Canada, seaplane accident, Pilot_DAR
 

Our admin, Pilot_DAR has been involved in a seaplane accident near his home in Canada. Reports don't say, but I know he owns a Thurston Teal, which would be my guess of the accident aircraft.

What little I know is that he and the other occupant of the aircraft have been hopitalised, but it doesn't sound like life threatening injuries. Apparently the aircraft has sunk.

I'm sure that all our thoughts are with him and his family. I hope he'll share some lessons and war stories with us about it in due course.

G

That is sad to hear. I hope the injuries are nothing more than bruises and I wish him and his passenger a swift recovery.

Sorry to hear that. Get well soon!

All the best and a speedy recovery.

Not a Teal, it was a Lake.

http://www.pprune.org/canada/596981-...a-ontario.html

Info available on a well known Canadian aviation forum. Search for "Lake St. John accident".

Best wishes for a rapid return to full health and hope we see you here on PPRuNe shortly.

Very sad news. I've met Pilot_DAR and regular readers will not be surprised to know that he is just as nice, and informative about aviation, in person, as his PPRuNe posts would suggest.

Wishing him a speedy recovery.

Serious injuries the news says, not good. Wishing you all the best for a speedy recovery DAR, and you're back where you belong in short order - in the air, and rapping we miscreants on pprune over the knuckles.

I agree, latest news says it's the Lakes.

A Canadian bulletin board says that he's now had two operations, and recovery is unfortunately likely to be slow. My thoughts are very much with him and his family - he's a friend, and a very good pilot and test pilot for whom I have a great deal of regard. That he is so highly regarded in Canada, hopefully does mean that the community there will be actively supporting him, and rightly so.

G

Likewise.
Get well soon DAR, we need you here.

:= Genghis I expect better of you. A Lakes is a biplane, this is a Lake.

Anyway, I too wish DAR a speedy recovery. I like his take on things.

CTV News video of the aircraft recovery:

Crashed plane retrieved from lake | CTV Barrie News

I've just heard directly from DAR.

Somebody still on the admin team - perhaps you could pass this on to Towers.

Needless to say I've passed on everybody's good wishes.

G

Got it, thanks, best wishes to DAR and thanks for the update.

Looking at the latest video of the recovery I'm shocked at the heavy damage to the front end.

If that occurred during the impact I'm amazed but delighted they survived.

Get well soon DAR

Dreadful news: very best wishes for a speedy recovery!

Speedy recovery pilot DAR. A well respected contributor and your posts are sorely missed ��

How's the recovery coming on there DAR, hope your on the mend quickly.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery! Sorry we missed each other in Norway earlier this year. Maybe next time :)

Thanks for the kind wishes, recovery is a month in. a few setbacks, as an active body does not like being suddenly bed ridden, but excellent medical care is making the best of it for me. I'll be another month of "non weight bearing" while ankles heal, then rehab from there. As I re engage with life around me, I'm doing more, but this has taken more out of me than I would have imagined.

Many life lessons learned, and family and friends are so important. We fly, but our relationship with loved ones is more important....

Good to see you back up DAR, and hope recovery doesn't leave you with anything physically long lasting. A thought to your family, loved ones, and close friends who also would be affected by your escapade. :ok:

Happy to see you surfacing back here DAR:ok:

Perhaps a winter in sunnier climes will accelerate getting back in shape - takes longer for us older folks. I am sure that you are getting more lessons in patience than anybody would ever want.

It's good to see you back. Keep getting better!

Pilot DAR,

I'm glad to see you back on PPRuNe. Get well soon.

Good to know you are recovering....shows wearing a life jacket can come in handy!

Some details that appeared in "Kathryn's Report" that may interest you....the Air Ambulance was contacted, but "stormy weather prevented them from responding"..... so weather conditions may have contributed to your accident.

Also in same report, chap named Dylan McKee jumped in his boat and helped with the rescue.

The float plane declined to keep floating, and will have to be recovered from underwater.

A glider pilot friend of mine splashed down at dusk in December in a reservoir near Talgarth in Wales...he told us next day when we went to recover the glider that he had chosen to land on the shallow end of the lake, he unfastened his parachute, but was still strapped in when the glider sank near the shore! he got out and had to wade through snow to find help from a nearby farmhouse, soaking wet. When we went to recover the glider next day, it was floating again, but limp. After a year it was rebuilt and now still flying in Wales.

Good news that you are recovering. My friend Colin Hales who is trying to fly his plane around the world, crashed on a golf course in Japan, is presently in a japanese hospital, his plane is in bits. The worst thing about a crash is the embarassment....even Alcock and Brown managed to bend their aircraft on touching down in Ireland.



Mary

Yes Mary, wearing my lifejacket (subject of a recent thread) was the life or death difference.

Weather was not at all a factor in our accident, conditions were perfect. I was later told that I could not be flown onward for greater medical care, as a front was carrying rough weather through at that time.

I'm sorry to hear of Colin's accident. I met him last year in Nome, when he was trying to secure permission to cross Russian airspace. Hope he's mending and that the plane can be patched up,

Get well soon Dar,
Having read so many of your wise words , I'd like to advise you to rest as well as possible.
A long stay in care is tough on your and your loved ones,please try to go easy on yourself.

I recall having a prang in my fathers car way back when I was a teenager, his words have stayed with me to this day "we can always replace a car, your health is your wealth".

Cheers,
Fionn