Years ago, as an over-confident and recently certificated PPL, I flew a couple of friends in a 172 to KMHS from the Bay Area. The plan was to climb Mt. Shasta the next day. Got a late start and the sun was setting by the time we passed Redding. But the weather was good, so I figured I'd just fly the freeway along the valley until the airport was in sight. But it got dark fast. And after a few minutes in the mountains, I realized I could see the freeway below, but not ahead of me. Too scared of flying into a mountain to turn around, I climbed a little and white knuckled it until the beacon at KMHS came into view. I kept the beacon in the center of the windshield for the next 15 minutes and prayed that there wouldn't be any animals on the runway to make me go around. Got the plane on the ground uneventfully and promised myself I'd never do anything that stupid again.
Great story, Wally. We all can recall dumb stuff done while logging our first couple hundred hours. Glad you made it, but it was your piloting skills that got you to the runway safely.
@@dragonmeddler2152 exactly. People often don't recognize how skillful they are and think they were just lucky if they survive going outside of what they should be doing as a pilot. Plenty of pilots look good because they've never made a mistake but it's normally that they would never fly in anything approaching marginal conditions and can only do the exact same thing every time. I've had instructors refuse to fly in anything that took any level of effort. They like the excuse of thst you're just going to be dealing with the weather and not learning anything. The only one I'd give a pass for was a helicopter instructor and the wind was gusty and swinging and i don't think he was confident in his ability to correct my mistakes fast enough and wasn't sure of my abilities yet. After he'd flown with me a couple of times he would then fly with me in just about anything. That's different to not flying a plane in absolutely legal conditions because your personal minimums are ones to avoid ever having to make decisions or know how to actually fly a plane. It's easy if you only fly in good conditions so you can always just fly the numbers to pretend you're a good pilot.
Before I got my glider and private pilot licence, my parents and i used to hike to the wreckage of all the CFITs and spins into the ground that have happened in the mountains near my home. It was mainly a way to get into the woods for hiking and exploring, but years later it still acts as an excellent reminder not to mess around in the mountains too much
“I don’t do that anymore…”. You and I are about the same age. There are a few things I did in my youth that, like you, I don’t do anymore. I guess we’re getting smarter or just learning from our past “indiscretions” that we were fortunate enough to survive.
I could hear the sadness in your voice and I myself felt the tug of emotion on my heart. Despite who he was as a pilot, this good and loyal and faithful friend to many deserves honor.
@@enshk79 You sound very angry and bitter and I am sorry life has treated you so poorly. Keep trying, all things tend to get better with a positive attitude. Your wisdom will carry you through and you have the sympathy of all who read your generous commentary.
@@miteco1 "...I am sorry life has treated you so poorly...". You have no basis for a statement like that. Stop trying to degrade others by suggesting motives like this.
I disagree. If he didn’t get his license it’s highly unlikely his training was complete. A piece of paper or a signature doesn’t keep your airplane aloft, but additional training could have saved his life in a situation like this! If he just got enough training to get signed off to solo and then went rouge from there, it’s very conceivable that he never got any hood time or upset/unusual attitude training. That kind of training easily could have saved his life in an inadvertent IMC situation…regardless of his attitude/gethomeitis.
When I was a young man, there was a old gentleman who owned a furniture store in my town. He flew a Cessna 172 that he had bought many years before I knew him. I was interested in flying and was told he liked to give rides. I flew with him one day and it was great.....till I found out when he died months later of old age, he had taught himself how to fly and never had a pilot's license. This report took me back to that day.
About 40 years ago, I bought a first edition (1938) copy of a book called "Teach Yourself To Fly". It wasn't cheap, but I had to have this book, because the title alone seemed like a joke! I've only read a chapter or two but obviously there are people out there who must've read it. (I retired as a pilot last century, with licences for fixed and rotary wing aircraft and also worked as an ultralight flying instructor but I couldn't even imagine wanting to teach yourself to fly!) Very sad what happened to this guy.
I soloed on my 16th birthday in 1971. My dad was a flight instructor so I had been flying with him since I was 8 and reported several hundred hours of flight time on my medical/student pilot application. This triggered the FAA to send me a form letter , due to having so many hours on a student pilot certificate. They urged me to obtain my private license ASAP “in the interest of safety “. I replied to their letter and told them I totally agreed with them and if they would issue me a waiver to take my Private Checkride before I turned 17 , I would be happy to do so. The FAA administrator at that time (J Lynn Helms) wrote me a nice letter apologizing for their first letter , saying they hadn’t realized I hadn’t turned 17 yet. He said I was welcome to apply for a waiver , although no such waiver had ever been issued. In addition , he stated by the time I could complete that process, I would have already turned 17 anyway, so he said to disregard their original letter and wished me the best in my future flying endeavors. The bottom line is , the FAA has recognized this problem for over 50 years.
I also soloed on my 16th birthday with 23 hours in my logbook after failing my drivers license test. I wrongly assumed that if I could fly, I could pass the drivers exam.
It's interesting that they're aware of a problem for 50 years and have not made any steps to fix it. I think it should be like an amateur radio license if you can prove you understand the fundamentals and are able to do the task and you should be able to do the check ride at any age. We give people permits and put them on the road at 15 so I don't know why you couldn't do the pilots check right at that point either. And if you're living on a farm and on your own property you can drive a vehicle at any time you want no matter your age or if you have a license.
@@8gRaceTeamFly in the cool part of the day so the DA isn’t too high. Don’t fly into canyons unless flying a fighter jet. If you can’t go nearly vertical, you may enter a canyon that is too narrow to turn around in. Altitude is your friend and distances between fuel stops are greater in the less populated high plains. Weight and balance matter. Don’t be in a hurry. I’m sure someone more experienced than me has more and better info.
You're a good man, Juan Browne. You've covered a lot of difficult tragedies in the time I've followed you, and while there's a clinical aspect to what you do, your emotional connection to aviation is obvious. That's what we need.
Juan looks like he lost composure when it came time to describe the “distraction” and edited it out. It’s so sad. It’s easy to dismiss the pilot as a reckless fool who had it coming - until you find out he was on a very personal mission of mercy - flying home to get medication for a dying friend. No one gets out alive folks. Cherish your life and those of your friends and loved ones. Be careful out there - for their sake and yours.
Juan looks like he lost composure when it came time to describe the “distraction” and edited it out. This story is just so sad. It’s easy to dismiss the pilot as a reckless fool who had it coming - until you learn he was on a very personal mission of mercy - flying home to get medication for a dying friend. No one gets out alive folks. Cherish your life and those of your friends and loved ones. Be careful out there - for their sake and yours. You’re a good man Juan Brown.
See there, you go again, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink! Every time I hear an accident similar to this, I thank God I was able to make the right decision for me not to continue flying GA! I loved flying so much but I knew I was a danger to myself and possibly others. So I switched to model airplanes and have been flying them for over 45 years. Love your channel, Juan !
