Beech V35 crashes in S.C.

Some sad news...

http://www.nbc4i.com/news/4763280/detail.html

Mike W. wrote:
Some sad news...

http://www.nbc4i.com/news/4763280/detail.html


I was working Sunday when one of the EMT's mentioned an airplane had crashed out
by the airport. A quick call to Bryant Field suggested nobody was missing and
there'd been no Mayday called.

I can't help but think this fellow was circling his father's house when he ran
dry or his engine decided to take a powder. Not that there was anything wrong
with that... nobody suggested he was buzzing, but I have to wonder what he was
circling "looking for a place to land" since he was essentially already in the
pattern for Bryant Field. The newspaper said his parents lived about a mile
from the airport. Purely conjecture at this point....

The other thing that comes to mind is the conception people have on the ground
that he was a hero somehow "because he tried so hard not to hit anything".
Well, don't we all? In my own crash back in 1988 they said the same thing about
the excellent job I'd done avoiding the houses and kids playing in the yards.
At the time I can remember asking: "What kids? What houses?" When something
like this happens your mind focuses on the clear space, not the obstacles.

I'm not knocking this guy. I have no doubt he did the best he could and it just
didn't work out well for him. I am delighted I wasn't flying with him because I
doubt I'd have done any better. But let's not misunderstand what he did or why
he did it. He did what any of us would do... what any of us do. I personally
always try to avoid obstacles when I land, emergency or not.

The public perception is akin to the "great responsibility" airline pilots feel
towards all the folks in back. Actually, the great responsibility is towards
themselves. And if they arrive alive, EVERYBODY arrives alive. These people
aren't bigger than life; they're just real people. But I digress.

The fellow sitting in the back seat of the Bonanza is still in critical
condition at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. That is an excellent trauma
center and if it's possible for the guy to pull through, they'll find it. My
prayers go to him, his family and to the families of the ones who died. They're
the ones who feel the pain.

Please excuse my rambling. This brought back some memories I don't enjoy.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

As cruel as it sounds, you are quite right in my opinion about the "save the
kids in the schoolhouse" theory. I lost a friend in an F86 that had the same
media presentation associated with the crash. It's so common that it's
actually a known issue among professional pilots, and to many of us
represents a disservice to a pilot by tagging him with a story his
associates or anyone with half a brain knows to be untrue!
I can tell you from my own experience that when it comes to putting a
crippled airplane on the ground, you're looking for only one thing, and you
have but one thing on your mind and that's putting it into that clear area
you're trying desperately trying to reach over there because that's the only
spot you see that just might save your life. In these situations you can't
see schoolhouses. You can see people at the last second, but you're not
looking for people. You're looking for open ground, and open ground usually
will mean no people anyway.
Personally, I wish the GD media would stay the hell out of our cockpits and
stop using us to sell stories to the public. If some pilot is lucky enough
to get it into that open spot over there without killing himself and others
in the process, he has in effect done his job properly and that's good
enough for the pilots who know him. If he dies trying to get it in there,
that's ALSO good enough for the pilots who knew him and those who survive
him.
Dudley Henriques

"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" wrote in message
news
Mike W. wrote:
Some sad news...

http://www.nbc4i.com/news/4763280/detail.html


I was working Sunday when one of the EMT's mentioned an airplane had
crashed out by the airport. A quick call to Bryant Field suggested nobody
was missing and there'd been no Mayday called.

I can't help but think this fellow was circling his father's house when he
ran dry or his engine decided to take a powder. Not that there was
anything wrong with that... nobody suggested he was buzzing, but I have to
wonder what he was circling "looking for a place to land" since he was
essentially already in the pattern for Bryant Field. The newspaper said
his parents lived about a mile from the airport. Purely conjecture at
this point....

The other thing that comes to mind is the conception people have on the
ground that he was a hero somehow "because he tried so hard not to hit
anything". Well, don't we all? In my own crash back in 1988 they said the
same thing about the excellent job I'd done avoiding the houses and kids
playing in the yards. At the time I can remember asking: "What kids? What
houses?" When something like this happens your mind focuses on the clear
space, not the obstacles.

I'm not knocking this guy. I have no doubt he did the best he could and
it just didn't work out well for him. I am delighted I wasn't flying with
him because I doubt I'd have done any better. But let's not misunderstand
what he did or why he did it. He did what any of us would do... what any
of us do. I personally always try to avoid obstacles when I land,
emergency or not.

The public perception is akin to the "great responsibility" airline pilots
feel towards all the folks in back. Actually, the great responsibility is
towards themselves. And if they arrive alive, EVERYBODY arrives alive.
These people aren't bigger than life; they're just real people. But I
digress.

The fellow sitting in the back seat of the Bonanza is still in critical
condition at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. That is an excellent
trauma center and if it's possible for the guy to pull through, they'll
find it. My prayers go to him, his family and to the families of the ones
who died. They're the ones who feel the pain.

Please excuse my rambling. This brought back some memories I don't enjoy.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

Sounds like a welcome gift horse to me - but I hear you.

Dudley Henriques wrote:
Personally, I wish the GD media would stay the hell out of our cockpits and
stop using us to sell stories to the public. If some pilot is lucky enough
to get it into that open spot over there without killing himself and others
in the process, he has in effect done his job properly and that's good
enough for the pilots who know him. If he dies trying to get it in there,
that's ALSO good enough for the pilots who knew him and those who survive
him.

