TA

Did my soul good to see and talk to Frank Paynter last night at the gliderport (CCSC). Walking 'just' a little slow but none the worst for wear!

Gary 'GB'

On Saturday, June 8, 2013 8:52:04 AM UTC-6, Gary Adams wrote:
Did my soul good to see and talk to Frank Paynter last night at the gliderport (CCSC). Walking 'just' a little slow but none the worst for wear!



Gary 'GB'

Gary, when you see TA again tell him that all of us here at Moriarty are glad he is OK - and hope he gets back on that horse again soon!

Cheers,

Kirk
66

So glad Frank got off "easy" - as in practically uninjured.

I have a question about the glider and hope he or someone with whom he's
spoken can shed some light: What about the glider?

We were told on this site that he immediately left for home. What about the
wreckage? Was that abandoned on the mountain side? Did he return with a
trailer and a gang of people and remove the wreck? Is the FAA somehow
involved?

When my former partner crashed our LS-6 many years ago, he wasn't so
fortunate as to walk away. He left the scene by helicopter and spent many
months in rehab. I called the FAA after he was taken to the hospital and
gave them the story and then got some help and loaded the wreckage into the
trailer and headed for home (we were on safari). I learned that the
officials were "annoyed" that I took the wreck before they could examine it,
but I witnessed the crash and gave them the full story. There was nothing
wrong with the glider that caused the crash. It was a low altitude
stall/spin.

I'm just curious about how the wreckage of TA was handled. The glider can
be replaced, Frank couldn't be. Again - I'm so glad he made it home safely.

Dan


"Gary Adams" wrote in message
...
Did my soul good to see and talk to Frank Paynter last night at the
gliderport (CCSC). Walking 'just' a little slow but none the worst for
wear!

Gary 'GB'

On Saturday, June 8, 2013 9:42:31 AM UTC-6, Dan Marotta wrote:
So glad Frank got off "easy" - as in practically uninjured.



I have a question about the glider and hope he or someone with whom he's

spoken can shed some light: What about the glider?



We were told on this site that he immediately left for home. What about the

wreckage? Was that abandoned on the mountain side? Did he return with a

trailer and a gang of people and remove the wreck? Is the FAA somehow

involved?



When my former partner crashed our LS-6 many years ago, he wasn't so

fortunate as to walk away. He left the scene by helicopter and spent many

months in rehab. I called the FAA after he was taken to the hospital and

gave them the story and then got some help and loaded the wreckage into the

trailer and headed for home (we were on safari). I learned that the

officials were "annoyed" that I took the wreck before they could examine it,

but I witnessed the crash and gave them the full story. There was nothing

wrong with the glider that caused the crash. It was a low altitude

stall/spin.



I'm just curious about how the wreckage of TA was handled. The glider can

be replaced, Frank couldn't be. Again - I'm so glad he made it home safely.



Dan





"Gary Adams" wrote in message

...

Did my soul good to see and talk to Frank Paynter last night at the

gliderport (CCSC). Walking 'just' a little slow but none the worst for

wear!



Gary 'GB'

Think its the insurance companies problem as far as the retrieve and storage of the glider.

On Saturday, June 8, 2013 11:08:48 AM UTC-4, kirk.stant wrote:
On Saturday, June 8, 2013 8:52:04 AM UTC-6, Gary Adams wrote:

Did my soul good to see and talk to Frank Paynter last night at the gliderport (CCSC). Walking 'just' a little slow but none the worst for wear!







Gary 'GB'



Gary, when you see TA again tell him that all of us here at Moriarty are glad he is OK - and hope he gets back on that horse again soon!



Cheers,



Kirk

66

I'll see him again in the morning and will pass that along. We had a chance to talk a little more today and I'm sure in a week or two (if not sooner) he'll fill everybody in....I don't feel it's my place to speak for him the plane and it's recovery.

Gary 'GB'

I just read Frank's post-accident report on Soaring Cafe. By and large, I'm impressed with the preparations and clear rational thinking that he applied to effect his self-rescue.

Thanks, Bob K.

Though accidents are awful, Frank has essentially set the standard to how pilots should communicate with fellow pilots and debrief us objectively on the circumstance so that we all have a chance to avoid the same mistakes in the future...

Bravo Frank. Courageous and thank you!

Frank was amazingly well equipped for such an eventuality and his management of the situation after the crash was excellent. However, there are a couple of aspects not present in his analysis which I might have expected to see, and discussion of which may help keep others of us safer in future.

In preparation for a flight over unfamiliar territory, I would have expected to ask for a local briefing, of which there is no mention. If the flight was over hostile territory, I might have looked at marked landout options on Google Earth. Either of these just might have told him something relevant about the airstrip which he failed to find.

Then there is no discussion about the handling which resulted in the crash. He could have been in comfortable glide of a safe airfield and still have crashed in the same way. I think this is about the caution with which it is appropriate to make an initial approach to an unfamiliar ridge - speed, angle of approach, degree of closeness all come into this. Pilots with more experience than me in mountain flying will be more competent to comment here..

Just finished reading TA's Soaring Cafe account of his crash experience.

First, and well ahead of everything else, I would like to add my sentiments to others that express relief that the pilot survived in good shape; we are blessed to have this experienced pilot still with us.

Second, I do not know TA, other than through reading his posts on Soaring Cafe, but wish him well is his recovery from the accident and hope to read more from him in the future as he re-mounts and gives us more first-hand accounts from the cockpit.

Third, just a big thank you to TA for his offering us a look into this accident from which we can learn. I am one who will never second guess someone else in a circumstance like this one...because it was not I who was there. Nor am I much of a cross-country sailplane pilot...yet. I am grateful to TA for conveying not only the fact buts also the thoughts and feelings of this flight and its unfortunate termination. There is much to learn from this event and I hope any discussion of the flight and crash will be with the spirit of learning and not of blame or fault finding.

Hats off to TA for his sharing such a detailed account of this personal event. And, he reads this post...TA glad you're home safe!

Just finished reading TA's Soaring Cafe account of his crash experience.

First, and well ahead of everything else, I would like to add my sentiments to others that express relief that the pilot survived in good shape; we are blessed to have this experienced pilot still with us.

Second, I do not know TA, other than through reading his posts on Soaring Cafe, but wish him well is his recovery from the accident and hope to read more from him in the future as he re-mounts and gives us more first-hand accounts from the cockpit.

Third, just a big thank you to TA for his offering us a look into this accident from which we can learn. I am one who will never second guess someone else in a circumstance like this one...because it was not I who was there. Nor am I much of a cross-country sailplane pilot...yet. I am grateful to TA for conveying not only the fact buts also the thoughts and feelings of this flight and its unfortunate termination. There is much to learn from this event and I hope any discussion of the flight and crash will be with the spirit of learning and not of blame or fault finding.

Hats off to TA for his sharing such a detailed account of this personal event. And, he reads this post...thank you TA, glad you're home safe!