Pilot charged with Manslaughter

Gig 601XL Builder wrote:
PILOT CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER AFTER FATAL CRASH
(http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#194044)
A 30-year-old man who was flying a 1972 Bellanca Super Viking when it
crashed into a pond in northeastern Oklahoma on Saturday night,
killing all three passengers, has been charged with three counts of
manslaughter. Thomas Brent Caldwell, 30, of Pryor, Okla., apparently
never had a pilot certificate and was drinking at the time of the
accident, authorities said.


I haven't looked at a Bellanca in a while. Doesn't it have just the right front
door like a Cherokee? If that's so, he had to crawl over the other front seat
passenger to get out. It's a pity he didn't join them.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com

"Jim Macklin" wrote in message
...

How much dope was in the airplane?



They wont tell becuse the cops are selling it as we all discuss this!

and formula 1 and indy cart drivers are often referred to as pilots
technically, it all came from sailing, with a meaning similar to
"guide"
i guess he was in a way piloting. just not um *well* (to say the least)


not quoting the dictionary to make any point, just quoting as an FYI

pilot
A noun
5 pilot, airplane pilot
someone who is licensed to operate an aircraft in flight

6 pilot
a person qualified to guide ships through difficult waters going
into or out of a harbor

B verb
1 navigate, pilot
act as the navigator in a car, plane, or vessel and plan, direct,
plot the path and position of the conveyance; "Is anyone volunteering
to navigate during the trip?"; "Who was navigating the ship during the
accident?"






T o d d P a t t i s t wrote:
"Robert M. Gary" wrote:

There was no pilot on board according to the NTSB.

The pilot was unlicensed. The concept of "pilot" predates
the concept of licensing people to engage in that activity
by many years.

--
Do not spin this aircraft. If the aircraft does enter a spin it will return to earth without further attention on the part of the aeronaut.

(first handbook issued with the Curtis-Wright flyer)

On 21 Dec 2006 14:45:01 -0600, T o d d P a t t i s t
wrote in
:

"Robert M. Gary" wrote:

There was no pilot on board according to the NTSB.

The pilot was unlicensed. The concept of "pilot" predates
the concept of licensing people to engage in that activity
by many years.

So, while the person at the controls of the aircraft may be considered
to have been piloting it, he was not an airman. :-)

On Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:50:39 -0800, Gig 601XL Builder wrote
(in article ):


"Christopher Campbell" wrote in message
e.com...
On Thu, 21 Dec 2006 06:41:18 -0800, Gig 601XL Builder wrote
(in article ):

PILOT CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER AFTER FATAL CRASH

How terribly unfortunate.

Unfortunate for who? If you mean the passengers (assuming they A. Didn't
know he didn't have a license and B. Didn't know he was drunk) or all the
legally licensed, safely aviators out there who have what we do lessened
somewhat in the eyes of the general public then I agree.

If you mean for that asshole then well...



Flying without a license did not kill his passengers, any more than flying
without a flight plan kills anyone. Having a license does not make you a
better pilot.

There are guys who have flown for many years without a license, even filing
and flying IFR in multi-engine aircraft. I do not approve of breaking the
law, of course, but I have been around long enough to know that someone who
is flying illegally may not be any more dangerous than those who are flying
legally.

Drunk, of course, is another matter.

I think there is something wrong with charging a guy with murder because he
did not have a piece of paper from the government. Charging someone with
murder for flying without a license is pure vindictiveness -- punishment for
daring to defy governmental authority. It is not any more dangerous to fly
without a license than with one. You should only be charged for murder if
reckless behavior led to a death. I have no problem with charging him with
murder if he was drunk.

Christopher Campbell wrote:

I think there is something wrong with charging a guy with murder because he
did not have a piece of paper from the government. Charging someone with
murder for flying without a license is pure vindictiveness -- punishment for
daring to defy governmental authority. It is not any more dangerous to fly
without a license than with one. You should only be charged for murder if
reckless behavior led to a death. I have no problem with charging him with
murder if he was drunk.

So if someone who had never been to medical school posed as a surgeon
and operated on your wife or child and killed them, you'd be OK if they
weren't charged with murder? After all, a medical license is just a
piece of paper from the government.

