Andes accident

On Dec 6, 11:12*am, Westbender wrote:
On Dec 6, 12:22*pm, tstock wrote:





On Nov 29, 2:52*am, Ramy wrote:

On Nov 24, 7:09*am, jcarlyle wrote:

He was lucky! Sounds like he should consider buying a PLB, just in
case.

-John

On Nov 24, 10:02 am, Juanman wrote:

Jose Auil, a pilot flying a Discus BT out of the Vitacura airport in
Santiago, Chile, went missing over the Andes on Sunday afternoon. * An
intensive search was carried out for three days and this morning the
wreck was found in the mountains, with the cabin intact. *There was a
note saying: "I'm fine. *I'm going down river". *He has been found
this morning in good shape! *Missing Chileans, whether miners or
glider pilots are quite lucky...

http://www.latercera.com/noticia/por...encuent...text -

- Show quoted text -

Glad they found the pilot well and alive. I am curious how much his
rescue cost vs the $150 cost of a Spot and who is going to pay the
bill. Not to mention the risk invloved in a rescue operation. Couple
more days and it would have been his life vs a $150 Spot. I am puzzled
that anyone still flies XC without a Spot or a PLB. Enough said.

Ramy

Just curious, how could the spot have prevented the cost of the
rescue? *Wouldnt they have sent rescue crew anyway?

Thanks
Tom- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

That's easy. A single aircraft could have been dispatched to the exact
location. They would not have had multiple aircraft flying search
patterns. A huge savings in man-hours, equipment, fuel, etc.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Spot also offers a form of 'rescue insurance' that covers up to
$100,000.00 for $12.95/year.

This presents an interesting question regarding survival training and being at least minimally equipped.

I am a former combat aircrewman and went thru all the USAF aircrew survival schools. Water survival, jungle survival, escape and evasion school, arctic survival and others. The parachute most of us wore had a minimal survival kit within and we wore vests with a rather substantial amount of gear, radio, medical kit, signal panels, flares, knife, gun and the like. A SPOT, a space blanket, firestarter and a few other items would make sense to have and not add much weight. Strong Parachute makes a pocket for my 303 back which can be used to carry a few necessary survival items. It's not what you have in the glider but what you have with you when you hit the ground that counts. You might be able to have a few more items in a pouch in the plane but if you bail that stuff won't be of much use.

Regarding the parachute, I wince when I see most people put on their chute. There have been some good articles in the SSA magazine about proper fit and usage, these deserve to be read and reread. Getting out of a glider out of control would be difficult at best, it's something that needs to be practiced on the ground. Canopy, belts, butt.

Even with the SPOT they might not be able to get to you right away due to weather, etc. We spend lots of time learning to fly, navigate and the like. Perhaps those among us who are serious about flying might consider attending a survival course of some type. Knowledge is the greatest asset when the ship hits the sand.

Walt

On Dec 6, 10:22*am, tstock wrote:
On Nov 29, 2:52*am, Ramy wrote:





On Nov 24, 7:09*am, jcarlyle wrote:

He was lucky! Sounds like he should consider buying a PLB, just in
case.

-John

On Nov 24, 10:02 am, Juanman wrote:

Jose Auil, a pilot flying a Discus BT out of the Vitacura airport in
Santiago, Chile, went missing over the Andes on Sunday afternoon. * An
intensive search was carried out for three days and this morning the
wreck was found in the mountains, with the cabin intact. *There was a
note saying: "I'm fine. *I'm going down river". *He has been found
this morning in good shape! *Missing Chileans, whether miners or
glider pilots are quite lucky...

http://www.latercera.com/noticia/por...cuent...quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Glad they found the pilot well and alive. I am curious how much his
rescue cost vs the $150 cost of a Spot and who is going to pay the
bill. Not to mention the risk invloved in a rescue operation. Couple
more days and it would have been his life vs a $150 Spot. I am puzzled
that anyone still flies XC without a Spot or a PLB. Enough said.

Ramy

Just curious, how could the spot have prevented the cost of the
rescue? *Wouldnt they have sent rescue crew anyway?

Thanks
Tom- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Spot can eliminate the "search" from Search and Rescue in most cases.

Ramy