Close Calls Anyone?

Adriano

Adriano

New Member
I heard somewhere a while back that if you stick around in aviation long enough, you're bound to have at least one or two close calls to speak of. So how 'bout it? Anyone here have any close calls they'd like to share? Perhaps the rest of us could learn from your experiences? Just a thought.
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Yo Adriano
MANY, but let me tell you of my last one, climbing out of 10,000 with a clearance to 210 and by the way we are climbing at 250KIAS and at about 4000fpm,in IMC. Atlanta center tells us to stop our climb at 14000 then a few seconds later they tell us to stop at 12000 then its back to 14000 and then with urgency in his voice he tells us to stop at 13000. The boss was flying this leg and we were singing through12500 and all of a sudden we broke out of the clouds and there was a DC10 filling our windscreen, he was level at 14000. I think we may have sold the CEO on the benefit of TCAS, we don't have one. Then there was this other time I am flying we're IMC inside the marker, cleared for the approach and Tower ask cessna 1234 what his position was, he replied that he was VFR (my ass) on a 1.5 mile final for the same runway we were cleared to land on. We quiried the tower who realized he had lost control of his airspace, we did a go around. We had a nice talk with the tower chief, the pilot involved and the local FSDO. It pays to pay attention.
 
Since starting my training in September, I've had about 4 close calls already. One on takeoff, with a plane entering the pattern. Another after a touch and go, right after taking off again after a plane came in IFR on a practice low approach, against traffic! Not even talking on the locat traffic! Then two in the practice area, one close enough to see INSIDE the cockpit! Other than that, nothing major! LOL
 
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Then two in the practice area, one close enough to see INSIDE the cockpit! Other than that, nothing major!

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Wow! That'd be scary. I'm curious to know what you'd call major if that wasn't!
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Three VERY near midairs (and a few of the not-so-near ones that are routine in FL). One of the really close ones was such that to avoid the other aircraft (a KingAir C90, I think), we had to make a hard diving turn away from the conflicting traffic-which isn't a good idea because then we couldn't see them, but it was so close that it was our only option. Thats the only time (flying, at least) I've really thought: "wow, this is it". I seriously thought we were toast.

The others were close, but this one really stands out- I've had dreams (the not-so-good kind) about it. It freaked me out. Moral of the story? Keep your head on a swivel.
 
I've had a few "oh s**t" moments myself. I had a dog run across the runway one time when I was getting ready to take off. Another time, just when I began my flare, a deer decided to cross the runway.

But the worst thing that ever happened to me happened during my long cross country to a towered airport. The tower told me to report a two mile right base, which I did. Then they told me to follow a Dash 8. Well, I couldn't see the Dash 8 anywhere at all, and I was like, am I blind? I had no clue where they were until they were told to look for me and then they said, well, he can't see us because he's in front of us. That was a "oh, s**t" moment for sure!
 
I've just had typical ATC moments. The most major was one where I was cleared to land on runway 21. I finished the pattern then started on final then at about about 150AGL tower cleared for takeoff, on the same runway, a Cessna 172. I didn't get upset at ATC, but at the pilot that failed to look right when taking to the active.
 
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I didn't get upset at ATC, but at the pilot that failed to look right when taking to the active.

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I'm glad I read that line! I have to say that as a student pilot I have probably taken ATC's word for granted and probably have not always paid as much attention to possible traffic approaching on final like I would at uncontrolled airports.
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It was lessons like this I was hoping to learn from posting this thread. So thanks a bunch Spring2XC!
 
Whoops, I thought you meant 'close calls' in general, not specifically near-misses, but a good story anyway!

I was instructing in a Seneca-I back in 1996 doing some Vmc demos, and stupid me had the student perform a Vmc demo at the atmospheric conditions when Vmc = Vs.

I neglected to hold my foot on the rudder pedals to simulate running out of control authority...

The aircraft started to yaw as we hit the real Vmc and snapped inverted as the aircraft stalled. Nothing scarrier than a windscreen full of Santa Clara County when an aircraft that you should never spin starts spinning.

My student was scared sh*tless, the other two students were uttering something in Korean and I had to engineer something pretty fast before we hit the ground.

But wait, there's more! My student was frozen on the controls and wouldn't respond to my standard brief about the meaning of "MY CONTROLS!"

"Mr. Kim, my controls. My Kim, my CONTROLS. Mr. Park, tell Mr. Kim in Korean to let go of the (expletive deleted) controls NOW!!"

No effect.

So I grab my metal clipboard and whack him in the headset which stuns him, I thankfully recover the aircraft and figure it's about time I call human resources at Skyway and inquire about the status of my application.
 
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My student was scared sh*tless, the other two students were uttering something in Korean and I had to engineer something pretty fast before we hit the ground.

But wait, there's more! My student was frozen on the controls and wouldn't respond to my standard brief about the meaning of "MY CONTROLS!"

"Mr. Kim, my controls. My Kim, my CONTROLS. Mr. Park, tell Mr. Kim in Korean to let the (expletive deleted) controls NOW!!"

No effect.

So I grab my metal clipboard and whack him in the headset which stuns him, I thankfully recover the aircraft and figure it's about time I call human resources at Skyway and inquire about the status of my application.

