Your Scariest Flight ?

[Teddy Robinson]

There have been a few over the past 45years (yike) which I thought might be good contenders for this thread a pretty long list in fact, then I ran some filters and there was a clear winner.
It wasn't the Pa38 spinning incident, or the teardrop reversal at Accra with tornados ripping up the far side of the airfield, it was something rather more subtle and insidious, and as usual it started of with a clear summers day, with a great days flying planned.

At the time I was flying as a "pilots assistant" on a B200 Super Kingair, my instructor was flying as captain for this flight to deliver a well heeled couple to the Isles of Scilly for a romantic lunch.
Champagne and goodies loaded, we departed in gin clear skies to Lands End airfield.

The B200 was not suitable for the destination, and the company had arranged a local pilot to do the transfer: we duly arrived, shut down, and moments later were joined by a charachter dressed as a captain, complete with Popeye sailors hat, working togs, and wellies.

He was a skipper in every sense of the word, he'd come straight from his trawler jus down in the bay for the trip to St. Mary's in his well worn and very homely B23 Musketeer, but oh, he said ... there was a problem, a weather problem.

"I'm so sorry", he told our passengers in a broad Cornish accent, "there is a front due in that will close the islands, and we won't be able to get back out again".

After a brief conference our lovebirds departed for St Ives, and we retreated to the airport Cafe for coffee and small talk with our island specialist, who departed a short while later.
WIth time on our hands, the King-Air was restocked, refuelled and we sat down to wait out the 4 hours until our clients return, then decided to go and check out some of the hangers.

Strolling across the sunlit grass, we became aware of the Skipper ambling towards us, "there's a break in the weather, you boys want to go to the islands ?"
I wasn't really included in the conversation, but surely the answer was no !

Moments later we were flying out over the cliffs of Lands end towards St. Marys.
Never before, or since, have I seen a runway threshold that appears to fill your windsreen in level light at 1000 feet !

The Skipper's intel seemed correct:

Beautiful CAVOK, warm sunshine, indeed a beautiful day, and once safely down we took a tour by foot to grab a cornish pasty (as you do), and tour the fascinating historic graveyard.
I have always had a real time sense for weather, today it was just the slightest breeze touching my cheek that made me look up.

Stratus.

Lets go .. we made out way back to the aircraft to find our skipper looking decidedly nervous, all he said was "lets go" and go we did .. no checks, we were airborne and turning for Lands End at low level.

Even at this early stage of my flying career, I had already lost friends and acquaintances in weather related accidents, so, sat in the back of the Musketeer was rather like reading an accident report as events began to unfold.

We had turned on track from perhaps 100 feet after takeoff, and were now running in and out of the cloud base at 500 feet, as we approached the Lizard peninsula. the cloud base was lowering rapidly. we were now down at 300 feet to keep sight of the wave tops and it was getting darker by the moment.

200 feet now ...... and POP !! out into bright sunshine.

I had been mostly head down during this part of the flight as we were clearly getting down to an altitude where the cliffs near the airfield could become a factor.

Head down is probably the wrong term ... I was trying to wriggle into a position that might protect me should we impact terrain
As I felt the sunshine, I opened my eyes, and popped my head up for a quick look around.

There ahead of us was the Lizard peninsula, covered rather beautifully in orographic fog that began half way up the cliff face stretching as far inland as the eye could see, all lit with bright sunshine.

Now what ?

Now might me an appropriate moment to decribe the Skipper: I can do so in a few words.
Think Long John Silver, without the Parrot and the wooden leg and you are pretty much there and that includes the accent !
He is a creature of his environment, not ours, and more to the point, without a headset I am watching events unfold without a commentary.

We are closing on the cliffs, out pops a stage of flap, I sneak a look over his left shoulder and see 75kts, and we start a right turn down the beach, now at clifftop height ... as we roll wings level the view is strangely tantalising ...

I look to where the clifftop should be, solid fog, but as I look down on the beach, there are couples sunbathing and children playing in the sea, and here we are making like an aluminium seagull, beating a figure of 8 track, turning away from the cliff to the right, then a closing track on the return to turn left ... and repeat ... and repeat and repeat, this was becoming quite bizarre.

So far I could follow the logic: we will fly this for a while and then divert .... surely ?

At the end of one of the left turns out to sea, there's an exclamation,(ARRRR !) and the turn tightens ... then there is dense fog ... I see a stone wall flash past, then a sheep.

I'm back in my "brace for impact" position with my head held tight against my knees, my right eye watching things, and my life, flashing past the opposite passenger window.

Another stone wall, a tree, all just gloomy shadows in the fog, a telephone pole...... I brace for impact ... yes there's the first one .... a glancing blow, and now we are sliding, curving to the right.... In my minds eye I see the next stone wall looming out of the fog and close my eyes, power goes on for an instant, then off, still sliding to the right ....

But I'm also picking up the rumble of the landing gear on a bumpy grass surface, and dare another look .. a monocrome windsock passes my field of view, and slowly, ever-so-slowly we rumble to a halt.

I finally exhale.

Now we are taxying. I unbrace and look around ... still nothing, but grass and fog, then a light, then a hangar, then the airfield cafe,

WTF !!

Happy Christmas

TR