SR-22 Crash, with a twist

[john smith]

Gold Medal Olympic Wrestler Rulon Gardner Survives Plane Crash, Swims to
Safety in Cold Lake

From FOX NEWS...
Monday, February 26, 2007

SALT LAKE CITY ‹ Olympic wrestling champion Rulon Gardner lost a toe
to frostbite after being stranded in the wilderness, impaled himself
with an arrow and was involved in a serious motorcycle accident.

In his latest escape from death, he survived a plane crash over the
weekend into the aptly named Good Hope Bay on the Utah-Arizona border.

"I think I'm really lucky," Gardner told CNN on Monday, "after
everything I have been through."

Gardner and two Utah brothers were rescued by a fisherman Sunday after
swimming more than an hour in 44-degree water and spending the night
without shelter.

None suffered life-threatening injuries, authorities said.

"It takes only about 30 minutes for someone swimming in 44-degree water
to start suffering the effects of hypothermia, so the fact that they
swam in it for an hour, not to mention surviving the plane crash and the
night without fire or shelter, is pretty amazing," said Steven Luckesen,
a district ranger at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. "If these
guys were a cat with nine lives, they just used up three of them."

(Story continues below)

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Since delivering one of the great Olympic upsets at the 2000 Sydney
Games, the 35-year-old Gardner has had a history of harrowing escapes.

In 2002, he became stranded while snowmobiling in the Wyoming and lost a
toe. Then in 2004, he was struck by an automobile while riding a
motorcycle. Back in third grade, he punctured his abdomen with an arrow
at a class show-and-tell.

The lesson, Gardner said, is "hopefully teach people to be smarter about
the choices they make."

In his latest brush, Gardner was a passenger in a Cirrus SR 22 with
pilot Randy Brooks and brother Leslie. They were looking at a houseboat
from the air when the plane dipped into the water, Garfield County
public information officer Becki Bronson said.

"The plane went from 150 mph to none in about 2 seconds," Gardner told
CNN. "Within about a half a second is when we knew that things went from
a beautiful day, a beautiful afternoon, all the way to a pretty bad
situation."

Authorities were uncertain of the exact location of the crash and were
investigating the cause.

When he went into the water, Gardner said he quickly grabbed his coat.
He remembered how cold he'd gotten after getting lost on the snowmobile
five years ago.

That's when the Brooks brothers told him to drop everything.

"It's either your stuff or your life," Gardner recalled them saying. "I
was really struggling."

Gardner said he wasn't a good swimmer and was worried he'd be left alone
in the water.

"I said, 'Don't leave me. Come back and get me,"' he said. "They said,
'Hey, just relax, calm down. We're not leaving you. Get on your back,
and start doing basically backstroke."

Gardner said he didn't get too nervous about the water temperature. It
"wasn't really anything I thought about because we were safe. We had
just survived a plane wreck."

Once they reached the shore, Gardner said, there were other concerns. He
was wearing only a T-shirt and jeans, having kicked off his shoes to
swim, and there were limited supplies.

"We came together and we said, 'OK, let's try to dry our clothes out
before the sun goes down.'

"Nobody is going to see us before sunset because most of the boats had
already gone by. I said let's dry everything out," he said.

Gardner said they tried to build a small shelter out of the rocks. The
three men huddled through the night to keep warm.

Once they were rescued, Gardner and the brothers called a relative to
take them for medical attention.

"Miraculously, the three sustained no life-threatening injuries, mainly
suffering from hypothermia injuries to their feet," Garfield County
authorities said in a statement.

Gardner stunned the Olympics seven years ago when he earned the gold
medal in Greco-Roman wrestling by ending Alexander Karelin's 13-year
international winning streak. In 2004 in Athens, Gardner won the bronze
medal, and in wrestling tradition, left his shoes on the mat as a
symbolic way of announcing his retirement.

