Accident Case Study: Blind Over Bakersfield
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ต.ค. 2024
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Link to certificate of completion and ASI transcript: bit.ly/ACSBlin...
On December 19, 2015, a Piper Lance carrying five occupants departs from San Jose, CA, en route to Henderson, NV. Despite a poor weather forecast, the pilot and his family are flying to their old hometown for a friend’s surprise party that evening. As conditions worsen along the route, the non-instrument rated pilot presses on, and eventually accepts an IFR clearance to fly into IMC - a decision that clinches the fate of the five on board.
Watch this accident recreation from the AOPA Air Safety Institute, where we seek to understand the circumstances that led to this tragic flight.
As a father I can’t imagine taking these types of risks
Just what I was thinking. A wife and 3 kids on board.
But you’re assuming you will always know the risks every situation you will encounter-unlikely. You don’t think this pilot was _intentionally_ risking his life and his family’s life, do you? Being a father has nothing to do with it. I’m not a father and I wouldn’t intentionally risk my life like this, either. These GA pilots _did not know what risks they were taking_ until it was far too late. Simple as that. You are in the privileged position to judge the circumstances _from the outcome,_ and congratulate yourself for it. It is precisely this attitude that these videos are made to disturb. What appears like an obvious risk after the outcome will look different to the pilot _at the time_ they made their decisions. All over these videos are people saying they would not have made the same mistakes. Perhaps not. But it is 100% certain they will make _other_ mistakes. Where is the humility, not to mention empathy? Not once have a ever read someone say, “Wow, I might have done that, too” or “I really needed to see this” or “I learned something from this.” All I see are people comparing themselves with the deceased pilots and passengers. You are missing the entire point if all you can say is that it could never happen to you.
@@gun_holsters We are all capable of self-deception. We can easily convince ourselves that we are more capable than we are and the situation isn't too bad, yet. The point of sharing these stories isn't so you can be self-righteous but rather so that you can be self-critical. - Keith Besherse
@darkprose How could he not know the risks? He has received some sort of training and theres no way this wouldnt be grilled in his mind. It was arrogance, and it got his entire family killed. What you're trying to get at is obvious and good advice overall, but it seems almost intuitive that airplanes are dangerous and flying is difficult and dangerous. Its like hopping into a semi and saying "yeah i have truck driver's license" when you know that you don't
I can't believe how quickly and confidently he accepted IFR clearance. As a low hour VFR pilot, I couldn't imagine.
If he would have trusted his instruments for turns and level flight, he would have been ok, unless icing conditions did not give him FSCA ( flight surfaces control authority). Pronounced "F-I-S-K-A" , If I didn't have Fiska, I would have turned on the de-icing equipment immediately, and If a plane that can travel that high didn't have de-icing equipment, I would not have filed that flight plan electronically but would have contacted Flight Service to see what we had in front of us. De-Icing modifications can be added to a plane of this type but get out the wallet and be prepared to pay a good fee.
It makes it seem like he's done it before. Normalizing deviance.
@@dabneyoffermein595sometimes only trusting the instruments are not enough. It takes proper scan techniques to actively absorb the information from the instruments, especially since he just accepted a pop-up IFR clearance. Very likely he turned his full attention on the GPS upon receiving the IFR route, and forget about his six-pack instruments altogether.
@@junyuzheng5282 Good point
@@dabneyoffermein595 He had possibly trained accepting and implementing IFR instructions and felt confident that he could do it. However, a crucial part of that training is learning not to trust your senses, but rather your instruments. So, while he might have been able to work the IFR directive (which he already struggled with), the part of pure instrument flight may not have been sufficiently practiced. The pilot may not have recognized the problem, because his vestibular system told him, that things were fine, while the instruments told that they weren't - all while dealing with finding the proper heading and possibly changing altitude.
My wise instructor always reminded me that it’s “better to wish you were in the air on the ground, than to wish you were on the ground in the air.”
1000%
@@buryurfear14 Yeah but I wished to be in the air so often now my neck is hurting from looking up at planes :)
To explain I had several technical issues and a big avionics update so neighbors frequently saw me in the garden shaking my fist at damn pilots that own airworthy airplanes.
J
I know nothing about being a pilot, but when you get your GA license, vfr I guess is what you call it, how hard, and how long does it take to become instrument qualified?
@@trent3872 about 40hrs of flight training. It’s difficult, but not TOO difficult if you put in the study time and have a good instructor. Anyone who can get a private pilots license is capable of getting an instrument rating.
Was signed of in an SR20 and planned a cross country (150nm) w/ my wife to attend a confirmation for a couple of nieces and nephews and we were the sponsors (external pressure). Ceiling was 7500 (6500AGL) and showed the potential of deterioration to lower, but still VFR. We went up and in the air and got updated weather along the route from our GDL52 showing some light precip ahead. We could see it as well. Darker area in the sky, reduced visibility about 40-50 miles in our path. A few things that I learned: 1) Go into a flight being ok if it is canceled. And make sure your PAX understands as well. Thankfully, I told my wife leading up to the flight that if weather was bad, we wouldn't be going. 2) PAX have no real understanding of the danger. In the flight my wife said, "cant we just go around it or fly through that?" I explained that I was not rated for instrument flight and that it would be extremely dangerous. Know that your PAX may unknowingly encourage you into danger. Keep in mind that you and ONLY YOU know what is best. There was a brief moment in this flight that a thought flicked through my head of "maybe I can just sneak around the worst of it". I killed that immediately, and turned back for home. We flew around a few landmarks clear of the weather back towards the airport, landed safely and had a good time anyway. Had I not talked in advance about the very real possibility of canceling the trip, maybe it would have gone differently. Give yourself the ability to back out and make the right decision so you can live.
Well stated......☆☆☆☆
Good thought process... The worst that can happen with a "no-go" call is a missed obligation or disappointed passengers. The worst that can happen with an erroneous "go" call is your name ending up on an NTSB report. I often have to remind myself of that.
Well said. But I would add that all private pilots should have the second opinion of someone who would know before lifting off in every single flight. A second opinion that is non-objective could be the person who sees the whole in the plan that you don't see. I don't know why something like that is not already in place. Like a legal authority. An airplane is a deadly weapon, not a toy. We should treat it as such.
I’m glad you stayed out of trouble :). Good process, good self awareness. It undoubtedly kept you two alive.
Well said
Do not underestimate how difficult IFR can be. I have been doing it for 12 years, entering clouds at least a couple hundred times and it is still a complete gut check for the first 30 seconds and there is more adrenaline than a 30 kt gusty cross wind landing. And if you are a pilot, you know exactly what I mean. Unless you are IFR, current and proficient please do not let this happen to you. And as others have said here, clouds climb faster than airplanes. I am over 1,500 hours and that has been my consistent experience. Clouds rise and build and what starts at 6,000 can often be 13,000 in 100 miles. Cumulus is no fun to fly through either. An IFR rating does not make cumulus comfortable or safe. It is damn difficult to fly through heavy clouds even monitoring a good autopilot. Make smart decisions, get weather constantly and never push it to stay alive.
Facts...seems no matter how many times I stick my nose in the clouds, the pucker factor always comes into play. Stay proficient, stay current, and never let your guard down...that's my philosophy.
