Flying... After a crash..

BobDDuck said:
I dunno... there was a certain ATP DE that used to demonstrate a 180 degree turn with a loss of 50 feet of altitude. Thankfully he normally demonstrated it above 300 feet though.

Probably a wise move to keep going straight though.
Click to expand...

Meh...

There are lots of DPE's who get to hone their special useless maneuver that will never do anything for them in the real world other than maybe get some impressionable mind killed.
 
I guess I'm late to this thread, but I was in an accident during takeoff a little over 2 years ago. Neither my student nor I were injured but we did bend metal. I did have trust issues with airplanes for a few months after that and I seriously considered giving up on flying. In fact I did not fly again until about a month after the accident, and I suspect it might have been better if I'd gotten back in the saddle sooner. The accident occurred at night and I had even more severe trust issues the first few times I flew at night again, which wasn't until about 8 months later. I also had trust issues with the accident aircraft itself when it returned to service, at least the first few times I flew it.

Richkid said:
The fact that all mechanical devices can and will fail should not come as a surprise to any pilot. If you need time to recover from the shock that your aircraft failed, you may need a new hobby or career.
Click to expand...

If you ever get in an accident (which I hope you never do), you may be singing a different tune. It's one of those things you don't necessarily know how you'll react to until you are actually in that situation. Honestly though I think what most in this thread are talking about isn't so much shock that mechanical failures occur as a difficulty trusting an airplane after experiencing an accident (maybe a sense that another failure is inevitable). It may not be rational but airplane accidents can be traumatic experiences, and so in my opinion it's quite reasonable for a pilot to be traumatized or have "trust issues" with aircraft in the aftermath of an accident.
 
I've had several emergencies, but the one that stuck was a vacuum failure in moderate icing (with TKS) in IMC at FL190 over the rockies in an M20K. Shot a partial panel into Grand Junction to near minimums after a 25 minute approach. I was back in the plane 24 hours later heading into IMC and more excitement... but my interest in single pilot IMC ops changed drastically following the experience. I don't know what it's like to bend metal, but any emergency that includes a high pucker factor should affect you.

I wouldn't trust my family to fly with anyone who said otherwise.
 
I've had 2 engine failures in single-engine airplanes. One happened at 10,000ft right above the airport and I brought it in no sweat. The other however is a different story. 1,000ft AGL out near Taos/Angel Fire, NM. Not a lot of time to figure it out. Did everything we could to get it going to no avail so we put it in a field. I remember that was a really surreal feeling right before we hit just watching the snowy ground coming up at us. Came in and got real lucky. No bent metal. FAA congratulated us and basically said, "good job, your alive...". And that was that. Hopped right back in the saddle after a week or so off on the next trip. In my opinion, that's the best way to do it. Just get right back in the saddle.
 
And if were talking about emergencies, I've had more than I can count...

Alternator/electrical failure in IMC coming out of Dallas one time. We just found VFR and landed at some small uncontrolled field and gave them a call.

More emergency gear extensions than I can shake a stick at. 3 which did not result in the gear coming down and locked.

Hydraulic pump wouldn't stop running and began to smoke/catch fire.

Runaway prop.

Attitude indicator failure in icing/IMC in the mountains. I will never forget thinking to myself during this one, "this is it... This is literally how pilots die".

...Sometimes I don't know if I've been lucky or unlucky. Depends on how you look at it I guess.
 
I once ground looped a Luscombe on roll out. No damage. Never flew that thing again. That was about it for me and taildraggers though I used to instruct in a Cessna 140.

I once owned a Cessna 150/150 that would cough once in a while. Had the carb overhauled and it still did it. Lost confidence in the plane and didn't fly it much. Ended up selling it.

Currently own a Cherokee 180. Had several experiences where it would run rough for no apparent reason. Had the fuel system torn apart and put back together with no problems noted. This plane went through about three annuals until one IA got to looking at the mags and found they were severely worn. Replaced the mags and all was well. But I had a serious phobia of flying that plane for a couple of years before that.

So, I've never crashed but certainly feel empathy for anyone who has experienced a rough engine or the bite of the Luscombe.
 
I seem to have had more than my share of inflight emergencies. I'm not going to go on the record on a public forum with details, but ask me over a beer sometime and I'll tell you a few stories... maybe. It's never bothered me getting back into an airplane, while I'm flying I'm cool as a cucumber. It's the recurring dreams that wake me up in a cold sweat...
 
