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[–][deleted] 157 points158 points ago

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Oh, I forgot. It wasn't our plane. :D

A friend had let Dad borrow it for the trip. We only had a Cessna 150 at the time (seats two). He was really happy, since he was trying to sell it for $104,000 and insurance paid $110,000. He gave us two Bose headsets for the good work (each costs like 2 grand I think). He told Dad he'll call if he's ever trying to "sell" a plane again. ;)

[–]nauree 124 points125 points ago

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everything went better than expected?

[–][deleted] 63 points64 points ago

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Exactly. :D

[–]ewest 17 points18 points ago

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After you exited the plane did you execute a nice Fuck Yea pose?

[–][deleted] 34 points35 points ago

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I actually was annoyed with the propeller, so I bent it back.

[–]trsdctvsb 13 points14 points ago

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Balls. You have them sir.

[–]chrisbooth12 7 points8 points ago

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a comic must be made for this

[–]admiralsfan 3 points4 points ago

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Somebody get on this!

[–]trsdctvsb 1 point2 points ago

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I second this!

[–]mojorockshard 3 points4 points ago

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31 minutes passed and still no comic. I'm dissapointed.

[–]ScreamingSkull 0 points1 point ago

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except for your mum...

[–]Proof_Nazi 9 points10 points ago

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I see the proof that the crash happened, but how do we know that you actually got Bose headsets?

[–][deleted] 62 points63 points ago

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I will not mail you a Bose headset.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

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What about me?

[–]CaptainDurpadurp 3 points4 points ago

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Swastika propeller... >see the proof... "Proof_Nazi"

I c what u did there

[–]psychocowtipper 0 points1 point ago

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Your name is surprisingly appropriate for that statement.

[–]atlantic 0 points1 point ago

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on reddit EVERYTHING eventually goes down that path.

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points ago

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Maybe that was his plan all along ... :/

[–]t0ny7 5 points6 points ago

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I got an idea for a job. I'm good at breaking things by accident! :)

[–]LeonidasRebooted 5 points6 points ago

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Were the Bose headsets a let down?

[–][deleted] 14 points15 points ago

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They weren't at all. They're the best I've used by far, and we still use them all the time.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

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They cost 2 grand??? My high school had hundreds of these. wtf.

[–]Usernamesrock 5 points6 points ago

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Just a guess, but maybe they were aviation headsets, not audio headphones.

[–]citizenreadit 1 point2 points ago

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Awesome, great way to end the post.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

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Which Bose headsets?

[–]therocketflyer 1 point2 points ago

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I'm sure it was Aviation Headset X.

[–]ben174 0 points1 point ago

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What model were the headsets? Link?

[–]gibson_ 0 points1 point ago

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I learned to fly in a 150. Loved that plane :), named her "thunderchicken", haha :).

[–]yellowlabsam 60 points61 points ago

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"I bet the main reason the police keep people away from a plane crash is they don't want anybody walking in and lying down in the crash stuff, then when somebody comes up act like they just woke up and go, 'What was THAT?!'"

-Jack Handey

[–][deleted] 18 points19 points ago

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Bahahaha

Yeah the plane got covered in firefighting foam, and a picture of it like that was front page, above the fold in our local paper the next day.

[–]crazyjaf 4 points5 points ago* 

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There was an accident a few years ago between a public bus and a tram in Dublin (Ireland). Apparently, there were quite a few people who managed to get onto the crashed vehicles, so I'd say it's a definite possibility!

EDIT: Link

[–]sickofmyjob 4 points5 points ago

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I remember that. The bus sat 52 people but there were something like 65 people claiming that they were on it.

[–]trompelemonde 7 points8 points ago

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Such classic knacker behaviour. I love it.

[–]iHelix150 40 points41 points ago

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A good landing is when everybody walks away.

A great landing is when everyone walks away and they can still use the airplane again.

You did good! :)

[–][deleted] 11 points12 points ago

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Well like I've said, I didn't do a whole lot of the controlling. Dad did do a good job, though. He wished he would have aborted, but it's just a split second judgment error.

[–]tofuking 14 points15 points ago

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sigh.. that's what she said.

[–]jared555 1 point2 points ago

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Do those rules apply for takeoffs as well?

[–]iHelix150 0 points1 point ago

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Not really. Takeoffs are easy- it depends on the type of airplane but in general you just start at the end of the runway, point yourself in the right direction, put down some flaps, release the brakes, throttle up and pull back once you're going fast enough.

