Forrest Gump had it right

[flyboy0681]

This link appeared in my Inbox today from AOPA. I watched the entire presentation and was furious by the end of it. In a nutshell, some guy not instrument rated set off in a Cirrus with his two daughters and a friend in poor weather and suffered the consequences. By listening to the ATC recordings we can get a clear picture of where this guys head was - or was not.

 

The only good thing coming out of this were the recorded conversations among the various ATC controllers that day discussing the situation amongst themselves. These guys really, really want to help.

 

Long and short of it; stupid is as stupid does. The statistics given at the end of the presentation are horrific. Yet this scenario plays out over and over and over again each year.

 

http://www.aopa.org/asf/acs/acs_intoodeep/

 

 

[The-sky-captain]

I read that article in one of the recent magazines or e-zines, can't remember which. It truly is sad that the pilot would let the situation get that far out of hand when there were so many outs avaliable. I'm always amazed at the trust my passengers have in me to just jump in my plane and blast off into low overcast. That's a huge responsibility that I take very seriously.

[201er]

No wonder you get such a big discount for being instrument rated! That is just terrible how he was tossed multiple lifelines and refused to take them even if just for the sake of his passengers!

[Bob]

This one grabbed my attention the day it happened.  I looked at the sky many times that day, just to watch and learn from the ground as I pulled up the Metar's.  The sky was ever changing and unpredictable.

 

The minute I heard about it, I took the times and searched for the ATC recordings.  Very sad!  If only he had turned back half way on the trip or put it down and rented a car if time was short.  Half way in a rental car would have been about one hour each way and $30.  To head back home when only half way, would have only cost him about 3 hours due to the drive.  He was not saving much by the flight to begin with.   He seamed to keep trying to complete his original plan and was fighting to accept anything else. 

 

It is also unfortunate that he did not just circle and land when he saw KDPA.  The airport is so huge, he could have circled in and out of the clouds many times, while descending and not lost sight of the airport as well as had a runway in front of him at almost all times.

 

Also this is my first time that I researched and followed an accident and then saw AOPA Safety evaluate it.  They are 100% on the money on their program!  Very good to see, nothing is sugar coated or missed.

 

My opinion of the last few seconds:  1) The pilot workload & stresses increased to the point of loss or control by not maintaining straight and level. OR 2)  He saw one of the towers that were not too far from the crash sight.  My gut says #2

[John Pleisse]

Ya know, with JFK Jr.....he had a King Auto pilot right in front of him. This guy had similar, plus a ballistic parachute. I am not judging, we have all experienced fear paralysis and it is terrible.

 

This was a great read for me and I think it should be required reading for anyone who is not IFR or IFR current. Every newly minted PP should read this before they take off into the wild blue yonder. It gives great information, that basic Jepp books don't. It's a short book...I read it in a couple of hours.

 

http://www.sportys.com/PilotShop/product/9983

[flyboy0681]

And just like the JFK Jr. incident, had he simply engaged the auto-pilot, the outcome may have been considerably different.

[201er]

And just like the JFK Jr. incident, had he simply engaged the auto-pilot, the outcome may have been considerably different.

But neither JFK Jr nor this guy ever would have and it's rooted in a common invulnerable attitude! Both were the kinds of people who would not turn around or accept help. Otherwise we would not have heard about them. This guy didn't even have to activate the AP, he could have been VFR into another field but elected not to! This is more of an attitude problem than a control of aircraft problem.

[John Pleisse]

I think as soon as JFK Jr hit the haze layer, he was in deep trouble (over the ocean). This guy had multiple opportunities to back track. Again...this guy also had the "D-ring" which is one of the reasons he was emboldened and likely purchased a Cirrus. If he had yanked the chute...they'd all be alive. Fear paralysis.

[kmyfm20s]

Yes this was upsetting! I got the feeling he had his auto pilot on the majority of time and got in trouble after he disengaged it. I only say that because he was IMC the majority of the time and made several turns with straight tracks according to the AOPA video. I bet he saw a sucker hole and was going for it and got disoriented.

[scottfromiowa]

Listened/watched this one. Agree that their were multiple outs and ALL were disregarded by this not just get there, but get home pilot. His not wanting to get stuck at destination (IFR at airport) cost him and other souls their lives...not an accident as the pilot deliberately disregarded "outs" and killed everybody aboard. The one controllers disgust at the situation was apparent. You can not save a fool. I feel horrible for those that placed their lives in his hands. They choose "poorly..."

[flyboy0681]

Having lost two friends to aircraft accidents, I know exactly what the family goes through and it's not pleasant. I can't begin to imagine how the mother/wife dealt with this.

[Bob]

I give the controller a lot of credit!  He followed the rules and prompted the pilot to ask for a special VFR.  Then when the pilot did not "get it", he went against the rules as a last resort and just came out and asked "would you like to land here"!  The controller kept his cool 100% but did run out of options to help, so he went out on a limb and let his survival mode kick in.  He risked his position in a final attempt to help save the pilot and passengers.  MY HAT GOES OFF TO THAT CONTROLLER!  I am sorry that the controller is forced to live with this experience!