In 2004, Gardner was on a motorcycle and going to wrestling practice
when he crashed in Colorado Springs, Colo. He sustained no serious
injuries even though he went over the top of his handlebars after his
bike collided with a car. Gardner came away with abrasions to his left
side and a sore right heel.

In grade school, he injured himself with an arrow while his parents were
out of town. He was taken to the emergency room and a doctor said
Gardner had just missed puncturing a vital organ.

[Mortimer Schnerd, RN[_2_]]

john smith wrote:
> In his latest brush, Gardner was a passenger in a Cirrus SR 22 with
> pilot Randy Brooks and brother Leslie. They were looking at a houseboat
> from the air when the plane dipped into the water, Garfield County
> public information officer Becki Bronson said.


I hate it when they do that. Most of us prefer to fly over boats, not along
side them. <G>



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com

[C J Campbell]

On Mon, 26 Feb 2007 19:26:51 -0800, john smith wrote
(in article >):


>
> In his latest brush, Gardner was a passenger in a Cirrus SR 22 with
> pilot Randy Brooks and brother Leslie. They were looking at a houseboat
> from the air when the plane dipped into the water, Garfield County
> public information officer Becki Bronson said.
>
> "The plane went from 150 mph to none in about 2 seconds," Gardner told
> CNN. "Within about a half a second is when we knew that things went from
> a beautiful day, a beautiful afternoon, all the way to a pretty bad
> situation."
>

I could see something like that happening. If the pilot is looking at a
houseboat and not flying the airplane, he might not realize how close to the
lake surface he is.

Well, I hope they find the plane and we get to find out more about it.

--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor

[Mxsmanic]

john smith writes:

> In his latest brush, Gardner was a passenger in a Cirrus SR 22 with
> pilot Randy Brooks and brother Leslie. They were looking at a houseboat
> from the air when the plane dipped into the water, Garfield County
> public information officer Becki Bronson said.

The plane dipped into the water?? Something sounds strange here.

--
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[Mxsmanic]

C J Campbell writes:

> I could see something like that happening. If the pilot is looking at a
> houseboat and not flying the airplane, he might not realize how close to the
> lake surface he is.

If he can see what's on the table in the kitchen, he's too low.

--
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[Ron Wanttaja]

On Tue, 27 Feb 2007 05:55:25 +0100, Mxsmanic > wrote:

>C J Campbell writes:
>
>> I could see something like that happening. If the pilot is looking at a
>> houseboat and not flying the airplane, he might not realize how close to the
>> lake surface he is.
>
>If he can see what's on the table in the kitchen, he's too low.

Nahhh. But if he can see the tooth marks on the gum UNDER the table, THEN he's
too low. :-)

Ron Wanttaja

[Morgans[_2_]]

"C J Campbell" > wrote

> I could see something like that happening. If the pilot is looking at a
> houseboat and not flying the airplane, he might not realize how close to
> the
> lake surface he is.

Only if you are trying to get low enough to see how the insides are
furnished.

Sounds almost like a "hey, y'all, watch this!"
--
Jim in NC

[Thomas Borchert]

C,

> If the pilot is looking at a
> houseboat and not flying the airplane,
>

...he is no longer a pilot, merely an idiot.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

[Denny]

On Feb 27, 7:57 am, Thomas Borchert >
wrote:
> C,
>
> > If the pilot is looking at a
> > houseboat and not flying the airplane,
>
> ..he is no longer a pilot, merely an idiot.
>
> --
> Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

And notice, it is another Cirrus pilot.... I'm beginning to wonder...

denny

[Al Meuli]

Here is another version of the story:

http://www.abc4.com/content/specials/as_seen_on/story.aspx?content_id=46577767-e502-4704-92f9-a2c34663ed80

Olympic gold medalist Rulon Gardner was in a plane that crashed into Lake
Powell on Saturday. He has had his brushes with death before; a motorcycle
crash in 2004 and surviving a night in Wyoming's back country during a
snowmobile outing. He lost a toe to frost bite in that ordeal but it pales
in comparison to his latest story of survival.

