Strange loss

[Denny]

We lost one off our field last Sunday... Mike is a nice guy who was
regarded as a good pilot, calm, quiet, and safety concious... He has
an older Skyhawk with the Continental 6 banger... He went up to
Harrison, 80D, and was seen landing... No one heard or noticed anything
after that... Later a car going down the road noticed the tail sticking
out of the woods next to the runway... The bird had gone in hard...
The engine was essential ripped off and the cabin area crushed... The
only metal on the bird not bent or crushed was the spring landing
gear...

The only facts we have is that there was a crosswind, brisk but not
extreme... Mike had landed there many times in the past... The initial
report is listed for the 23rd Jan...
It was a real punch in the gut when I was told...

denny

[Jay Honeck]

> We lost one off our field last Sunday... Mike is a nice guy who was
> regarded as a good pilot, calm, quiet, and safety concious...

Sorry to hear it, Denny. These are the kinds of accidents that scare
me most...

Take care...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Dan Luke]

"Denny" wrote:

> The bird had gone in hard...
> The engine was essential ripped off and the cabin area crushed... The
> only metal on the bird not bent or crushed was the spring landing
> gear...
>
> The only facts we have is that there was a crosswind, brisk but not
> extreme... Mike had landed there many times in the past... The initial
> report is listed for the 23rd Jan...
> It was a real punch in the gut when I was told...

That's tough, Denny.

This kind of accident is what makes me question my flying habit in my
darker moments. Just about every time you hear friends and family
interviewed, they describe the deceased as "a cautious pilot...very
particular about his airplane," etc. That's how every pilot that
contributes to this newsgroup thinks of him- or herself, I'm sure.

In the 9+ years I've been flying, three pilots of my acquaintance have
died in flying accidents. One was VFR into IMC, one was an attempted
return to the runway after engine failure, and one was a stall/spin for
no apparent reason. All three were regarded as good pilots by their
friends.

In my whole life--59 years--only two people I've known directly have
died in car crashes. We should always remember how unforgiving flying
is of any carelessness.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

[A Lieberman]

On Sun, 29 Jan 2006 15:21:34 -0600, Dan Luke wrote:

> In my whole life--59 years--only two people I've known directly have
> died in car crashes. We should always remember how unforgiving flying
> is of any carelessness.

When you get right down to it, the same is for driving..... What you
described surely didn't sound like carelessness to me.

Allen

[Dan Luke]

"A Lieberman" > wrote:

>> In my whole life--59 years--only two people I've known directly have
>> died in car crashes. We should always remember how unforgiving
>> flying
>> is of any carelessness.
>
> When you get right down to it, the same is for driving..... What you
> described surely didn't sound like carelessness to me.

I might have said "...any mistake."

Anyway, my point is that flying is far more unforgiving than driving, a
fact we should keep in mind.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

[Michael]

> Mike is a nice guy who was
> regarded as a good pilot, calm, quiet, and safety concious...

I'm sorry, I feel your pain. I've lost some friends over the years.

Almost always, this is the way it goes. A calm, quiet, safety
conscious pilot, not an accident waiting to happen. A normal, routine
operation such as a takeoff or landing, under mildly challenging but
not extreme conditions, not some insane flying-under-bridges type of
idiocy. This is the way it happens. It could have been any of us.

Black death lurks in the blue skies.

Michael

[Jim Burns]

Sorry for your loss Denny.
Jim

"Denny" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> We lost one off our field last Sunday... Mike is a nice guy who was
> regarded as a good pilot, calm, quiet, and safety concious... He has
> an older Skyhawk with the Continental 6 banger... He went up to
> Harrison, 80D, and was seen landing... No one heard or noticed anything
> after that... Later a car going down the road noticed the tail sticking
> out of the woods next to the runway... The bird had gone in hard...
> The engine was essential ripped off and the cabin area crushed... The
> only metal on the bird not bent or crushed was the spring landing
> gear...
>
> The only facts we have is that there was a crosswind, brisk but not
> extreme... Mike had landed there many times in the past... The initial
> report is listed for the 23rd Jan...
> It was a real punch in the gut when I was told...
>
> denny
>

[Private]

"Michael" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>> Mike is a nice guy who was
>> regarded as a good pilot, calm, quiet, and safety concious...
>
> I'm sorry, I feel your pain. I've lost some friends over the years.
>
> Almost always, this is the way it goes. A calm, quiet, safety
> conscious pilot, not an accident waiting to happen. A normal, routine
> operation such as a takeoff or landing, under mildly challenging but
> not extreme conditions, not some insane flying-under-bridges type of
> idiocy. This is the way it happens. It could have been any of us.
>
> Black death lurks in the blue skies.
>
> Michael
>

It is easy to cheat death, but death's advantage is it only has to win once.

Happy landings,