Lucky to be alive?

Morgans wrote:
Someone was not so lucky, closer to Charlotte.
http://www.wsoctv.com/news/10641149/detail.html

You have to sit through an ad and the weather and another story before the
video clip of the crash comes up.
http://www.wsoctv.com/video/10645271/detail.html

Story in the paper. I also saw a report that said there was no fire, and no
witnesses heard engine noises. It was on a long flight from the coast of
NC. I have to wonder if it is a case of fuel starvation.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlot...s/16360258.htm


I've been following this accident since it happened yesterday about 5 miles from
where I live. Apparently a family of 4 was flying from Manteo, NC to Shelby, NC
in a Cessna 182 when they fell out of the sky... literally. There were BIG
pieces of aircraft that rained down over a fairly large area.... intact wings,
etc. Given yesterday's crappy weather (today's no better here), I assume the
pilot lost control, went into a graveyard spiral and then broke up in mid air.

He was maybe 40 miles short of his destination when he crashed only 3 miles from
KCLT. He was in contact with Charlotte Approach (since it's Class B airspace)
but nothing has been said so far whether he was attempting to land at Douglas
d/t emergency or whatever. I still don't know if he made any Mayday calls.

We've got low ceilings, steady light rain and I assume smooth flight conditions.
It's not cold... I slept last night with the back door to my bedroom open so I
could listen to the rain. I am assuming the weather wasn't the primary problem
though it surely didn't help him at all. He could have suffered a mechanical,
unexpectedly found himself short of fuel, or possibly had a health problem (he
was the right age for heart problems). All of this is the coarsest conjecture
and is backed up by very little fact.

I've already fired off a letter to the Observer raising hell about the "stalled
engine" phrasing they used. SIGH Not enough detail available at this point.


--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com