Gardner, his pilot friend Randy Brooks and Randy's brother, Les were
returning from a day at Lake Powell on Brooks' house boat. They were making
a return flight in Randy Brooks' Cirrus SR22 single engine plane over the
lake. Gardner said they decided to fly low over the water. Brooks banked the
plane to the left. "His brother [Les] said, 'watch the wheels,' and right as
he said that we caught the first wheel. the left rear landing gear, and it
skipped us and we skipped one more time," said Gardner, "that's when we made
the direct impact with the water."

The plane hit the water at 150 miles per hour. Gardner hit his head on the
window on impact. The three men quickly got out of their safety belts and
abandoned the sinking craft. Gardner said he tried to grab his coat but did
not have time. The men jumped in the frigid water. It was just past 2:30 in
the afternoon. Gardner said he was disoriented from the bump on his head and
he sank quickly at first because of the muscle on his massive frame. He
began to panic, he said, but his two friends told him to get on his back and
paddle and that calmed him down. The trio was able to get their bearings and
head out for the nearest shore which was at least a mile and a half away.
Gardner said he focused and made one stroke at a time even though, he could
not feel his hands. His goal was to get to the beach before nightfall.

After nearly two hours in 44-degree water Gardner and his friends made it to
shore. Exhausted, he tried to stand but was so numb nothing worked. When he
was able to regain his motor function he started looking for his friends who
had barely made it to land several hundred yards away. "I found them," said
Gardner, "They were already in severe levels of hypothermia. Their bodies
were shut down; no motor skills. They could not make rational decisions." He
said they looked at him as if he were a ghost. They had thought he had
drowned. It was now Gardner's turn to help his friends. That muscle and mass
that almost pulled him under had helped insulate his body from the effects
of hypothermia. He was able to think clearly and knew from his previous
ordeal in frigid temperatures that the key was to stay focused. Gardner used
his body temperature to get his friend's core temperatures up.

When they became lucid they worked on drying what little clothing they had
on before the sun went down. Gardner had shed his shoes during the swim to
shore and one of the Brooks brothers took off his shirt. Gardner had a
skimpy cotton T-shirt that he tucked his arms into and the Brook's tore open
a long sleeve T-shirt and wore it together. They also built a makeshift wind
wall. The men huddled. The brothers took turns laying on each other for
warmth but because of Gardner's size he was only able to rotate his front
and back away from the wind. The men kept this up all night. They took turns
sleeping a few minutes at a time and continued to check on each other to
make sure no one got in trouble. Gardner said they also prayed; together at
first and then many silent prayers that they would survive; that they would
be found soon.

At 8:30 in the morning the huddled shivering men noticed a few boats on the
lake but they were too far away to take notice. It was a bass fishing
tournament. "There were only ten boats in the whole tournament," recalled
Gardner. Only three boats came close enough to see and only one boat came
near enough for the fishermen on board to take notice of Gardner and his
friends. After 18 hours of enduring a plane crash, frigid water,
hypothermia, and an overnight temperature of 27 degrees they were finally
rescued. Gardner calls it "a miracle and a blessing" they were spotted.

The boat that picked them up was leading the tournament but the fisherman
said he was prompted to come into the area. "He said, 'Rulon, we would've
never turned over here but for some reason we felt we should come over and
fish in this area. It didn't make sense why we came over here,'" Gardner
recalled.

The three men were taken back to Bullfrog Marina where park ranger EMT's
checked them for injuries. From there, pilot Randy Brooks' son-in-law flew
them to the hospital in American Fork, where they were treated for severe
hypothermia.

Gardner said his family has joked with him that he used up several of his
nine lives from his previous near-death experiences. He said this time he
has used up at least two and possibly three more of those lives. He said it
has occurred to him that maybe he has been preserved for a reason. "There
may be a higher plan out there for me ... and you're always wondering what
difference am I supposed to make," said Gardner.

[Paul kgyy]

I hereby nominate him/them 2007 Candidate(s) for the Darwin Award.

