accident time [Archive] - PPRuNe Forums

airag

8th Jan 2003, 09:23

Unfortunately I wrote of a good Airtractor last November following a wire strike , makes you a wiser pilot .... and provided you don't have a history of similar wrecks not usually career destroying although certainly cause for some deep thought !!

QNIM

8th Jan 2003, 19:56

Hey if you stick around long enough, as the old saying goes there are those of us who have and those who are going too. :D Cheers Q

notrouble

12th Jan 2003, 05:30

Come on guys and girls are you all scared to make a comment on said subject. Any near misses then, I remember at least 4-5 incidents in Darwin in my company Ha*** aviation. Don't let your ego stop you from commenting, this is an anonymous forum.

the wizard of auz

12th Jan 2003, 10:50

I know of three people from the same organisation that had their careers ruined. And another two that had serious accidents that havnt impacted their careers at all. we have all had a close shave (I manage several a day) but no one hears about these so it doesnt really impact ones career. Did you have a sudden name change as well as location change? :D

Woomera

12th Jan 2003, 23:52

notrouble

Interesting question??

If you want to tease out some answers it might be easier, if you are able without blowing your cover, if you briefly describe the circumstances, the type of company and why YOU think it wasted your career.

I would have thought that under normal circumstances of sh!t happening, an accident shouldn't in and of itself destroy a career.

There is usually much more to it, if it does.

takeoff1

13th Jan 2003, 00:07

Yerr, i had an accident - meet a girl and got married and it did destroy my career....haven't flown since.

Good question though, i know of someone in darwin who did a wonderful job on a nice twin via a CB, and I believe he has moved on to bigger and better things in WA.

I guess in a serious way, I had brakes fail on me in a baron just after getting my CPL, and had to put the thing onto the grass to try and slow it down, eveentually it did but with a hell alot of mess, no major damage though, it didn't destroy my almost career, but did shake me up a bit, and made me just that more thorough in everything i did from then on.

Small incident I know, but at the time I life passed through my eyes.

notrouble

13th Jan 2003, 01:58

Thanks Woomera

This will blow my cover, but who cares I don't fly anymore anyway. Accident happened at Cape Don north east of Darwin, C210 MTOW , retracted gear shortly after TKOF a/c sunk as the gear retracted, a/c pitched over and struck the prop on the runway, pulled throttle back and we slid for about 120 m, end story. No injuries. Accident due partly my fault and the conditions at the time. Company I worked for told us, if we had an accident we would be dismissed. It destroyed my chance of a career because I was shortly to progress on to multi engine a/c. I can expand even further but certain people out there might get a bit upset. Another factor was not wanting to put up with G/A s**t any longer at forty years of age.

Pitch and Break

13th Jan 2003, 04:31

Sounds to me that the accident didn't end your career - sounds a lot more like YOU ended your career!? or at the least, the accident forced you into making a decision you were longing to make anyhow and then you used that as a reason for ending your own career maybe?
Did you learn anything from it though?;)
If you didn't, then it was a waste of a damn good accident!:)

High Altitude

13th Jan 2003, 04:54

Accidents do happen, at times you blame the operator, at times you blame the engineers, at times you blame the pilot, at times you blame your machinery...

This is why they are called accidents and not delibrates...

Bit like fishing really, it should be called boating as how many times have you been out and not caught a fish? (well I know that doesn't happen 4 me I always get the biguns).

In my time I have seen a few & most if not all involved have learnt something (well except for bouncer the dog as he was sliced into many pieces). There is always a combination of facts that lead to an accident.

The true character of a person is seen following an accident. Wether the gear handle is found mysteriously in the up position, etc. Personally I have never terminated anyone following an accident? Why would you? When the accidents that I have seen the pilot has ALWAYS admitted what happened...

No matter how proficient you are no matter how many procedures are in place, no matter how good you think you are, no matter if its single pilot or a 3 crewed jumbo, it is the nature of human that accidents will happen...

OzExpat

13th Jan 2003, 05:41

I had a ditching in 1987. Didn't do my career any harm - in fact, in 2000, I received a trophy for it... :D

Mr. Hat

13th Jan 2003, 06:53

An old timer once said to me "its the guys/gals that just keep getting up after getting knocked down over and over again that get there in the end."

What support network you have around you I think plays a big part also.

FishHead

13th Jan 2003, 21:44

OzExpat,

Was your swim in a big 'un or a little 'un?
What was the initial impact like?
Ditching/Forced Landings are an interest of mine - an interest I have no desire to experience first hand mind you!

FH

notrouble

14th Jan 2003, 01:28

Mr Pitch and Break, I was sacked after the accident. I enjoyed what I was doing even though I was a forty year old guy flying a C210 , making $25,000 with 3500 hrs flying experience. Next step was going to be flying multi-engine a/c making over $30,000. Everything was looking positive for me, then the accident. I didn't decide to quit after the accident. I got a job as a casual pilot in Darwin after 6 months, in the next year I made $10,000. As much as people like to tell you money is not important it has a direct relationship on your quality of life. I was also packing shelves at the local supermarket to make ends meet. I then decided after this I was bashing my head against a brick wall so I quit. If I was 25 and single things may have been different. I loved what I was doing and the decision to quit was not taken lightly.

