Near Death Experience (Mid-Air) This Morning

[PMcClure]

Been thinking about the big sky theory. Anyone see the video of Randy Johnson hit the bird unintentionally with a fast ball? Unexpected things can happen!

 

I see all the tools I can - looking, TCAS, Radar Services, IFR, flying standard patterns and altitudes, looking, asking others to look. I am still amazed at how many times the TCAS and ATC catches potential conflicts before I could. 

 

I also think there are certain places that are a lot more dangerous than others. Flying cross country direct at a VFR altitude is one risk. Flying to a VOR that is used as a IF or flying in the pattern is another. We can only do what we can do. Flying has risks. 

 

Anyone go boating on a holiday weekend? Talk about crazy!

[MyNameIsNobody]

Glad to be out of the boat business. I would be so tired after pulling my son around the lake wondering what pontoon, jet ski or downed skier was going to be missed. Swivel left, swivel right...

[Hank]

Been thinking about the big sky theory.

 

I also think there are certain places that are a lot more dangerous than others. Flying cross country direct at a VFR altitude is one risk. Flying to a VOR that is used as a IF or flying in the pattern is another. We can only do what we can do. Flying has risks. 

 

Sounds like where I'm based now, 06A. The VOR is just outside the pattern, maybe 1nm east, pretty much midfield. There are lots of students (many with thick foreign accents) who fly practice approaches during the day and make night VFR approaches. Always fun! Then there are the skydivers on weekends . . . Life is too short to be bored.

Actually, the jumpers don't bother me, I learned at a much smaller field with a very active jumping group.

[whiskytango]

I had a similar experience. Flying an ILS into KGVQ (formerly known as 3G8), in the soup, break out at about 900 feet, get an immediate climb and turn. Just as I am entering the soup I catch a twin scud running. No doubt we would have tested the "big sky" theory.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

My close experience occurred during IFR training while receiving radar traffic advisories under VFR conditions.  I had had finished a non-precision approach under the hood and my CFI said I could take off the hood when a Cessna Skymaster came blasting through the traffic pattern right in front of us at pattern altitude. He was not talking to anyone and was probably too low for radar ID as a primary target.  My CFI never saw him and I sure didn't.  It was dumb luck that we didn't hit each other.  Some days the "big sky" is just barely big enough.

[mpg]

Cruising so. over lake washington heading for a stop at renton 

I was passed by a climbing twin,  maybe 50 ft off my left wing!

I could see the pilots face,,  staring at his panel!

 

It seemed more like getting passed on the freeway rather than a near midair!

It was unreal,,   I am sure that had he seem me up ahead he would have made more space.

 

But even the caravan pilots dont fly That Close!

And they Are watching!

[bradp]

I did a high performance checkout in a G1000 C182 with TIS and was receiving flight following under the Boston class bravo. Very surprised to see a sailplane floating along about 100 feet opposite direction converging course. No transponder in that aircraft. I've also become wary of unmarked weather balloons. Or that skydive op that called a drop to approach but didn't bother broadcasting on the CTAF. During their climb I had entered the airspace and heard nothing more. I remember little dots popping out from a broken layer in MVFR conditions while Iwas on a downwind. Got the F out of Dodge on that one. Or that other twin at Oceanside MD that was broadcasting on the wrong CTAF frequency and passed me in the pattern from behind and below. Goes to show that assuming some idiot is trying to skewer you at every moment is probably the correct thinking and every tool, most importantly the eyes and ears, should be used to keep us out of trouble.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Shadrach]

Ocean side??? Do you mean Ocean Shi.... I mean Ocean City?  They now have the CTAF painted on the parallel taxiway in big yellow letters.  Things always get interesting when there's a freq change.  When KFDK got a tower, the FAA screwed up the new Tower Freq on the a number of sectionals that went out.  I remember orbiting outside the delta thinking I was having a transmission issue with both coms.  Called another airport for radio check and got the correct freq. 

[cliffy]

Seems it might be safer at 500-1,000 AGL :-) At least birds just splatter (small ones anyway).

 

Had a friend leaving KBUR in his Bonanza feel something hit his left wing only to look left and see a C 180 passing him going downhill and see the tire mark on the top of his wing where the right main had bounced on it!

 

How much looking outside is done in airplanes with 3 to 5 GPS screens hanging all over the cockpit and all working at the same time? 

[bradp]

Oh yes I did mean Ocean City.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Shadrach]

Seems it might be safer at 500-1,000 AGL :-) At least birds just splatter (small ones anyway).

Had a friend leaving KBUR in his Bonanza feel something hit his left wing only to look left and see a C 180 passing him going downhill and see the tire mark on the top of his wing where the right main had bounced on it!

How much looking outside is done in airplanes with 3 to 5 GPS screens hanging all over the cockpit and all working at the same time?

I was at 1000 when the aforementioned C172 passed just to my left.

[Rik]

These stories are abound with everyone's flying experience and I often wonder, being a student pilot, just what the fuck some of these people are thinking?

