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#1
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3 lives lost
A terrible tragedy happened yesterday here at my home airport and I can't
get it off my mind as to "why" it happened. 3 people lost their life yesterday. The pilot was a very dear and wonderful person, 72 years young and a pilot of 24 years. "Jean" Bible was never IFR rated and only flew 30 minutes or so each flight in clear skies and daylight. She was a very careful pilot and always used good judgement. Yesterday she was to give a "first flight" to an 11 year old girl for a Christmas gift given by her Aunt. Visibility at the airport was less than 1 mile...you could not see the opposite end of the runway and yet...for some reason know only to God. She departed the runway and was airborne for about 1 minute before slamming into the ground about 100 yards off the runway center line killing all three people. From the hangar the "thug" was heard but you could not see the airplane lying upside down about 1/4 mile away. How does something like this happen? Was it the pressure of not wanting to deprive the young girl of her Christmas present? Not having to say come back another time? Perhaps thinking she could maintain visual contact with the ground and just to some touch and go's? Some way, some how, she "psyched" herself into doing something that ended in a horrible tragedy. This in a way is written for "Jean" the pilot and the two passengers that died needlessly so that perhaps all of us can learn something. Pilots must never give in to the pressures that be. We have our lives and the lives of others in our hands. We will always make safety our top priority, know ourselves, our limits. I don't have the answers but I needed to write this... Here's the link if interested..http://www.nbc4i.com/news/4035611/detail.html Terry PP-ASEL N6401F |
#2
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Terry ) wrote:
I don't have the answers but I needed to write this... Terry, this is really unfortunate and my condolences go out to the families involved. I do have a question, though: I realize that media reports are usually wrong, but twice in that linked article there was mention of the weather turning bad *at* or just after takeoff. Now, I realize that this seems unlikely, but I have read of accounts here in this newsgroup of cases where fog developed very, very quickly around an aircraft. I suppose there would have been tell-tale clues ahead of time, such as a close temperature/dewpoint spread that the pilot should have seen. Do you know first or second-hand that the weather was actually bad prior to takeoff? -- Peter |
#3
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This is always tough. The 99's lost a couple good pilots not too long
ago off the coast of Monterey. The pilot was VERY experienced but not instrument rated. Why she took off into the fog, no one will ever know. |
#4
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Hi Terry
An experienced pilot with a first time 11 year old flyer? That is a real tragedy. My condolences to all involved. At face value, a VFR pilot taking off in less than 1 mile viz? I have to ask why. But did it really happen that way? I see already responses that suggest maybe that wasn't the case. I hope that this doesn't turn into another trial by usenet. A lot of people are hurting right now - we should wait for the NTSB reports. Meanwhile, my thoughts are with all those that knew the victims. It's always sad to lose someone, but at this time of year it seems even worse. Just remember her as a good pilot who was doing a favour for a kid - and it went tragically wrong. Bet wishes Tony -- Tony Roberts PP-ASEL VFR OTT Night Cessna 172H C-GICE |
#5
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My condolences to the families involved. That's terrible news.