I sometimes think about the WW2 pilots who used the clouds as a way to get away from enemy fighters when too many of them or ran out of ammunition they must have been very skilled pilots.
Yep. The adrenaline suprises me every time - not something you get in simulated instrument either.
What happens in cumulus clouds, and why is it different than any other cloud? Turbulence?
While those pilots were undoubtedly skilled, keep in mind that they were weighing IFR conditions against being actively hunted and machine-gunned in VFR conditions. Clouds are dangerous, but not as dangerous as enemy pilots that want you dead.
My heart sank every time he changed altitude. He was digging himself deeper and deeper into a hole but was determined to get to his destination.
After the second change in flight level to avoid weather he should have turned it around and called it a day.
I was flying VFR out of Dallas when I was a lot younger and got into IMC. I thought I'd punch right through. It turned out pretty badly and I got lost, but I was lucky enough to catch a glimpe of a nearby private airport and make a beeline for it. I made up my mind right then and there that I'd never talk myself into a bad sit again. And I never have. So sorry to see someone, and their family, lose their life like this.
You were blessed that day. You got a second chance, and I'm glad you never looked back. He didn't :(
You can just feel his desire to not make different plans despite all the weather, all the warnings, and the warning bells in his head.
My grandfather was experienced in instrument flight, but most often he'd turn around in low visibility to get back to good visibility to fly around or land if that weren't possible. Risking people's lives just isn't worth it. Much of what went wrong here was a failure on a common sense level that doesn't take pilot training to realize. Much like that doctor that died flying from Georgia to Delaware which is also discussed on this channel. Airplanes aren't called doctor killers for no reason. They seem prone to overconfidence. The death of Kobe Bryant, his coach friend, those two kids was similarly unnecessary. Better to be late for or miss a basketball game than risk people's lives.
On that graph at the 15:19 mark. Is the axis labeled track angle (deg) synonymous with compass heading?
@@MrMowky He wasn't blessed. He got lucky. Nothing more.
When I was signed off to solo I use to love to fly at night after work/class, air was calm and airspace was less busy (under KSEA class B). Would fly from BFI to PWT for stop and goes. I remember it was a typical Seattle overcast night, and PWT is surround by rural/farm land. I landed, stopped, and then took off. Once I nosed up, the sky went pure / pitch black; I had a feeling of vertigo / falling backwards nearly immediately! I lost situational awareness (and truth be told got fairly scared). Nosed down enough to see some distant lights; and then noticed at that attitude I was barely climbing. I knew there were no obstacles in the area, so I climbed slowly until 1500, and then turned back to BFI :)
It was a really good experience in hindsight. I knew the area, I knew what to do, I flew the plan, etc. I don't think I was 'over confident,' I was inexperienced! When I watch these ASI videos I have no idea what the pilot was thinking. But we can all agree the plan wasn't to kill himself and all passengers... I am thankful that we have these resources so we can learn and gain some experience without having to place our lives in danger. I will become a better pilot because of these videos and continued learning.
In order to become a good pilot you NEED to push things. But with an escape plan. It seems like this pilot didn't want to turn around, but again we don't know. I am thankful to be able to learn from his mistakes, to increase our knowledge and experience. Safe travels...
It’s painful and heartbreaking to imagine what it was like inside the aircraft during the final moments. It makes this case study almost unbearable to watch. It’s difficult to bear the thought of the pure terror his children had to endure.
made me sick as soon as it showed he had his whole family on board
Many of the video's on this channel involve children. All of them are of private pilot accidents. Most of them die. And most of them suffer for at least a minute or two before impact. It's a terrible thing. But that's the point of this channel. To teach pilots not to make stupid decisions.
Accidents/crashes happen often with small private aircraft. I live in Florida and small private planes crash here all the time.
Statistically, general aviation is more dangerous than motorcycle riding. I was surprised to learn that!
Flying that high without being on oxygen would put me right to sleep. I would never go that high with people onboard unless they all had access to oxygen 100% of the time.
For real what the hell was he thinking
This is one of those crashes that fills me with legit anger. Its one thing if you want to be a fool and risk yourself, but to subject your wife and kids to that foolishness is villainous.
Isn't 10,000 the proper time to use oxygen?
@@TomasAWalker53 12500 if remaining for more than 30 minutes
That was probably his biggest mistake, every bad decision from there on could have been the result of oxygen deprivation.
These are always gut wrenching to watch, especially when you hear "and their small children joining then for the flight" 😕
Yeah my heart sank when he said 3 kids on board. I don't know why any pilot would take this course of action with his family on board.
TOPSPOT yeah, is it stupidity? Hubris? What is it? Why would someone do this? Defies common sense. Just don’t fly into bad weather. Doesn’t take a genius
I can’t believe he accepted the IFR. What was he thinking?
Like the clip says, "it's easy to judge from zero knots and 1G."
I knew Jason personally and he had a beautiful family. Sure he was over confident, under trained, and his decisions were catastrophic. But to fly you have to be confident. He didn't respect it enough and didn't turn around and out it on the ground. Tragic.
There's another audio clip out there of all of his communications and one is difficult to listen to because you can hear the kids screaming in the background. Try listening to that while in the cockpit and it's your kids with your wife sitting beside you.
That's stress that you can only understand if you've been in the situation.
@Sabrina Dugan
The IFR wouldn't help him land the plane. He didn't want to land. He wanted to keep flying! And the IFR would help him do that. He didn't sound desperate at all. At no point did he even seem worried. As far as the kids, they were used to flying with Dad. This could have been just another Sunday drive. However a few minutes later I'm sure they were crying and screaming. Poor things.
I do agree with you about the possibility of not wanting to let his wife know he didn't know what he was doing. You know how us men are. But in the end I think he was just over confident in his abilities. And because he had a few hours of IFR training he thought he was good to go. Because again, you know how us men are.
This was so sad to listen to but also so infuriating at the same time. To take that many risks with a family on board. It is so important to have the stomach to say I was wrong (more than once in this case). Such an important aptitude of being a safe pilot but so difficult to teach.
not the father of the year there
Very well said. Pilot confidence is not the same as pilot knowledge. As a member of the flying public, I always prefer pilot knowledge over confidence.
I think what you don't understand is that he thought he was doing everything right, just as much as YOU think you are doing everything right each time you fly. He simply was not prepared for all the possible scenarios that could happen on this flight. Most pilots are not. Do you carry a spare radio? Would you be prepared to deal with weather where turning around was not an option? Would you be prepared for icing that you could not correct? What if you lost your panel? Do you test for CO? Do you know exactly what you would do at 500, 1,000, 2,000 feet up after takeoff if your plane caught on fire? The list goes on. This guy failed because he was not prepared for a worst case scenario. Most pilots are not. So...in some cases, that equates to a crash. Gravity wins.
It's the Dunning-Kruger effect yet again. People don't know (or more importantly won't admit) what they don't know. Even had he had instrument rating the problem would have persisted - as he demonstrates a lamentable lack of appreciation of his capabilities or lack thereof - tragedy, for this guy, was only a matter of timing.
@jet guy Preach it brother! I couldn't agree more- I think the last good decision he made was fastening his seat belt- it all went to Hell from there. One bad decision after another. If he had confessed VFR capable in an IMC environment, ATC would have moved Heaven and Earth to get him back on the ground safely- and they probably would have gotten it done. I am living proof they can do it. 40 yrs ago, before getting my instrument and ATP ratings I found myself in a truly horrible weather problem, confessed my situation and got help to get out of it. I'm not sure why people are so afraid ATC or even declaring an emergency to get the help they need. Waiting until its a "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday" situation is too late- not much they can do then.
