onetrack

8 choices is good. "Creative" is the one I find is pretty useless. All the rest are very useful to have, and I wish more forums had these.

So he was entitled to assume that his right flank was more or less protected

Another factor in the MAC between G-BOLZ and G-EYES was that the pilot of G-BOLZ had only flown 3 times in the previous 12 mths.

You keep up to speed by getting out there regularly, and practising keeping familiar with the demands and intricacies of the tasks of flying.

Plenty of good and important advice here - https://www.aopa.org/-/media/Files/AOPA/Home/Pilot-Resources/ASI/Safety-Advisors/sa15.pdf

Most importantly, does the landing on the Hudson end with the Airbus exploding in a massive fireball, just as the last passenger steps off it??

Wouldn't be Clint Eastwood and Hollywood, if it didn't.

Oh, and I trust there was the regular amount of gunplay, and crazies with assault rifles included.

Did Tom Hanks say in it, somewhere, "Go ahead - Make my day!!" If he did, I'm off to see it, pronto!!

I posted the news of this crash yesterday, red750. Keep up!

http://www.recreationalflying.com/threads/air-tractor-bites-the-dust-esperance-w-a.152839/

Yes, it appear a hand-propping went seriously wrong. It's sad, that someone who was plenty old enough to know the ropes, has paid the ultimate price for an apparent failure to abide by some very basic safety rules.

Machines have no hesitation in killing you in milliseconds if you disobey basic safety tasks.

The Secret of the Machines - by Rudyard Kipling

We were taken from the ore-bed and the mine,

We were melted in the furnace and the pit—

We were cast and wrought and hammered to design,

We were cut and filed and tooled and gauged to fit.

Some water, coal, and oil is all we ask,

And a thousandth of an inch to give us play:

And now, if you will set us to our task,

We will serve you four and twenty hours a day!

We can pull and haul and push and lift and drive,

We can print and plough and weave and heat and light,

We can run and race and swim and fly and dive,

We can see and hear and count and read and write!

Would you call a friend from half across the world?

If you’ll let us have his name and town and state,

You shall see and hear your crackling question hurled

Across the arch of heaven while you wait.

Has he answered? Does he need you at his side?

You can start this very evening if you choose,

And take the Western Ocean in the stride

Of seventy thousand horses and some screws!

The boat-express is waiting your command!

You will find the Mauretania at the quay,

Till her captain turns the lever ’neath his hand,

And the monstrous nine-decked city goes to sea.

Do you wish to make the mountains bare their head

And lay their new-cut forests at your feet?

Do you want to turn a river in its bed,

Or plant a barren wilderness with wheat?

Shall we pipe aloft and bring you water down

From the never-failing cisterns of the snows,

To work the mills and tramways in your town,

And irrigate your orchards as it flows?

It is easy! Give us dynamite and drills!

Watch the iron-shouldered rocks lie down and quake

As the thirsty desert-level floods and fills,

And the valley we have dammed becomes a lake.

But remember, please, the Law by which we live,

We are not built to comprehend a lie,

We can neither love, nor pity - nor forgive.

If you make a slip in handling us - you die!

We are greater than the Peoples or the Kings—

Be humble, as you crawl beneath our rods!-

Our touch can alter all created things,

We are everything on earth - except The Gods!

Though our smoke may hide the Heavens from your eyes,

It will vanish and the stars will shine again,

Because, for all our power and weight and size,

We are nothing more than children of your brain!

Kathryn's Report: Diamond DA20-C1 Katana, Falcon Aviation Academy LLC, N85WP (and) Beechcraft F33A Bonanza, N6027K: Fatal accident occurred September 07, 2016 at West Georgia Regional Airport (KCTJ), Carrollton, Carroll County, Georgia

From Mastery Flight Training comes this highly relevant and statistic-based information .. the quoted paragraphs are referring to this crash ..

AOPA Air Safety Institute’s “Collision Avoidance Safety Advisor” tells us that 40% of all midair collisions (MACs) happen at less than 500 feet Above Ground Level in the traffic pattern. Where are you below 500 AGL in the pattern? Short final approach, right where this collision occurred. 39% occur in converging traffic [one airplane on base, the other on final] and a whopping 47% occur when a faster airplane overtakes a slower one from behind. “The majority of MACs occur in the traffic pattern.”Further, “while flight instructors comprise only 15 percent of the pilot population,” a “flight instructor was aboard one of the aircraft in more than one-fourth" of all MACs. Possible explanations? CFIs spend more time in the traffic pattern [with their students] than pilots as a whole; “their attention is often focused on teaching, instead of scanning for traffic.”

I haven't found any information on the length of the flight time of the Bonanza (N6027K) before the crash - but it's not unreasonable to assume that due to the lack of fire, the Bonanza tanks were on the low side, thus indicating a lengthy flight, and possible fatigue issues at the end of a lengthy solo flight.

Both the instructor, and the 79 yr old pilot of the Bonanza have been highly praised as dedicated pilots with rigorous and thorough attention to safety and regulations, so that is what makes the crash even more puzzling.

