enjoyable life ahead of him than most people. It is what you do with the situation that counts, not what happened.

LOL - love it. Thanks Wayne!

My Dad, who was one hell of an airman, used to say it was important that his passengers kept their eyes open, Rosita. He reckoned he didn't know when to flare for landing until he heard them suck their teeth... He also had a sign made up that he hung in his study. The sign said,"Flying is the second most exciting thing known to man. Landing is the first."

Rosita, it might put some perspective on what happened to know that when the engine stops a pilot has been trained to follow a safety procedure starting with keeping the aircraft flying by getting into a glide. When he does that the risks are back to being reasonable because the aircraft can be slowed for a safe landing. The next step is to find an open space, and that further reduces the risk to probably a worst case of broken bones. The third factor is if the pilot steers around any obstacles but something trips the aircraft up and it noses over.In your case, your husband did everything right; his training ensured there was no serious crash, even the Canola was a good choice because it slowed the aircraft down, so it was the equivalent of maybe a car accident in town.

 

I'm not minimising that you copped it in the face, and the laceration was so bad, but I hope reading this will show you that the whole thing was virtually a manageable situation. I don't think his focus will go off the condition of fuel lines for a long time.

Thanks for posting Rosita, glad you and David are OK and I hope your injury heals soon.

 

My thoughts too, I think head / facial injuries are too common and I suspect many would be preventable with some thoughtful cabin design. Like what happened in automotive design a few decades ago.

Rosita, thank you for posting your experience.The lack of noise at the business end of an aircraft is the pilots 'nightmare'. It sounds like David did well to arrive back on earth in a controllable/survivable position which is great.

 

That you were injured, my thoughts are with you for a speedy recovery.

 

( I reckon the 'nex' plane will have a 5 point harness for both occupants and....everyone wears a full face helmet!....something we all should think about.

Sorry to here that Rosita, hope you heal well and fast. I am glad that the outcome was minor. I am sure David would have kept it upright except for those bloody holes in the crop.Try and pluck up the courage to go up again if you can as soon as possible and get him to show you some good glide approaches to restore your confidence.

 

Regards

Wonder if thats a miss print (Pinaroo) and they mean Pinnaroo?My son and I were flying local here at the same time was nice flying weather.theres only 1 plane at Pinnaroo its a decathlon,Theres Trever in his 701 whome was here couple of days ago with a private stip but no one else in pinnaroo,theres parilla patatoes cessna at parilla then a heap of boys at lamaroo..hope to get some more info on the plane and pilot..