Landings are much harder. You have to navigate to the correct area, follow an approach plate to line yourself up for the runway you've been assigned to land on, compensate for crosswind (which basically means fly into the wind pointed in the wrong direction so you move in the right direction), and take a glidepath down. You have to get your plane set up so you are at the right altitude, speed, and configuration (flaps etc) before you're over the runway, which takes some doing. Then as you glide over the runway the plane enters 'ground effect' and you pull up a bit (flare). You must make very sure your plane is pointed straight down the runway's centerline. If you have done your approach correctly, you are going at the right speed so your flare just bleeds off a bit more speed and makes the rear wheels touch down first instead of making you gain altitude again. Then you settle down onto the runway and once all wheels are on the ground you use reverse thrust and/or brakes (depending on the type of plane) to slow down. If you've done your landing correctly there will be enough runway in front of you to stop the airplane so you don't go off the end of the runway.

If done with skill, it's a gentle process. Otherwise you can land hard*, or if you aren't lined up well you can go right off the side of the runway. If you're going too fast your flare will just make you gain altitude and you have to abort and fly around again, or you won't have time to stop and you'll go off the end of the runway.

If you had no crosswind and a 10 mile long runway (and you don't care where on it you land), then landing is easy. Sadly that's never the case.

  • A hard landing isn't always a bad landing. For example, in wet weather for example a captain may choose to 'plant it' and land hard to get as much traction as possible.

[–]jared555 1 point2 points ago

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It was a joke (since he was taking off when this happened), but that is definitely interesting information.

[–][deleted] 16 points17 points ago* 

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I made this account yesterday just because I wanted a better name than the one I came up with late at night a few months ago. I realized just now how perfect it is for this story. In an emergency, if you have time, you're supposed to squawk 7700 so the ATC can start sending help. Squawking is changing your 4-digit number on the transponder that tells location and altitude, and it helps to keep track of who's who.

[–]MeinKampfire 14 points15 points ago

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Damnit, I wanted to post "I bet you didn't even have time to...squawk 7700", but instead I'll just have to leave this shitty comment.

[–][deleted] 10 points11 points ago

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YYYEEEAAAAHHHH!!!

Actually you DID post it, just with more words around it.

And I've never been able to do a simulated emergency landing where I would have felt comfortable taking time to squawk 7700. Although the highest emergency landing I've done is probably 5000' or so.

[–]danielvmn 43 points44 points ago

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Do you think this is a good prank?

PS: You don't have to understand portuguese to get the idea of what he is saying.

[–]HarryMonk 20 points21 points ago

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It's the grin on the guys face afterwards that cracks me up. For once I agree with a youtube comment.

"Patrick the cheeky motherfucker"

[–][deleted] 24 points25 points ago

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I knew what that was before I clicked on it. Yes, I think it's fantastic, and I pledged to do that next time I take up a friend.

[–]TheStick 1 point2 points ago

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It's only a good prank when you are young. You will grow over it.

[–][deleted] 8 points9 points ago

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Yeah, I can only think of a couple friends I'd want to do that with. Never on their first time up with me, people are usually too nervous to start with. There's no reason to ruin it.

[–]Artischoke 7 points8 points ago

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If someone did that to me I'd probably punch them in the face.

[–]zellyman 3 points4 points ago

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And if you knocked him out?

[–][deleted] ago

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[deleted]

[–]Artischoke 0 points1 point ago

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Good point, hopefully I'd think of that in time :) Besides, I probably lack the technique/power to accomplish this feat. I didn't fight since I was ~13 and never punched.

[–]dakk12 1 point2 points ago

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After landing I hope.

[–]wtmh 0 points1 point ago

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I pulled this prank on my ex-girlfriend.

Note the prefix "ex".

[–]NiceAsshole 0 points1 point ago

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i heard my local radio station talking about this video this morning. i think you introduced it to them in some way. kudos?

[–]ctyt 29 points30 points ago

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Was it legal for you to fly the plane as a 13 year old?

[–]ICanConfirmAnything 184 points185 points ago

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I am a thirteen year old and have been flying for 12 years, I can confirm that it is perfectly legal.

[–]foxnews 115 points116 points ago

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Good enough for me.

[–][deleted] ago

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[deleted]

[–]foxnews 52 points53 points ago

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Old Adam: Child molestor, or just plain annoying? You decide!

[–]AwesomePantalones 5 points6 points ago

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I'm liking this novelty account more and more!

[–]Stickwall 3 points4 points ago

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I would like you, but your pantalones are not quite awesome enough...

