Banjo
23rd May 2005, 00:07
I have been present to witness some pretty stupid things done in and around aircraft, in fact I have been responsible for a large proportion of them. This Saturday though I saw a demonstration of stupidity, irresponsibility and dangerous flying the like of which I have not seen for many a long year.
I was at Bristol Airport waiting in the GA terminal to meet some Pax to fly over to the FA cup final in Wales. As is the norm at these events there were the usual collection of Lear’s, citations and assorted Biz jets arriving disgorging there owners for us to transport onwards. As we pilots stood around waiting and watching (this means drinking lots of coffee and telling war stories as pilots are prone to do when you get more than two together) we noticed a blue 109 screaming across the approach to the active runway.
Once it crossed the runway it preceded to bank tightly and race across the airport. Its style of flying and approach path attracting the attention of all those pilots present and eliciting the phrase “what the f**K is he doing” and other such similar professional observations. He then came to the hover some 40ft over the two parked fuel bowsers.
At this point the FBO staff began to ask us if the aircraft or pilot was with any of our operations as they had no booking for him and did not know who he was. None of the companies there had anything to do with the aircraft in question and we continued to watch in awe (and relief that he was not “one of ours”) as the pilot chose to remain in the high hover over the bowsers while carrying out several spot turns.
The FBO staff sent out marshals to try and park the aircraft but this was not to be, our intrepid pilot choosing not to notice them preferring instead to fly around the south side of the airport for a while taking in the scenery. The marshals in their high-vis clothing and paddles waving had no effect at all on this pilot who eventually having picked his spot to park proceeded to land from a 40ft hover in a fashion that lead those watching to assume he had just had the misfortune of a double engine failure. This was not the case however and once the ground crew had managed to hike over to the aircraft and get the pilots attention he was repositioned to the apron.
By this time a member of ATC suffering from a rather high blood pressure condition rang up to enquire who the bl***y h**l had been flying the 109 and if it was not too much trouble could he possible spare five minutes to explain why he had not felt the need to avail himself of their services during his arrival at the airport.
It turned out that they had first noticed him cruising in at around 130 knots or so and could not raise him on the radio. He continued to fly on without calling anyone (not squawking 7600) and entered the zone. Once in the zone he continued on without slowing and with a couple of course changes en route shot an approach to the south side, direct from the north, cutting across the active and forcing an Easy Jet airbus to be sent around and the Beech 200 following it before beginning his exploration of the airport grounds.
No one had any booking info for the aircraft and during his approach and high hover practice he did not speak to Radar or Tower despite them calling him some 60 times on all frequencies during his 5 minutes of fame. He had in fact come in to collect the passengers from one of the corporate planes who were going to the match and having met them on the parking area started to load them aboard his aircraft. At this point he was invited inside to have a little chat leaving his passengers stranded in the helicopter.
Now I have, as said earlier, done some pretty brain dead things in my time but I do not believe that even I could have performed such a display of moronic stupidity and dangerous flying (I wait to be proven wrong). One error after another and another culminated in a flight that had I not been there to witness it I would have felt to be one of those famous exaggerated “war stories”. Before anyone asks, no he had not suffered a radio failure they were working fine and even if he had I would not have expected a PPL student to have handled such a situation anywhere nearly as bad. His aircraft was one hundred percent fine.
M.O.R.’s having been submitted by both approach and tower controllers on the pilot I ask what would others of you have happen to someone who displayed such behaviour?
“Were it to happen in America today the pilot would have probably been shot”. One of those watching suggested. A bloody good idea being the general consensus of everyone else present.
I was at Bristol Airport waiting in the GA terminal to meet some Pax to fly over to the FA cup final in Wales. As is the norm at these events there were the usual collection of Lear’s, citations and assorted Biz jets arriving disgorging there owners for us to transport onwards. As we pilots stood around waiting and watching (this means drinking lots of coffee and telling war stories as pilots are prone to do when you get more than two together) we noticed a blue 109 screaming across the approach to the active runway.
Once it crossed the runway it preceded to bank tightly and race across the airport. Its style of flying and approach path attracting the attention of all those pilots present and eliciting the phrase “what the f**K is he doing” and other such similar professional observations. He then came to the hover some 40ft over the two parked fuel bowsers.
At this point the FBO staff began to ask us if the aircraft or pilot was with any of our operations as they had no booking for him and did not know who he was. None of the companies there had anything to do with the aircraft in question and we continued to watch in awe (and relief that he was not “one of ours”) as the pilot chose to remain in the high hover over the bowsers while carrying out several spot turns.
The FBO staff sent out marshals to try and park the aircraft but this was not to be, our intrepid pilot choosing not to notice them preferring instead to fly around the south side of the airport for a while taking in the scenery. The marshals in their high-vis clothing and paddles waving had no effect at all on this pilot who eventually having picked his spot to park proceeded to land from a 40ft hover in a fashion that lead those watching to assume he had just had the misfortune of a double engine failure. This was not the case however and once the ground crew had managed to hike over to the aircraft and get the pilots attention he was repositioned to the apron.
By this time a member of ATC suffering from a rather high blood pressure condition rang up to enquire who the bl***y h**l had been flying the 109 and if it was not too much trouble could he possible spare five minutes to explain why he had not felt the need to avail himself of their services during his arrival at the airport.
It turned out that they had first noticed him cruising in at around 130 knots or so and could not raise him on the radio. He continued to fly on without calling anyone (not squawking 7600) and entered the zone. Once in the zone he continued on without slowing and with a couple of course changes en route shot an approach to the south side, direct from the north, cutting across the active and forcing an Easy Jet airbus to be sent around and the Beech 200 following it before beginning his exploration of the airport grounds.
No one had any booking info for the aircraft and during his approach and high hover practice he did not speak to Radar or Tower despite them calling him some 60 times on all frequencies during his 5 minutes of fame. He had in fact come in to collect the passengers from one of the corporate planes who were going to the match and having met them on the parking area started to load them aboard his aircraft. At this point he was invited inside to have a little chat leaving his passengers stranded in the helicopter.
Now I have, as said earlier, done some pretty brain dead things in my time but I do not believe that even I could have performed such a display of moronic stupidity and dangerous flying (I wait to be proven wrong). One error after another and another culminated in a flight that had I not been there to witness it I would have felt to be one of those famous exaggerated “war stories”. Before anyone asks, no he had not suffered a radio failure they were working fine and even if he had I would not have expected a PPL student to have handled such a situation anywhere nearly as bad. His aircraft was one hundred percent fine.
M.O.R.’s having been submitted by both approach and tower controllers on the pilot I ask what would others of you have happen to someone who displayed such behaviour?
“Were it to happen in America today the pilot would have probably been shot”. One of those watching suggested. A bloody good idea being the general consensus of everyone else present.