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#6
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That's a shame Terry. I can see you are pretty disturbed by it and
that's understandable. When these things happen there's seldom a quick answer, and nothing can really make things right for those like yourself who know the people involved. I know this perhaps better than anyone, as in my end of the aviation business, tragedy has been a lifetime companion. Let me give you some sage advice if you'll allow me to do so. Don't try and figure this out now. It seldom helps, and in almost every case what actually happened turns out to something other than it appears in the direct aftermath. Something obviously went terribly wrong. Wait for the investigation before assuming anything or trying to figure it out. Be a friend to those you know who have been affected by this by being there to support them. You might suggest that others at the field do the same. I completely understand how you feel about this. Trust me, I've been there many times. It hurts! Dudley "Terry" wrote in message link.net... A terrible tragedy happened yesterday here at my home airport and I can't get it off my mind as to "why" it happened. 3 people lost their life yesterday. The pilot was a very dear and wonderful person, 72 years young and a pilot of 24 years. "Jean" Bible was never IFR rated and only flew 30 minutes or so each flight in clear skies and daylight. She was a very careful pilot and always used good judgement. Yesterday she was to give a "first flight" to an 11 year old girl for a Christmas gift given by her Aunt. Visibility at the airport was less than 1 mile...you could not see the opposite end of the runway and yet...for some reason know only to God. She departed the runway and was airborne for about 1 minute before slamming into the ground about 100 yards off the runway center line killing all three people. From the hangar the "thug" was heard but you could not see the airplane lying upside down about 1/4 mile away. How does something like this happen? Was it the pressure of not wanting to deprive the young girl of her Christmas present? Not having to say come back another time? Perhaps thinking she could maintain visual contact with the ground and just to some touch and go's? Some way, some how, she "psyched" herself into doing something that ended in a horrible tragedy. This in a way is written for "Jean" the pilot and the two passengers that died needlessly so that perhaps all of us can learn something. Pilots must never give in to the pressures that be. We have our lives and the lives of others in our hands. We will always make safety our top priority, know ourselves, our limits. I don't have the answers but I needed to write this... Here's the link if interested..http://www.nbc4i.com/news/4035611/detail.html Terry PP-ASEL N6401F |
#7
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Terry wrote:
I don't have the answers but I needed to write this... It's ok not to have the answers Terry. Thanks for sharing what happened. I very much agree with Dudley's advice not to try and figure it out right now. It's not going to make sense anyway as these things seldom do. I hope you can be there to support friends, family, and the community of folks at the airport. Our prayers are with you and everyone touched by this tragedy. -- Jack Allison PP-ASEL, IA Student, airplane partnership student "When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return" - Leonardo Da Vinci (Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail) |
#8
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As others have already done; my deepest condolences to the families of the
lost loved ones. As for you; time will sort it all out for you. Dudley and some of the other posters put it best and I can't even attempt to match the sage advice Dudley and the others have given you already. You and your lost friends will be in my thoughts, tonight and on into the new year. Take care! -- -- =----- Good Flights! Cecil PP-ASEL-IA Student - CP-ASEL Check out my personal flying adventures from my first flight to the checkride AND the continuing adventures beyond! Complete with pictures and text at: www.bayareapilot.com "I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery - "We who fly, do so for the love of flying. We are alive in the air with this miracle that lies in our hands and beneath our feet" - Cecil Day Lewis - |
#9
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"Terry" wrote: A terrible tragedy happened yesterday here at my home airport and I can't get it off my mind as to "why" it happened. 3 people lost their life yesterday. The pilot was a very dear and wonderful person, 72 years young and a pilot of 24 years. This is awful. Your pain is obvious and you have my sympathies. Most of us who have been around aviation even a little while have a personal connection to one or more of these stories. It illustrates the paradox about personal flying: it's very safe until one mistake makes it very dangerous. "How could Joe DO something like that? He was such a careful, conscientious pilot!" We comfort ourselves that we would NEVER do such a thing. We're in control of our fates--heck, we're safer flying than we are driving to the airport! But we keep hearing about these other folks who apparently don't have as much sense as we do killing themselves and their passengers. I don't know the answer to preventing these terrible events, but I urge all pilots to resist the idea that they are immune to such things, that flying is somehow safer than driving because they have more control. This produces a false sense of security that actually contributes to the number of these tragedies we see each year, I believe. -- Dan C172RG at BFM |
#10
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Terry, chalk this one up to how quickly the conditions can change given
the weather in Central Ohio this past week. Cold, snow covered ground with warm moist air flowing over it. Remember that senario from you PPL test questions? (I was reminded of this while walking the dog last night. As the light breeze blew across a pile of snow, you could see the moisture condensing around it (fog forming) with backlighing from the nearby gas station.) It was a perfect setup. The temperature/dew points were close to the condensation point. It is amazing how quickly the two can converge. You can fly for hours and have a thousand and three, and in less than 60 seconds go to zero-zero. Jean probably did what we all have been doing this week, look out the window and see how far we can see, determining from the distance of known object in the vicinity of the airport that conditions were good enough. It isn't until you get off the runway that you can really understand how much worse than you thought they were. (Been there, done that, lived to tell about it.) Until you make that mistake, you cannot really understand how quickly things can happen. It is truely one of those "OH, ****!" moments. Depending upon one's expeience, the outcomes will be different. Rember the rule, "FLY THE AIRPLANE!" In Central Ohio, you don't have to go very far to find another place to land should conditions at your current location deteriorate. I had met Jean at various aviation functions in the area and will miss her, too. |
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