More confidence than ability is common...
Well, put.
I’ve never been near a small airplane, but since safety costs so much time gaining experience, why fly?
(I know, I know. Why am I wasting time watching these tragic stories if I don’t understand the appeal?)
Confidence and money
And deadly...
@@lisaschuster9187 I watch them too...documentaries teach life I lessons. And I still like being a passenger!
I had fogotten about the crash until I saw the video a few minutes ago. I knew the entire family. The 14 year-old was a cadet member of my Civil Air Patrol squadron at KRHV. The incident was hard on both the cadets and senior (adult) members, especially those of us who are pilots. The pilot/dad seemed like a competent guy. Hard to believe what he did. A tragic loss for everyone. I did not know the whole story until I saw the AOPA video.
You knew the whole family yet "forgot about the crash?" What?
@@ylekiote99999 Life moves on, you live and forget. Things make you remember though.
@@mikecaudill8861 You're weird. Every single other person in the world would never forget something like this.
You dont dwell on 9/11 every hour of your life do you? I dont, despite the profound impact it had on me and the rest of the country.
@@fadedflage I don't dwell on it but I don't completely forget about it! You claim to have known these people.....Yet you forgot about the crash?
The terror on board as that plane broke up, unfathomable. RIP
I gained about 60 or so hours flying time when I lived in Florida back in the 80's, never got my PPL though. I recall when I encountered sudden thick cloud whilst climbing from the airport, I looked out and could see nothing! I was in a climb and focused on the three dials, vertical climb rate, speed and wing attitude. I eventually broke out and landed as quickly as possible. This and one or two other incidents made me realize I was not cut out to be a pilot, being too easily flustered and ultimately probably not smart enough to cut it. Still love aviation though and videos like this are appreciated!
you and me both brother!
Like the great Clint Eastwood said in Dirty Harry, "A man has to know his limitations!" Nothing but respect for that Sir because you lived to see another day and play Golf ⛳ 👍🏽👍🏽
@@trezndawg4240 Crazy golf maybe. My coordination is so poor I struggle to even split wood. I do take comfort though in all of the people who are probably still alive today by virtue of me of not making it as a commercial pilot. I have a lot of time to ponder these things as I drive my truck, a job that requires little else other than the ability of keeping the vehicle between the lines on the road, in fact you could probably train a monkey to do it.
@@robbflynn4325 aside from a standard flight on a Commercial Airline, like you, I take comfort in being on solid ground. The closest I've come to flying is being a Drone Pilot and enjoying video and photography images from my drone camera.
@@trezndawg4240 Yeah seriously, the incident when I went into the clouds and could see nothing outside really shook me to the core. A lot of people training in aviation have no doubt encountered similar stuff, but unlike me are able to learn from it and press on, and for that they have my admiration, but it scared the hell out of me, I really thought I was going to die that day!
How the hell could someone put 3 children and his wife in that much danger,probably to show off at the party "yeah I flew us here",just get up early and Drive your car. I can't imagine the terror for the wife and kids,unreal
We are all capable of self-deception. We can easily convince ourselves that we are more capable than we are and the situation isn't too bad, yet. The point of sharing these stories isn't so you can be self-righteous but rather so that you can be self-critical. - Keith Besherse
@@BaldGuy-MarketingHe flat-out lied. That is greater than simple self deception, especially with your family’s lives in your hands.
@@sargassum6190 okay. I will grant that he lied to himself. (We cannot actually know what he was thinking at any particular moment during preparation and flight. But sure. He lied to himself, a higher level of self-deception. What is your point?
For context: the goal of accident investigation is NOT to fix blame; the goal of accident investigation is to identify root causes and (as much as possible) prevent future accidents. So, I will stipulate to your argument that this self-deception rose to the level of a blatant and obvious lie. What is the difference in outcome and in lesson for us to learn that you are making by so stipulating?
@@sargassum6190 the point I am making is: you are capable of lying to yourself too.
The only reason I am responding is to counter-balance the holier-than-thou attitude in the comment by Robert Phelan.
The purpose of aircraft accident investigation is not to affix blame. It is to hold up a mirror and critically evaluate whether I too am capable of making that mistake.
Yes, this pilot lied by omission and commission both before and during the flight.
We know he isn’t the only person flying today with a similar macho attitude. (It is listed as a hazardous attitude with anecdotes in the flight instructor handbook not because it is rare but rather because it is common.) And, if certified pilots, who should know better, are doing it on a regular basis, how much more are automobile drivers assuming they can get away with inattentiveness just because they have until now? - Keith Besherse
I've learned a lot from watching your videos! Keep making them, it's helps make pilots safer everyday!
This Channel is fantastic!! I'm using to teach "Aviation English" to my students!
Totally agree!!
"A man's got to know his limitations."-Clint Eastwood
I’m a student in north Florida so we always deal with IFR weather. Most people pick on me for how quick I’ll choose not to fly over weather, but personally I would rather be bullied than ever put myself or others in harms way, on top of risking my hard work I put in to get my license!! It’s okay to say no to flying!! Don’t even feel less than or guilty for choosing the safer option. Safe flying guys!
Bravo to you!
Awesome...totally agree with you.....
Are you making a career of flying?
It's great how so many of these case studies reflect on the psychology of the pilot and the overall psychological decision motivators.
When I did my first instrument training, I thought this isn't that hard, just keep the wings level. I can do that! Then it happened while I was doing a practice missed approach with my instructor in actual IFR, and as I turned and climbed, I leaned over to pick up my charts from the floor, and all of a sudden it hit me for the first time. The plane was straight and climbing, but the attitude indicator was all askew. When I fixed it back to level, I felt like I was banked hard over! THAT is when the training kicked in, and I made the wings level on the attitude indicator even though it felt like I was in a steep bank! After a few seconds everything settled down and I was back under control. Not THAT hard - if you know what you are supposed to do. But the first time it was like all hell was breaking loose.
And that is what scares me about it. I am still a student, and last week, my attitude indicator was completely failed. I was straight-and-level and it showed a 100° bank. I get really nervous about instrument flying when instruments go awry.
I read that JFK Jr died because he was an VFR pilot who flew into IMC (nighttime darkness over the ocean). He eventually entered a death spiral to the right due to spacial disorientation. It was also reported in this article I read that he was also transitioning into a new aircraft in which he only had 7 hours. Because of this and because of a walking cast he had on his left leg due to a broken ankle, one of his flight instructors offered to make the flight with him, but JFK Jr refused the offer, saying, "I want do it alone." Of course, he didn't do it alone. His wife and her sister were on board with him. Sad.
Put simply you're supposed to disregard what you're seeing and use instruments for navigation. Wow it's almost like that's the entire point of instrument flight.
TRUST THOSE INSTRUMENTS!
I'm not a pilot so bear with me. Ray Atkinson above described a scary situation where his instruments apparently failed, giving the impression he wasn't straight and level when he was. What's a pilot to do if his spatial awareness is wrong *and* his instrument(s) is/are wrong? I'm assuming "cross-checking" involves looking at additional instrumentation?