Type of a/c is irrelevant in this case.

[Kingfish]

On Feb 27, 10:15 am, "Paul kgyy" > wrote:
> I hereby nominate him/them 2007 Candidate(s) for the Darwin Award.
>
> Type of a/c is irrelevant in this case.

I second the nomination. Obviously this kind of stupidity can be
accomplished in any aircraft, but it makes me wonder if Cirrus should
add a "no stupid pilot tricks" clause to the purchase contract.

Okay, that's just wishful thinking on my part I guess...

[Doug[_1_]]

Glassy water makes the pilot think he is higher than he actually is.
Numerous crashes from this effect.

[Viperdoc[_4_]]

I wonder if the FAA will initiate an action, and if so will the insurance
carrier cover the loss?

At the very least this falls under the "careless and negligent" rule.

Why does it seem like there's a disproportionate number of Cirrus flyers
making questionable flying decisions- losing control at high altitude and
popping the chute, taking off into low IMC after major maintenance, etc.

There is a Cirrus owner on our field who gained himself the nickname "super
pull up"- he would accelerate down the runway at low altitude after
rotating, and then do a high g chandelle type maneuver. This usually
occurred in front of a bunch of experienced warbird/aerobatic pilots, all of
whom weren't too impressed.

The guy finally overheard someone refer to him as "super pull up" one day,
and got the hint.

[Don Tuite]

On Tue, 27 Feb 2007 09:09:41 -0600, "Al Meuli" > wrote:

>
>
>Here is another version of the story:
>
>http://www.abc4.com/content/specials/as_seen_on/story.aspx?content_id=46577767-e502-4704-92f9-a2c34663ed80
>
>Olympic gold medalist Rulon Gardner was in a plane that crashed into Lake
>Powell on Saturday.

<snip>
Interesting effort to write like Hemingway. A lot of it sounds like
Dick and Jane, though.

> "There
>may be a higher plan out there for me ... and you're always wondering what
>difference am I supposed to make," said Gardner.
>
"It could be that the purpose of your life is only to serve as a
warning to others." (Despair, Inc.)

Don

[Mike Schumann]

It's another case of people without sense and too much money. You can't
blame that on the aircraft.

Mike Schumann

"Denny" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> On Feb 27, 7:57 am, Thomas Borchert >
> wrote:
>> C,
>>
>> > If the pilot is looking at a
>> > houseboat and not flying the airplane,
>>
>> ..he is no longer a pilot, merely an idiot.
>>
>> --
>> Thomas Borchert (EDDH)
>
> And notice, it is another Cirrus pilot.... I'm beginning to wonder...
>
> denny
>



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

[tom pettit]

Viperdoc wrote:
> I wonder if the FAA will initiate an action, and if so will the insurance
> carrier cover the loss?
>
> At the very least this falls under the "careless and negligent" rule
Good question. Also, even though it is only a request, he was in the
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area where pilots are requested to fly
at least 2000' AGL. This can't help either.

tom

[Steve Foley]

"Paul kgyy" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>I hereby nominate him/them 2007 Candidate(s) for the Darwin Award.

They don't qualify. One requirement is losing the ability to reproduce
(either by death or other means).

[Peter R.]

On 2/27/2007 11:14:21 AM, "Viperdoc" wrote:

> There is a Cirrus owner on our field who gained himself the nickname "super
> pull up"- he would accelerate down the runway at low altitude after
> rotating, and then do a high g chandelle type maneuver. This usually
> occurred in front of a bunch of experienced warbird/aerobatic pilots, all of
> whom weren't too impressed.

It must be the "low-time pilot" excitement in experiencing the increased
G-forces. The Cirrus that spun into the ground here in upstate NY back in
2002, killing both pilot/owners inside, was seen at a nearby airport 30
minutes before the crash performing the exact same maneuvers.

The NTSB accident report has a quote from a witness stating this fact.

