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 Previous Item - THE SEAREY STORE IS OPEN
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Never again: student pilo... |
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Kenneth Leonard - Jul 05,2008
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AOPA is asking for those 'never again' stories. I figured I'd submit this one. Feedback before I send it to AOPA would be appreciated.<br /><br />It was my final solo - the long cross country before my private pilot test. Weather was great, I was comfortable with the plane - a beat up old rental 152, and I had high confidence in my ability to get there and back safely even though I had never been to this airport before. Speaking to the briefer, he mentioned that the destination airport had aerobatic training but my instructor hadn't mentioned it so I didn't consider it anything to get excited about. The whole trip was over rural Western NJ and NY with lots of woods and lakes and beautiful countryside. Since I started in Cubs with no radio and was not very comfortable with talking on the radio, flying between non-towered airports was all about fun, not worrying about saying the wrong thing for the whole world to hear. <br /><br />Departure went smoothly and I got that dual thrill and pinch realizing it was all on me and I was going somewhere unknown and far away. This was before GPS so it was 'real navigation' (for a VFR pilot). I had a current chart and had given myself several easily identified waypoints along the way and had a few VORs along the way I could navigate with. <br /><br />In the air and reading the chart again on airport information; left pattern, blah blah, elevation xyz, airport freq 123.4, so I was monitoring the airport frequency from 10 miles out. Not hearing anything didn't surprise me as it's a rural airport so should have little activity. But I did double check the date on my charts and their frequency against the radio - all correct. I started calling my position and expected arrival direction 5 miles out and nothing to hear. Ah! There is the airport! Boy this navigation stuff really works! 2 miles and no chatter. This is going to be easy, go through the pre-landing checklists, 1 mile out, said I was crossing mid-field at (1000' above field elevation) for right hand pattern. Same non-reply. A little bit high so throttle to idle and carb heat on. <br /><br />As I was crossing mid-field and about to key the mike in my hand, a brightly painted, red and yellow checkered helmet appeared in front of my prop. It was inside a pitts of some variety but all I could see was the top of the helmet, moving vertically, not 1 degree off my heading. And it was climbing very slowly. Right about to the stall. He was a couple hundred feet in front of me and my first thought was that he might...should...would! climb above where I was about to be in 3 seconds! And then he would stall down into me. Somewhere about this time, the microphone apparently falls out of my hand...I was as frozen as a stone - did not even think to maneuver. Absolutely a passenger, not a pilot. <br />I gritted my teeth for impact and wondered how it would feel to die, and as I was just about to fly under him the radio came alive for the first time the whole flight: 'BREAK! BREAK! YOU'RE BEING UNDERFLOWN!!!!' The response from the Pitts was instant, I didn't just hear the plane go to full throttle, I felt the prop wash hard on my plane. The controls jumped in my hand as the little Cessna rocked from the vertical prop blast down on my wings and tail. This brought me out of my coma - I punched the throttle to the firewall - which of course made the idling engine cough and nearly stop. Yank the throttle back to recover the engine, still waiting for the crash. But the plane flew and I didn't feel anything hit me. Nor did I see or hear the other plane any more. So now what do I do?!? Looking around like a maniac, I don't see anyone flying anywhere. Well, I've got to land to get credit for the cross country!<br /><br />The adrenalin has nowhere to go so I made a very shaky turn to downwind, base and final and as I lined up on final, there are about 10 Pitts lined up on the side of the runway with a pilot next to each one. It was a gauntlet of aerobatic pilots all staring at me, the student pilot! Well, I didn't do anything wrong! But they are going to report me for sure if they don't kill me first. I touched down , feet shaking so hard they were jumping on the pedals like my very first landing (well, not just my first), still thinking I had to stop and face the music when the radio announced, 'Cessna, does your radio work and this is a left pattern airport.' Great! NOW it talks! LEFT pattern! Oh jeez, I did screw up and now my hands are shaking and my mouth is so dry that when I finally find the mike on the floor nothing will come out of my mouth but a croak. I literally cannot speak.<br /><br />Oh to heck with this! I'm on the runway so I legally made it to the airport, now it's time to depart to friendlier skies! Throttle to full, heat off and get the heck out of there! As I departed the area, my mouth felt like a desert, I had never been so thirsty in my life. I don't remember much of the flight home except I was sure there would be police cars waiting for me at the airport to arrest me and take my student license. I flew a Right pattern! But why didn't I hear them before? Why didn't they announce themselves? <br /><br />Arriving at my home airport, no police greeted me. None was outside, tied her down, went inside ready to have my head handed to me by the instructor but all he said was 'how did it go? You didn't have any trouble with that radio, did you? It's been kind of intermittent and we didn't hear you announce coming into the pattern.' -Ken Leonard
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Dan Nickens - Jul 05,2008
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Did you just go ahead and kill your instructor? It would be 'justifiable homicide' since he had just tried to kill you.<br /><br />A very well written, truly scary story, Ken.