[alex]

I remember that morning wanting to go out and fly, but after looking at the weather reports and out of the livingroom window, I decided to go back to bed and snooze. I can't even begin to imagine what was going through his mind during this fateful morning, but I do think that being so close to O'hare's class b airspace freeked him out even more and added to his anxiety and confusion. If you are not familiar with this area it is not that difficult to find yourself inside that airspace, which is probably why he decided to fly west,forgetting that is where the weather was coming from. Sad!

[201er]

You know the pilot has absolutely no idea what he is doing when he has to ask the tower if it's a good idea to land or not, "I am still trying to decide if I should land at dupage or not, do you think that is a good idea or not?"

[Bob]

You know the pilot has absolutely no idea what he is doing when he has to ask the tower if it's a good idea to land or not, "I am still trying to decide if I should land at dupage or not, do you think that is a good idea or not?"

Stresses reduce your IQ!

[John Pleisse]

Nice to have a good thread...with good analysis. Great read, but very sad.

[flyboy0681]

Nice to have a good thread...with good analysis. Great read.

 

This one disturbed me. I don't think it would have had the same impact if I hadn't heard the audio.

 

One minute there are two young girls, one of them heading back to college, the next minute total carnage. There was just no reason for it.

[scottfromiowa]

I remember when in a rental 172 with wife and young kids my wife was catatonic because of light chop. I tried to climb above it and nearly made a bad decision trying to please her. I told her later what happened and told her to puke and be miserable next time. She does great now...I later had to really be firm on departing...she has grown to trust my conservative decision making. This guy had help and disregarded multiple lifelines.

[omega708]

Sobering reality of multiple bad decisions. I would like to think that I have enough respect for IMC that if I were to some how tragically end up in the clouds prior to completing my instrument training (or ending up disoriented after getting my instrument ticket) that at the very least I would climb, confess, communicate, and comply with ATC instructions. Stay smart, stay safe...

[AndyFromCB]

Maybe I've been lucky, flying from controlled airspace most of my life, but at 5 hours here pilots have better communication skills than this fellow.

[AndyFromCB]

You know the pilot has absolutely no idea what he is doing when he has to ask the tower if it's a good idea to land or not, "I am still trying to decide if I should land at dupage or not, do you think that is a good idea or not?"

 

You know the pilot had no idea when he said "if we're going to be available for landing". I'm very surprised chicago didn't declare emergency for him. I also want to know how exactly one kills themselves having two giant screens in front of them. I can see freaking out with just an AI but essentially he had TV in from of him. I'm going to sound like the a-hole that I am, but oh well, Darwin wins every time. Plus on top of everything the idiot had a parachute.

 

There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who panic and those who don't. The former should stay at home and play video games, and latter, with careful consideration should be allowed to venture every know and then. People like him just piss me off. If I had a dollar for every time I landed short of destination, departed late or not at all or argued with a controller about altitude, I would be a wealthy man.

[smccray]

That hits home for me.  The hour/profile of that pilot is exactly where I am.  ~200 hrs total, half in my Mooney, and 30 hrs of IFR training.  Not sure why, but this really pisses me off and upsets me at the same time.  There's no excuse for this.

[AndyFromCB]

That hits home for me.  The hour/profile of that pilot is exactly where I am.  ~200 hrs total, half in my Mooney, and 30 hrs of IFR training.  Not sure why, but this really pisses me off and upsets me at the same time.  There's no excuse for this.

I was exactly there 2 years ago and I wouldn't even think for second about departing into those conditions and letting shit deteriorate to that point. Yes, before my IFR and TKS, I did a lot of scud running at 1000agl, but never with a ceiling of less than 2000, always on a carefully chosen route, usually airways and still I've landed short quite a few times. Even after I got my IFR, I've cancelled quite a few flights even when others would launch with no problems because they were below my minimums which to this day, with 400 hours and about 40 of actual are 600/2 and day time. I do 200/1 for practice, but only at my home airport and only with a second IFR rate pilot on board. Idiots like this fellow is exactly why the insurance rates what they are.

[Marauder]

The human mind unfortunately is wired differently for everyone. Any of us who have been faced with a life threatening situation found first hand how we are wired. If time permits, some people work the problem while others surrender to their fate. Read the accident reports where people survived and you will see the spectrum of human response. What truly is sad is the loss of innocent lives. Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

[Mcstealth]

My first reaction when I listened to this was of anger. I though how stupid is it to try to keep appearances for the three lives sitting right next to you. So damn selfish. I guess a brain under stress really is out of control for some people.

 

I was at an AOPA safety seminar last night in San Antonio. The presenter brought up several examples of CFIT. It was eye opening to say the least.

 

DF