--
Peter

[Viperdoc[_4_]]

The same guy who owns the SR-22 also bought a Sukhoi-29 as his first tail
dragger. He got his tail wheel endorsement by the seller in less than 6
hours. These planes can potentially be a handful even with experienced
pilots- they sit pretty nose high, no visibility, and the torque goes the
"wrong" way.

Not unexpectedly he had a bad landing, dropping it in. As a result he needed
a new prop (an expensive MT), along with some significant repairs. Luckily
he didn't get hurt, other than his pride.

[Mortimer Schnerd, RN[_2_]]

Kingfish wrote:
> On Feb 27, 10:15 am, "Paul kgyy" > wrote:
>> I hereby nominate him/them 2007 Candidate(s) for the Darwin Award.
>>
>> Type of a/c is irrelevant in this case.
>
> I second the nomination. Obviously this kind of stupidity can be
> accomplished in any aircraft, but it makes me wonder if Cirrus should
> add a "no stupid pilot tricks" clause to the purchase contract.



It's my guess his insurance company is not going to be amused.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com

[Gig 601XL Builder]

Mike Schumann wrote:
> It's another case of people without sense and too much money. You
> can't blame that on the aircraft.
>

Yep, it used to be Doctors and Bonanzas

[Kingfish]

On Feb 27, 11:01 am, "Doug" > wrote:
> Glassy water makes the pilot think he is higher than he actually is.
> Numerous crashes from this effect.

True enough, but he shouldn't have been THAT close to the water's
surface to begin with IMHO. From what I've read here (admittedly my
only source) it sounds like this guy was trying to recreate the
Canadian SNJ waterskiing formation event.

[Thomas Borchert]

Doug,

> Glassy water makes the pilot think he is higher than he actually is.
> Numerous crashes from this effect.
>

And that effect would account for a difference of (let's assume that
would have been a sensible altitude) 500 AGL and 0 AGL? You must be
joking. Glassy water can be a problem for landings with FLOAT planes.
The Cirrus isn't.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

[Mortimer Schnerd, RN[_2_]]

Thomas Borchert wrote:
> And that effect would account for a difference of (let's assume that
> would have been a sensible altitude) 500 AGL and 0 AGL? You must be
> joking. Glassy water can be a problem for landings with FLOAT planes.
> The Cirrus isn't.


Nonsense. They landed. Everybody lived. What's the problem? <G>




--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com

[Montblack]

("Mortimer Schnerd, RN" wrote)
> Nonsense. They landed. Everybody lived. What's the problem? <G>


They are lucky to be alive ....(x) 10.

I'm seeing an A.C.M.E. plane sinking in the water. When it comes to rest on
the bottom of the lake, the chute pops open - then a fish swims by.


Mont-E-Coyote

[Paul kgyy]

On Feb 27, 11:00 am, "Steve Foley" > wrote:
> "Paul kgyy" > wrote in message
>
> ups.com...
>
> >I hereby nominate him/them 2007 Candidate(s) for the Darwin Award.
>
> They don't qualify. One requirement is losing the ability to reproduce
> (either by death or other means).

Oh, you're right - pity :-(

[Kingfish]

On Feb 27, 2:16 pm, "Montblack" <Y4_NOT!...
> wrote:
> ("Mortimer Schnerd, RN" wrote)
>
> > Nonsense. They landed. Everybody lived. What's the problem? <G>
>
> They are lucky to be alive ....(x) 10.
>
> I'm seeing an A.C.M.E. plane sinking in the water. When it comes to rest on
> the bottom of the lake, the chute pops open - then a fish swims by.
>
> Mont-E-Coyote

Then Wiley jumps out, grabs the prop, hoists a leg and giver her a
whirl. Engine starts, plane begins to taxi around on the bottom and
chases our scruffy hero as the Roadrunner look on wearing SCUBA
gear... <G>

[Mxsmanic]

Denny writes:

> And notice, it is another Cirrus pilot.... I'm beginning to wonder...