This reminds me of a biannual flight review that I was having on a small airport between Baltimore and Washington D.C. The aircraft was a rental and we departed Suburban airport into the flight corridor when I notice the warning that the alternator wasn’t working. I pointed this out to the examiner and expressed my concern since we were using the transponder and radios on battery only. As I began the route reversal he said I should ignore the warning and continue the flight review. I glanced over at him and said “I am an FAA safety officer and this flight is being conducted to determine your proficiency”. I’m not and it wasn’t, but he turned pale and quiet. Then I confessed that I was not a safety officer but suggested that he consider what would happen if I was. The turn was completed, the landing uneventful and the aircraft parked at the maintenance apron. I scheduled another check ride with a different instructor.
The thing that jumped out to me from the NTSB report was that "Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) was elevated at 8.6%. Glucose was measured at 5 mg/dL in vitreous and 1051 mg/dL in urine." That's a sign of long-standing uncontrolled diabetes, which may explain why he didn't actually obtain a valid license/medical. (An A1c above 6.5 and/or a glucose above 200 mg/dL are diagnostic criteria for diabetes.) Diabetes is not disqualifying for a third-class medical certificate, but additional documentation is required to show that it's well-controlled, which was clearly not the case here. Uncontrolled diabetes certainly wouldn't have helped his concentration, visual acuity, reflexes, or coordination. No way to know if it contributed to the accident, but it certainly speaks to this pilot's risk management practices that he was willing to fly that way.
I did some scud running in Florida in the 90's, lucky for me no mountains and I could land if it got too bad. Did that a few times too, in those cases, wires were the biggest concern. Helicopters are way safer in those rare occasions that the job demands it. My boss was an Ahole: "Do this or you're fired"... which he eventually did. Life is a crapshoot, choose your dice carefully.
My flight instructor was flying a Beech twin that was rated for known icing and had flown the owner wanna-be pilot to Chicago on business. The return flight was planned but a line of thunderstorms from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico deemed a no-go situation. The owner demanded that the flight should happen as scheduled since the plane was equipped for such conditions. My CFI, Wally, handed him the keys and said that he would be flying commercial back to Baltimore, and walked away.
About C150 bench seats: All these Cessnas, at least up to 1969 year , have the potential to be purchased with a bench seat. In later years, bench seats were very rare. The floor must have seat rails for strength. The bench seat holes were drilled in all planes behind the door. Benches save weight.
same song, different verse. My brother did the same thing in a 205. NTSB stated the self induced pressure to complete a business trip led to the decision to launch. (just after 2008 mortgage meltdown) My brother had also been taking Ambien to sleep because of the stress. That may have been a small contributor. THANKS for all you do for GA safety!
11:00 Yup. His plate was full, and the airplane took the opportunity to bite him, after all those years operating the way he did, it said now. It coulda' happened anytime. He may have made some aviation decisions that we wouldn't agree with. But nobody would argue he wasn't an excellent friend to Richard. RIP
Juan, you are one of those rare human beings that we are lucky to meet once or twice in our lifetimes. You are a very good man and I thank you for all of your insights and teachings. I just hope that the right people will listen.
I hope this can help someone as lessons learned. So much of flying is in your head.... using informed judgement and past experiences. Owning an aircraft is serious and should be taken as such... as is becoming a licensed pilot. I felt your frustration feeling this tragedy was so avoidable... on so many levels, Juan.
As a retired GA FAA Safety Inspector-Operations, I recall a similar situation where I was informed of a rogue pilot by his concerned sister. She was concerned because he often took his grand children flying. I confronted him after I caught him in the act of landing. When I asked for his certificates, he stated that he didn't have them on him at the time but agreed to show up at the FSDO the following day with them. He never showed and of course I knew he was lying about being a legal pilot. In discussions with an FAA attorney, any further action against him was dropped. There was no way to bring any enforcement against him under the compliance guidance we had to work with. The pity of this case was that he owned 3 airplanes, the private airport and probably continued to operate his fleet, likely never getting properly trained and certified. I never had to investigate his demise in an aircraft accident so that was a blessing.
Just returned from South Africa and met a similar pilot 73 years old being flying for 50 years approx,no licence,now banned by the SACAA after recently pranging his piper arrow and filling the dents on the leading edge of both wings with some kind of polyfilla!
Tough scene for the stubborn old codger. I live in Mt Shasta, & I remember this accident from when it happened. Went on hikes around the Mott airport area the following days after the reports were in of a lost aircraft in the area. Always appreciate your content, Juan. Let me buy ya lunch sometime & I will pick ya up at Mott. Happy holidays to ya, my friend.
Thank you for not flying like this anymore, as you stated. Also, thank you for being wise far beyond the average man, and sharing of some of this wisdom with us average fellas. Hoping all is as well as possible this holiday season with respect to you and your family.
Big of you to admit scud running at one time or another. I feel like a lot of us have attempted it or at least considered it, despite knowing better. "It won't happen to me. I know what I'm doing..." Personally I scared the ever loving shit out of myself doing something stupid 30 odd years ago, and it's been nothing but by the book since. I would almost call myself overly cautious now as a result.
I used to work at Klamath Falls, Oregon, in college, gassing planes. The planes that worried me were like this, and we would pull a few out of the trees every year. I remember one C-150 from California with two adults in the front, baggage to the windowsills, and two small kids on top of the bags. They were concerned about a lack of power since they got out of California, but that load, and a warm day, and 4000' field elevation wasn't what they counted on.
I have made a number of flights over the Dunsmuir area where the accident occurred. All of my flights were in clear weather but I was always glad to get through that area. Interstate 5 was about the only option to land in an emergency! It’s a very narrow canyon like area from Lake Shasta until you reach the small town of Weed, California. Definitely not a place to be if you are not IFR rated and it’s a low ceiling.
So sad another senseless death. Sounds like his luck finally ran out and the fact he was helping his best friend as his life was coming to and end makes this even more tragic. I know this was a hard one for you Juan to report on, you could sinse at the end of the video this one really hurt. Thanks for all you do Sir. You are greatly appreciated my friend.
Unfortunately aviation has a few of these types of people flying as we speak And there’s no way to really to monitor their actions until it’s to late !Thanx Juan for your work Ever time you report on these situations I’m sure you save lives !
At 10:55 I see a Juan that I have never seen... Emotional. Juan, I hope you expand at some point why this hit you so hard... Thank you for this update.
@@blancolirio Please reach out to me directly. Way too much to type. I would go so far as to give you my personal number. I've been off all week for a similar situation.
Thank mr.Juan, you are the real deal my friend, we all get old and are mortal, and when our health starts to deteriorate and life gets chaotic sometimes we live a bit closer to the edge than we realize and get bitten. RIP to the rogue pilot and condolences to his family and friends. Thank you dear lord for mr.Juan Brown who has undertaken such a mighty endeavor to try and help out his fellow aviators and keep them airborne.
In the seventies,living in Colorado, I would scud run all the time. But this was before cell towers and wind turbines. I knew where all the high tension power lines were. I was also young, dumb, and full of thoroughly misplaced self confidence. You said “I don’t scud run any more”. Me either. Thanks for another EXCELLENT report.
RIP William. This guy was destined to become another CFIT casualty. I think even if he had a current pilots certificate...his whole decision making process was totally flawed. Thx Juan for another analysis of an accident report.