Very important lesson even for IFR pilots flying over mountains at this time of year - Get-there-itis can be a killer
More often than somebody thinks.
Edit: some wise man said: go-around is first option, landing is second.
Yes, but not just when flying. Confirmation bias is a killer.
Many people drive when exhausted beyond their endurance, especially on holidays.
Boaters often go out on the water without being aware of the forecast and their vulnerability.
I have even seen people vote for candidates who are known to engage in illegal, immoral, and financially unsustainable behaviour for leadership positions.
As a wise man once told me: "Always question your motivations." Our human tendency to make the choice that seems comfortable can be life changing to us and our families.
I CONCUR SIR!
As soon as I heard "party" I said "Get-there-itis".
The most dangerous disease for pilots.
Yep. Especially flying with his family, he probably wanted to make sure they didn't miss it.
This would have been a great opportunity to leave a day earlier and trade the Piper Lance for the Honda Odyssey.
And “surprise” makes it worse.
Party wrecker in the end.
I've been there. At 5,000 feet or so you encounter clouds, and the way under is bad weather. So you choose the top knowing that your destination is clear. It becomes a contest to see who can climb faster, you or the clouds. Done it three times before learning my lesson: clouds can outclimb you every time.
Accepting a popup IFR clearance if you aren't ready is suicide. And not ready can simply mean not current as well.
Right you are. I was told that the winds in that storm approached 100 kt upward, but I do not have confirmation of that. I do know that the plane lost a wing in the storm and that is why the plane crashed.
Its a shame the autopilot wasnt really used. Even if unrated he could have squeaked by with ALT and Heading hold if he didnt have to multitask and control the plane :(
@@FlightX101 Its not a panacea. JFK junior killed himself with the autopilot, and it was a contributing factor to the accident, or so the NTSB believes. His flight path was correct until time to land, and they believe he disconnected autopilot and then went into spatial disorientation spins, two of them, because he had sat there unprepared to fly the aircraft during most of the flight. See the NTSB report.
I did my IFR training without an AP, but got the AP installed later. It certainly is easier to fly with AP on, but proper training makes the difference. I still don't trust the AP for everything, and tend to disconnect it in rough turbulence, IFR or no.
Scott, can you kindly reference which page of the NTSB report carries the belief that JFK Jr's use of autopilot was a contributing factor? On pages 19-20 of the report, detailed technical coverage of the Bendix/King 150 AFCS is provided, but I was not able to find further mention or reference to the AFCS as a factor in the report. Thank you.
It's amazing how fast the spatial disorientation sets in. Looks like it was minutes if not seconds after he took the IFR clearance and penetrated the clouds that he started to loose it
I wish there was a way to adequately convey to lower-time, non-instrument-rated pilots the serious and deadly consequences of flying in clouds. I talked to a guy at the Airventure 2021 show in Oshkosh just a few days ago who was fortunate to live through a deliberate encounter with clouds when he had logged only 75 hours. He said he quickly reached the point where he simply gave up after losing control in an ever-tightening descending spiral, turned to his friends who were with him and, with tears in his eyes, regretfully said, "Guys, I'm sorry." It was only then when he remembered that he had an autopilot. He turned it on and it quickly leveled the wings. He was then able to raise the nose to a level-flight attitude. He used the autopilot to make a level 180 degree turn so he could exit the clouds after a few minutes. He said he has never since entered a cloud and never will - at least until he gets an instrument rating with many hours of experience with an IFR instructor in actual conditions. He also said he knew he was about to die, and there were so many things he wanted to say to his family, but he couldn't. Very sobering... Everyone at the table that day in Oshkosh had to think about this for just a minute without saying anything. Nevertheless, concerning this video, I'm just so very sorry his flippant, arrogant attitude ended up killing his entire family. He deserved to die; they didn't.
Why do they allow people seemingly unqualified to fly with passengers?
jesus that just drained the color from my face, can't even imagine
Bet he's a Capt for Ryan Air now huh?
@@tyroniousyrownshoolacez2347 Ryan Air requires how many hours to gain captain status? 12..LOL
Simulators. Most people won’t do it.
They’ll be receiving instruction with the IFR glasses and screw up the entire exercise, the instructor corrects them and some literally think that they “did well” in the maneuvers. I saw that with a guy in my school years ago. He was awful in IMC, BUT he recognized it, accepted it and avoided weather and IMC like the plague. I think he did get his IFR. Rating later.
I'm not a pilot. I'm an aviation enthusiast. This video was an excellent example of teaching - with amazing parallels to everyday, wing-less life. Thanks for producing it.
This series of videos is deeply sobering and incredibly valuable. Thank you for making them, as difficult as it can be to watch sometimes.
I ended up in IMC just once, in the pattern no less, and at a non-towered airport. I was a solo student, and it happened fast. Pucker factor 10. I kept the wings level and in a positive best rate of climb. When I popped out of the soup, I was about 10 miles east of the airport at that point. The airport was the only area socked in. I could either divert an hour either way or see where the bottom was. I did a descending spiraling turn in the clear and determined the bottom was at 1000AGL. No terrain in my geographic area. I ran the bottom of them on a direct and got it down. Actually one of my better landings. Taxied back and shut down. Shortest entry in my logbook to date, but possibly the most instructive flight ever.
Shortest entry in your logbook? Was there any profanity? The more of these videos I watch, and the more subsequent comments I read, the more I think I should leave flying to the pilots and just keep doing what I do.... welding, occasionally painting, drinking scotch and playing the piano. My only worry now is that a plane might fall on my head LOL.
@@heraclitus6100 - ...lol.... If I ever get a chance to fly an airplane I'm going to jump at the chance.
I've been in the clouds twice. Once as a pilot and once as passenger.
The one as passenger, the pilot was trying to climb through a rift in the clouds, and it closed on us. She started losing her calm, and panicking. My low-hour student-pilot self had to play instructor, and remind her to look at her instruments. We climbed out of it in about 30 seconds. Then we turned around and descended ahead of the cloud front and landed. (She wanted me to land it! I told her, "No way!")
The other time, I was flying at night, and as per my usual, I was using instruments, since night flying can be difficult - false horizons, weird visual cues, etc.
I looked out the window, and all the lights had disappeared. Oops. Flew into a cloud that I never saw.
As I was starting to turn a 180 to go back to clear air, the lights reappeared - I had flown out the other side. I didn't run into any more clouds on that trip. Just let ATC know about the conditions in the area and moved on.
It ended up not being any kind of problem because I was already flying primarily by instruments before I entered the cloud.
@Richard G I suck at the piano. I'm better at drinking scotch.
I’m going to say this never happened.
My wife and I have to fly an almost identical route in a couple of weeks. We MUST be there on time for an event. But for this trip, our plane will be safely parked in our hanger and we are taking commercial. It's impossible to know the weather out two weeks and we have a fixed schedule. Both factors for us say, take the easy route. Sometimes the best GA flight is the one not taken. RIP
I have an instrument rating, and I'm current and consider myself instrument proficient... However, when I plan a trip, I always have a plan B in the ready. That is driving mostly, so I make sure my "go-no go" decision is made well in advance where I can hop in the car and still make it on time. There is no reason to push aviation... We don't generally win...