[–]AwesomePantalones 5 points6 points ago

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They're silver yellow with vertical black lines.

SLIM FIT TOO.

[–]Stickwall 4 points5 points ago

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Pics?

[–]Adonets 1 point2 points ago

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Tonight at six.

[–]AmazingSyco 6 points7 points ago

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This guy seems legit. What else can you confirm?

[–]ICanConfirmAnything 30 points31 points ago

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I can confirm that I am legit.

[–]Darthfuzzy 2 points3 points ago

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Based on his name, anything.

[–]Proof_Nazi 2 points3 points ago

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We need to have a talk.

[–]absolut696 7 points8 points ago

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redditor for 4 hours

This AMA submitted 1 hour ago by squawk7700

....interesting

[–]ICanConfirmAnything 47 points48 points ago

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I have been a redditor for 5 hours and can confirm that it is interesting.

[–]absolut696 2 points3 points ago

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I heard that redditor "ICanConfirmAnything" is also a closet homosexual, with a rampant case of genital warts. I wonder if it's true...

[–]ICanConfirmAnything 29 points30 points ago

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I am a closet, and can confirm that there are homosexuals inside me.

[–]ambiguouslygaycomeon 8 points9 points ago

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Are you a roomy closet? Would you mind if I came into you?

[–]thearchduke 0 points1 point ago

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AND THE GENITAL WARTS?!?!?! HA! YOU ARE SO BURNED!

[–]BaboTron 2 points3 points ago

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He's got genital warts, not the clap.

[–]paulderev 0 points1 point ago

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[–]canad93 1 point2 points ago

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The math checks out. This guy's good.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

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hmmm, i just dont see how thats possible

[–][deleted] 27 points28 points ago

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It's legal for anyone to fly a plane with a licensed pilot at the controls.

[–][deleted] 13 points14 points ago

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That's what I found surprising when I took one of those eval flights a few years ago. We do the walk-around and the pilot who's taking me up puts me in the left-hand seat. This I did not expect.

Other than a slightly aggressive rotation (I probably didn't need to pull back at all) the flight was fun and smooth and I was flying the plane 98% of the time. Landings have to be done by the pilot.

25 years of MS Flight Simulator experience did help.

[–][deleted] 8 points9 points ago

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Haha, yeah they pretty much fly themselves off the runway, at least smaller planes. My dad used to just tell me to pull back with the strength of one finger and just keep it centered.

I'm glad you had a fun time. It's really a great experience, and the basics are much easier than most think.

[–]rckid13 4 points5 points ago

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I always have my friends sit in the left seat when we fly. I'm a flight instructor and have more time logged from the right seat than the left seat. My landings from the left seat aren't very good anymore, so I prefer to sit on the right. My passengers usually prefer me landing from the right too.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points ago

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I flew with my brother (also a pilot) one day in the right seat and made my first landing in months. It was absolutely beautiful, and I felt so happy that I still had "the touch" (or whatever means that but doesn't sound corny).

[–]zakool21 2 points3 points ago

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It's an amazing feeling. If you're a natural flier it seems like that touch is the last thing to go away. It's all of the technical details and memorization of laws and procedure that seems to fade away first. I haven't flown in over a year, but I could bet good money that if you put me in the left seat of a 172 or the left (or right) seat of a 206 I could grease my first landing.

[–]trsdctvsb 6 points7 points ago

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Really? Jeez, FAA rules ARE different from the JAA ones. Here you have to have all sorts of permits just to touch the controls.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points ago

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What is JAA?

[–]zerofive1 3 points4 points ago

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The European version of the FAA, basically.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points ago

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Ah, I see. Well I do know that GA is much more prevalent in the States, so that may be part of the reason. There are many remote areas where solo-rated teenagers just hop in the plane and go visit their friends a few miles away. There's much more space.

[–]trsdctvsb 8 points9 points ago* 

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A lot of us European pilots are aware of this. Alaska is seen as a sort of pilot heaven on earth. Over here you can start taking lessons at any age, but you can't solo before the age of 17. Congratulations on living on the right side of the pond =)

[–]hughk 0 points1 point ago

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Not quite. Each country has its own aviation authority still and the JAA is more a coordination organisation for standards and procedures. The function is slowly moving to a newer organisation, EASA which has a larger remit such as aircraft/component certification and research. It will also license mechanics (but not, so it seems, pilots).

[–]cayla 1 point2 points ago

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I think it is the European version of the FAA.

