Rotorwork Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Incident on the News at the moment, Its a wonder the press arnt calling the Piper a BEACHcraft Regards R W:rotary: A man sunbathing on a German beach will be reconsidering his choice of location next time after a plane almost landed on top of him as it was approaching the neighbouring runway. A video filmed by a fellow sunbather shows a small Piper PA-28-181 Archer 11 flying dangerously close over the man as it flew in from the coast of Dune beach in Heligoland, a tiny archipelago in northern Germany. In the video, the man appears to look over his shoulder as the plane approaches before flinging his head down as the aircraft passes over him. The back wheels of the plane appear to miss the man by centimetres. Rainer Schmidt, who shot the video, said he watched five other planes land on the beachside airstrip before the incident. "I instantly realised that this one was coming in to land far too low,” Schmidt told the UK Telegraph. "The others were at least six metres high. It was so close to the man on the beach. The man was very lucky." The pilot Juergen Drucker, 52, has apologised for his careless flying and said he misjudged the landing. "It was me that was flying and I am really sorry. I have to say, as the pictures show, that it wasn't one of my greatest achievements in the cockpit,” he said. Drucker told the Metro: “‘In my defence I can say that I didn’t see him because he was lying down and I’m just very grateful it worked out well and I didn’t land on him. I don’t want to say any more than that. I fear I will be in for a fine from the Federal Aviation Office but I hope I will be able to keep my licence.” The sunbather appeared to be unscathed and walked off after the close-call to find a safer spot to recover. The plane was also in fine condition and Drucker was able to fly home the same evening. Video Link http://www.smh.com.au/world/lucky-escape-plane-narrowly-misses-german-sunbather-20140603-zrw11.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDQDI Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Wow lol wow lol hmmm now that would take some explaining. Now wouldn't that get your heart rate pumping if you were the sunbather. Although choice of location might not have been the best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mAgNeToDrOp Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Sunbather deserves a darwin award for lying there, natural selection (almost) at work. Lucky that pole on the threshold gave way as well... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poteroo Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Sunbather deserves a darwin award for lying there, natural selection (almost) at work. Lucky that pole on the threshold gave way as well... So much for Threat and Error Management! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark11 Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 The plane was also in fine condition and Drucker was able to fly home the same evening. - I find this interesting considering he knocked the fence post out of the ground! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza 38 Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 The pilot ( and I use the term pilot loosely) must be a bit of a knob jockey, he needs a good kick in the backside. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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