I almost died yesterday

Taking off IFR from an uncontrolled field today (severe clear), climbing Rwy Heading, making all the normal radio calls on Unicom as we had been since before departing. At about 1000' AGL we spot traffic at our 11o'clock & low.

I glance at the TCAS & notice it's a couple hundred feet below us so I pitch up to increase our climb rate a bit. There's another uncontrolled field immediately left and forward of our postion & it's pattern is coordinated with our departure airport's pattern as to avoid conflicts. Seconds go by and we realize the thing is climbing right towards us and even turning into our flight path.

Our departure from the pattern is to the right, to avoid the other field's pattern (and approaching head-on rules require right turns) so I initiate the turn early and keep climbing while we broadcast over Unicom once again and then contact Center to check in off of the uncontrolled field. In the meantime our traffic cranks & banks a left 180 while climbing like a banshee all of a sudden (remember we're turning out to the right & it was coming towards us so this is, again, right into our flightpath only their performance was ridiculous). "Is that a LEAR???"

Seems to me like they should have been listening, and broadcasting for that matter, on the Unicom frequency the two airports share while operating low-level in between the two close-by uncontrolled fields.

Seems to me like they realized we were right there all of a sudden and pulled the fancy chandelle maneuver a little recklessly. § 91.113 Right-of-way rules:(e) Approaching head-on. When aircraft are approaching each other head-on, or nearly so, each pilot of each aircraft shall alter course to the right.

'What an idiot' I'm thinking. After we check in center queries the other airplane:

Center - "Flight Check did you see traffic 2 West of your position?"
Flight Check - "We need the GPS B again"
Center - "Roger..."

Us - "Flight Check??? Uggggghhhh"

MORAL OF THE STORY - keep your eyes peeled cause you never know who's out there. Glad everyone had a safe day here as well as in HPN.
 
I HATE HPN. There are more crazy VFR targets there then almost any other airport I've been to.

And Cherokee_Cruiser... I'm not really sure what you are talking about. Manevuering for an RA is pretty standard procedure. Sure, this one was closer then most turn out, but I've come about 300 feet from smacking into a Cessna (going into Allentown, PA) while responding to an RA. The whole "Big Sky" theory is a bunch of BS and the FAA knows that. I don't think they are going to be running around trying to reprimand a crew of followed the rules and just had the bad luck of getting close to another airplane.
 
Ed, sounds like a wild day....Glad to hear you are ok! Be careful out there, its wild airspace as you already know! We all need to get together sometime soon and hang out...im moving back to MEM tomorrow!
 
Well, I can always make it out whenever if I happen to be off, flight loads permitting of course. It's getting everybody off at the same time to get together that makes it tough!
 
Big sky theory is definitely BS to anyone who has ever been at a golf driving range when two golf balls collide...but of course not as entertaining as when the ball collides with the scooper being driven by the range guy. :D
 
Bobdduck, it doesn't matter what the actual problem was (whether it was a RA and came within 200 feet), *whatever* the problem may be, I would caution anyone from posting the most specific information about the incident.

There's the who, what, where, when, why, and how to every story.


Leave out the who, the where, the when.

No one needs to know where the RA happened, when it happened or who it happened to.

Just post the what, why, and how. Just post that it happened and you survived it.

That way, even if some fed came across it, there wouldn't be any lead going back to you. Anytime anyone has a 'I almost died' story in a commercial airline operation, it's best to keep it anonymous. Just fill out the approrpriate paperwork through your airline or get ALPA help.
 
Wow Ed, glad to see you made it out alright, I mean, after all I still never got those dive pics from you ;)

I kid, I kid, good to see you made it back safely
 
Wait a minute now, are you POSITIVE I didn't email them to you cause I could swear I did???

If I didn't then I guess it makes us even for the Diego pix...
 
Wait a minute now, are you POSITIVE I didn't email them to you cause I could swear I did???

If I didn't then I guess it makes us even for the Diego pix...


I think you tried, but they were too big (80 megs if i remember right). I still gotta have my buddies send me "those" pictures, I was not the incriminating photographer :D
 
...but of course not as entertaining as when the ball collides with the scooper being driven by the range guy. :D

I used to work at a driving range driving the little scooper thing. That metal cage isn't nearly as protective as you would think. There is a big gap around the bottom between the cage and the floor of the golf cart. The problem is, once a ball gets in, it doesn't go out and it just bounces around inside the cage. I got a black eye and a whole bunch of bruises that summer.
 
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