[–]hughk 0 points1 point ago

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Uh, when was this? As long as you are with a fully certified pilot, there used to be nothing to stop you. Certification tends to be tougher in Europe (less open space and more bad weather) but you could still take the controls "right-seat" without problems - even pretty close to an extremely busy airport.

[–]NeverxSummer 3 points4 points ago

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It used to be able to get a full boater's license at 12 (they changed it to 16), you could get it beforehand, but you couldn't drive anything 10hp or over without an operator who was over 12 or something. You could get a license before then, but you couldn't drive much of anything unless it was a sailing vessel without an engine. I got mine at 11. =D I'd assume planes have similar restrictions...

[–]t0ny7 1 point2 points ago

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Yes it is legal. But there has to be a licensed pilot and he/she is responsible for everything you do.

[–]TheStick 13 points14 points ago

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I must say, your responses to people who are judgemental are very kind. Nice work.

Do you, looking back at it all and with your experience since, find that in general a kid aged 13 should be allowed to fly a (small) airplane with full family onboard. This in sharp contrast to a drivers license that in most areas of the world can be obtained somewhere between 16 and 18 yrs, certainly not at age 13, not even when there's a licenced person in the car.

Just wondering, not judging.

[–][deleted] 12 points13 points ago

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Thank you, that's encouraging. I didn't expect this post to piss anyone off.

The main difference would be that a car has only one steering wheel, whereas in a plane, the pilot-in-command can take over any time very easily. I'm not sure that I'd do that with a whole family on board, but in our wreck, I don't think it was a contributing factor; I wasn't in control long enough to do damage, and I didn't do anything other than fight the problem to the full stop.

In the air, it's really no big deal at all. 5000' above the ground, you have plenty of time to recover unless the kid somehow puts you in a flat spin before you notice (your fault!). Near the ground is different, but at that age, it wasn't a hands-off, you-have-full-control type of training. I don't think those early experiences were unsafe or irresponsible, but I can see how some would think so. Obviously the FAA, which is very strict about most things, thinks it's alright, so it seems it's up to a personal call for the pilot.

[–]trsdctvsb 2 points3 points ago

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I also want to give you two thumbs up for responding in such a civic way. I have the greatest respect for your dad and you. - European pilot.

[–]AziMandia 9 points10 points ago

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What enforcement actions did the FAA take against your father? Did you go on to get your PPL? (260 hour SEL here)

[–][deleted] 13 points14 points ago

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Nothing seemed to happen, really. No suspension or anything like that.. I think the fact that there actually was a problem with the plane might play a part in that. He went on to get his CFI later, and he taught me and my brother to fly.

I do have my PPL. I have maybe 60 hours logged, but I couldn't tell you the last time I logged a flight (bad habit). Plus, I flew and even landed a whole lot before I started prepping for the check ride.

[–]captainkrypto 2 points3 points ago

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Why would you not log every hour? Especially with such low hours, every minute counts. Considering you you don't have to rent the plane, you are still paying ~$35/hr for fuel. Make it part of your checklist.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

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Let's see the link to the NTSB crash record.

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points ago

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I've never even looked at it, and I wouldn't feel comfortable with that, since it probably has Dad's name or at least the location, which would make it very easy to find us.

[–]DonSlice 7 points8 points ago

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I think I found it. There's no name mentioned, but it does contain the city (obviously).

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points ago

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Could you PM the link? I'll add it in an edit if it's correct.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago* 

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I found it too, it's not hard with all the details posted here.

[–][deleted] 8 points9 points ago

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Wow, congratulations on being alive. Did you experience an "oh my god I'm going to die" moment?

[–][deleted] 17 points18 points ago

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Not really. I wasn't too worried, since I trust my Dad. Haha, his first thought after the crash was "Darn, how are we going to get there now??"

He told me later that he would have reacted properly if he thought to abort. If you're ever not in control of a small plane, and you're in a situation like this, it may be a good idea to yell "Abort, abort, abort!" ...It's just not something that comes to mind. You just want to get in the air to think about what's wrong.

[–]irregardless 10 points11 points ago

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There was an AMA from a civil pilot/plane owner here a couple months ago. He was saying that while taking lessons, learning to fly (ie controlling the aircraft) isn't especially hard. That part of the training wasn't even very time consuming. What he and his instructor spent a lot of time doing though was mental training on how to behave in unusual circumstances. Decision-making and dealing with trouble is where they spent the majority of the training.

