PILOT SPIN
Spin Zone => Spin Zone => Topic started by: Little Joe on October 10, 2023, 02:06:19 PM
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I know you guys don't like POA, but LDJones recently died in a gyrocopter crash. He was a really nice guy with a great back story.
RIP Loren.
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I know Loren. I met him when I was up in MInneapolis on business.
From memory, Loren was an attorney and flight instructor. He left the law profession to become an airline pilot, which he did successfully.
I believe he just got checked out as a 737 Sim instructor.
He built and flew his gyrocopter to Oshkosh, and I think he may have won an award for it.
Dear God, before last week I knew no one who died in a GA aircraft. Now I’ve lost two in two weeks. Loren and Richard McSpadden.
Rest in peace to both of them.
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Oh no. He just built that before Air Venture and flew it there.
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RIP. Seemed like a nice guy when I frequented POA and read his interesting and informative posts.
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https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/prior-lake-pilot-killed-after-crashing-gyrocopter-in-southern-minnesota/
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https://www.keyc.com/2023/10/09/update-pilot-dies-following-gyrocopter-crash-minnesota-river-near-st-peter/?mibextid=Zxz2cZ#lnkrnaumtklcyr5qfvr
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https://youtu.be/j7ZgM6nykH4?si=7FwrbG2C-lwFPoAo
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He really loved flying and accomplished so much after giving up the lawyer gig.
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https://youtu.be/j7ZgM6nykH4?si=7FwrbG2C-lwFPoAo
Aww damn.
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I haven’t told my wife about this one. Her comfort in me flying is already shot after Richard McSpadden’s death.
She has always supported me flying, even though the thought of me dying at it scared her terribly.
I’ve read a lot of posts - dozens - of people who said that the McSpadden crash makes them question flying.
I’m embarrassed to say but I guess not too proud to admit that it’s giving me a little pause too.
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Everything in life is about risk, and risk mitigation.
What LD Jones did was stupid, flying low down a river. He wasn't the first one to do it, and he won't be the last, unfortunately.
The Snort Snodgrass guy took off with a gust lock engaged. Where was the control check? Checklist?
The AOPA guy, no idea. I'll wait for the investigation to shed more light on that one.
Bottom line: Your only as good as your last flight. An old aviator told me that 50 years ago, and it still holds true.
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I haven’t told my wife about this one. Her comfort in me flying is already shot after Richard McSpadden’s death.
She has always supported me flying, even though the thought of me dying at it scared her terribly.
I’ve read a lot of posts - dozens - of people who said that the McSpadden crash makes them question flying.
I’m embarrassed to say but I guess not too proud to admit that it’s giving me a little pause too.
My husband met the guy that flies the mosquito spray around here and he says he’s going to retire soon, so I guess they’ll be looking for a new mosquito spray pilot so I asked my husband if he’d like to go for the job. But I confess I have a little pause at the idea of him flying around low and slow, maybe lowish and slowish, I don’t think it’s as bad as crop dusting. He’s not going to do it, he’d have to get his commercial. I hate to say I’m sort of glad.
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Everything in life is about risk, and risk mitigation.
What LD Jones did was stupid, flying low down a river. He wasn't the first one to do it, and he won't be the last, unfortunately.
The Snort Snodgrass guy took off with a gust lock engaged. Where was the control check? Checklist?
The AOPA guy, no idea. I'll wait for the investigation to shed more light on that one.
Bottom line: Your only as good as your last flight. An old aviator told me that 50 years ago, and it still holds true.
^^^^^This. Many great pilots kill themselves. Scott Crossfield and Sparky Imeson come to mind.
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^^^^^This. Many great pilots kill themselves. Scott Crossfield and Sparky Imeson come to mind.
I have two books on mountain flying - one by Sparky Imeson and one by Fletcher Anderson. Both are now dead by their own mistakes which they actually warned others not to make. Anderson died in a crash when the CAP 182 he was flying ran into a gauging wire strung across Snake River Canyon. In his book he warned readers that they should never fly low over a river until they have made certain there are no hidden perils, specifically wires. Granted that gauging wires are pretty low, but Anderson was flying very low and seems he did not follow his own advice.
News item on Anderson:
http://www.auxbeacon.org/civil-air-patrol-plane-crashes-in-river-killing-pilot/ (http://www.auxbeacon.org/civil-air-patrol-plane-crashes-in-river-killing-pilot/)
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I have two books on mountain flying - one by Sparky Imeson and one by Fletcher Anderson. Both are now dead by their own mistakes which they actually warned others not to make. Anderson died in a crash when the CAP 182 he was flying ran into a gauging wire strung across Snake River Canyon. In his book he warned readers that they should never fly low over a river until they have made certain there are no hidden perils, specifically wires. Granted that gauging wires are pretty low, but Anderson was flying very low and seems he did not follow his own advice.
News item on Anderson:
http://www.auxbeacon.org/civil-air-patrol-plane-crashes-in-river-killing-pilot/ (http://www.auxbeacon.org/civil-air-patrol-plane-crashes-in-river-killing-pilot/)
Yep and Imeson died mountain flying breaking his own rules. As stated, Dale Snodgrass left a gust lock in place. Where was his checklist?
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Yep and Imeson died mountain flying breaking his own rules. As stated, Dale Snodgrass left a gust lock in place. Where was his checklist?
Unfortunately some pilots fall into traps being praised as the ultimate, etc. They keep hearing and reading what wonderful airman they are and the ego starts to take over and they start believing it, then the complacency kicks in and a small mistake is made which starts the chain reaction to the accident.
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Unfortunately some pilots fall into traps being praised as the ultimate, etc. They keep hearing and reading what wonderful airman they are and the ego starts to take over and they start believing it, then the complacency kicks in and a small mistake is made which starts the chain reaction to the accident.
That can happen even if we aren’t famous and “the best”. I am well trained in firearms handling and I made a mistake one day analogous to forgetting the gust lock. Fortunately my strict adherence to another rule saved me. I guess analogous to you do a final control FULL movement check right before takeoff would save you in the gust lock situation.
Scared me so bad I will NEVER make that mistake again. But I might make a different one. High time pilot complacency is a documented thing. I wonder if the same thing happens to surgeons?
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That can happen even if we aren’t famous and “the best”. I am well trained in firearms handling and I made a mistake one day analogous to forgetting the gust lock. Fortunately my strict adherence to another rule saved me. I guess analogous to you do a final control FULL movement check right before takeoff would save you in the gust lock situation.
Scared me so bad I will NEVER make that mistake again. But I might make a different one. High time pilot complacency is a documented thing. I wonder if the same thing happens to surgeons?
Happens anywhere. In flying complacency is usually a factor in accidents. Not adhering to checklist, low flying over unknown terrain, flying into convective weather, etc.