Re get home itis: I can't give much info, but 1980(?), we had a Cessna 185 customer come in who wanted a quick going over for a long trip he was planning. We found a rotten alternator belt and the young pilot went round and round with the shop foreman about replacing it. One of our mechanics knew the kid's dad and replaced the belt anyway during the discussion. I found out the dad had political connections. I helped with the job and thought it odd for the airplane to have bush tires. I went up to the airplane for a runup and was knocked over by a "strange" smell. I noticed all the seats were taken out, including the copilot side.
He had diabetes I'll bet he couldn't get a medical back in 1999, so he just never pursued getting his certificate. Owned his own plane and flew for 20 years. A C150 is pretty easy to fly. I'll bet he was a pretty good pilot. He was despondent on this flight and through caution to the wind. RIP renegade.
I agree with all of his experience the licensing wasn't likely a key issue but poor decision making was everything. It makes me think of many bad decisions I've made over 76 years but none critical. I am not a pilot but obviously being one adds a tremendous amount of importance on making good choices.
It absolutely was though. If he had simply followed the rules and chose not to fly based on his unlicensed status and lack of medical certificate he would still be alive.
When I started flying years ago I was surprised how many guys had flown for years off their farm strip with no license. One guy who became a great friend taught himself and his son to fly! Crazy stuff for sure.
@@bombsaway6340Reckless for sure. But I’ll bet he’s been scud running up that pass a number of times before. Check out the paint job. Probably says a thing or two about the pilot.
Many years ago I flew for Civil Air Patrol in California. I remember searching for two or three scud runners a year in the mountains surrounding Los Angeles. I remember three that went missing in the winter, had ELT sniffs and sort of localized the areas. The ELT's froze but when they thawed in the spring, we got a new signal and finally found the crash site. I remember one search where we finally found the plane in the one valley that never cleared out during the winter. Spring came and we had him in a day.
Wow. I flew that same route (KLMT to KRBL following I-5) 9/12/21 with mildly reduced visibility (maybe 5-10 miles) due to smoke. I had been pinned down at KRDM for a week due to smoke (vis 1-3 miles). While grounded at Redmond, I had many opportunities to take off in minimal VMC but wanted much more than min VMC to fly south through the mountains. Eventually the smoke cleared and I flew south. Just before entering the pass, my tablet with flight software & GPS went tits-up. My plane (N6007K) is an antique with all 'steam' gauges. However, being very old school, I had current paper charts with planned courses plotted and labeled with headings & distances. I flew within 7 or 8 miles of Mt Shasta without seeing it.
Driving over the Siskiyou Pass in December was absolutely terrifying, as snow was accumulating rapidly on I-5, and clusters of tractor trailers were pulled over or summiting as visibility worsened. White knuckles!
During my time working in flight service we saw a number of "controlled flight into terrain" accidents. We always said they were trying to fly through cumulogranite.
Cumulo-Granite will get you every time. Sadly, this poor guy fit so many of our pilot parables, the old, bold pilots, better to be on the ground wishing...There's nothing more permanent than a temporary fix comes to mind as well. Prayers for those effected.
The fact that the aircraft had a throwing flame painting scheme and a dragster like steering wheel (i mean, yoke) was already an indication that something was wrong. Rogue pilot is the best way to describe this wannabe. Unfortunately paid dearly with his own life. Thanks for great review, JB.
Sad, I was a rogue pilot once. now I just don't fly. Age has taught me it's not worth it. Did plenty of Scud running in the Army with rotary wing aircraft. Crazy dangerous, and got lucky more than once. Trees and wires were not my friend.
What's sad to me is that immediately before this, I watched an AOPA video about a pilot who crashed after an icing encounter, miraculously surviving with serious injuries. Listening to him tell his own story, he was a careful, prudent pilot who always did extensive preflight planning, but a combination of get-there-itis and possibly compromised judgment and cognitive function due to the extreme cold at the time simply led him to a couple of questionable decisions about continuing the flight. Completing the holes through the Swiss cheese was that the icing was a kind of freak occurrence that day, with no icing pireps and no icing AIRMET. I've got a lot more sympathy for that guy than the subject of Juan's report here. Sigh.
It's crazy weired sometimes, how "Murphy's Law" can force that one extra hole in the swiss cheese (that creeps in out of nowhere) and ends up causing a fairly normal flight, to take a turn for the worst.
Sad tale and told with professionalism and kindness, Juan. Lots of reasons he may have pushed it beyond prudence that last ride. What his excuses were the 20 years of unqualified flying leading up to that day I’m less inclined to find much sympathy with.
Sad to see that the friend who knew he was going to die outlived his friend. Just because he had a plane did not mean he had to fly it. Rest in Peace, Sir.
@@RowanHawkins You're correct, just because you own a car you don't need to drive it. Driving while inebriated, driving in weather that you're unable to safely drive in, driving while in a mental state that doesn't allow you to maneuver a heavy fast moving vehicle in rational ways. These are all reasons why not to drive a car. These are also all reasons not to fly a plane. This outside of the fact that ideally people driving a. have their license and b. are making responsible decisions. While B frequently flouted, A is done far less so (and I suspect most of the time people who are driving without a license don't have a license because it got revoked as opposed to them not having taken and/or passed a driver's test). So yes, there is inherent risk in anything that one does, but that doesn't make it reasonable to then *add* significantly risk on top of that, which is what was done on this occasion.
This kind of guy is not unheard of. Years ago I knew a Navion owner who flew bootleg IFR over the North Cascades, day and night. He was unlicensed. He scared himself and sold his airplane. I've known of others, too.
I sold my Skyhawk after realizing that if my single engine quit over the rough terrain I tended to traverse, that I was definitely going to die. With 3 young kids I wasn't willing to run that risk profile. I never really got scared, I just knew it was wrong. If I'd lived in flat country, I'd probably still own the plane.
It must be hard to make these videos. To hear the stories of the pilots and passengers. To learn what happened to stack the odds against them. I am sure your videos will help others make better choices. Thank you for your efforts to save lives.
I’m not a pilot. I do ride a motorcycle however, in an urban environment, and I’ve wondered if there aren’t some parallels. This report leads me to believe there are.
Studies show that unlicensed motorcycle riders are over-represented in crash statistics. Same for those who eschew personal safety gear. So, Newbies and Harley-heads then.
I am a former pilot, but still ride motorcycles, and my son still does both. He and I both agree that it takes concentration and a lack of unnecessary distractions to do either one safely. You can enjoy both experiences provided you keep your mind on your task and don't let the aircraft, or the motorcycle, get ahead of you. Inattentiveness can put you in a world of hurt, or just six feet under, while engaging in either sport. In either environment, I keep my head on a swivel, anticipating any and every possible event, and how I will respond. Both hobbies can be mentally and physically taxing, and depending on weather, health, etc, it is always wise to know when to say 'when', or just find an alternative means of transport! 'Get there itis' can be equally disastrous for a pilot, a motorcyclist, and any passengers involved, either way. After 50 years on 2 wheels, and half that many in the air, I can confirm there are definitely similarities between the two!