[–][deleted] 11 points12 points ago

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This is very true. Flying the plane is like learning the controls to a game you just bought. It just takes a bit, and you're golden. Then you have to memorize procedures over and over until you go into them immediately when your instructor randomly pulls your power out. You're constantly asked questions. "Where would you land right now if you had to?" etc.

[–]rckid13 4 points5 points ago

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Just about 100% of my multi-engine training was in how to deal with emergencies with the different aerodynamics of the plane. We always used to joke that I was paying for two engines when we spent 95% of the time flying around on one. We pretty much only used two engines for the takeoff.

[–]Chairboy 3 points4 points ago

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That was me!

[–]irregardless 1 point2 points ago

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Hi! How's the flying going? Still good I hope.

[–]Chairboy 3 points4 points ago

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It's going well! I haven't been able to fly much lately because of being broke, but I did manage to go to a fly-in where I camped out next to my plane for a few days (Arlington, WA).

I actually had quite an adventure there that I made a quick video about on my phone:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-zE_23VvcY

Not sure if it would interest most Redditors, but some pilots might find it entertaining/scary. :)

[–]masterminder 9 points10 points ago

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Especially with a pregnant wife on board :)

[–]Harry_Seaward 2 points3 points ago

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You just want to get in the air to think about what's wrong.

Can you explain why you wouldn't just throttle down and come to a stop?

[–]anyletter 7 points8 points ago

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As a plane's speed decreases it becomes less a plane and more a brick.

[–]Harry_Seaward 1 point2 points ago

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Right, but I read the original story to mean that they noticed the plane wasn't right before takeoff. Then he said he wanted to get into the air. It just seems so counterintuitive to me.

[–][deleted] ago

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[deleted]

[–]Harry_Seaward 0 points1 point ago

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I can barely fly a kite...

Is the veering left a result of the direction of the rotor? What if there's a rotor on each wing? Is it twice as bad?

[–]murphwhitt 1 point2 points ago

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Planes veer slightly because of the rotor. If its a twin engined plane the each rotor will be rotating in different directions to counteract the rotational force of each other.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

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It was during the takeoff roll that we discovered it.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points ago

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It just boils down to reaction time. Getting in the air wasn't smartest then, but that's what he told me later that he was thinking. He was so concentrated on flying the plane, checking instruments, that aborting didn't cross his mind. He regretted it, but is thankful that at least everything worked out fine.

[–]Chairboy 11 points12 points ago

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Every time I take off, I have my right hand on the throttle and mutter 'abort, abort, abort' quietly to myself, looking for an excuse to abort. I've only actually done the abort a couple times (usually because of noticing an unlatched door on my Cherokee) but I decided to start doing this to avoid the exact situation you guys ended up in. My instructor pounded the idea into my head that "fixing a problem in the air" is almost never a good idea for a problem that becomes evident during takeoff.

PS: My wife has suggested that I not do this at full volume anymore to avoid spooking my passenger. Noted.

[–][deleted] 10 points11 points ago

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That's a great habit, and it's something I should adopt.

Haha, I'm sure that's something passengers would rather not hear.

[–]rckid13 5 points6 points ago

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I make all of my students keep their hand on the throttle on takeoff at least until the point where there is no usable runway left to land on. That's something I was always forced to do, and still do it out of habit on all of my takeoffs. My hand on the throttle forces me to remember that I always have the possibility of pulling it back and aborting.

[–]Redebo 3 points4 points ago

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My instructor had me keep my hand on the throttle until we were at cruise altitude. Served to make sure it didn't back out at an inopportune time and teaches you how to fly with one hand, a necessary skill cuz there's always a ton of stuff to do with your other hand on a cross country trip. Fapping notwithstanding...

[–]ripripripriprip 0 points1 point ago

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What would happen when you say 'abort'?

[–]coconutcream 4 points5 points ago

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his first thought after the crash was "Darn, how are we going to get there now??"

Not "Oh god, my my wife is bleeding from her crotch and our unborn child is possibly dead!!" ?

[–][deleted] 6 points7 points ago

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He couldn't see her, since she was directly behind. He only told us that much much later when it was funny. He remembered it, because right after he thought how it was such a strange thing to think.

[–]coconutcream 1 point2 points ago

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Fair enough. I often remember events being hilarious that at the time even though they were extremely scary or dramatic.

[–]Chairboy 6 points7 points ago

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I'm guessing you've never been in a car or equivalent crash before. The brain does weird things, so put that fucking judgmental finger away.

[–]dragonladywithcats 3 points4 points ago

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I definitely second this statement. When I was in my car accident, the first thing I thought was, "Why is my fucking radio still on?!"

