Pilot Stations are there for a reason!

[Badge]

Well today I witnessed a very close call when a B25 ARF with one engine out hit the pilot and narrowly missed his spotter. The pilot was attempting to bring the plane in compensating heavily with rudder because of the engine flame out when the spotter grabbed the pilot to pull him out of the way the pilots thumb came off the rudder and the plane veered into the spotter catching him at the knees. The spotter was thrown off his feet the wing sheered away from the plane. Luckily he missed the propeller by no more than a foot or two and sustained only a few small cuts from the impact with the plane and the ground.

Well you might be wondering why I named this thread what I did, well it’s because the pilot, his spotter and two other people were standing at the end of the runway in what I could call the threshold to the runway as the b25 approached. They were down there because it took them a couple attempts to get both motors running. They basically followed the plane down to the end of the runway as the motor kept quiting and they had to go and get it and restart the motor. So instead of walking back to the protected pilot stations the pilot simply took off from where they had gotten the plane running.

In short take the time to walk back to your fields pilot stations after tinkering with your plane and before you take off it’s a lot safer for everyone.

I will have pics tomorrow or Monday when a buddy sends me them he captured it sec by sec on his digi camera.

[3D-Seth]

Glad nobody was hurt!

[BR289]

After spending the last two and a half seasons as my clubs safety officer, I can appreciate this post. I swear people think I am the "Field Cop" because I always tell them about standing behind the flight gates...they are there for a reason. Half the time they get pissed about it, but for reasons like this, people should think a little more......
Blair

[Toro]

This thread serves 2 reasons... Pilot stations for one, but also, If the engine wont consistantley stay running, something is WRONG ! Dont try and take a chance just because you drove out to the field, and you absolutely must fly. It aint worth it.... They say that all accidents occur when a chain of events is linked and join up to create the final outcome. Almost all accidents can be classified as negligence. This one for sure is CASE IN POINT... The B-25 crew had prior knowledge that there was a problem with the powerplants, and knowingly flew it anyways. Good thing for a spotter, and good thing for pilot stations. Too bad for negligent attitudes.

[Freddy Warbird]

	Quote:
	Toro:If the engine wont consistantley stay running, something is WRONG ! Dont try and take a chance just because you drove out to the field, and you absolutely must fly. It aint worth it.

Makes sense to me!

	Quote:
	Toro:They say that all accidents occur when a chain of events is linked and join up to create the final outcome. Almost all accidents can be classified as negligence.

I have always been told, "Accidents don't happen. They are caused."

[Biff]

Good one Badge. All too often we don't think about what if. We're all guilty.Blair I feel you dude. There are some who think the Joe Nall flight line is a bit strict. But a perfect safety record speaks for it's self. Running a safe flight line whether at a club or an event means taking your job seriously. Will you be accused of being a flight line Nazi? YOU BET! Rules and more rules aren't the answer, EDUCATION is. If folks are trained from the get go how to do things properly, it lasts a long time. Just like buckling your seat belt. Once it's a habbit, you just do things automatically. I'm not at all saying don't have fun. I'm preaching common sense on the flight line and in the pits. Thanks for the post guys!

[rede2fly]

this is where the ole saying goes. you can leed a horse to water but you cant make him drink. or another. do as i say not as i do. their are idots in every club, i guess in the world. i sorry to say most of todays pilots will try and save the plane in there minds nomatter what the outcome. instead of putting it down when they should. and for someone to take ANY plane off the ground that is not working properly and most important knows it, should be supended from the club for at least 1 month. and if happens again 2 months and if there is a 3rd time ejected from the club. there is no reason whatever to put anybody in harms way for blatin stupidity. and i really dont care who it is. even it was dave brown himself, not saying he would do such a stuipd thing. i wish i was there because i would take that picture and send it to the A.M.A. with his name. its too easy to lose flying sites. and as you guys know it takes only 1 person to change things for everybody.

[Biff]

Another great point rede2fly! That's a discussion with a spotter. "Dude, if things ain't looking good, your call on ditching it." A guy riding a bull ain't looking at where the fence is. When you got a hand full of badly behaving airplane, you need somebody seeing the whole story telling you when to put it in. Great post!

[BR289]

Recently we put in new flight gates....only this time we added a "Side" to each one. I had been telling our board that the design we had wasnt all that protective. Many times I have seen a plane hit the edge of the flight gate and spin in towards the pilot ( Most of the time it was a new pilot flying a trainer and they taxied a little too fast ) but I could definately see how serious someone could get hurt not standing behind them. Some guys just think that will never happen to them.......
Guys, if your flying at an event, someone elses field or even your own, make it a point to get behind the flight station...if not for yourself, at least for the safety of others and there flying site....
Blair

[TeamFlatout]

I do understand safety and all its worth. I was there flying and I did use the flight line barriers while I flew each time. Yes I hated them but I understood why to use them. But to stand up a little in the guys favor, he did have the plane in control all the way up until he set up for landing. That is where it got ugly. I do believe even if he was in the pilot station and this very large plane did hit the pilot station both still would have possibly suffered some injuries. The plane was coming in very hot and the height he was at would have just went throught the barriers. Lets not kill this guy to much here. There were a lot of "what ifs" in this situation and you would have done this and you would have done that comments. Everything ended sort of well in the end and lets just use this as an example to take extra precautions.

[Tailchaser]

Yep, Great post, glad someone finally brought too light something we all see too often.
As I was reading it I was thinking exactly what Toro posted, this guy was just asking to put his plane in, or worse yet hurt someone.
I think everyone should also be aware like Rede2fly said in his post, that was very well said, he was putting the whole field in jeopardy by flying a plane that was apparently not ready.
Thanks for posting in Badge, this subject was well over due and has made me look at my own flying as well,........Safety first!

Chuck

[Tailchaser]

Teamflatout, I don't think anyone was personally trying to jump on the guy, it just brings to light what we all do way too often, forget about safety, I'm glad everything turned out alright, it could have been much worse.
He's not alone at all in this by any means. I some way shape or form we all have cheated on the safety guild line too much.

Chuck