There certainly are. But they are the same parallels that apply to anyone operating a machine with lethal potential, cars, snowmobiles, boats, etc. Know your machine's limits, and know your own. Be aware of the odds against you and don't work against your own survival.
Most of us start out every flight by following the 1,2,3,4 scenario, ie deal with the issues as they happen. Some folks start out at 2,4,8 16…..this guy sadly started at ABOUT 6….i appreciate the situation but you have to ask yourself every time if the decisions make the situation better or WORSE.
Thank you for your work Juan. I don’t fly, but these accident or mishap analysis transfer to climbing, ski mountaineering, and any activities requiring judgement and risk analysis. Love your work!
I don't know what medications he might have been on, but for an urgent trip - and I'd classify seeing a dying friend as urgent - most doctors will try to work it out to get you a bit more medication if you're refill is due during or right at the end of the trip. Most people don't think about that. We'll never know, but maybe if he'd asked, there might not have been the rush to get home. If he did ask, one would think his girlfriend would have been aware of it. Sad situation.
Thank you for doing what you do Juan, I feel your frustration and sadness with stories like this. Please remember that you cover the tragic stories and that, every day, there are pilots making the correct decisions and living to fly another day. GA has a culture of safety because of pilots like you who remind us of our responsibility to our selves, our families, the general public, and the flight community; to stay proficient and practice proper pilot decision making. Thank you.
Super sad, I had flown from Grants Pass to Ashland that day and the weather was rough and I remember thinking how amazing his paint job was and was super shocked he took off south. The weather was horrible.
I'll never forget seeing somebody scud-running in a Cherokee a little farther north around Wolf Creek. I was driving on I-5 and the plane went over close enough to clearly see the control surfaces moving as the pilot navigated the pass. Seems like a really risky way to get a $500 cheeseburger. RIP to this pilot, and may the rest of the flying folk learn from his tragic mistake.
A guy like this had a hanger near mine. He had the roughest Cherokee 140 I’ve ever seen. Whenever he was me, how would come over and start talking. Loudly. Telling me about doing his own annual. Taught himself mountain flying. All this while I’m preflighting. Once, I returned with a very rough mag check. He explained I should check It again IN THE PATTERN, it was just a fouled plug. Well, turned out the mag was bad. They’re out there.
This reminds me of something that a prof said when I was in A&P school about when an FAA inspector should show up at this particular airport: "you could hear all the tool boxes slamming shut!" It was notorius for airplane owners doing their own work.
My first airplane was a Cessna 140, and it had a nice brand new paint job as well. And guess what my generator did not charge because they painted the firewall and then put the grounding wire on the firewall. I wonder if that could’ve been the case with his airplane as well. all they had to do was scrape some paint off to make a good ground so the generator would charge the battery that was back in 1978 or so.
Mike Patey did a video where he has lost 4 friends... talked about some canyons are death traps for small planes. are flight maps marked that those should NOT be flown into.. as well as the electronic mapping systems..
I remember my family driving from CA to WA when I was a kid, and more than once In July or so we'd be driving north under completely blue skies on I-5 only to see the fog literally pouring out of the southern end of that pass. This is that same place where they get huge multi-vehicle pileups because that fog can come up SOUPER fast, and SOUPER quick, if you get what I'm saying. It's so sneaky and so serious even in a car, I can only imagine how fast it can change when you're in the air.
Reminds me of a guy at KPQL about 20 years ago who was trying to fly under the new LSA specifications. He'd bought an older Ercoupe (under the weight limit, but still not certified as an LSA) that would run on auto gas. I recalled him fueling his tanks using a couple of large gas cans before departing for KAEX on an overcast day. He got within three miles of KAEX and ran out of fuel, losing his life in the accident. He was another one of those that you couldn't talk any sense into. Stupid is as stupid does. It's hard for me to feel any sympathy for guys like that.
My takeaway is that commercial airlines are as safe as they are because, behind and alongside the pilots, there is a massive infrastructure of support. Lacking that support, GA pilots need to be extremely conservative, flying only when there is no doubt about each of the many factors that pose risks. That level of awareness is a lot to ask of non-professional pilots.
Years ago, as an over-confident and recently certificated PPL, I flew a couple of friends in a 172 to KMHS from the Bay Area. The plan was to climb Mt. Shasta the next day. Got a late start and the sun was setting by the time we passed Redding. But the weather was good, so I figured I'd just fly the freeway along the valley until the airport was in sight. But it got dark fast. And after a few minutes in the mountains, I realized I could see the freeway below, but not ahead of me. Too scared of flying into a mountain to turn around, I climbed a little and white knuckled it until the beacon at KMHS came into view. I kept the beacon in the center of the windshield for the next 15 minutes and prayed that there wouldn't be any animals on the runway to make me go around. Got the plane on the ground uneventfully and promised myself I'd never do anything that stupid again.
Great story, Wally. We all can recall dumb stuff done while logging our first couple hundred hours. Glad you made it, but it was your piloting skills that got you to the runway safely.
@@dragonmeddler2152 exactly. People often don't recognize how skillful they are and think they were just lucky if they survive going outside of what they should be doing as a pilot. Plenty of pilots look good because they've never made a mistake but it's normally that they would never fly in anything approaching marginal conditions and can only do the exact same thing every time. I've had instructors refuse to fly in anything that took any level of effort. They like the excuse of thst you're just going to be dealing with the weather and not learning anything.
The only one I'd give a pass for was a helicopter instructor and the wind was gusty and swinging and i don't think he was confident in his ability to correct my mistakes fast enough and wasn't sure of my abilities yet. After he'd flown with me a couple of times he would then fly with me in just about anything.
That's different to not flying a plane in absolutely legal conditions because your personal minimums are ones to avoid ever having to make decisions or know how to actually fly a plane. It's easy if you only fly in good conditions so you can always just fly the numbers to pretend you're a good pilot.
Quote of the day, " I don't do that anymore". That's experience talking.
Before I got my glider and private pilot licence, my parents and i used to hike to the wreckage of all the CFITs and spins into the ground that have happened in the mountains near my home. It was mainly a way to get into the woods for hiking and exploring, but years later it still acts as an excellent reminder not to mess around in the mountains too much
It's good that you said too much.
Too many people are too risk adverse to become skilled pilots.
“I don’t do that anymore…”. You and I are about the same age. There are a few things I did in my youth that, like you, I don’t do anymore. I guess we’re getting smarter or just learning from our past “indiscretions” that we were fortunate enough to survive.
I could hear the sadness in your voice and I myself felt the tug of emotion on my heart.
Despite who he was as a pilot, this good and loyal and faithful friend to many deserves honor.
He should have driven his car.
Good? Faithful? He’s lucky he didn’t get someone else killed. He’s an irresponsible FOOL. Zero sympathy.
@@enshk79 You sound very angry and bitter and I am sorry life has treated you so poorly. Keep trying, all things tend to get better with a positive attitude. Your wisdom will carry you through and you have the sympathy of all who read your generous commentary.
@@miteco1 "...I am sorry life has treated you so poorly...". You have no basis for a statement like that. Stop trying to degrade others by suggesting motives like this.
@@MrShobar Then what else has made you so bitter, acidic, and disrespectful and abrasive and obstinate from the onset, then, one wonders?