Edit to clarify that pretty much everything else in the front end of my car was crushed like a soda can. My knees were touching the dash.

[–]lpmiller 1 point2 points ago

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My first thought after my car accident was, "where the hell are my glasses?" Found them on the hood of the car.

[–]serius 1 point2 points ago

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I thought the same thing after a car crash, the mind does funny things when stressed.

[–]valkyrio 33 points34 points ago

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This is more like

"I crashed a plane" than "I survived a plane crash."

[–][deleted] 18 points19 points ago

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Well I didn't crash it. I had control for all of thirty seconds, then Dad took over.

Although I see what you mean. It sounds like I was on an airliner.

[–]stereomind 4 points5 points ago

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Both of the main ingredients of a plane crash were present. There was a plane, and there was definitely some crashing going on....

[–]iflyr0ckets 4 points5 points ago

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As an engineer for GA I'm glad you made it out (It makes our accident reports easier to hear in meetings). Do you know the reason the left break locked up? In your walk around did you happen to notice whether the break engaged? I know this seems silly to ask but my curiosity begs how the break locked up.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points ago

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We didn't see it in the pre-flight, and we assume it happened during the run-up at the end of the runway, since you hold the brakes very tightly there. The reasoning is that we probably would have noticed during the taxi and backtaxi if it was malfunctioning.

[–]fadec 2 points3 points ago

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Heat may have caused the rotor to expand, locking the brakes tighter. I once did several takeoffs with the parking brake almost released in a Warrior. It was unnoticeable at first but the increasing takeoff distance prompted me to have a look at things.

[–]PhilxBefore 3 points4 points ago

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As an engineer for GA; your spelling scares me.

[–]nomerde 8 points9 points ago

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Upvoted for being truthful and providing evidence. So many interesting IAmA's are obviously fake, it is refreshing to read a real one.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

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We still have no proof about the bose headsets

[–]halberdier25 2 points3 points ago

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...failure to abort in a timely manner.

This is what was going through my head the first few paragraphs.

If you were doing the takeoff, how did this affect your training?

I watched a Dornier 328JET go into the mud. Well, actually, it went through mud, road, train tracks, and into an unpaved area of an industrial park. It was about 7:30a or so and I was on downwind for 34R. If I remember correctly, the NTSB found that they were going like 150 true but only half that was indicated because of a pressure leak (maybe?). I hadn't soloed yet. My instructor and I practiced aborted takeoffs at random for the rest of my time with him. He'd just call out "oil pressure dropping" when we were at uncontrolled airfields (so as not to piss off the sometimes-angsty tower controllers at home).

[–][deleted] 6 points7 points ago

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I never thought about this. In all my flying, I don't think I've actually ever aborted a take-off. You really would think Dad would have emphasized it, but I guess not. He's a pretty laid-back guy.

I'm making a mental note to abort a take-off next time I fly.

[–]Onlinealias 2 points3 points ago

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Whoa, really? My trainer taught me as one of the first things. Pull throttle and smash brakes. I think she made me do it once, even...

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

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Yeah, I've probably done it before, but it sure hasn't been recently.

[–]halberdier25 1 point2 points ago

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I suppose this is obvious, but go through it with a CFI familiar with whatever aircraft you fly.

[–]Bibbityboo 2 points3 points ago

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Glad you all made it out ok. I think even if you weren't THAT high up, you were still high up and a crash of any sort is pretty scary.

Did your family have any repercussions as a result? (Thinking more emotionally than say legally).

My father was essentially an air traffic controller, but there was a crash while he was on duty -- two pleasure crafts collided in mid air. He was found not at fault (one of the planes didn't radio in their location, and did a fly-over (the views were beautiful in this area). Not knowing they were there, my father sent the other plane there.... Even though he wasn't at fault its had a pretty big impact on our family (and this was years ago).

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points ago

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We sat around for a couple days being pretty quiet. Then a used car dealer at our church, a very nice old man gave us a Suburban off his lot for a week and told us to go to Minnesota, no charge. That was nice. :)

Mom hasn't ever been flying since then. :/

[–]Bibbityboo 0 points1 point ago

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I'd probably be like your mom, I admit! Its pretty scary.

Cool about the car though!

[–]rckid13 4 points5 points ago

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I think even if you weren't THAT high up, you were still high up and a crash of any sort is pretty scary.

