Ventus 3F - Fatal

Had a great visit with him at the the SSA Convention in front of his new V3. So sad...

On Thursday, July 12, 2018 at 9:20:58 PM UTC-6, Ramy wrote:
Nick’s thoughts are my thoughts exactly. How do we have so much unexplained accidents? Tragic!
Sure, we can wait 2 years for the NTSB report, which will be completely useless unless the local glider pilots will work together with the NTSB and hope for a good investigator, as was the case recently in California. Meanwhile I hope we can learn something.
It is easy and comforting to blame unexplained accidents on health related incapacitation, but I believe this may be true only in small fraction of accidents.
This had been a sad year so far, and we got very lucky in few accidents which did not end up fatal but could have been easily.

Ramy

For the record, the local FSDO is glider friendly and their rep was very thorough in the questions he asked. The NTSB rep was the Denver office manager who normally does not make house calls. He is a former AF pilot, as well as a balloon pilot and had flown gliders while at test pilot school. He was very respectful of the circumstances and was also very thorough regarding the questions he asked. I'm sure his initial report will reflect his efforts to arrive at a conclusion based on the facts at hand.

Billy Hill (Zulu)

What do they normally do? They being the NTSB? Or the FAA for that matter.
Y’all quit smoking that weed out there....good Lord Jesus.
R

Listening to ourselves and knowing our limitations ought to be a topic covered more often in Soaring magazine. Age will no doubt be a factor in a growing percentage of accidents as the glider pilot population continues to age.. Likewise, hydration and heat stroke should be topics of concern for everyone flying mid-summer.

R6N flew 4 days straight in 90+ degree weather. We took the 5th day off partly for SAFETY. In hindsight, I have no regrets despite taking off what clearly turned out to be the best soaring day of the contest (the sky looked like Uvalde), which says a lot when you're flying out of Adrian, Michigan.

Fwiw, Sandhill Soaring Club lost a club member just 2 weeks prior to the start of R6N. The deceased member's wife is certain her husband succumbed to heat and died of heart complications. Luckily, he wasn't operating an aircraft when it happened.

In any case, ALL pilots (not just aging pilots), need to consider their health history, known physiological limitations, their present physical and mental health, stress levels, medications, and lastly the current weather conditions at the airport.

The following article speaks volumes on the issue and identifies factors that increase risk of heat stroke and/or heart failure. See: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/...n-201107223180

Safe soaring!

Chris Schrader (CN)



On Thursday, July 12, 2018 at 10:15:06 PM UTC-4, Michael Opitz wrote:

We are all getting older. There have been a number of physiological
incapacitation accidents in recent years in our community. Let's
wait for the NTSB to make their findings.

In the mean time, condolences to his family and friends.

RO

On Sunday, July 22, 2018 at 6:48:24 AM UTC+2, wrote:
Listening to ourselves and knowing our limitations ought to be a topic covered more often in Soaring magazine. Age will no doubt be a factor in a growing percentage of accidents as the glider pilot population continues to age. Likewise, hydration and heat stroke should be topics of concern for everyone flying mid-summer.

R6N flew 4 days straight in 90+ degree weather. We took the 5th day off partly for SAFETY. In hindsight, I have no regrets despite taking off what clearly turned out to be the best soaring day of the contest (the sky looked like Uvalde), which says a lot when you're flying out of Adrian, Michigan.

Fwiw, Sandhill Soaring Club lost a club member just 2 weeks prior to the start of R6N. The deceased member's wife is certain her husband succumbed to heat and died of heart complications. Luckily, he wasn't operating an aircraft when it happened.

In any case, ALL pilots (not just aging pilots), need to consider their health history, known physiological limitations, their present physical and mental health, stress levels, medications, and lastly the current weather conditions at the airport.

The following article speaks volumes on the issue and identifies factors that increase risk of heat stroke and/or heart failure. See: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/...n-201107223180

Safe soaring!

Chris Schrader (CN)



On Thursday, July 12, 2018 at 10:15:06 PM UTC-4, Michael Opitz wrote:

We are all getting older. There have been a number of physiological
incapacitation accidents in recent years in our community. Let's
wait for the NTSB to make their findings.

In the mean time, condolences to his family and friends.

RO

+1!!

Reminds me of losing Pat Page. Very sad news
God bless him and his family

On Thursday, July 12, 2018 at 1:45:06 PM UTC-6, Jock Proudfoot wrote:
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/new-
mexico/articles/2018-07-11/albuquerque-man-dies-in-glider-crash-
near-moriarty-airport

Renny was a good friend to soaring and the SSA. We communicated often and he frequently checked in with Denise at the office. He served a year as an SSA Director at Large and was a member of the Editorial Advisory Committee.. I found him to be an excellent public speaker and tried to get him to do more of that in support of soaring.

My condolences to his friends and family.

Frank Whiteley, SSA Director, Region 9

On Thursday, July 12, 2018 at 9:45:06 PM UTC+2, Jock Proudfoot wrote:
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/new-
mexico/articles/2018-07-11/albuquerque-man-dies-in-glider-crash-
near-moriarty-airport

He was so excited about his new V3.

There's a hint. Not saying this is the cause for this accident, but it's sad to see how many people in the past have gotten into trouble for being too confident flying a new aircraft they haven't yet fully figured out. I know all of you who have been around aircraft for any significant amount of time know what I am talking about. Last time I saw this happen was in Mass., where a new pilot from the UK had never flown an aircraft with flaps and got them wrong on final. He ended up in a tree at the far end of the runway, thankfully with nothing but a bruised ego, but we never saw him again.

Renny was a very thoughtful and careful pilot.Â* His hangar faced mine
and I was there when he brought his new V3 home.Â* Were it me, I would
have flown it that day, but Renny spent well over a week making sure
everything was just right before taking it up for the first time.

Previously he'd flown a LAK-17bFES for 8 or 9 years, so the added
complexity of the FES was probably not an issue.Â* Before that it was a
Discus, I believe; that was before I met him so I can't say for sure,
but I understand he'd flown gliders for around 40 years.

I don't believe his excitement about his new ship had anything to do
with his unfortunate accident.Â* And, though I have little faith in the
outcome of a formal investigation, I'll wait to see what they say before
making any judgments.

On 7/15/2018 4:22 AM, wrote:
On Thursday, July 12, 2018 at 9:45:06 PM UTC+2, Jock Proudfoot wrote:
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/new-
mexico/articles/2018-07-11/albuquerque-man-dies-in-glider-crash-
near-moriarty-airport
He was so excited about his new V3.
There's a hint. Not saying this is the cause for this accident, but it's sad to see how many people in the past have gotten into trouble for being too confident flying a new aircraft they haven't yet fully figured out. I know all of you who have been around aircraft for any significant amount of time know what I am talking about. Last time I saw this happen was in Mass., where a new pilot from the UK had never flown an aircraft with flaps and got them wrong on final. He ended up in a tree at the far end of the runway, thankfully with nothing but a bruised ego, but we never saw him again.

--
Dan, 5J

On Sunday, July 15, 2018 at 12:22:03 PM UTC+2, wrote:

Last time I saw this happen was in Mass., where a new pilot from the UK had never flown an aircraft with flaps and got them wrong on final.

I meant to say "where a highy experienced pilot from the UK with a new glider had never flown an aircraft with flaps..."