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Doug- that was really funny..
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Ouch..... good story! My old instrument instructor had a similiar experience... his student stalled and spun (unintentionally); there was a stratus layer beneath them, and ocean under that; the guy just locked up at the controls. My instructor had to punch him to regain control and recover. It's scary to think how many accidents could be avoided had the pilot just done the right recovery....

As for me, I will always have the image of a 172 head on seared into my memory from my first solo XC. We were CLOSE. I really thought we were going to hit.... it happened in slow mo; like the plane was just sitting there getting B I G. ATC gave me one of those 'traffic alert 12 o clock less than a mile turn right immeadiately' just after I saw the guy (my fault for not seeing him sooner). I just grabbed the yoke, pulled, and braced.... never saw the guy again after we passed.
 
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Whoops, I thought you meant 'close calls' in general, not specifically near-misses . . .

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I mean anything you got! Near-misses, panic-attacks, anything. Besides the fact that these stories are fun to read (I feel bad saying it, but its kinda true . . . since everything has turned out OK, of course), I think we can all learn valuable lessons from these stories. So continue on with anything you've got people!
 
Here's one:

A couple of months ago, I was flying a leg out of State College PA in IMC at night. We were at about 4000 MSL when all of a sudden we got a GPWS (ground proximity warning system) alert:

TERRAIN TERRAIN

We immediately started climbing and the captain informed ATC that we got a GPWS alert and were climbing. ATC's response? "Oh, okay."
 
I was backseating a multi flight and we were doing some approaches and controller gave us missed instructions to climb to 1500 heading 360. Well just as we rolled wings level I happened to look to the left and got a window full of 172. The PF saw it about the same time I did and pushed the nose over and I was yelling dive. The instructor was blocked but the frame but it shook us up for a min. The controller said we didnt follow her instructions. She screwed up and tried to blame us. I mean 3 people heard the same instructions.
 
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A couple of months ago, I was flying a leg out of State College PA in IMC at night. We were at about 4000 MSL when all of a sudden we got a GPWS (ground proximity warning system) alert:

TERRAIN TERRAIN

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We used to get this every night in to Bradford (BFD). Another great spot for scary GPWS warnings is LEB.

Close calls?

Done some stupid things I guess, which fall in to the "I learned about flying from that" or the "Never Again" category. Lets not talk about those
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One day on short final in to ORL the controller said "do you see the Arrow you are following?" "What Arrow? Oh THAT Arrow, that's right on top of us?"

We went around.
 
I have one to top all of you all. I have just departed FTY on the west side of Atlanta at 3000 ft heading 200. I get a traffic advisory from ATL that there is traffic 10 o'clock same alitude West bound. At the same time I look in that general direction and see an airplane. I acknowledge the alert, tell him I have him sight. Well, at the same time, my Capt. catched a glimpse of him as well, and the whole time this other airplane is starting to get bigger and he is moving. Please keep in mind this is all in the span of seconds. Ok, So Capt sees him, next thing you know, this airplane is HUGE in the winshield, ATC(in a very calm voice tell us, "Do what you have to do...") So we put the airplane in to about 30 degree dive, Capt flying, I am looking outside, The other guy, puts his airplane into climbing right turn as well. The Skywatch in our airplane says that the other airplane, looked like a Meridian, was +200 ft above us, and we were in a dive. Come to find out, that guy was heading west at the wrong altitude, and the ATL sector he was under hadn't coordinated with the guy we were talking to.
 
Back during my PPL training, I was flying with an instructor who was not my normal instructor as my usual CFI was sick.

We take off and we go to do some hoodwork. We're still climbing when he tells me to put the foggles on.

I'm under the Foggles and, for some reason, I say "make sure you're my eyes. Look out for other traffic."

Him: "oh - um - okay. No problem."

About a minute goes by and we're still climbing when I hear him say "Oh - Sh*t" and he graps the yoke and turns us hard left.

I flip up the Foggles in time to see a 172SP go by us - same level - about 50 yards (that's YARDS) off to our right.

He had been reading something he had brought with him wasn't looking. That was the last time I flew with him.
 
I guess the only close call I can recall, other than the ocassional "too close for comfort" routine around PHX airspace, was the day I flew up to Show Low, AZ.

It was late in the afternoon, the field elevation is 6,000 ft +/- and the density altitude was easily 8 or 9,000. I elected to take the shorter runway (which was directly into the wind). I did a short field takeoff but halfway down the run we still weren't near Vr. We finally broke ground at probably 3/4 of the runway and cleared the telephone poles/wires at the end by only 100ft or so.

If I could do it again I would have taken the longer runway, leaned the engine for takeoff and tried to leave later or earlier in the day.
 
I dont think there is anything that gets my heart racing more than seeing shadows on the ground prior to making visual w/another aircraft. We were climbing out of an uncontrolled airfield when a citation in the pattern decided to switch runways. Needless to say, before we heard the call, we saw a shadow pass right over us. We got the call from the citation and then the confirmation by wake turbulence. Gladly there was a big enough margin for safety, but its not something i'd like to have to deal with again.

-matt
 
If you want some good "close call" stories read Fate is the Hunter. Some unbelieveable stuff back in the good ol' days of aviation.
 
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