There's always been a fairly large crevasse between the natural romance of
flight and the reality involved with flight. In most cases, those of us who
remain as pilots for some length of time learn to appreciate the difference
and deal with it.
The press on the other hand, for reasons of their own, in many cases
involving our last moments as pilots, choose to emphasize the romance and
completely neglect the realities.
Dudley Henriques

"Maule Driver" wrote in message
om...
Sounds like a welcome gift horse to me - but I hear you.

Dudley Henriques wrote:
Personally, I wish the GD media would stay the hell out of our cockpits
and stop using us to sell stories to the public. If some pilot is lucky
enough to get it into that open spot over there without killing himself
and others in the process, he has in effect done his job properly and
that's good enough for the pilots who know him. If he dies trying to get
it in there, that's ALSO good enough for the pilots who knew him and
those who survive him.

Dudley Henriques wrote:
The press on the other hand, for reasons of their own, in many cases
involving our last moments as pilots, choose to emphasize the romance and
completely neglect the realities.

You are of course ignoring the fact that it wasn't "the press" who said
he avoided a swimming pool at the end. It was the public - eyewitnesses.
That big, bad "press" simply reported what the eyewitnesses said.
Strangely enough, that's exactly what they're supposed to do.

Certainly eyewitnesses get things wrong at times. But what would you
have the reporter do - balance what the eyewitnesses reported with the
speculation of a few Usenet pilots who weren't there?

I think an unbiased reader can determine who is more responsible here -
the journalist reporting objectively what witnesses said, or a Usenet
poster (Mr. Schnerd) making an uninformed and potentially libelous
accusation such as the pilot "was circling his father's house when he
ran dry." Not that you find many unbiased readers in Usenet...

Dudley Henriques wrote:

There's always been a fairly large crevasse between the natural romance of
flight and the reality involved with flight. In most cases, those of us who
remain as pilots for some length of time learn to appreciate the difference
and deal with it.
The press on the other hand, for reasons of their own, in many cases
involving our last moments as pilots, choose to emphasize the romance and
completely neglect the realities.

What harm does it cause if the press and general public believe that
pilots are trying to avoid schools, crowds, etc.? Even if their motive
isn't pure (trying to create a story), I'm not sure that the outcome is
all that bad for pilots. I'd rather have this than reporters saying
that pilots just look for any open spot and don't care if it is a
playground.


Matt

The press is sloppy and ill informed regarding aviation in general and
accidents in particular. Since the reporting is so often independent of
reality, I'd say we are fools to not encourage "the natural romance" and
discourage the negative realities when dealing with the press and
public relations.

It's an information war and we should try to win.

Dudley Henriques wrote:
There's always been a fairly large crevasse between the natural romance of
flight and the reality involved with flight. In most cases, those of us who
remain as pilots for some length of time learn to appreciate the difference
and deal with it.
The press on the other hand, for reasons of their own, in many cases
involving our last moments as pilots, choose to emphasize the romance and
completely neglect the realities.
Dudley Henriques

"Maule Driver" wrote in message
om...

Sounds like a welcome gift horse to me - but I hear you.

On Tue, 26 Jul 2005 14:46:46 GMT, "Dudley Henriques"
dhenriques@noware .net wrote:

As cruel as it sounds, you are quite right in my opinion about the "save the
kids in the schoolhouse" theory. I lost a friend in an F86 that had the same
media presentation associated with the crash. It's so common that it's
actually a known issue among professional pilots, and to many of us
represents a disservice to a pilot by tagging him with a story his
associates or anyone with half a brain knows to be untrue!

I heard the media praising the pilot of a Stealth Fighter that lost an
aileron during an air show (a few years ago) and the airplane suffered
severe flutter and broke up. The pilot ejected and the airplane
wafted down looking like a big falling leaf. No one was injured and
the media claimed it was because the pilot skillfully avoided the
crowd.

Anyone seeing that flight would know that once the airplane began
loosing parts, the pilot became a passenger. It reared up and stopped
flying almost instantly. The pilot ejected immediately.

Corky Scott

"Corky Scott" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 26 Jul 2005 14:46:46 GMT, "Dudley Henriques"
dhenriques@noware .net wrote:

As cruel as it sounds, you are quite right in my opinion about the "save
the
kids in the schoolhouse" theory. I lost a friend in an F86 that had the
same
media presentation associated with the crash. It's so common that it's
actually a known issue among professional pilots, and to many of us
represents a disservice to a pilot by tagging him with a story his
associates or anyone with half a brain knows to be untrue!

I heard the media praising the pilot of a Stealth Fighter that lost an
aileron during an air show (a few years ago) and the airplane suffered
severe flutter and broke up. The pilot ejected and the airplane
wafted down looking like a big falling leaf. No one was injured and
the media claimed it was because the pilot skillfully avoided the
crowd.

Anyone seeing that flight would know that once the airplane began
loosing parts, the pilot became a passenger. It reared up and stopped
flying almost instantly. The pilot ejected immediately.

Corky Scott

Exactly!

For the media , the facts end the story too quickly, and contain no "hook".
The media equation is quite simple; facts CAN be uninteresting. Romance on
the other hand............ALWAYS SELLS!!!!
Dudley Henriques