Matt

First definition from answer.com via Google definition link.

1.. One who operates or is licensed to operate an aircraft in flight.

"mad8" wrote in message
ups.com...
and formula 1 and indy cart drivers are often referred to as pilots
technically, it all came from sailing, with a meaning similar to
"guide"
i guess he was in a way piloting. just not um *well* (to say the least)


not quoting the dictionary to make any point, just quoting as an FYI

pilot
A noun
5 pilot, airplane pilot
someone who is licensed to operate an aircraft in flight

6 pilot
a person qualified to guide ships through difficult waters going
into or out of a harbor

B verb
1 navigate, pilot
act as the navigator in a car, plane, or vessel and plan, direct,
plot the path and position of the conveyance; "Is anyone volunteering
to navigate during the trip?"; "Who was navigating the ship during the
accident?"






T o d d P a t t i s t wrote:
"Robert M. Gary" wrote:

There was no pilot on board according to the NTSB.

The pilot was unlicensed. The concept of "pilot" predates
the concept of licensing people to engage in that activity
by many years.

--
Do not spin this aircraft. If the aircraft does enter a spin it will
return to earth without further attention on the part of the aeronaut.

(first handbook issued with the Curtis-Wright flyer)

"Christopher Campbell" wrote in message
e.com...
On Thu, 21 Dec 2006 09:50:39 -0800, Gig 601XL Builder wrote
(in article ):


"Christopher Campbell" wrote in message
e.com...
On Thu, 21 Dec 2006 06:41:18 -0800, Gig 601XL Builder wrote
(in article ):

PILOT CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER AFTER FATAL CRASH

How terribly unfortunate.

Unfortunate for who? If you mean the passengers (assuming they A. Didn't
know he didn't have a license and B. Didn't know he was drunk) or all the
legally licensed, safely aviators out there who have what we do lessened
somewhat in the eyes of the general public then I agree.

If you mean for that asshole then well...



Flying without a license did not kill his passengers, any more than flying
without a flight plan kills anyone. Having a license does not make you a
better pilot.

There are guys who have flown for many years without a license, even
filing
and flying IFR in multi-engine aircraft. I do not approve of breaking the
law, of course, but I have been around long enough to know that someone
who
is flying illegally may not be any more dangerous than those who are
flying
legally.

Drunk, of course, is another matter.

I think there is something wrong with charging a guy with murder because
he
did not have a piece of paper from the government. Charging someone with
murder for flying without a license is pure vindictiveness -- punishment
for
daring to defy governmental authority. It is not any more dangerous to fly
without a license than with one. You should only be charged for murder if
reckless behavior led to a death. I have no problem with charging him with
murder if he was drunk.




Well they said he had been drinking so I would assume they took that into
account. But in these United States and most other countries you are not
assumed to be capable of safely commanding an aircraft unless you have a
little card from the government that says so. So since charging someone with
manslaughter is a legal matter you are going to have to take whether or not
he was legally qualified to do what he was doing when the folks in his care
got killed. According to the story he NEVER had a certificate so this is not
a case where a guy lost his medical because his BP was too high.

Gig 601XL Builder wrote:
"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
ps.com...
By pilot I assume you are talking about the guy who was flying the
plane? There was no pilot on board according to the NTSB.

-Robert


You may assume AVWEB was talking about that.

I know, I was being funny.

-Robert

T o d d P a t t i s t wrote:
"Robert M. Gary" wrote:

There was no pilot on board according to the NTSB.

The pilot was unlicensed. The concept of "pilot" predates
the concept of licensing people to engage in that activity
by many years.

Ok, so it seems my joke wasn't well understood. I probably spend more
time than most reading NTSB reports because I'm a CFI and like to pass
that information on to students.
When the NTSB issues a final cause for an accident they usually use
pre-canned reasons for the accident so they are easily searchable. In
this type of accident it would be typical for one cause of the accident
to be listed...
Pilot In Command - No qualified PIC on board
So, when Steve Woz (founder of Apple) crashed his Bonanza there was not
PIC on board according to the NTSB.

-Robert