To be honest, this guy could've completed his basic license, but it very very likely wouldn't change the way he operated one bit.
Probably not with the diabetes.
guy didnt want a licence - come to think of it he did want anything
The old cliche (thank you for correcting me) comes to mind, he perished doing what he loved, flying-piloting, free of the
bureaucracy.
@@libertine5606He may well have not had diabetes in 1999, and if he could have flown under basic med or light sport.
I disagree. If he didn’t get his license it’s highly unlikely his training was complete. A piece of paper or a signature doesn’t keep your airplane aloft, but additional training could have saved his life in a situation like this! If he just got enough training to get signed off to solo and then went rouge from there, it’s very conceivable that he never got any hood time or upset/unusual attitude training. That kind of training easily could have saved his life in an inadvertent IMC situation…regardless of his attitude/gethomeitis.
When I was a young man, there was a old gentleman who owned a furniture store in my town. He flew a Cessna 172 that he had bought many years before I knew him. I was interested in flying and was told he liked to give rides. I flew with him one day and it was great.....till I found out when he died months later of old age, he had taught himself how to fly and never had a pilot's license. This report took me back to that day.
Lots of people teach themselves to drive as well, or at least they drive like they do.
And you survived and the pilot lived to an old age. Weird.
Try that on a Tomahawk, or Grumman singles. You are dead. Those dont pardon as much as Cessna.
About 40 years ago, I bought a first edition (1938) copy of a book called "Teach Yourself To Fly". It wasn't cheap, but I had to have this book, because the title alone seemed like a joke! I've only read a chapter or two but obviously there are people out there who must've read it. (I retired as a pilot last century, with licences for fixed and rotary wing aircraft and also worked as an ultralight flying instructor but I couldn't even imagine wanting to teach yourself to fly!) Very sad what happened to this guy.
@@emergencylowmaneuvering7350Really don't know what you are suggesting re: Tomahawk, Grumman singles?
"professional student pilot" made my day.
I soloed on my 16th birthday in 1971. My dad was a flight instructor so I had been flying with him since I was 8 and reported several hundred hours of flight time on my medical/student pilot application. This triggered the FAA to send me a form letter , due to having so many hours on a student pilot certificate. They urged me to obtain my private license ASAP “in the interest of safety “.
I replied to their letter and told them I totally agreed with them and if they would issue me a waiver to take my Private Checkride before I turned 17 , I would be happy to do so.
The FAA administrator at that time (J Lynn Helms) wrote me a nice letter apologizing for their first letter , saying they hadn’t realized I hadn’t turned 17 yet. He said I was welcome to apply for a waiver , although no such waiver had ever been issued. In addition , he stated by the time I could complete that process, I would have already turned 17 anyway, so he said to disregard their original letter and wished me the best in my future flying endeavors. The bottom line is , the FAA has recognized this problem for over 50 years.
I also soloed on my 16th birthday with 23 hours in my logbook after failing my drivers license test. I wrongly assumed that if I could fly, I could pass the drivers exam.
What advice would you give to a flat lander from the east coast about flying in the mountains. I Hope to one day fly the west. And live to tell about
Get your instrument rating.@@8gRaceTeam
It's interesting that they're aware of a problem for 50 years and have not made any steps to fix it. I think it should be like an amateur radio license if you can prove you understand the fundamentals and are able to do the task and you should be able to do the check ride at any age. We give people permits and put them on the road at 15 so I don't know why you couldn't do the pilots check right at that point either. And if you're living on a farm and on your own property you can drive a vehicle at any time you want no matter your age or if you have a license.
@@8gRaceTeamFly in the cool part of the day so the DA isn’t too high. Don’t fly into canyons unless flying a fighter jet. If you can’t go nearly vertical, you may enter a canyon that is too narrow to turn around in. Altitude is your friend and distances between fuel stops are greater in the less populated high plains. Weight and balance matter. Don’t be in a hurry. I’m sure someone more experienced than me has more and better info.
You're a good man, Juan Browne. You've covered a lot of difficult tragedies in the time I've followed you, and while there's a clinical aspect to what you do, your emotional connection to aviation is obvious. That's what we need.
That's the reason I only watch this channel I don't watch any other pilot quack quack stuff only Juan Brown.
Juan looks like he lost composure when it came time to describe the “distraction” and edited it out. It’s so sad. It’s easy to dismiss the pilot as a reckless fool who had it coming - until you find out he was on a very personal mission of mercy - flying home to get medication for a dying friend.
No one gets out alive folks. Cherish your life and those of your friends and loved ones. Be careful out there - for their sake and yours.
Juan looks like he lost composure when it came time to describe the “distraction” and edited it out. This story is just so sad. It’s easy to dismiss the pilot as a reckless fool who had it coming - until you learn he was on a very personal mission of mercy - flying home to get medication for a dying friend.
No one gets out alive folks. Cherish your life and those of your friends and loved ones. Be careful out there - for their sake and yours.
You’re a good man Juan Brown.
Motion passes unanimously:
Juan Browne is a good man!
Stay safe!
Very well said, 💯
See there, you go again, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink!
Every time I hear an accident similar to this, I thank God I was able to make the right decision for me not to continue flying GA! I loved flying so much but I knew I was a danger to myself and possibly others. So I switched to model airplanes and have been flying them for over 45 years.
Love your channel, Juan !
Smart, introspective...live long and prosper!🖖
You can
lead someone to knowledge
but
you can’t make them think.
Thank you for your particular sensitivity in covering this tragedy. Above all else - a very human one. Sobering, thanks again
Human factors are very powerful
The words “old” and “bold” come to mind.
This reminds me of a biannual flight review that I was having on a small airport between Baltimore and Washington D.C. The aircraft was a rental and we departed Suburban airport into the flight corridor when I notice the warning that the alternator wasn’t working. I pointed this out to the examiner and expressed my concern since we were using the transponder and radios on battery only. As I began the route reversal he said I should ignore the warning and continue the flight review.
I glanced over at him and said “I am an FAA safety officer and this flight is being conducted to determine your proficiency”. I’m not and it wasn’t, but he turned pale and quiet. Then I confessed that I was not a safety officer but suggested that he consider what would happen if I was.
The turn was completed, the landing uneventful and the aircraft parked at the maintenance apron.
I scheduled another check ride with a different instructor.
Interesting that NTSB report didn’t specifically state if aircraft had a vacuum driven or electrical instrumentation package.
I saw mention of the vacuum pump.
The thing that jumped out to me from the NTSB report was that "Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) was elevated at 8.6%. Glucose was measured at 5 mg/dL in vitreous and 1051 mg/dL in urine." That's a sign of long-standing uncontrolled diabetes, which may explain why he didn't actually obtain a valid license/medical. (An A1c above 6.5 and/or a glucose above 200 mg/dL are diagnostic criteria for diabetes.) Diabetes is not disqualifying for a third-class medical certificate, but additional documentation is required to show that it's well-controlled, which was clearly not the case here.
Uncontrolled diabetes certainly wouldn't have helped his concentration, visual acuity, reflexes, or coordination. No way to know if it contributed to the accident, but it certainly speaks to this pilot's risk management practices that he was willing to fly that way.