Garfly, in the G-EYES/G-BOLZ collision, it appears not only were there ATC failures, but it's highly likely the pilot of G-BOLZ was under the impression that G-EYES was carrying out a normal landing, instead of high-speed GA's involving instrument calibration, so he probably would have dismissed G-EYES as a collision threat, fully expecting G-EYES to be on the runway within a very short time.

The angle of approach of G-EYES to G-BOLZ is described as "likely to have been visible behind the trailing edge of G-BOLZ’s right wing."

To sight G-EYES, the pilot of G-BOLZ would have had to rotate his head more than 90 degrees. Table 4 in the report indicates the possible approach angle of G-EYES to G-BOLZ was 121 degrees (to the right), shortly before impact.

In addition, converging objects, even when travelling at substantially differing speeds, often appear to produce no relative movement, thus becoming virtually invisible to someone looking out for a moving object.

Finally, there is that curious human factor called "inattentional blindness". One looks, the eyes see, but the brain does not register the object seen.

In my personal observations, I believe IB becomes a more common problem, as one ages. Once you are aware of the possibility of IB, you can train yourself to be more cautious, and increase the amount of checking that you do.

What were those Minimax blokes thinking, with the AeroMax? That good ole boys who like riding astride the Harley, would just love to do the same style of ridin' your Hog, in an aircraft?? Yee-Haaa!!

I can't imagine what the buffeting must be like, at cruise speed!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKoI71fB2tY

The media are reporting the crash of an Air Tractor cropduster N of Esperance around 09:55Hrs this morning.

From the W.A. Police Farcebook page ...

"At about 9.55am today a crop dusting plane crashed on a property approximately 105 kilometres north of Esperance.

The pilot, a 29 year old man from Victoria, sustained serious injuries but managed to alight the aircraft.

He has been conveyed to Royal Perth Hospital by Royal Flying Doctor Service in a stable condition."

Glad to hear the pilot has survived, and I trust his injuries are not that serious, that he suffers long-term problems from them.

Just looking the wreck gives one a suspicion that it's possible he'll be suffering from serious leg/foot injuries.

The Air Tractor looks to be rather sad, I suspect she may be a write-off. (news article below wrongly states pilot is in "critical" condition - Police advice is more accurate)

Pilot injured in plane crash in WA's south

I recall an incident from way back (1989 to be precise), when one C152 (VH-BFT) collided with another C152 (VH-TNO) at Jandakot when both were on final approach.

It was a very close thing, with the RH leading wingtip of one C152 buckling the VS of the other C152.

They separated immediately after contact, and both landed safely, despite the damage. There were 3 controllers in the tower, but the workload in the tower was intensive, due to heavy traffic.

The causes were multiple, as is quite often the case.

1.) Mis-identification of another aircraft in the circuit (a Piper Navajo) as the C152, VH-TNO, by a relatively green pilot in C152, VH-BFT.

2.) Sighting of VH-BFT by VH-TNO, and assessment by the pilot of VH-TNO, that VH-BFT was well clear of him.

3.) A heavy workload in the tower that led the controller to believe that all aircraft on approach had sighted and identified each other. The controller didn't understand that there was a developing collision between the two C152's, due to the mis-identification of the Navajo, until it was too late to do anything.

http://www.atsb.gov.au/media/26296/aair198900238.pdf

I wasn't engaged in "old-people bashing" - merely pointing out that the physical and mental deficiencies of advancing age creep up on you.

I'm 67, and I'm just starting to learn what happens to the old body as it ages - and the need to be consistently rigorous with all safety-oriented tasks, and to not let bad habits creep up on you.

Older people are high on the pedestrian-fatalities statistics, and you have to ask why. It's because of simple failure to consistently follow good safety habits - along with reduced hearing ability, reduced muscle ability, and becoming single-task focussed (crossing the road) - instead of ensuring they're carrying out the multi-tasking mode, of looking both directions for traffic, and looking for traffic "springing out of nowhere on you", from side-streets.

I have this vision in my brain of the 79 yr old Bonanza driver saying, with a startled look, "where in h**** bells, did that Diamond come from??"

Interesting to see that one of the victims was 79 yrs old. Reports indicate he was the pilot of the Bonanza, the young woman instructor and her male student were in the Diamond.

One thing that a lot of people don't understand, is that your ability to swivel your head, as you reach the years past retirement age, becomes more and more restricted. It's simply due to aging neck muscles, that don't have the flexibility of younger muscles.

This is a common and known problem with car drivers, and it results in car crashes, when elderly drivers don't turn their head far enough at intersections to look for oncoming traffic. In an aircraft, the ability to swivel your head to look past 90 deg each side (and over your shoulder), is more crucial even, than in a car.

In addition, older people develop bad habits that are hard to break. Two of those bad habits are;

(1) An increasing tendency as we age to become "single-task" focussed - to the exclusion of other important tasks that are important to keep focussed on, simultaneously.

(2) A tendency to become "sloppy" when carrying out crucial tasks. I guess this is the old "familiarity breeds contempt" take. Many older people become casual with their carrying out of crucial tasks, to the extent that they become a safety risk because they are not carrying out those tasks to the required high standards and strict procedures.