The schedule is more flexible than the bow - AnyOld TugboatCaptain
Smart man.
Just curious Phil... is a northern route also ok? Like north of Sacramento and Tahoe, then going south the Vegas area?
Phil and his wife decided to take a commercial airline to be safe... Little did they know that commercial flight would never arrive to its destination... R.I.P
Glad ASI made a video about this accident. Just tragic. An entire happy family, gone. I fly the same route between RHV and Vegas a few times a year. Every time, I think about this accident. In the original ATC clip, you can hear the kids screaming in horror in the background in the last mayday transmission. This video seems to have filtered it out. I have sworn I will never put my family through that.
Now as a CFI, I use this accident as a real-world example to teach people about aeronautical: Think about your family - they'd rather have you alive than have you arrive at a meeting on time. Don't succumb to pressure and don't be afraid to disappoint people. Don't push the limits - You might get out of tight spots a couple times but your luck eventually runs out. Don't "fly up and take a peek." And always seek to improve your skills. IMO an instrument rating is a must if you want to fly your family in the wintertime.
That's freaking excellent. I'm glad as a CFI you do this. This is probably more important than a new student learning IFR!!! I really think the perils of spatial disorientation should be not only for ground school, but significant (safety) part of the flying PPL experience. If people want something mandated to stop this damned madness, then THIS will definitely help.
Better late. Than dead on time .
Unbelievable that this non instrument rated pilot would accept an IFR clearance, and with his family onboard is just insane.
We are all capable of self-deception. We can easily convince ourselves that we are more capable than we are and the situation isn't too bad, yet. The point of sharing these stories isn't so you can be self-righteous but rather so that you can be self-critical. - Keith Besherse
This pilot was going to make this flight No Matter what the weather was!!!
Dunning-Kruger effect. People who know nothing about a topic, like flying IFR, almost always overestimate their abilities because they don't know enough about the topic to understand how difficult it really is.
Def Misanthrope that is a very valid point (I got a read of your earlier, longer unedited reply to my comment above).
During our training as pilots, it’s a topic that is at least touched on: The phrase most often used is called to “stay ahead of the aircraft”. Meaning you constantly must think of the tasks and possibilities that lie ahead or may lie ahead. Anticipate and be prepared. As the number of tasks pile up, “staying ahead” becomes more and more difficult. Preparation for and practice of the most frequent emergency situations reduce some of the risk of proceeding into known, increasing danger. However a pilot needs to be able to snap out of tunnel vision, be aware when to “call it”, accept the limitations they can’t control, then choose and execute an alternate course of action that eliminates the danger at hand.
One technique used to snap yourself out of it, is to adhere to “personal limits”.. i.e: "I won’t do X if conditions are worse than Y".
I digress. Failures of anticipation and failures of imagination do occur, as in this tragedy. And that’s where it seems your syndrome fits right in. An overconfident pilot can’t or won’t imagine the possibile failure that lurks ahead, even if it's obvious. Or even if they do sense the impending danger, your syndrome would cause them to suppress that gut feeling. They are convinced they can “do this.”
Personally I feel pilots *are* taught to listen carefully to that gut feeling. Whether they do or don’t is another matter. But I’ve had to listen and abide by my gut myself a few times. It’s an interesting situation ..to “give in” to a vague sense of unease when your brain has other impulses that urge you to press on.
Valuable food for thought.
Physiologically - the last 51 minutes of this flight were spent above 15,000ft altitude. Lower oxygen levels could easily affect the pilot's decision making and spatial orientation skills.
Thanks for your comment.
And most of the people in this comment section as well!
Kind of like YOU not understanding what Dunning-Kruger actually is. It’s in regards to people with low cognitive ability, not a specific inability. You just wanted to use that reference, but made yourself look like a fucking idiot to people not as dumb as you.
Greg Mitchell could the pilot have taken a northern route to avoid the bad weather?
I would probably have the dunning kruger effect here as I'm not a pilot but am interested in getting my license eventually. I'm well aware of how dangerous VFR into IMC clearly is, but i still don't understand exactly why they have so much trouble. Yes your vestibular system will tell you you're descending or banking etc. but I'm sure all these VFR pilots were taught that in their flight school to ignore what you're feeling and just follow instruments? So when getting into IMC conditions why is it always so hard for them to just follow their instruments like I'm sure they've been told? Or are they not instructed on this basic advice?
Single pilot IFR is extremely difficult. I can't imagine not utilizing the autopilot while trying to copy a clearance and flying into IMC. 1st fly the aircraft.
Keep making the videos. They are great vignettes to call up when we are involved with flying.
I got an attitude indicator failed in IMC and it just so happened that my autopilot relies on the AI. I am quite lucky that I am still typing now. AP is great, but don't let your hand flying proficiency slip. Safe flying.
yeah why not use autopilot (if equipped)?
@@PlaneMechEsq When your ai failed, what did you use? TC? Just wondering (not a pilot here). Former controller.
Yes, TC and cross check with HSI for roll, and altimeter and VSI for pitch.
After reflecting on the video, it's possible that his poor decisions were the result of oxygen deprivation. He only had 3 masks and 3 kids, so it's possible he was just going on low oxygen. Might explain why we don't hear screaming over the radio. Wife is already unconscious and kids' voices are muffled. Yes, he made mistakes basically as soon as he got off the ground, but once he kept climbing to stay above the clouds, he might not have been in a state of mind to realize that autopilot or turning around or emergency landing were options. I'm no pilot, but if I were in that situation and was asked over the radio if I could fly IFR, I might think "How hard can it be? You just follow instructions and keep your eyes on the gauges" and then I'd promptly die like this guy did.
These are so informative and so incredibly well produced, it's unfortunate that they come at the expense of other people's lives.
Man, this really shows the power of external pressures. I know it's easier for me to see the big picture sitting at my desk than it was for the pilot in the flight deck, but there were so many opportunities to just turn around, get on the ground, and wait out the weather. I wonder what the pilot would've said if the controller asked him if he was instrument qualified before offering the clearance.
I’m about halfway thru my instrument rating at ATP flight school and it amazes me how these some of these pilots who fly for fun never get their instrument rating. Like now that im training in it, I honestly never want to go back to VFR flying again. And after flying thru clouds, luckily my training has kept me glued to the instruments, I can’t even fathom trying to navigate thru heavy clouds by looking outside
Best to you on your instrument training.....!!
The other part about this that is somewhat troubling is the fact that he keeps climbing to avoid the clouds but two people in the plane don't have supplemental oxygen, so they’re starting to get hypoxic not to mention violation of another FAR. I can imagine that it was getting cold up there too. Given that the alternate route had even higher tops would indicate to me that it was time to turn back and land at the nearest VFR airport.
Listening to somebody's last words is the hardest part of watching these videos, which are uniformly excellent.
It's like a ghost warning you from the grave.
I remember one winter a Doctor and his wife were flying back from Vegas to Bakersfield on a Sunday afternoon. He was not instrument rated, and when he encountered a cloud front in the Tehachapi Pass, he tried flying under the weather by following the Hy58 Freeway. Just West of the White Wolf Grade cutoff, the clouds got lower and he lost sight of the freeway. He was executing a series of descending 360s in an attempt to pickup sight of the road when he hit the vertical face of a highway cut. A friend of mine was on the team that recovered the wreckage and the bodies.