I did some scud running in Florida in the 90's, lucky for me no mountains and I could land if it got too bad. Did that a few times too, in those cases, wires were the biggest concern. Helicopters are way safer in those rare occasions that the job demands it. My boss was an Ahole: "Do this or you're fired"... which he eventually did. Life is a crapshoot, choose your dice carefully.
Florida has some very tall towers with wires, you are very lucky my friend
Hmmm.... We each read things through our own prism. I first thought you said *_wives_* were the biggest concern.
My flight instructor was flying a Beech twin that was rated for known icing and had flown the owner wanna-be pilot to Chicago on business. The return flight was planned but a line of thunderstorms from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico deemed a no-go situation. The owner demanded that the flight should happen as scheduled since the plane was equipped for such conditions. My CFI, Wally, handed him the keys and said that he would be flying commercial back to Baltimore, and walked away.
Enjoyed your honesty on coughing up the scud running.....
About C150 bench seats: All these Cessnas, at least up to 1969 year , have the potential to be purchased with a bench seat. In later years, bench seats were very rare. The floor must have seat rails for strength. The bench seat holes were drilled in all planes behind the door. Benches save weight.
same song, different verse. My brother did the same thing in a 205. NTSB stated the self induced pressure to complete a business trip led to the decision to launch. (just after 2008 mortgage meltdown) My brother had also been taking Ambien to sleep because of the stress. That may have been a small contributor. THANKS for all you do for GA safety!
11:00 Yup.
His plate was full, and the airplane took the opportunity to bite him, after all those years operating the way he did, it said now.
It coulda' happened anytime. He may have made some aviation decisions that we wouldn't agree with. But nobody would argue he wasn't an excellent friend to Richard. RIP
Juan, you are one of those rare human beings that we are lucky to meet once or twice in our lifetimes. You are a very good man and I thank you for all of your insights and teachings. I just hope that the right people will listen.
Yes, you are a good man. This is tough stuff, here.
I hope this can help someone as lessons learned. So much of flying is in your head.... using informed judgement and past experiences. Owning an aircraft is serious and should be taken as such... as is becoming a licensed pilot. I felt your frustration feeling this tragedy was so avoidable... on so many levels, Juan.
As a retired GA FAA Safety Inspector-Operations, I recall a similar situation where I was informed of a rogue pilot by his concerned sister. She was concerned because he often took his grand children flying. I confronted him after I caught him in the act of landing. When I asked for his certificates, he stated that he didn't have them on him at the time but agreed to show up at the FSDO the following day with them. He never showed and of course I knew he was lying about being a legal pilot. In discussions with an FAA attorney, any further action against him was dropped. There was no way to bring any enforcement against him under the compliance guidance we had to work with. The pity of this case was that he owned 3 airplanes, the private airport and probably continued to operate his fleet, likely never getting properly trained and certified. I never had to investigate his demise in an aircraft accident so that was a blessing.
That is an FAA lose action there. Just put an spotter and get the sucker.
Just returned from South Africa and met a similar pilot 73 years old being flying for 50 years approx,no licence,now banned by the SACAA after recently pranging his piper arrow and filling the dents on the leading edge of both wings with some kind of polyfilla!
Maybe Bondo filler used in cars. They make the area heavy and its not aproved for aircraft.
Thank you Juan for all this work. I’m not a pilot but all these lessons apply for lots of aspects of our lives.
Tough scene for the stubborn old codger. I live in Mt Shasta, & I remember this accident from when it happened. Went on hikes around the Mott airport area the following days after the reports were in of a lost aircraft in the area. Always appreciate your content, Juan. Let me buy ya lunch sometime & I will pick ya up at Mott. Happy holidays to ya, my friend.
Thank you for not flying like this anymore, as you stated. Also, thank you for being wise far beyond the average man, and sharing of some of this wisdom with us average fellas. Hoping all is as well as possible this holiday season with respect to you and your family.
Same here I dont fly Snowstorm, Night, Thunderstom and above the Sea anymore. I had those experiences and survived.
Big of you to admit scud running at one time or another. I feel like a lot of us have attempted it or at least considered it, despite knowing better. "It won't happen to me. I know what I'm doing..." Personally I scared the ever loving shit out of myself doing something stupid 30 odd years ago, and it's been nothing but by the book since. I would almost call myself overly cautious now as a result.
I used to work at Klamath Falls, Oregon, in college, gassing planes. The planes that worried me were like this, and we would pull a few out of the trees every year. I remember one C-150 from California with two adults in the front, baggage to the windowsills, and two small kids on top of the bags. They were concerned about a lack of power since they got out of California, but that load, and a warm day, and 4000' field elevation wasn't what they counted on.
Did they make it?
@@speedbird7976 They made it to wherever they were going. It was nice weather in the summer.
I have made a number of flights over the Dunsmuir area where the accident occurred. All of my flights were in clear weather but I was always glad to get through that area. Interstate 5 was about the only option to land in an emergency! It’s a very narrow canyon like area from Lake Shasta until you reach the small town of Weed, California. Definitely not a place to be if you are not IFR rated and it’s a low ceiling.
So sad another senseless death. Sounds like his luck finally ran out and the fact he was helping his best friend as his life was coming to and end makes this even more tragic. I know this was a hard one for you Juan to report on, you could sinse at the end of the video this one really hurt. Thanks for all you do Sir. You are greatly appreciated my friend.
Unfortunately aviation has a few of these types of people flying as we speak And there’s no way to really to monitor their actions until it’s to late !Thanx Juan for your work
Ever time you report on these situations I’m sure you save lives !
@v1rotation
There is a never-ending stream of fresh recruits to take their places.
Only fewer and fewer airplanes airplanes every year.... 😣
Thanks Juan Browne for your information.
At 10:55 I see a Juan that I have never seen... Emotional. Juan, I hope you expand at some point why this hit you so hard... Thank you for this update.
See old updates on Prostate Cancer.
@@blancolirio Please reach out to me directly. Way too much to type. I would go so far as to give you my personal number. I've been off all week for a similar situation.
Wow... this is an incredible story with a very sad ending. Thanks for covering this one Juan .
Thank mr.Juan, you are the real deal my friend, we all get old and are mortal, and when our health starts to deteriorate and life gets chaotic sometimes we live a bit closer to the edge than we realize and get bitten. RIP to the rogue pilot and condolences to his family and friends. Thank you dear lord for mr.Juan Brown who has undertaken such a mighty endeavor to try and help out his fellow aviators and keep them airborne.
In the seventies,living in Colorado, I would scud run all the time. But this was before cell towers and wind turbines. I knew where all the high tension power lines were. I was also young, dumb, and full of thoroughly misplaced self confidence. You said “I don’t scud run any more”. Me either.
Thanks for another EXCELLENT report.
RIP William.
This guy was destined to become another CFIT casualty. I think even if he had a current pilots certificate...his whole decision making process was totally flawed.
Thx Juan for another analysis of an accident report.
I don't know this man, but I knew my father. As a boss, he listened to no one for years. Neither mom, kids, nor workers could tell him anything.