The higher up you are, the less likely a crash will be fatal. 95-99% of accidents happen on either takeoff, approach or landing. Hardly any crashes occur at 35,000 feet in straight and level cruise flight. When an emergency does occur at that altitude, pilots have a lot of time to troubleshoot and come up with a solution. When a problem happens a few feet off the ground like in the OPs case, there is almost no time to react.

[–]zakool21 3 points4 points ago

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Your dad survived an NTSB interrogation well, as he was able to successfully omit that you had been in control of the airplane at the beginning (the report usually states who was flying). I have no objection to the fact that you were in control, but I know someone who also crashed a 210 and they interrogated him to within an inch of his life. Never had to report to the NTSB myself, as I haven't gotten into a wreck.

The Bose headsets are $1k each btw. Best in the market.

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points ago

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It turns out in the report it does state he was in the right seat. I was wrong earlier when I said I didn't think he told them.

[–]zakool21 2 points3 points ago

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I don't think that matters so much as it does who was acting PIC at the time.

[–]FlyingHigh 0 points1 point ago

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Even if op was at the controls, his father still remains PIC for the whole duration of the flight. You mean PF (pilot flying).

[–]MeinKampfire 1 point2 points ago

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Do you think you guys could've made it by taking a level flight attitude just after takeoff and using the ground effect? You said you were just 5 knots under rotate speed, that sounds like it should be sufficient.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

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Perhaps we could have, but we weren't lifting all that far off the ground. I'm not sure of our airspeed really, since I was looking outside. That was a guess based on how the airplane was up, down, etc...

[–]Onlinealias 2 points3 points ago

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Heh, I used to fly a 210 in high school. I would get it in a farm area, about 50 feet off the ground with a huge tailwind. DME would measure at 250 MPH ground speed. I used to bulls-eye womp rats...

[–]Onlinealias 1 point2 points ago

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Damn, downvote for that? I thought I was good to go with the Star Wars reference.

Reddit, how does it work?

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

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Haha, that's the only fun way to fly the 150. I've never gotten down to 50 feet. I guess the closest would be perhaps 150, maybe 120 or so. I've had too many stern talks to ever see the power lines eye-to-eye.

[–]glassuser 1 point2 points ago

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Man I thought this was going to be a dune parody until I read the whole title.

[–][deleted] ago

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[deleted]

[–]t0ny7 2 points3 points ago

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I've been in smaller. http://www.flickr.com/photos/t0ny/4841843518/

Flying in small planes is NOTHING like a airliner. For one most of the time you are flying its for fun and not travel.

Stuff like this don't even scare me anymore.

Also flying is a LOT safer than driving to the airport.

[–]RepairmanSki 0 points1 point ago

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That second link was pretty incredible. Like being in the seat of an old school barnstormer.

I've been sitting on "First Flight" gift certificate for almost two years now. I'm afraid to use because I think I will enjoy it too much.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

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I've heard our Cessna 150 described by a friend as "sitting in a chair then wrapping yourself in tin foil". It's pretty loud. I love it, though, and I've always been bored with commercial travel. It's like a roller coaster you choose. Especially when you do rolls and loops and such (NOT in a Cessna :D )

[–]toomuch 0 points1 point ago

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My friends and I used to call 152s beer cans with wings. I loved the time spent in them but wouldn't intentionally fly one again.

[–]Metalgrowler 1 point2 points ago

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I survived a car crash with millions of unborn children.

[–]giveitago 2 points3 points ago

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Good thing your mother was praying otherwise she would have been completely useless in that situation.

[–]Thinktank58 0 points1 point ago

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Did the experience change your flying habits, for better or worse?

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

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Definitely for the better. It's a good thing to realize how easy it is to get in a problem like that and how quick decisions need to be made. We only had probably 90 seconds or less from releasing the brakes to being upside-down.

[–]zakool21 0 points1 point ago

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90 seconds sounds like a long time. It was probably around 20 seconds.

[–]rosswlewis 0 points1 point ago

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was it worth it?

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

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I suppose. Everything worked out fine in the end, and I'm responsible with constantly looking for landing spots and such while flying, so I think it made it real to me how easy it is to be in a bad situation quickly.

[–]TheGhostRedditor 0 points1 point ago

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The NTSB report found it was pilot error for failure to abort in a timely manner. The left brake was locked up, which explains why we couldn't get our speed up.

I'm not sure i understand that... You said their it was pilot error, but in one of the comments, you said that nothing really happened because it was a problem with the plane. If it's a problem with the plane, it's not pilot error (or so i would think).

Can you clarify?