Your narrative reminds me of one of many air searches I flew as a Mission Pilot for Civil Air Patrol in the mid 1970's and 80's in southern California. I flew on several "scud running accidents" through the Tehachapi Mountains during those years. Get-home-itis kills so many people.
Why accept an IFR clearance if you're not IFR rated? Sad he had to learn this lesson the hard way. Even more sad, his family was with him. RIP.
The dead learn no lessons, learning is for the living. Can't remember where I heard that but it always stuck with me.
BluegrassMedia True!
He accepted the IFR clearance because he saw it as a way to get to his destination. He had severe get-there-itis.
@@Banshee365 but why didnt the ATC ask him if he was IFR rated? I blame ATC....they noticed he kept on changing altitudes to stay clear of the clouds and yet suggested an IFR clearance for him without even asking if he is rated or even still current.
@@GbengaAmedrovi Because ATC is not required to vet a pilots' certifications prior to issuing clearances. That's not how this works. All of that is up to the pilot. That's the job of inspectors on the ground. ATC cannot be blamed in any way for this accident. It's all on the PIC for poor decision making.
In the full ATC audio you can actually hear the children scream and the engine spool up in the background during the final transmission. RIP.
I don't even fly planes and I feel like these are just sobering life lessons.
Me too ! Done flying for years, and many to yrs to come !
"Let Europe be Europe, but my life is more precious !"
😊☝️💯💪🙏
Agreed re lessons to learn for any area of activity, and particularly in our workplaces or any situations where the safety of our family & friends is involved! The dangers of complaisance, get-there-itis, normalizing deviance from set guidance, these are all completely applicable in general life too... 😔
Saddest episode I have ever seen: This one. It renews my healthy respect for weather and the responsibilities that come with a certificate. "A man's got to know his limitations." R.I.P.
The only thing that's kept me alive when ferrying our family to an event has been fully briefing my wife on the risks of a flight, and then accepting her concern as leverage against my own confirmation bias. Also, calling flight service has allowed me to hear the tone in their voice, and that has boosted the primitive alert that raises my internal questioning of a planned flight, or even a flight that is already happening. Get-there-itis is powerful and the physiologic forces at play are not fully understood. This is even more powerful when combined with a desperate attempt by a new pilot to demonstrate the value of the expensive pilot's license they have all sacrificed for in time and money. This is a tragic accident that hopefully all student pilots will get to learn from. Also, all pilots in California should be made aware of Southwest's ticket transfer policies. It is very cheap insurance.
Benjamin Damm true. It does seem bad he didn’t call flight service considering the weather he had planned on flying into. I do online briefs but have found the briefers are good at putting the data together in painting a picture.
There is considerable wisdom in your attitude and approach, sir, and particularly if your wife has had plenty of right-seat experience watching you and the weather and deciding which she should bet on.
Good point, let Southwest skid off the r/wy and damage their planes and not yours!
Yeah...and what would you do if you found that turning around was not an option? Tell your wife? What would you do if you lost all your radios? Lost your panel during IMC? Telling your wife anything does little to no good. What matters is being prepared for the worst than can happen.
@@motoxcarbon9891 Yeah, but we're hardly talking about worse-case scenarios where a prepared pilot enters a known weather. This is an unprepared and inexperienced pilot flying a fairly large and powerful aircraft with a lot of features he doesn't know how to use charging headlong into complex weather because he thought he could find a way through. The issue is not what to do when you lose your radios or run out of options. The issue to having some concept of where your skill isn't enough to handle the situation and having the wisdom to execute on the plan that involves driving to the airport and boarding one of the many flights to Las Vegas, or at the very least leaving enough room in the plan for landing, checking into a hotel, and seeing what conditions are like tomorrow.
1) Attempted VFR-over-the-top with low likelihood that he could get back down VFR
2) Grazing Class A without an IFR ticket
3) Higher than is permitted for the oxygen supply available
4) VFR into thunderstorm IMC with no IFR ticket and a non-FIKI aircraft
5) Accepting IFR clearance without an IFR ticket
6) Choosing to fly into an airmet sierra without an IFR ticket
Here’s some sage advice from my 10,000 hour instructor: “Ya gotta know when to leave it in the hangar”. That sage advice saved my a.s more than once.
On one of my IFR training flights, I was in mostly VFR skies, but one little dot of ice formed on a bolt on the wing strut. The instructor showed it to me and said "Let's go home."
My favorite is "its better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air than to be in the air wishing you were on the ground"
Seems like this is the type of video that should be made quarterly. There is certainly enough accidents to study.
“The pilot decides to fly ANYWAY”. Famous last words. Not only was he risking his own life, he was risking his 3 children, and his wife’s lives. What an egomaniacal fool.
As a non current Sport Pilot that would like to pick up training again, I really appreciate these videos. You are doing a great service to the flight community by breaking down these situations and explaining them so well. I will admit, I only want to fly VFR due to what seems like less of a tendency for things to go wrong compared to IFR. Watching these keeps my mind aware of the pitfalls for when I finally get back in the seat. Thank you again.
Still can't believe he just accepted an IFR clearance illegally... that just seems so crazy to me
I can believe it, because now I have seen multiple documented cases of it. You have to be a certain personality type to even begin flying. Some of those characteristics are a bit of alpha/machismo/egomaniacal/suave/etc. He had the beginnings of the training. Figured it would slingshot him over the "slow" traditional training and prove he could do it and it wasn't so hard. Get-there-itis was a huge factor, but I know what was going through his head before this happened and during. I'm a badass and I can do this... Well, maybe not. I'm guilty of it in the simulators. All I want to do is IFR stuff on huge airliners and in the real world I've done one flight in a C172 and I could barely fly the damn thing in perfect weather.
@@mjodr somebody has read chapter 2 of the PHAK...
@@dgdanielgoldman I don't know what that is, but I'm reading it now and it looks pretty interesting. Thanks!
he also flew his family above 12k feet with what? 3 oxy's for 5 people? This dude didn't have a freaking clue what he was doing!
Kind of tells you all you need to know about what kind of pilot he was.
Thank you for putting these videos out. Thank you.
Thanks for the well presented review and analysis of this flight.
As a flight student these videos are so valuable even though they are so frustrating to watch considering majority of the time if the pilot would just drop their ego and say “hey I’m in deep shit and need help and I’m not qualified in IFR” the situation would have ended so differently. It’s gut wrenching to see the countless opportunities this pilot had to turn around or declare an emergency and receive help to re enter VFR conditions yet he deadass took an IFR clearance no question asked AFTER likely leaving two of his passengers hypoxic. Such a tragic event that could have been avoided
9:22-life expectancy of 73 seconds for a VFR trained pilot entering IMC conditions-tragic.
I love these videos. I've learned so much from them. I hate when they say, onboard was wife and 3 young children. I never took family on a cross country EVER. Before I got instrument rated. I knew the risks and was not willing to put lives in my hands. I was lucky, my buddy that i always did cross country with was a retired navy pilot. Very good guy. As they say.. If you got time to spare, Go by Air.
Hearing these tapes are hard enough - this one was heart-wrenching.
The pictures of the clouds at 4:29 was chilling. It represented beauty for the passengers but imminent danger for the pilot. May they all rest in peace.