Not saying that the older gentleman here is totally at fault - it takes two to tango - but I would hazard a WAG in this case, that the instructor was distracted from keeping a proper lookout by her students performance - and the older gentleman just didn't apply himself with the necessary intensive rigour, to the proper lookout angle.

In his case, his age, and his reduced ability to turn his head to the required degree of articulation to scan the sky, could have been an important factor in the crash.

I guess the age-old problem of thinking you're the only one in the area, because of the low traffic volume, can also be a major trap.

Gee, the climb rate of the HB could only be described as "leisurely" at best, couldn't it?

Buttt!! How many tons of fuel are you responsible for each day you go to work!!

The heaviest CF6-80 engine is listed at 4472kgs, and the lightest at just over 4000kgs. I can't see 3 tonnes in that cradle, maybe a tonne, or 1.5T maximum.

Being military, the net weight of the empty cradle would be clearly marked on it, as well as gross weight with engine fitted in cradle.

Maximum diameter of CF6-80EI is 106 to 114 inches - that's 2.7M - 2.9M diameter - so yes, definitely overwidth.

Biggest single reason for loads lost from truck? Simple - screaming around corners too fast.

There's too many drivers with a lack of ability to judge the right speed for the corner - and they're always in too much of a hurry.

1. Arrange to move $10M jet engine.

2. Organise the cheapest haulier at $100.

3. Watch haulier secure engine with a couple of $15 ratchet straps.

4. See haulier speed through shortcut roads, to avoid $10 toll road fee.

5. Pictures of jet engine spread over the road after it falls off truck - PRICELESS!

The PF had both MLG on the ground initially - why didn't he put the nose down, and complete the touchdown? Because he'd touched down too far down the runway?

Ah-ha! Found the accident report where the couple were involved in some .. ahem .. "activities not related to the conduct of the flight" LOL

ASN Aircraft accident 23-DEC-1991 Piper PA-34-200T N47506

Totally different aircraft (Lancair) - but this local "unlatched canopy" takeoff ended with a pilot fatality.

Investigation: AO-2013-158 - Canopy-related landing accident involving Lancair Legacy, VH-ALP, Geraldton Airport, WA on 18 September 2013

There's a section in the above listing numerous other unlatched canopy disasters and narrow escapes from disasters. Quite a number of the escapes were from recognising the canopy was unlatched and aborting the take-off.

Surely a simple "unlatched canopy" warning light and switch, would have solved the majority of the episodes?

ben87r - No, it was definitely in the U.S. Might take me some time to find the report again.

Just to show that mile-high antics have been with us since nearly the start of aviation - here's a story that will make you chuckle ...

About MHC: Founding Member

Someone said the pilot was 67.Now before you all jump on me for being ageist, I'm not saying he's not capable of joining the mile high club (although I'm not sure how the logistics work in an RV9), just that he's old enough to know better...

I wonder if the couple had clothes on when they crashed? Perhaps someone was getting a little frisky and accidentally switched the mags off?

I remember a crash in the U.S. where they found the couple naked in the wreckage - and the investigators concluded, that a bit of nookie probably took the drivers attention off the job, resulting in the crash!

They couldn't find anything wrong with the aircrafts controls, or control surfaces, or fuel supply, and the engine was still producing power when it spiralled in.

I feel guilty now for buying all those Tattslotto and Tatts tickets when I was in Melbourne ! ! !

Geez, must be some great neighbourhood if you can't leave a car for 5 mins, without some hood knocking it off!

If you set up a bomb like that here, I could pretty well guarantee a SWAT team would descend on it faster than any hood - and they'd blow it up - and you'd be up on terrorism charges!

Phil - The RFDS relies a lot on donations, as well as State & Federal funding. The best donors are the people who have had their lives saved by the RFDS! If it ever happens to you, don't forget to give them a donation.

In Western Australia, the State lottery is owned and run by the State Govt - unlike the Eastern States, where a listed company called Tatts, runs all the State Lotteries.

Profits from the Eastern States lotteries go to fat, rich shareholders of Tatts. Profits from the W. A. lotteries are spread amongst community groups - and the RFDS is a big beneficiary of LotteryWest grants - to the tune of multiple millions.

Lotterywest grant funds new RFDS hangar — Lotterywest

I only buy Lotto tickets because I know the profits go to community groups and the likes of the RFDS. I detest buying Eastern States lottery tickets, knowing the profits only go to people who don't need any more money, anyway.

The RFDS is the lifeline of the Outback, they save many cattle stockmen from dying from serious injuries, they pick up people critically injured in car and truck smashes and rollovers, on Outback roads.

They pick up injured miners from remote minesites. They provide a myriad of mobile health services for people in remote locations and communities.

They often land on the road to pick up the injured from vehicle accidents. They fly by the skin of their teeth with seats-of-the-pants flying, often into unlit station airstrips at night. Here's a recent example.

RFDS use flaming toilet rolls to light up remote airstrip

The amazing part is - the RFDS has been doing this, and more, since 1928!

History of the RFDS Sections | Royal Flying Doctor Service