[–]euneirophrenia 8 points9 points ago

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The plane had a problem, but the pilot should have noticed the problem and aborted. Since the pilot did not do so, it's pilot error. For an absurd example, if a pilot tries to take off with a plane that's missing a wing, the crash is pilot error and not the fault of the plane.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points ago

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Ah, yes. Well if you look through files, almost all general aviation accidents are pilot error. Very rarely does something go wrong that wasn't the pilot's fault along the way. Even if your engine goes out, they'll find out you didn't have enough oil or something, which is your fault. So even though there was a mechanical problem, it was his fault that we crashed, since he should have tried to abort. And if he had tried to abort as soon as possible, but we still crashed, they would have likely said it was a pre-flight error or something. Although that doesn't really make sense, since the brake wasn't locked when we taxied.

The point is: Flying is safe because we're rigorous about checking before flights and regular maintenance. Except for bird strikes or other freak incidents, almost everything can (and will) be traced back to the pilot. It's nobody else's responsibility to maintain your aircraft.

[–]Onlinealias 1 point2 points ago

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Agree, almost everything about flying a plane has been proceduralized to be fail safe. In almost all circumstances, there is a workaround for any problem while in flight. Massive unrecoverable fails mid flight are almost statistically impossible. Therefore, a crash almost can't happen without a screw up.

[–]shnuffy 1 point2 points ago

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I believe the mechanical error should have resulted in a pilot abort (which it didn't), a human error. That's how I took it.

[–]o_patrick 1 point2 points ago

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If they had aborted, they would not have had issues from the defect. It seems that the pilot error was not aborting when things first started to go wrong.

[–]postlogic 0 points1 point ago

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Did you get any repercussions for this? Did anyone try to blame you?

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

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No, they didn't. I did my best, and I did what I should have. I was too far left, so I kept pushing right on the rudder. After that, it was out of my hands.

[–]ivanover 0 points1 point ago

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So basically you had a wheel braking to one side and applying full rudder, which causes aerodinamic drag, to the other side? It's a miracle you all took off, glad you survived. BTW I'm no pilot, I'd just love to fly something different than my RC models :(

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points ago

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Well it was more bouncing a bit into the air then falling back down..

[–]atlantic 0 points1 point ago

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Do you think you could have made it airborne by flying flat and trying to get to speed using ground effect?

[–]Chipware 0 points1 point ago

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Strange that you didn't notice the brake problem during taxi.

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points ago

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That's the thing - there wasn't a problem during taxi. My guess is they got stuck turning around to the left to line up with the runway, since that's the direction of the turnaround for 15.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

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this doesn't make any sense. Why wouldn't your father simply step on the right rudder?

Also, why to hell would he even TRY to take off with not enough speed? Also, at that speed, the rudder - not just the wheel - is quite effective for stabilizer.

Also, you were just looking out, not checking your speed?

[–]911ismyworknumber 0 points1 point ago

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I am also a plane crash survivor. In fact, to date I have survived every crash that has occured since the day of my birth. Beat that bitches.

[–]skt2k4 0 points1 point ago

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How's the schoolwork?

[–]toastyghost 0 points1 point ago

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hide them. we have a rapist.

[–]pwncore 0 points1 point ago

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Did you have your tray table up, and you seat back in the full upright position?

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point ago

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are you unbreakable?

[–]MostImportantQ 0 points1 point ago

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Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle?

[–]captain_arminass 0 points1 point ago* 

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You should have put in 10 degress of flaps and immediately pushed the nose forward into ground effect when you were even just a couple of feet off the ground. At least, that would have worked in a cessna 172 and a 182.

Then again, at this point you'd have been taking off with compromised landing gear. But, with good use of flaps, you may have been able to land at an extremely low airspeed, less than your take off airspeed. Landing on the right edge of the runway may have given you the length needed to stabilize the plane when you touched down.

Edit: More rambling

[–]Steve_McCroskey 0 points1 point ago

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What were you guys stopping in Tulsa for? Would that be en route for you guys to Minnesota? I'm only familiar with the New York and Washington sectionals.

[–]dude1million 0 points1 point ago

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Hey- I looked up and found the ntsb report on the girl you said wrecked. There was another entry about an engine out landing from Columbus, TX. Was that your dad?

The ntsb report was inconclusive of the engine failure, can your dad elaborate on what happened and why? What injuries did she sustain, it didn't say......

I'm a private pilot. I can chime in and say I definitely would have aborted if I got too close off of centerline.. In regards to the girl with the engine out into the trees, I wouldn't have flown a plane with leaking oil, especially if a CFI was hollering at me over the unicom....