Aircraft are not to be trusted, these machines will show you how much you don't know at their earliest opprotunity.
 
I am one of the unlucky few that have bent metal, and let me tell you it sucks a$$. It messed with my confidence as a pilot and even screwed with my life external to aviation. However, I pushed through, got back on the horse and now am flying for a living ( I guess you can call it that ). Having good mentors and friends helped me out, but it took a few hours to get back in the saddle to say the least
 
I've also bent metal, as per the profile pic. Most stressful part was the insurance interview. Flew the next day to gain my confidence back. Didn't really affect me all that much. I suppose certain 91 or 135 jobs won't take me for having an accident on file, but I can live with that. Mechanical things turbine or piston are prone to fail.
 
Richkid said:
The fact that all mechanical devices can and will fail should not come as a surprise to any pilot. If you need time to recover from the shock that your aircraft failed, you may need a new hobby or career.
Click to expand...

Recovering from a failure and recovering from the events subsequent said failure are two different beasts.

Sounds to me like you've not had much experience with "time slowing" events.
 
In my Viking you're not near as likely to bend metal.

In the event of an off airport landing in a remote area you've got a good supply of firewood until help arrives.

Nakedviking.jpg
 
bc2209 said:
I'd really enjoy and would find it hugely beneficial to read something you put together regarding that type of an incident. Probably one of my biggest fears.
Click to expand...
I still instruct part time and I continue to use the lessons learned in my teaching, but I never transferred my notes to a concise write up...its on my list...My biggest take-a-away was the impossibility of our primary training to fully prepare us for a SE A/C engine failure. There is a BIG difference between an engine at idle and a windmilling propeller..
 
Richkid said:
The fact that all mechanical devices can and will fail should not come as a surprise to any pilot. If you need time to recover from the shock that your aircraft failed, you may need a new hobby or career.
Click to expand...
I'm not trying to poke you in the eye, but that was spoken like a crusty old pilot with 15k hours and not too much recent experience with "new" pilots...I think the OP was referring to recovery time after the smoke has settled, not at the moment of failure...& with all due respect, I think the OP COULD BE contemplating a new hobby or career and is here to gather some other opinions and stories...
 
bucksmith said:
I'm not trying to poke you in the eye, but that was spoken like a crusty old pilot with 15k hours and not too much recent experience with "new" pilots...I think the OP was referring to recovery time after the smoke has settled, not at the moment of failure...& with all due respect, I think the OP COULD BE contemplating a new hobby or career and is here to gather some other opinions and stories...
Click to expand...

Nah, the OP got out of aviation as a career 3 years ago and hasn't looked back. ;)

I guess to settle some things, I flew 2 days after the crash. I got back in the saddle as quick as I could. I don't mind flying, but I won't lie, I found myself sitting short of the runway the other afternoon contemplating whether or not "going up just to buzz around" was worth it and I am considering swapping my "hot rod" out for something more "sensible" but, there are more factors to that than just the unexpected landing. I have kids and a wife. They're like to fly with me too. 2 seats, 4 people, doesn't add up.

I'm not talking about inflight emergencies, alternator failures while VFR, lost comms, etc..

I'm talking about bending metal due to cessation of prop rotation. My event wasn't that severe, but it could have been. Simple engine failure during a touch and go. Did the bounce, brought the power up and started climbing out. Then I wasn't making power anymore. Straight ahead of me was the lighting system to the opposite runway, trees and a swamp. So, did what I could to stay 3 for 3 avoiding those objects. We both survived and the aircraft was repairable. It was my pops first flight since retirement from 121.. LOL

Anyway, more to the point of why I posted...

Before the crash, flying was a given. I'd never REALLY considered I could die. I love flying. In the past, I just went and commited aviation. Sure, issues may come up and I'd deal with them. Which is what I did.
After the crash, flying isn't a given. It's no longer a source of primary income, it's not an "essential" in my life. However, I am still doing it and still enjoy it and have no real plans of quitting, but I won't say I haven't thought "How different would my life be if I never flew again.." Then come the "you could die any day driving to work, but you still drive a car" thoughts..

I'm just a little gun shy. It'll be fine, I was just curious what others who had "stared death in the face and lived to tell the tale" had experienced as well.. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top