Re get home itis: I can't give much info, but 1980(?), we had a Cessna 185 customer come in who wanted a quick going over for a long trip he was planning. We found a rotten alternator belt and the young pilot went round and round with the shop foreman about replacing it. One of our mechanics knew the kid's dad and replaced the belt anyway during the discussion. I found out the dad had political connections. I helped with the job and thought it odd for the airplane to have bush tires. I went up to the airplane for a runup and was knocked over by a "strange" smell. I noticed all the seats were taken out, including the copilot side.
He had diabetes I'll bet he couldn't get a medical back in 1999, so he just never pursued getting his certificate. Owned his own plane and flew for 20 years. A C150 is pretty easy to fly. I'll bet he was a pretty good pilot. He was despondent on this flight and through caution to the wind. RIP renegade.
I agree with all of his experience the licensing wasn't likely a key issue but poor decision making was everything. It makes me think of many bad decisions I've made over 76 years but none critical. I am not a pilot but obviously being one adds a tremendous amount of importance on making good choices.
It absolutely was though. If he had simply followed the rules and chose not to fly based on his unlicensed status and lack of medical certificate he would still be alive.
@@damenprice3752licensed pilots have made the same mistakes. Even covered on this channel. Bad decision making did him in.
When I started flying years ago I was surprised how many guys had flown for years off their farm strip with no license. One guy who became a great friend taught himself and his son to fly! Crazy stuff for sure.
i know someone who did likewise
No certificate, flying with inoperative equipment, scud running, no medical. The only good news is he didn’t take anyone else with him.
I guess.....?!
He went out doing what he obviously loved to do. On an errand for a dying friend.
@@Tom-tk3du what he did was suicidal.
@@bombsaway6340Reckless for sure. But I’ll bet he’s been scud running up that pass a number of times before. Check out the paint job. Probably says a thing or two about the pilot.
@@Tom-tk3du He was putting other people at risk!!!
Like the old saying: “Pilots that fly in bad weather are usually buried on a sunny day”
Many years ago I flew for Civil Air Patrol in California. I remember searching for two or three scud runners a year in the mountains surrounding Los Angeles. I remember three that went missing in the winter, had ELT sniffs and sort of localized the areas. The ELT's froze but when they thawed in the spring, we got a new signal and finally found the crash site.
I remember one search where we finally found the plane in the one valley that never cleared out during the winter. Spring came and we had him in a day.
Thank you, Juan. What a sad story.
Who among us has never done this, and oh but for the grace of God go I. Thank you for the report. Heart rending.
I never have.
👀
Wow. I flew that same route (KLMT to KRBL following I-5) 9/12/21 with mildly reduced visibility (maybe 5-10 miles) due to smoke. I had been pinned down at KRDM for a week due to smoke (vis 1-3 miles). While grounded at Redmond, I had many opportunities to take off in minimal VMC but wanted much more than min VMC to fly south through the mountains. Eventually the smoke cleared and I flew south. Just before entering the pass, my tablet with flight software & GPS went tits-up. My plane (N6007K) is an antique with all 'steam' gauges. However, being very old school, I had current paper charts with planned courses plotted and labeled with headings & distances. I flew within 7 or 8 miles of Mt Shasta without seeing it.
So heartbreaking for his terminally ill friend. Just a sad story all around.
Driving over the Siskiyou Pass in December was absolutely terrifying, as snow was accumulating rapidly on I-5, and clusters of tractor trailers were pulled over or summiting as visibility worsened. White knuckles!
Thank you Juan.
During my time working in flight service we saw a number of "controlled flight into terrain" accidents. We always said they were trying to fly through cumulogranite.
cumulogranite
Possibly Stratogranite. Might have encountered some Fir- or Redwoodgranite too.
Ouch 🤕
"Say, what are those mountain goats doing up here in the clouds?"
Cumulo-Granite will get you every time.
Sadly, this poor guy fit so many of our pilot parables, the old, bold pilots, better to be on the ground wishing...There's nothing more permanent than a temporary fix comes to mind as well. Prayers for those effected.
Sad story
The fact that the aircraft had a throwing flame painting scheme and a dragster like steering wheel (i mean, yoke) was already an indication that something was wrong. Rogue pilot is the best way to describe this wannabe. Unfortunately paid dearly with his own life. Thanks for great review, JB.
Seems like the kind of guy who would be OK with going out that way. He must have had an interesting life…
Every day is an IQ test.
As always, excellent report.
Sad, I was a rogue pilot once. now I just don't fly. Age has taught me it's not worth it. Did plenty of Scud running in the Army with rotary wing aircraft. Crazy dangerous, and got lucky more than once. Trees and wires were not my friend.
What's sad to me is that immediately before this, I watched an AOPA video about a pilot who crashed after an icing encounter, miraculously surviving with serious injuries. Listening to him tell his own story, he was a careful, prudent pilot who always did extensive preflight planning, but a combination of get-there-itis and possibly compromised judgment and cognitive function due to the extreme cold at the time simply led him to a couple of questionable decisions about continuing the flight. Completing the holes through the Swiss cheese was that the icing was a kind of freak occurrence that day, with no icing pireps and no icing AIRMET.
I've got a lot more sympathy for that guy than the subject of Juan's report here. Sigh.
Just watched that one too and I agree.
I just watched that video too.
It's crazy weired sometimes, how "Murphy's Law" can force that one extra hole in the swiss cheese (that creeps in out of nowhere) and ends up causing a fairly normal flight, to take a turn for the worst.
Sad tale and told with professionalism and kindness, Juan.
Lots of reasons he may have pushed it beyond prudence that last ride. What his excuses were the 20 years of unqualified flying leading up to that day I’m less inclined to find much sympathy with.
Sad to see that the friend who knew he was going to die outlived his friend. Just because he had a plane did not mean he had to fly it. Rest in Peace, Sir.
There is inherent risk in anything you do. Just because you own a car doesn't mean you need to drive it.
@@RowanHawkins You're correct, just because you own a car you don't need to drive it. Driving while inebriated, driving in weather that you're unable to safely drive in, driving while in a mental state that doesn't allow you to maneuver a heavy fast moving vehicle in rational ways. These are all reasons why not to drive a car. These are also all reasons not to fly a plane.
This outside of the fact that ideally people driving a. have their license and b. are making responsible decisions. While B frequently flouted, A is done far less so (and I suspect most of the time people who are driving without a license don't have a license because it got revoked as opposed to them not having taken and/or passed a driver's test). So yes, there is inherent risk in anything that one does, but that doesn't make it reasonable to then *add* significantly risk on top of that, which is what was done on this occasion.
This kind of guy is not unheard of. Years ago I knew a Navion owner who flew bootleg IFR over the North Cascades, day and night. He was unlicensed. He scared himself and sold his airplane. I've known of others, too.
I sold my Skyhawk after realizing that if my single engine quit over the rough terrain I tended to traverse, that I was definitely going to die. With 3 young kids I wasn't willing to run that risk profile. I never really got scared, I just knew it was wrong. If I'd lived in flat country, I'd probably still own the plane.
This is just heartbreaking
It must be hard to make these videos. To hear the stories of the pilots and passengers. To learn what happened to stack the odds against them. I am sure your videos will help others make better choices. Thank you for your efforts to save lives.