High Altitude

14th Jan 2003, 01:44

Good point you make notrouble but the fact is you were given another chance in Darwin problem was that with the new chance it was going to take twice as long and be twice as hard because of what happened.

Anyways you know my thoughts...

notrouble

14th Jan 2003, 02:06

HA what you say is only your personal opinion, it is not the rule of G/A, remember that. Other people may like to disagree with you. Most people in aviation expect some respect for having spent at least 15 years in the industry. You won't put up with the same things now compared to when you started, will you?

takeoff1

14th Jan 2003, 02:36

no trouble,

allthough i haven't been in an accident such as yours, earning that sort of money at 40 is discusting, though typical of GA, i was earning that money at 30 and thought it was discusting.

hence i eventually quite darwin and moved back home to sydney, now im 35, earning 5 times that amount, even though id rather be flying everyday, id also rather be having a life, and enjoying my day to day life.

If its one positve thing to consider, i now can buy what i want, live in a nice home, have holidays, get treated like a person and not just a pilot, and i still afford to get my fix for a flying on the weekends in a fun casual way.

I reckon this is an opportunity for you to move on, have a life, get paid what your worth and enjoy it, like you said, you and i are not 25 anymore where you have no responsibilies or give a sh**, we have to actually consider where we are at and what we are doing for now, not 5 years away.

i just wanted you to know, that flying a piece of crap, getting paid crap and treated like crap isn't what life is all about.

all the best

tk1:D

:D

OzExpat

14th Jan 2003, 06:33

FishHead... it was a "little 'un", a Piper Arrow engaged on a training flight. I had a trainee who was doing his first navex. There were 3 distinct impacts, tail, port wing and then the nose... the wing clipped a wave because I'd been locked into landing across the swell - couldn't see anything thru a windscreen that was covered in oil.

The deceleration was rapid and, combined with the sudden yaw as the wing clipped the wave, caused brusing to both of us from the shoulder sash part of the belts. The aircraft remained afloat for about 3 minutes, which was more than enough time to evacuate.

We saw sharks circling the submerged aircraft, from our vantage point on a cliff above the jagged rocks that abounded in that area. Just as well the buggas hadn't arrived sooner!

Pinky the pilot

14th Jan 2003, 08:27

I ditched an A model 402 a long time ago due to stupidity on my part. Nearly cost me my life and ruined my career at the time.
With perseverance I have reached the stage where I get the occasional casual work. With any luck I may even return to full time flying one day.
Needless to say I have learned a salutary lesson and now am very careful that I do not repeat my mistake, as anyone who has flown with me will confirm.

" Only a fool does not learn from his mistakes"

Northern Chique

15th Jan 2003, 10:48

notrouble........

was with same company and exited same in much in the same manner, only mine was over a metro which I wasnt driving at the time..... was severely blacklisted in darwin and interstate by said company.

No other Darwin company would give me a go..... one said "too high hours", another said we'd love to have you but heres why we cant... (their chief pilot - I really appreciate that mans honesty - told me exactly what was said to them by the management... beneath the lies and spite there was alot of anger on the managements part.) It took a court order to try to curb their tongues and still they persisted.

I survived, life is looking rosey. No doubt as the owner told me, "you will never work in avaition again!".... he meant it with all the conviction he could muster, and he saw to it that his statement would effect everything I did for the next 2 years ......

But as the months turn into years, no one has every held me away from an achievement, not him, not the company.... in the end I make the decisions, I chose to walk....... next walk I do is to finish my ATPL. Always something in the pipeline, always options.

Success in any field is a measure of what can be overcome to achieve a goal. Very few had it easy.....

Dannyboyblue

15th Jan 2003, 12:21

Its not realy an accident so apologies but i did learn something from it.

Doing inverterd spin recovery in a slingsby, hit 75 knots upsidedown about to put rudder in for my spin and the engine failed.

What lesson did i learn.....

It helps if you put the fuel pump on before aerobatics!!!!

My instructor said he had saw what i had done and wanted to see how i would cope under the situation, we were well above 5000 feet so no problem in recovering and restarting, but whenever im going to do an unusual thing in an aircraft what do i now always check!!!

the wizard of auz

16th Jan 2003, 13:22

Hey NC,I knew you wouldnt let a great FAT, PORCHE driving IDIOT with freinds (god knows how....must be the money thing) in high places get ya down. Good onya!!!. Some one else we know just recieved the wages owing to them from said sleezebag......nearly two years later, and the career scene still looks grim for them due to Mr. sleazys spitfullness. :mad:

TurboOtter

17th Jan 2003, 01:45

One incident, I had a fuel blockage so the eingine stopped whilst at 500ft.

Secound incident, funnily enough on Sept 11th in Alaska! just passing about 300ft after going under a fog bank in a C185, the engine gave up the ghost. A hole as big as your fist in the crank case, smoke and oil everywhere. Made a 180 turn landed, cleaned my draws then got towed in by the coast guard.:cool:

Had a heap of near death experiences, usually by myself "pushing it a little" ALLWAYS learnt something from them though.
But hey that's life as a float driver!:D