Pilot Suicides

"Deadstick" wrote in
oups.com:

I once witnessed an FBO owner hand over the keys to an airplane to a
pilot who she had never met, had never flown with and had not received
any type of checkout from the FBO's CFI. The only thing he did was
flash his ATP certificate at this FBO owner and she handed him keys.
There was no attempt to verify that he was actually a pilot let alone
verify that he was proficient at flying the aircraft he was allowed to
use.

I've seen many cases where renters and/or CFIs crashed aircraft
because they were flying under conditions or circumstances that they
should NOT have been flying in. Some FBOs allow people who are un-
qualified to hand out keys or they use systems to control key access
that don't allow for any pre-screening.

I'm not saying the FBO should take 100% responsibility for the pilot's
actions, but there ARE occasions when a prudent FBO could stop an
accident before it happens by not dispatching the aircraft.

I only slightly disagree with the above statement. (Specifically, I don't
think it's appropriate for FBOs to make marginal decisions for students.)
But in this case it seems appropriate for the flight school to have
dispatched this plane to their student, and there could have been no way
for the counter person to determine that this pilot had any intention of
breaching the trust that he had built with the FBO in the past by leaving
without the instructor or using their plane as a weapon.

If the guy's been training there for 4 months, I don't think it's negligent
to give him keys to a plane...

On Mar 9, 9:36 am, "Deadstick" wrote:
On Mar 7, 8:39 pm, Jim wrote:


In my opinion the FBO should NEVER dispatch keys to anyone other than
the PIC. If the student is flying dual with his CFI or flying solo,
then the Student may be given the keys but only when a CFI is
confirmed to be present and supervising.


That's what happened in this case, the keys were given to the PIC (the
student pilot). He wasn't schedule (nor did he need ) a CFI. You are
suggesting that the student have to pay for a CFI to come to the
airport before every one of his solos? I don't drive out to the
airport unless I'm schedule to fly, I'm not driving out to the airport
to watch someone hand the student keys.
What would you do for students who own their own planes?


-Robret

On Mar 9, 12:35 pm, "Tony" wrote:
It's also worth noting that there are very few hours of instruction
between the time a student goes out to preflight and when he or she is
signed off to solo. What is being worried to death here is that brief
interval spanning maybe 10 or 15 hours of instruction, What then?
Suppose he was qualified to solo? Suppose he passed his exam and was
now a PP?

This is reminding me of gun control laws that are passed after a crime
is committed that never addresses the threat -- instead it makes
ownership more difficult for owners who are trying to stay legal.


Clearly this guy finds all aircraft to be a clear and immediate danger
to the public. This is the type of guy we should all be very afraid
of.

-Robret

A 90 year-old pilot is having breakfast at the airport with his son.

"I've got to get my medical next week. If Doc don't pass me I'm gonna
get in the Super Cub and fly out over the ocean til it runs out of gas."

"Dad, NO!... Not the Super Cub."

John Ousterhout wrote:
A 90 year-old pilot is having breakfast at the airport with his son.

"I've got to get my medical next week. If Doc don't pass me I'm gonna
get in the Super Cub and fly out over the ocean til it runs out of gas."

"Dad, NO!... Not the Super Cub."


Priorities!!! The stuff of life :-)))
Dudley Henriques

On Mar 7, 12:20 pm, Christopher Brian Colohan
wrote:
"Jay Beckman" writes:
Step One: Eliminate all personal relationships where anyone could ever have
the possibility of getting their heart broken...

Step Two: change the rules so a pilot can seek professional help for
depression without fear of instantly losing their medical.

Chris

Three, allow sales of AA radar and missles to civilians, 2nd Amendment
you know.
Stock Cammo Netting at Mao-Depot and Mao-Mart...JG

On Mar 7, 10:40 pm, Jose wrote:
How then, does it 'save time' if the student does the pre-flight before the
instructor arrives, if the instructor is going to do it again anyway?

The student's preflight is probably much slower. The instructor's
preflight probably concentrates on a few critical issues. The
instructor probably just flew that airplane a few hours ago. Not so the
student.

Mayor Daley's repossession of Northerly Island looks smarter
everyday...JG

I'm not saying the FBO should take 100% responsibility for the pilot's
actions, but there ARE occasions when a prudent FBO could stop an
accident before it happens by not dispatching the aircraft.

I am sorry about the loss of a perfectly good airplane, and about the
daughter who appears to have been a pawn in this sordid little tale.

However, NO ACCIDENT OCCURRED.

Further, the deceased would both be precisely as dead, and more collateral
damage would most likely have occurred, if other means had been employed.

Kindly take your fascist recommendations elsewhere--like Iran!!!!!

Peter

On Mar 7, 7:10 pm, Jose wrote:
If I thought you were going to kill your 8 year old daughter I most
certainly
would try to prevent it, no matter what your personal opinion of
freedom was.

I might even try to prevent you from riding a bicycle without a
helmet, if
for no other reason than that I am tired of having my tax and
insurance
dollars going to support the paralyzed bozos who thought they had a
right to
ride without one.

And that's how we end up in a nanny state. It starts with something
very reasonable, and then something less reasonable, and ends up with
all of us in cages.


Precisely so. Its better to fight for the elimination of taxes than to
try and control how they are spent.

Well said!

And far mor concise than the tirade I was considering...

Peter

John Ousterhout wrote:
A 90 year-old pilot is having breakfast at the airport with his son.

"I've got to get my medical next week. If Doc don't pass me I'm gonna
get in the Super Cub and fly out over the ocean til it runs out of gas."

"Dad, NO!... Not the Super Cub."


Priorities!!! The stuff of life :-)))
Dudley Henriques

When I was young, there was an old gent who kept a Pitts Special in a hangar
at our local airport. He didn't no longer flew it (that was 30+ years ago)
and once told me that he planned to take one last flight--when he no longer
felt able to care for himself at home--and land it straight down on the
spinner out in the swamp.

The little plane was a thing of beauty ... nearly alive ... I was horrified!

I am still not sold on his (proposed) methodology,
but now, I can just barely manage a shrug. (sigh)

Peter