I've been wondering about Cirrus pilots for quite some time. I don't think
there's anything wrong with the aircraft, of course, but their marketing
strategy and the market they seem to touch seem to be heavily weighted towards
inexperienced new pilots. Inevitably this means a lot more accidents.

--
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[Mxsmanic]

Gig 601XL Builder writes:

> Yep, it used to be Doctors and Bonanzas

Have doctors become better pilots, or have they stopped buying Bonanzas?

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[Mxsmanic]

Doug writes:

> Glassy water makes the pilot think he is higher than he actually is.
> Numerous crashes from this effect.

If they are looking at a houseboat, they have an excellent idea of where the
surface actually is. And if one of them said "watch the wheels," they knew
they weren't at 2000 feet.

--
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[Mxsmanic]

Viperdoc writes:

> Why does it seem like there's a disproportionate number of Cirrus flyers
> making questionable flying decisions- losing control at high altitude and
> popping the chute, taking off into low IMC after major maintenance, etc.

Many Cirrus owners are probably low-time pilots. Inexperienced pilots
represent the majority of GA accidents due to pilot error.

--
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[Mxsmanic]

Peter R. writes:

> It must be the "low-time pilot" excitement in experiencing the increased
> G-forces. The Cirrus that spun into the ground here in upstate NY back in
> 2002, killing both pilot/owners inside, was seen at a nearby airport 30
> minutes before the crash performing the exact same maneuvers.

The quest for strong, visceral sensation seems to afflict many GA pilots.

--
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[Gig 601XL Builder]

Mxsmanic wrote:
> Gig 601XL Builder writes:
>
>> Yep, it used to be Doctors and Bonanzas
>
> Have doctors become better pilots, or have they stopped buying
> Bonanzas?

Probably the latter.

[Mxsmanic]

Gig 601XL Builder writes:

> Probably the latter.

What do doctors buy today? Cirrus?

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[Gig 601XL Builder]

Mxsmanic wrote:
> Gig 601XL Builder writes:
>
>> Probably the latter.
>
> What do doctors buy today? Cirrus?

At least around here they aren't buying airplanes at near the rate they used
to.

[Morgans[_2_]]

>>I hereby nominate him/them 2007 Candidate(s) for the Darwin Award.
>
> They don't qualify. One requirement is losing the ability to reproduce
> (either by death or other means).

There have been inclusions for people who survived, before. I think they
call them honorable mentions.
--
Jim in NC

[Mxsmanic]

Gig 601XL Builder writes:

> At least around here they aren't buying airplanes at near the rate they used
> to.

How come?

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[[email protected]]

