Fedex truck gets hit by small aircraft

HMMM... John Denver died while flying an experimental aircraft.

It might take the best, most creative, intelligent and dedicated minds Fedex can put together, it might take days, weeks or months- but you can bet that they WILL find a way to pin a preventable accident on that poor driver.

One way or another.

 

I can see the drivers DAC now... Involved in preventable plane crash.

Fog just doesn't magically appear. Plus from the air, you can see the fog bank. As any pilot you are briefed by flight service and/or have ATIS info. That includes temperature and dewpoint and if they had that info, they knew foggy conditions were possible.

Plainwell is a VFR airport and you fly by VFR flight rules. There's not even any navaid landings there. As soon as they seen the fog they were suppose to divert to another airport. Not push their luck. Their bad decision cost the man his life. I bet the other pilot gets written up by the FAA. It was clearly pilot error. If his plane had a greater stall speed, he should of been in front or went around with that scenario.

 

I find that hard to believe. I was a controller back in the 80's and worked more Piper's and Cessna's compared to experimentals 100:1. Then again home builts stay away from controlled airspace? We did have a few EZ's and Pitt Specials on the field.

 

Though I don't claim to be an aviation expert, I had an experience about 20 years ago that has altered the way I look at flying. I will gladly step on a commercial airliner and fly anywhere in this world, and I have. (Europe 9Hrs, Australia 12hrs, China 12hrs and all across the US). 20 years ago a friend of mine called and asked if I wanted to go for a ride in his plane. I said sure. After taking off and getting to cruising speed we developed engine problems, the most likely place to land? a golf course. With golfers running out of the way and all sorts of emergency help rushing towards us I got out of the plane and vowed that from that day forward I would never set foot in a small private plane again. I never felt so good to stand on the ground with both feet as I did that day. I told my friend to take up another hobby instead of the one he had.

 

The witnesses said the plaw was low, really low.

No really? I mean HE WAS LANDING!!!!! Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!!!!

Nothing in NTSB database yet.

Here is the ASN DB entry.

 

Here is the aircraft involved. It is a Thorp T-18 (1978 Beswick built)

Obviously it was written off

 

Sorry for the loss of your good friend William Beswick.

 

And I was a controller in the 70's and worked more bombers, fighters and tankers....the few civilian aircraft I worked were mostly Cessnas. OOOOPS! must have been the location I was at....a military installation. After that I was at a civilian field for the Guard...but mostly Cessnas...I think. Controllers call just about enything with the N (November) designation a Cessna over the radio...and it is usually just the Mooneys that complain (or so it seemed). In the 90's amd early 2000's we were part owners in 1 Piper, 2 Cessnas, and a full owner of an Ercoupe...but that is when I was around a LOT of uncontrolled airports and started to realize how many, many "experimentals" there were around. For the most part they are at UNcontrolled airports so a controller will likely rarely see one. And I might venture a guess that since many pilots prefer to fly VFR in uncontrolled airspace, a controller will go a LONG time without seeing an "experimental" aircraft, much less know what they are looking at.

I just HATE how the media sees the word "experimental" with a plane and HAS to throw that into the report when a plane crash occurs. More often than not it is due to Pilot Error...NOT aircraft failure. It makes me just as peeved when there is an accident with a truck and the media jumps all over it and implies it was the trucker's fault. I don't have to "preach to the choir" here about that side of the coin! In both cases the media seems to imply fault in areas where it isn't...just by the use of words in their coverage.

OK...'nuff said, I guess. As for me ever wanting to fly in an experimental....heck no! But under the right circumstances and with the right pilot I might consider it one day. I never thought I would own a Freightliner with my husband, either...but here we are...Never say never.

 

Chutes aren't just for crazy people that like to jump out of perfectly good aircraft.

http://brsparachutes.com/brs_aviation_home.aspx

 

@Rabbit, I bet that Thorp is like a little rocket. I bet it's fun to fly.

There's a housing development off Hwy 12 in WI that has all the houses built around the runway. You taxi to your house right down the road and pull in the attached garage/hanger at your house. Pretty neat development.

I worked a few military aircraft over the years. We cleared everything out of their way and let them do their circling approach. They would come in and do a touch and go and go on. I even worked AirForce1 a couple times.

I remember when I first started at Orlando Executive airport, I had the pleasure of working 2nd shift the first night shuttle launch. Planes took off all day long. After the launch was over it looked like a big swarm of bees on the radar coming back lol. It was a massive job, but I handled it and got them all in.