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Don Maxwell - Jul 06,2008
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Jeez, Ken. You should name the instructor in your article.
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Kenneth Leonard - Jul 06,2008
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It wasn't my regular instructor - long story short, I didn't have a relationship with him before (or after!). I didn't even tell them about the incident because I wanted to get my license, not explain myself to the FAA, so I kept my mouth shut. Ended up taking the test at Charlie Picket's airport.<br />I haven't told you the story about the Russian instructor who spoke no English, didn't believe in preflights, got our butts chewed on by ATC for busting airspace against my objections and locked up a wheel trying to make an early runway exit with a known bad brake. That was my first and only flight with that school - American Flying Academy in Morristown. It was his first and last flight with them too.
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Frank A. Carr - Jul 07,2008
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So you survived, landed, and DIDN'T GET YOUR LOGBOOK SIGNED ?!#@?<br /><br />Well written, submit. Maybe add a 'Lesson Learned' at the end.
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Kenneth Leonard - Jul 07,2008
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Frank - none told me I had to have a logbook signature from the destination airport, just my final airport back home. That got signed off, then I went to Taunton for the exam with a 900' ceiling and the biggest crosswind I have ever flown in before or since. All part of the adventure.<br />Lesson Learned? If you don't hear anyone talking on the radio, find someone to talk to. Bring a hand-held and if they say aerobatics, be in communication with them or don't go there.
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Charles Pickett - Jul 07,2008
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Ken do you remember who the Examiner was? and what year it was? I have been based at KTAN fo over 20 years.
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Kenneth Leonard - Jul 07,2008
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Unfortunately, a few years ago my log book was stolen from my car along with my flight bag, headset, etc. so I have no record. He was a very old man, very calm and made the test both low pressure and very educational. If you suggest a name, I'll probably remember. I want to say it was Bob something.
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Charles Pickett - Jul 08,2008
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Most likely Dick Lake, or Lew Owens<br />What Year
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Kenneth Leonard - Jul 08,2008
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Yep - Dick Lake. Must have been about 1998.
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Charles Pickett - Jul 10,2008
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Dick is a Good friend and stills hangs at the airport although he is retired
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Dennis Scearce - Jul 07,2008
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I know what it's like to look stupid to the local guys for not announcing. The first time I flew into Danville, VA I had an old sectional and they had changed their frequency. Got all the way to the ramp without any incident. Then the ramp guy mentioned that my radio must be broken since no one heard me coming. When I asked him the frequency, I felt about 2 inches tall. Now I print lap boards from the AOPA site.
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Matt Tucciarone - Jul 09,2008
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I did something real stupid in 1993 in my C150 in California. My friend and I were going to a fly-In at an airport called Borego Springs. As I was getting close to the airport,I decided to overfly the field to get a look at the sock and what was going on down there.<br />I had never been to this airport. I announced my intentions and heard no one on the radio. While overflying the field, I flew right through an active aerobatic box. (I had no idea there was an airshow at this fly-in) I then heard someone on the radio. <br /><br />We landed and everyone knew I was the guy with the beat up C150 that just busted the box. Needless to say I felt unwelcome and left after about 20 minutes. <br /><br />It was a good lesson on getting info before going somewhere. I'm glad I didn't kill someone. <br />
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Kenneth Leonard - Sep 29,2008
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Look for the article in the January issue. (or thereabouts)
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Don Maxwell - Sep 29,2008
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Good for you , Ken! (And a good thing I paid my dues this year.)
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Mark Alan MacKinnon - Sep 29,2008
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You guys are not alone.<br /><br />While flying towards the Greenville seaplane fly-in, I was amazed at the number of pilots inbound to it who hadn't done a smidgeon of research. Right on the fly-in's web site, they clearly state the seaplane base freq. during the fly-in week is 123.3, instead of the normal 122.8 (same as the airport a couple miles away). I heard several pilots hollering to the seaplane base for advisories on - you guessed it - 122.8.<br /><br />One guy on 122.8 asked if anyone knew the seaplane base frequency. Another guy answered, 'I think it's 122.9'. I got on and corrected both of them.<br /><br />It is real easy to make a mistake at an unfamiliar field, but a little less excusable when there's a web site devoted to the event, full of info.
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