Airplane Down in Phoenix, Pilot Dead

Inverted said:
Saw that very plane when we flew into IWA. Very sad. Did he catch a wire turning on final is that what explains the right wing being severed?
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Looks like there is a wire hanging off the back of the plane in the posted picture. That's a bad sign. No matter how you slice it, RIP.
 
I think part of the problem this morning was the weather. When I checked the weather when I got to work at Falcon this morning, cieling and visibility were good. But right after day light the clouds moved in and one of our planes reported fog climbing through 500ft. But having not looked outside it is very possible that the Instructor that signed her off didn't realize it probably wasn't the weather for a first student x-country. Not pointing the finger at all, could've happened to me, just emphasizing that we have to be especially careful as instructors when signing people off. It's not just our certificates on the line, it's the students lives, and the lives of their family. My thoughts and prayers are with this womens family.
 
I've lived in Phoenix my whole life, this morning was one of the very very rare mornings where it was foggy.

<----This pic was taken at KDVT.
 
Firebird2XC said:
RIP to the fallen regardless.

I genuinely hope we don't have a compound tragedy by having lost another JCer. I hardly knew Ben at all, but his loss was almost more than I could bear to think about.

Even distant 'family' is still 'family'.
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akmountaineer said:
I was just watching Fox News and caught this breaking news. It looks like a PA-28 series. I couldn't catch the N number. Hope it's not a JCer...
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No JC members this time.

It was a student pilot solo, she was the sole occupant.

A very nice girl too. :( Such a waste.

RIP
 
X-Forces said:
A very nice girl too. :( Such a waste.

RIP
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I always like that quote from John Donne's Mediatations that Hemingway led off his book For Whom the Bell Tolls.

[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica]"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were. Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.[/FONT][/FONT]"
 
It always brings me down to read about something like this after what happened to Ben, I didn't know him well just talked a little online here and there, but it made me see the big picture of how many people get hurt when someone loses their life in an accident. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. RIP.
 
RIP to the pilot, condolences to the family and friends.
Also prayers for the CFI - must be a very difficult situation to deal with.

Bp244
 
stesta5074 said:
I've lived in Phoenix my whole life, this morning was one of the very very rare mornings where it was foggy.

<----This pic was taken at KDVT.
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There's been a good number of them actually. When I was flying for the radio station in '93, I got caught in one while airborne that moved in so fast, I was on top of the overcast before I could get from 19th Ave/McDowell to 19th and Glendale as I was racing north for DVT.
 
rockman2343@aol.com said:
I think part of the problem this morning was the weather. When I checked the weather when I got to work at Falcon this morning, cieling and visibility were good. But right after day light the clouds moved in and one of our planes reported fog climbing through 500ft. But having not looked outside it is very possible that the Instructor that signed her off didn't realize it probably wasn't the weather for a first student x-country. Not pointing the finger at all, could've happened to me, just emphasizing that we have to be especially careful as instructors when signing people off. It's not just our certificates on the line, it's the students lives, and the lives of their family. My thoughts and prayers are with this womens family.
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My buddy works over at trans pac and knows the student. I called him last night and he said this is pretty much what happened. When she departed, it was VMC, got a few miles out and it turned IMC. She didnt have any IFR training, so she did a 180 back towards the airport and kept descending trying to get in VMC.

They cancelled all the flights and sent everyone home. RIP
 
cmill said:
My buddy works over at trans pac and knows the student. I called him last night and he said this is pretty much what happened. When she departed, it was VMC, got a few miles out and it turned IMC. She didnt have any IFR training, so she did a 180 back towards the airport and kept descending trying to get in VMC.

They cancelled all the flights and sent everyone home. RIP
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Man, that's so tragic. She even tried to turn around and go back to get to safety.

So incredibly sad. RIP.
 
I was there when it was Pan Am...I probably have 50 hours in that plane. What a horrible thing to happen. RIP.
 
That is awful.

Let's turn this into a learning experience for a moment - I'm asking because I never ran into nor was I briefed on something like this as a PPL....not exactly. At least, I don't remember it. I probably need a refresher, having read this. I'm rusty.

You're a student pilot and the weather has suddenly gone down, and you head home and can't see the field.

Do you call and ask for vectors/help to get somewhere safe and clear?
 
killbilly said:
Do you call and ask for vectors/help to get somewhere safe and clear?
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When I was a student solo pilot, my CFI told me to stay VFR and get on the radio. He also took me up in the soup for tow hours or so, that was how I got my instrument time for the PPL. Always fly into the bad weather too, so you have a better option of doing a 180.

This was in New England, though, where scudrunning is as important as pilotage and dead reckoning ;)
 
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