I'm an instrument-rated pilot with 300 hours and have has a similar experience. I flew up to Hot Springs AR VFR one day to see my gf not really thinking about the bad weather that was going to roll in. latter that night it was time to leave and it was VFR conditions in KHOT and KADF so I took off not really thinking much about it, but when I got to the mountain range between the two there were low clouds. I could have picked up an IFR clearance in the air, but just decided it was better to turn around and play it safe having not gotten a weather briefing and such. Stories like this make me look back and think its always best to just play it safe if you have any doubt about the safety of your flight. God bless everyone, and fly safe!
As a pilot, you never have to be anywhere. Let alone a family party.
This is another tragic story but it’s good that we get the chance to learn from other people’s unfortunate mistakes. These videos are so well made and always interesting to watch, even when the subject is as sad as this.
One more thing I would add is that many VFR pilots in single engine planes fly above cloud layers, and have no viable plan for a descent through those clouds if they lose their engine. The first time a person gets spatial disorientation (vertigo, the spins, the leans, falling backwards, etc), is the worst, and can be totally debilitating. Total shock and confusion. Persons who have excellent balance are the most adversely affected. Add in fear, that it will happen again. If you've ever watched a cat in an elevator, you can get an idea of the paralysis brought on by the spatial illusion.
That was my question before. They should not teach vfr pilot to fly above clouds, because what if there is no scape from that?
So much could be said here, but I won't. His surviving family should be consoled, if at all, that they will continue to have purpose by saving lives through this video. Thank you for sharing. This is an important public service. RIP.
Love these videos and are always a grim reminder. These preventable accidents make me sick though... :(
The first 2 minutes are absolutely ominous...great reporting of a tragedy. Tthanks!
So sad.. classic example of get-there-itis. Hope some pilots can learn from his mistakes.
Thanks again AOPA, safety videos like this is why I gladly pay my membership dues.
These videos are very powerful.. and distressing..
There needs to be more of these videos, they’re really well made and have taught me a lot!
Very sad made me cry Made a similar mistake twice but got out on dumb luck.
Just outside Bakersfield headed from Nor cal to Fullerton in LA. Smoke from a fire had visibility at 3 over the pass legal but not safe in mountain areas. We were on flight following no IFR rating but Stec 30 and gps I could use. VFR conditions at destination just 20 minutes away.
We got lower and lower trying to see the highway. The plane ahead of me on flight following stopped answering ATC. I rationalized “we have autopilot” ... get to LA but looked at the kids, listened to ATC frantic to find a missing Cessna and turned back.
Landed at Bakersfield 25 minutes later. Rented a car and drove. 5.5 hours in traffic but we lived.
Sucks they did not. Must have been terrifying.
Weather, weather, weather. This a humbling video to watch.
I've flown this exact route in a SR-22T in almost the same weather. In order to get around the storms we had two options, fly through thee Tahoe Pass or take the coast line. We flew 2 miles off the coast all the way to Oceanside and then cut across the Chocolate Range area. it only added 45 minutes to our trip. This guy could have taken the exact same route.
"Tahoe" or "Tejon Pass"?
@@kurtbilinski1723 Tejon spell check got me.
...this was the most painful one to watch but thanks for producing and posting. You all are saving lives. *What being an IFR pilot taught me, after hours of training, is my instructors taught me to discipline my mind....ignore what my body is telling me and instead focus on and trust the instruments.
Thank you for sharing this valuable information, helping to keep us safe.
I have been flying off and on for 10 years and quit twice on my PPL. I am finally about to get it and this is why I am going DIRECTLY into instrument ratings with no break. I don't want to fly really any PAX without it. Also - I am watching all of these videos as lessons so I don't make the same mistakes. As much as I hate these videos - I also know that we need them as pilots.
One stark aspect of this tragedy that conveys a powerful warning about VFR into IMC is the timeframe involved:
- ATC offered this pilot the IFR clearance at 3:50pm.
- Last radar contact with the plummeting Lancer was at 3:56pm
Think about that.. 6 minutes later... That's all it took... 360 seconds..
Yeah, he survived twice as long than is average, but the IMC is rough if you are not ready. Probably even when you are ready.
Wow.. that is an average I wasn't familiar with. 3 minutes. I'm thankful to learn from others, being "only" a 330 hour SEL, VFR, recreational pilot. Keeping myself, my wife, and our 3 kids safe is important, so this tragedy strikes home. I strive to be a disciplined and diligent pilot.
@@65SATisfaction th-cam.com/video/b7t4IR-3mSo/w-d-xo.html you should watch this, my PPL instructor made me watch it and I think it is excellent material to have back in your head not to go into IMC.
@@65SATisfaction if keeping your wife and kids are important you should get your instrument rating
@@65SATisfaction I remember my first visit to IMC with my instructor. I felt 2 minutes would have been enough to finish me. It was really bumpy and it wouldn't have been long. He showed me the scan and what to watch and in about 5 minutes it was still level and we were holding heading and altitude. It taught be to never go near that at all costs! Never!
While it’s unfortunate most of these videos end in tragedy, they are invaluable learning tools. Keep it up AOPA!
Happy to see my AOPA membership dues going to produce these great videos. I just wish they would make a lot more of them.
Aviation has always fascinated me, even to the point as a kid of wanting to be an airline pilot. But even way back then what was unappealing and a risk I ultimately decided I would never take, was having to fly in extreme/unsettled or edgy weather conditions.
I also had recurring dreams of flying like a bird. With the sport of hang gliding blooming in 1974, and at the age of 18, I took my first lesson and have never looked back. It enriched my life beyond words and answered the dream of flying like a bird.
These types of aviation fatalities, even though I'm not a GA pilot, have me shaking my head wondering how someone can put everything on the line when the odds of success were so clearly low/marginal. If you want to risk your own life that's one thing, but taking others (your family) with you, that's just mind boggling.
RIP, I don't remember an incident like this around 2015/2016, but as a Bakersfield resident, it really hurts to know this has happened so close by and yet it gone unnoticed for so long.
Exactly my thoughts
i had no idea this happened!
So thankful to the ASI for bringing us these lessons, so that their lives were not lost for nothing but can save others.
Spatial disorientation and vertigo are nearly impossible to imagine until you have experienced it in real IMC. It happens so quickly. And, without specific and recent training, your brain simply cannot process what is happening. It is both completely confusing and terrifying. You can't process what your body is feeling, nor what is happening with your aircraft. Panic sets in because your instruments are telling one thing, while your body is telling you something else. It is a helpless, hopeless, frightening experience. You are no longer flying the plane. You are frozen by the seemingly impossible data that is overwhelming rational thought. Your instinct, your fallback, the only thing your fuddled brain can come up with is to ignore the instruments and position the controls in response to what your body is feeling. From the signals you body is giving you, you are in a left turning descent. So you roll the plane right and pull back on the yoke. Only what was really happening was you were in a right turning climb. And you have just pulled and turned your plane into a full stall and entered the last spin of you, and your passengers, lives.
Such a horrible and unnecessary accident. Way to many links in this chain. It's one thing to take risks when you are flying solo. Its another to do it with passengers in the plane. I hate this pilot for what he did to his family who trusted him and relied on his judgement.
It's impossible to imagine. This happened to a friend who had flown a few thousand hours. It also ended what he called his years of hubris. They almost crashed. His sixteen year-old was on board with him.