 

Last wee I was at 069, Petaluma, right traffic for 29. I was in the down wind, mid field at pattern altitude. I can hear on the radio a guy call 2 mile 45 extended down wind #1 for 29.... Hmmmm.. Where the hell is this guy?

 

Look and look and I'm getting closer and closer to the #'s... I radio, "Where are you?" He says off to your left, just then he shoots across and just under me (pattern is 1,100') and faster than me so he assured himself of getting ahead. He was GREEN! and the tree's hid him almost as much as when he turned base and final over the golf course! 

 

From the looks of things, he called #1 on the back side of the hill on the Somoma side and was no where near to the pattern just wanted to burn right in ahead of everyone by diving under pattern altitude (About 900') and going faster to get himself ahead.

 

The only scary part was that he was not on the traffic screen as he as an RV4/8? So most likely doesn't have ADS-B so he was invisible both to the screen and to the eye with the color choice of the plane. 

[Rik]

This makes me think of another question... 

 

Being spoiled with the Garmin panel, what is the ADS-B traffic like on Foreflight? Anyone use this for traffic?

 

I just have to finish my ppl requirements by doing the night flight and want to do it at another school that uses a Cherokee 140 (Really only want to do this because I can fly to Vegas from LA and it seems like more fun than flying around SF at night) that's built in the 60's and was wondering if I should get a stratus and go for it??

[MyNameIsNobody]

Twin, while sunning on lake with family comes in low making right traffic and does a 40+ bank on what would be final from base...sigh...

He is a twin pilot, so he has got to be good, right....?....sigh

It is left traffic at airport...

Wanted my handheld to let him know how awesome I thought he was...

[ryoder]

Those of us who fly Direct will be crossing the airways at random times, in random places and heading in all 360 possible degrees of direction. I would. It expect flying airways to reduce traffic crossing your route.

But it does sound like you have good eyes-outside traffic skills! That will definitely help.

I won't have aerobatics on the airway or run into a practice area though. I have found the craziest area is in the pattern and over the beach at times of heavy practice area usage.

[Releew]

Not saying its the end all solution for TA, but since the ADSB solution was installed in conjunction with the 530W it has opened up a new window of flying for me.  I have the Garmin ADSB in conjunction with an older Ryan TCAD, and one or the other is going to find the traffic if there is a transponder on in the other bird.  Flying MVFR and going into uncontrolled crowded airports has proved to me several times it was well worth the 6.8K.  Believe me, I was VERY skeptical to make this investment.  For a change... I finally feel like it was money well spent.....especially when I see that white diamond turn to yellow and that little voice in the headset screaming Traffic Alert!

 

Rick

[MyNameIsNobody]

6.8AMU's....just threw up in my mouth a little bit...

[MyNameIsNobody]

Addendum...new hand held battery on order

[Hondo]

Headed east at 11000, 155 on IFR plan, center called and said unidentified traffic at your altitude headed toward you, would you like higher. I said, “It is clear, where is he?”

At your 11 o’clock 4 miles.  I saw him about 15 seconds later, 2 miles away headed directly at me.  I waited to see if he would turn.  At 1 mile he turned slightly right and passed behind me 10 seconds later.  A white Belanca Viking, at 11000 headed west at about 170 knots talking to no one.  It can be hard to see a plane headed directly at you, even if you know where to look.

 

As previously said, one that will get you is the one that overruns you.  Those poor guys in that Cessna that were hit from behind by that F16, never had a chance.  Apparently, the F16 was on an approach talking to ATC.

 

Looking forward to the Appareo transponder, Stratus 2S and Foreflight combination.

[ArtVandelay]

As previously said, one that will get you is the one that overruns you. Those poor guys in that Cessna that were hit from behind by that F16, never had a chance. Apparently, the F16 was on an approach talking to ATC.

Looking forward to the Appareo transponder, Stratus 2S and Foreflight combination.

This is why I replaced tail position light with brighter LED position/strobe combo.

[joepilot]

Have to zoom into the iPad on the 2nd pic, but this is traffic from my ADS-B (WingX). Even on a busy sectional, the moving targets are easy to see. Nothing in aviation is perfect, but I LOVE my ADS-B!

[Rik]

Have to zoom into the iPad on the 2nd pic, but this is traffic from my ADS-B (WingX). Even on a busy sectional, the moving targets are easy to see. Nothing in aviation is perfect, but I LOVE my ADS-B!

 

Would have like to had had your stuff Sat. Night.

 

I left Chino to Vegas on my X Country Night flight.. Under the HOOD on the way to Vegas.(I hate hood work) We had contact with So Cal Center and we were cruising at 8,500' towards the HEC VOR. It was DARK and then on the not so distant horizon there's a light pointed at our nose. It just stay'd there and my CFI called SoCal and asked if we had traffic off our nose? SoCal said negative.. Finally I took the hood off and looked right at it.. It had to be a house in the middle of the no where with lights lit up for a party or something. We had 1,500' clearance on our plan but that place must have been less.  The old Warrior doesn't have any nav other than the radio's so it is hard to decipher what's what in the dark..

 

Another reason for ADS-B!  And an IPAD!!!