Kinda makes ya wonder why they didn't just swim to the houseboat or
the boaters didn't rescue them, instead they swam for an hour to reach
shore. Them Mormans are startin to scare me,. <G>
On Feb 26, 8:26Â*pm, john smith > wrote:
> Gold Medal Olympic Wrestler Rulon Gardner Survives Plane Crash, Swims to
> Safety in Cold Lake
>
> From FOX NEWS...
> Monday, February 26, 2007
>
> SALT LAKE CITY Â*‹ Â*Olympic wrestling champion Rulon Gardner lost a toe
> to frostbite after being stranded in the wilderness, impaled himself
> with an arrow and was involved in a serious motorcycle accident.
>
> In his latest escape from death, he survived a plane crash over the
> weekend into the aptly named Good Hope Bay on the Utah-Arizona border.
>
> "I think I'm really lucky," Gardner told CNN on Monday, "after
> everything I have been through."
>
> Gardner and two Utah brothers were rescued by a fisherman Sunday after
> swimming more than an hour in 44-degree water and spending the night
> without shelter.
>
> None suffered life-threatening injuries, authorities said.
>
> "It takes only about 30 minutes for someone swimming in 44-degree water
> to start suffering the effects of hypothermia, so the fact that they
> swam in it for an hour, not to mention surviving the plane crash and the
> night without fire or shelter, is pretty amazing," said Steven Luckesen,
> a district ranger at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. "If these
> guys were a cat with nine lives, they just used up three of them."
>
> (Story continues below)
>
> Advertise Here
> Advertisements
>
> Since delivering one of the great Olympic upsets at the 2000 Sydney
> Games, the 35-year-old Gardner has had a history of harrowing escapes.
>
> In 2002, he became stranded while snowmobiling in the Wyoming and lost a
> toe. Then in 2004, he was struck by an automobile while riding a
> motorcycle. Back in third grade, he punctured his abdomen with an arrow
> at a class show-and-tell.
>
> The lesson, Gardner said, is "hopefully teach people to be smarter about
> the choices they make."
>
> In his latest brush, Gardner was a passenger in a Cirrus SR 22 with
> pilot Randy Brooks and brother Leslie. They were looking at a houseboat
> from the air when the plane dipped into the water, Garfield County
> public information officer Becki Bronson said.
>
> "The plane went from 150 mph to none in about 2 seconds," Gardner told
> CNN. "Within about a half a second is when we knew that things went from
> a beautiful day, a beautiful afternoon, all the way to a pretty bad
> situation."
>
> Authorities were uncertain of the exact location of the crash and were
> investigating the cause.
>
> When he went into the water, Gardner said he quickly grabbed his coat.
> He remembered how cold he'd gotten after getting lost on the snowmobile
> five years ago.
>
> That's when the Brooks brothers told him to drop everything.
>
> "It's either your stuff or your life," Gardner recalled them saying. "I
> was really struggling."
>
> Gardner said he wasn't a good swimmer and was worried he'd be left alone
> in the water.
>
> "I said, 'Don't leave me. Come back and get me,"' he said. "They said,
> 'Hey, just relax, calm down. We're not leaving you. Get on your back,
> and start doing basically backstroke."
>
> Gardner said he didn't get too nervous about the water temperature. It
> "wasn't really anything I thought about because we were safe. We had
> just survived a plane wreck."
>
> Once they reached the shore, Gardner said, there were other concerns. He
> was wearing only a T-shirt and jeans, having kicked off his shoes to
> swim, and there were limited supplies.
>
> "We came together and we said, 'OK, let's try to dry our clothes out
> before the sun goes down.'
>
> "Nobody is going to see us before sunset because most of the boats had
> already gone by. I said let's dry everything out," he said.
>
> Gardner said they tried to build a small shelter out of the rocks. The
> three men huddled through the night to keep warm.
>
> Once they were rescued, Gardner and the brothers called a relative to
> take them for medical attention.
>
> "Miraculously, the three sustained no life-threatening injuries, mainly
> suffering from hypothermia injuries to their feet," Garfield County
> authorities said in a statement.
>
> Gardner stunned the Olympics seven years ago when he earned the gold
> medal in Greco-Roman wrestling by ending Alexander Karelin's 13-year
> international winning streak. In 2004 in Athens, Gardner won the bronze
> medal, and in wrestling tradition, left his shoes on the mat as a
> symbolic way of announcing his retirement.
>
> In 2004, Gardner was on a motorcycle and going to wrestling practice
> when he crashed in Colorado Springs, Colo. He sustained no serious
> injuries even though he went over the top of his handlebars after his
> bike collided with a car. Gardner came away with abrasions to his left
> side and a sore right heel.
>
> In grade school, he injured himself with an arrow while his parents were
> out of town. He was taken to the emergency room and a doctor said
> Gardner had just missed puncturing a vital organ.

[Blanche]

I was at a nearby airport a couple weeks ago, looking for a possible
hangar/tie-down closer to home. Chatting with the owner of the
newly built hangars, we started (as always) what aircraft we've
flown/owned. He pointed out a brand-new SR22. The owners were washing
it as we spoke. And, the hangar owner/landlord explained the owners
had bought the SR22 and had yet to take a flying lesson, but they
were planning on it real soon. And no, it wasn't going to be put
into rental status.