Great, respectful, honest coverage of a terrible tragedy. We learn so much from these videos!
I’m not a pilot. I do ride a motorcycle however, in an urban environment, and I’ve wondered if there aren’t some parallels. This report leads me to believe there are.
Studies show that unlicensed motorcycle riders are over-represented in crash statistics. Same for those who eschew personal safety gear. So, Newbies and Harley-heads then.
@@oldschoolmotorsickle With the other two major factors being alcohol use and a complete lack of training.
I am a former pilot, but still ride motorcycles, and my son still does both. He and I both agree that it takes concentration and a lack of unnecessary distractions to do either one safely. You can enjoy both experiences provided you keep your mind on your task and don't let the aircraft, or the motorcycle, get ahead of you. Inattentiveness can put you in a world of hurt, or just six feet under, while engaging in either sport. In either environment, I keep my head on a swivel, anticipating any and every possible event, and how I will respond. Both hobbies can be mentally and physically taxing, and depending on weather, health, etc, it is always wise to know when to say 'when', or just find an alternative means of transport! 'Get there itis' can be equally disastrous for a pilot, a motorcyclist, and any passengers involved, either way. After 50 years on 2 wheels, and half that many in the air, I can confirm there are definitely similarities between the two!
There certainly are. But they are the same parallels that apply to anyone operating a machine with lethal potential, cars, snowmobiles, boats, etc. Know your machine's limits, and know your own. Be aware of the odds against you and don't work against your own survival.
I'm a long time rider, mostly track only for three past 15 years. Now a student pilot.
My approach is a bit different as you might guess.
7:40 Dragster style = Bow-tie steering wheel😎
Volcan mountain near Julian in San Diego county was notorious for Cfit accidents. Seemed like every year we’d get one or two.
Thanks!
Super sad story. Heartbreaker. Good of him to help his friend before he too was lost.
So true.....in his mind he had run the course and had little regard for those were significant in his life. Very sad
6:10 to 6:40 explains it all... man o' man. Yes, I too are a old bold pilot. Very few of us, argh!!
Just last week was outside working when a Learjet 35 comes flying by tree top level very foggy rain, mist, cold guess it still goes on.
"rouge pilot" - Yeah, that seems appropriate. Having gotten my certs in Idaho, I can tell you there are a LOT of "those kinda guys" out there.
Most of us start out every flight by following the 1,2,3,4 scenario, ie deal with the issues as they happen. Some folks start out at 2,4,8 16…..this guy sadly started at ABOUT 6….i appreciate the situation but you have to ask yourself every time if the decisions make the situation better or WORSE.
Thank you for your work Juan. I don’t fly, but these accident or mishap analysis transfer to climbing, ski mountaineering, and any activities requiring judgement and risk analysis. Love your work!
I don't know what medications he might have been on, but for an urgent trip - and I'd classify seeing a dying friend as urgent - most doctors will try to work it out to get you a bit more medication if you're refill is due during or right at the end of the trip. Most people don't think about that. We'll never know, but maybe if he'd asked, there might not have been the rush to get home. If he did ask, one would think his girlfriend would have been aware of it. Sad situation.
Thank you for doing what you do Juan, I feel your frustration and sadness with stories like this. Please remember that you cover the tragic stories and that, every day, there are pilots making the correct decisions and living to fly another day. GA has a culture of safety because of pilots like you who remind us of our responsibility to our selves, our families, the general public, and the flight community; to stay proficient and practice proper pilot decision making. Thank you.
Super sad, I had flown from Grants Pass to Ashland that day and the weather was rough and I remember thinking how amazing his paint job was and was super shocked he took off south. The weather was horrible.
I'll never forget seeing somebody scud-running in a Cherokee a little farther north around Wolf Creek. I was driving on I-5 and the plane went over close enough to clearly see the control surfaces moving as the pilot navigated the pass. Seems like a really risky way to get a $500 cheeseburger. RIP to this pilot, and may the rest of the flying folk learn from his tragic mistake.
A guy like this had a hanger near mine. He had the roughest Cherokee 140 I’ve ever seen. Whenever he was me, how would come over and start talking. Loudly. Telling me about doing his own annual. Taught himself mountain flying. All this while I’m preflighting. Once, I returned with a very rough mag check. He explained I should check It again IN THE PATTERN, it was just a fouled plug. Well, turned out the mag was bad. They’re out there.
This reminds me of something that a prof said when I was in A&P school about when an FAA inspector should show up at this particular airport: "you could hear all the tool boxes slamming shut!" It was notorius for airplane owners doing their own work.
My first airplane was a Cessna 140, and it had a nice brand new paint job as well. And guess what my generator did not charge because they painted the firewall and then put the grounding wire on the firewall. I wonder if that could’ve been the case with his airplane as well. all they had to do was scrape some paint off to make a good ground so the generator would charge the battery that was back in 1978 or so.
Mike Patey did a video where he has lost 4 friends... talked about some canyons are death traps for small planes. are flight maps marked that those should NOT be flown into.. as well as the electronic mapping systems..
I remember my family driving from CA to WA when I was a kid, and more than once In July or so we'd be driving north under completely blue skies on I-5 only to see the fog literally pouring out of the southern end of that pass. This is that same place where they get huge multi-vehicle pileups because that fog can come up SOUPER fast, and SOUPER quick, if you get what I'm saying. It's so sneaky and so serious even in a car, I can only imagine how fast it can change when you're in the air.
Winter in the mountains is tough. Especially, at night. Even marginal flying conditions can easily get a pilot into a tight spot. Sad to see.
Good video Jaun and nicely done.
Very sad circumstances and we'll probably never know why he didn't have a licence and medical.
I flew into IMC once when flying a tiger from LA to St George, UT. Fortunately I had room to make a 180 degree turn and fly back into VFR.
A license doesn’t seem to prevent this kind of accident from happening
Reminds me of a guy at KPQL about 20 years ago who was trying to fly under the new LSA specifications. He'd bought an older Ercoupe (under the weight limit, but still not certified as an LSA) that would run on auto gas. I recalled him fueling his tanks using a couple of large gas cans before departing for KAEX on an overcast day. He got within three miles of KAEX and ran out of fuel, losing his life in the accident. He was another one of those that you couldn't talk any sense into. Stupid is as stupid does. It's hard for me to feel any sympathy for guys like that.
My takeaway is that commercial airlines are as safe as they are because, behind and alongside the pilots, there is a massive infrastructure of support. Lacking that support, GA pilots need to be extremely conservative, flying only when there is no doubt about each of the many factors that pose risks. That level of awareness is a lot to ask of non-professional pilots.
100% of GA fatalities could be avoided by staying on the ground.
@@tommihommi1 ...hand start prop planes...
Wow. Amazing.
Honestly, he sounds like a character. Would love to know more about him as a person. Some of the decisions people make always amazes me.
SCUD running works everytime...until it doesn't.
IFR= I Follow Roads ...... the old anecdote about flying with a cat and a duck comes to mind
Om my, just no way to help a person that won't' accept help, or learn the danger that lurks.