Godspeed.
Did some cross-country training in the SoCal area recently after earning my instrument rating, and as a pilot that’s previously only flown in Florida, the landscape and weather was a sobering experience to have so many new considerations including icing, high MEAs, and rapidly changing weather during the winter/early spring time. Flying IMC into near-icing conditions really makes you appreciate the help that approach and center can give with altitude and heading amendments. Never be scared to ask for help, even if you get yourself into a situation you shouldn’t have, the controllers still want to see you get on the ground safely.
"A man's got to know his limitations."-Clint Eastwood
as Harry Callahan.
That is the motto I've lived my life by.. In every aspect of living... Greatest life quote of all time.. Magnum Force.. ✌️
@@execatty Truer words were never spoken (￢‿￢ )
@@nonmihiseddeo4181 amen brother
“Now you've got to ask yourself one question. Do I feel lucky?" - Inspector Harry Callahan
The superb quality of these videos never ceases to amaze. Well done on yet another tragic, unwarranted accident case study.
I took my Brother skiing to the Sierras, he who lives in Australia and never seen a snow in his life. I, a city dweller never drove in winter snowy conditions, or ever skied before. I rented a compact car for its cheap price, packed some heavy sweaters and T-shirts and good heavy sneakers for the purpose of skiing. On the way we visited a relative in Sacramento. There we saw on TV about snowy conditions and that climbing the higher elevations would be difficult. That was gibberish to me, hey we got a new car here nothing can stop us. We found the highway closed right out of west Sacramento. Bummer, we found a local roadway north of the route 80 on the paper map we had back then and made it to the foot of the hills. It was already dark and with the excitement of skiing the following morning I really did not feel the danger I was putting us into. I noticed later we were the only ones on the road in either direction and that there has not been any car behind or infront of us for miles. Visibility started deteriorating at about 2000 ft and then the roads started turning white soon after. Then I could not see a feet in front of me, the heavy downpour of the snow and the winds so strong. The unchained tyres of that small car could not grip the snow covered road and we ended up getting stuck in a small car in the middle of the fury of the heaviest storm of the decade. when caltran road clearing truck accidentally knocked our buried car upside down out of the snow , we were both half frozen, desperate and in shock. The driver of that truck herself was shocked when she found us in the overturned car specially when she realized we were in it for 3 dreadful hours buried in the snow. Yes indeed unbounded exuberance clouds judgement and sometimes kills.
You don't need chains to drive in snow, you need winter tires ;) and yeah, snow is no joke when you're not used to it !
The music choice and video production on this piece were perfect. Heartbreaking story. Very sobering. Thank you for a job well done which will hopefully save lives in the future.
Actually had a similar "the weather is good here and at my destination NOW". Flying from Bishop to Sacramento. Took off from Bishop and as I did a circling climb (C172 can't just POP over the mountains) I noticed clouds building up above Mammoth Mountain. Called flight service and got Pirep from a twin Beech that cloud tops were 16,000 feet. NOPE, not going to even try to go around. Circled back down and landed at Mammoth Lakes airport. I was grounded there for 4 days until storm passed enough to go home. It was nice and warm and cosy in front of the fireplace in the hotel lobby while watching the snow fly outside.
Nice story. Perfectly illustrate the "it is far better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air than to be in the air wishing you were on the ground"... Your choice.
This is a great channel. I love the way this gentleman speaks.
Man this shit is heartbreaking… You just wish you could somehow go up there and help him but there’s just nothing you can do… Such a helpless feeling… Rest in peace to all the pilots and their families… God bless
The videos are well done and highly educational. You guys are literally saving lives. This one bothers me more than other stories on this channel. Imagine that pilot, out of control. Breaking out of the clouds, watching helplessly as the ground rushes toward you and the last thing you hear is the screams of your family. Horrific.
I knew this guy personally. It’s very sad what happened. His ADM was poor in this situation and it sadly cost the lives of himself and his family. I still remember the last time I saw and spoke with him.
He killed his family with sheer stupidity....hell of a guy. Cannot believe somebody could be so stupid. The fear in his families eyes moments before crashing is a terrible thought. I feel for them.
Tomias Thexder well they didn’t really crash so to speak as they where ejected during the breakup sequence. So they pretty much fell to their deaths.
@@tomiasthexder7673 Really? Are you telling me that each and every flight that you take that you are fully prepared for all possible scenarios? Do you have a precise plan for everything that can go wrong? What exactly is YOUR plan when you can't go up, can't go down, and can't turn around? What do you do when you lose all your radios, or your entire panel?
Don't ever call anyone "stupid", because...that can be you.
@@427SuperSnake1 So the plane broke apart mid-air?
RENOVATIO It did.
Thanks for that final piece of wisdom, I am dealing with various things at the moment and your final words had many different interpretations that have really helped!
I presently live in New Jersey and a few years ago a pilot and some friends took off from an northern NJ airport in a Cherokee 140 and decided to fly to an Atlantic City general aviation airport that is no longer there. Weather at the departure airport was nicely VFR. Weather at Atlantic City was low ceiling and almost IFR. The pilot was VFR only and flew into clouds over Manahawkin, NJ. He got spatial disorientation and was observed to come out of the overcast in a near vertical dive about 1500 feet up. The pilot must have yanked hard on the yoke because the nose came up quickly and the wings came off the airplane. The plane crashed in an unpopulated section of town a few hundred yards north of Route 72. No survivors. VFR pilot flew into IMC.
These case studies are gut wrenching, and incredibly educational and sobering. This is definitely another nudge to go ahead and get an IFR rating, even if I never intend to fly in IMC. Thanks for uploading!
When you start hearing that sad piano music, you know how it ends. The screams of horror in that small plane as the pilot panics and losses control of the aircraft. Then the final impact. They enter eternity. They all become a memory. Horrible!
I just love these case studies so much. I am not a pilot, but rather a teenager with a dream of becoming a private pilot some day. These are so interesting! Thank you!
When I was young my mother got her license to fly some small Cessna. We decided to fly somewhere to get lunch to celebrate. While we were eating the weather deteriorated and a snow storm rolled in. She tried taking off and heading back, but decided soon after taking off that it wasn't a good idea. Lately I've seen a lot of plane crash videos and can't help but wonder what would have happened if she didn't decide to turn back.
Wow , you came very close to dying .
I've watched almost all the Air Crash investigation videos, one of the biggest deciding factors between the pilots who lived and the pilots who died, is that the pilots who lived decided to turn back the second things were starting to go wrong for them.
Thank you so much for posting this video. I love these "Accident case study" episodes and I thought you guys stopped making them, I am just glad you're back to making these episodes. This selfish pilot killed his whole family just because he wanted to get to a party, it's mind blowing that someone would be trying to fly IFR without IFR training. I am sorry to say this about a dead person but this guy was a complete idiot.
RIP to all the victims of this avoidable tragedy.
One thing not discussed here but is in the NTSB report--it was an in-flight breakup due to G-forces long before they impacted the ground. If I recall correctly, the found the wreckage (and individual occupants) scattered over hundreds of yards. You can see hints of this at the end of the video where they show portions of the airplane in very different locations.
An absolutely fantastic presentation.
Thank you for providing us all with this first class learning opportunity.
I love these videos! Keep up the good work!
Thank you for making these!