Scary.

[Dan Luke]

"Blanche" wrote:

>I was at a nearby airport a couple weeks ago, looking for a possible
> hangar/tie-down closer to home. Chatting with the owner of the
> newly built hangars, we started (as always) what aircraft we've
> flown/owned. He pointed out a brand-new SR22. The owners were washing
> it as we spoke. And, the hangar owner/landlord explained the owners
> had bought the SR22 and had yet to take a flying lesson, but they
> were planning on it real soon. And no, it wasn't going to be put
> into rental status.
>
> Scary.

Must be nice to have enough money to afford that level of foolishness.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

[Gig 601XL Builder]

Mxsmanic wrote:
> Gig 601XL Builder writes:
>
>> At least around here they aren't buying airplanes at near the rate
>> they used to.
>
> How come?

The economy, other interests, any number of things. I haven't polled them.

[[email protected]]

On Feb 27, 9:01 am, "Doug" > wrote:
> Glassy water makes the pilot think he is higher than he actually is.
> Numerous crashes from this effect.

....true, but given the fact that the water level at Lake Powell is
down 100+ feet from its "normal" level, looking UP at the surrounding
terrain would give most people a clue that they were a tad low, don't
you think?

[RomeoMike]

Except that in many parts of the lake, especially where house boats are
moored, the shoreline still rises gently from the new water level. It's
not all cliffs. Still no excuse for flying into the water, however.

wrote:

>
> ...true, but given the fact that the water level at Lake Powell is
> down 100+ feet from its "normal" level, looking UP at the surrounding
> terrain would give most people a clue that they were a tad low, don't
> you think?
>

[C Booth]

On 27 Feb 2007 16:50:06 -0800, " >
wrote:

> Kinda makes ya wonder why they didn't just swim to the houseboat or
>the boaters didn't rescue them, instead they swam for an hour to reach
>shore. Them Mormans are startin to scare me,. <G>

I believe it would be "Those Mormons" and I don't see how religious
affiliation has anything to do with this accident. Do you wonder
about Baptist, Catholic, etc pilots that have had accidents? Hell,
why don't we just get a mob together and go tar & feather em like we
used to. That'll show em. duh yup. Geez...
I don't post much but this is just idiotic and insulting.


C Booth, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"Them Mormans"
SEL MEL Instrument

[Mxsmanic]

C Booth writes:

> I believe it would be "Those Mormons" and I don't see how religious
> affiliation has anything to do with this accident.

I was thinking the same thing.

If any generalization had to be made, in fact, I'd say that Mormons are
somewhat less prone to do stupid things, since many of them are raised in
conservative families where foolish behavior is discouraged. And of course
good Mormons don't drink, which hugely improves judgement ability.

Certainly, given the number of Mormons I've known, they are the last group
that would come to mind when I read a story about someone being stupid enough
to dip a wing into Lake Powell while flying. Then again, I would not be
inclined to see any connection to religion at all.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

[[email protected]]

On Mar 1, 8:30 am, RomeoMike > wrote:
> Except that in many parts of the lake, especially where house boats are
> moored, the shoreline still rises gently from the new water level. It's
> not all cliffs. Still no excuse for flying into the water, however.
>


....well if they did go in around good hope bay, there are some rather
significant cliffs nearby; less than a mile from the southern shore
there's a rise of about 7-800 feet above the water and roughly the
same distance to the west there is a series of ridges that rise over
1,000 feet above the lake. bottom line, no matter what direction he
was looking (other than at the water) he was looking UP at terrain.

also, good hope bay is a fairly long way from bullfrog marina; these
guys are REAL lucky there was a bass tournament on...

[Bertie the Bunyip[_2_]]

Mxsmanic > wrote in
:

> Gig 601XL Builder writes:
>
>> Yep, it used to be Doctors and Bonanzas
>
> Have doctors become better pilots, or have they stopped buying Bonanzas?
>

have you ever flown anything at all?


Fjukkwit?


Bertie