A Sad Ending.........mistook mown field for runway

[vc10man 732]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-29067115

[Jim Young 2,356]

I probably would have mistaken the airfield too based on the photos!

 

Best regards,

[vc10man 732]

Hi Jim

 

Nice to hear from you. amazed that no one else has picked up on this from early this morning.

 

Regards too.

[VeryBumpy 272]

I'm confused. The runway is a grass strip too. Why did mistaking the runway cause both their deaths?

[mwilk 1,107]

I'm guessing, but when he realized that he was landing on a grass strip and not the runway, he panicked pulled up and stalled the aircraft. That's just a guess judging from the story.

[~Craig~ 10]

I'm not judging anyone else, but personally, I would not consider flying at age 76, nor taking an 84 year old passenger in a monoplane.

 

There has to be a time when a tough (but unselfish) decision has to be made to hang up the wings.   It's the same with driving.   A 42 year old motorcyclist and Father of 3 young kids was killed in my village recently;  by an 85 year old lady who did not see him and pulled in to his path. 

 

Reactions, judgement, eyesight, mental acuity all decline with age - that's just a fact of life.

 

Very sad, but as his son said, at least his Mother and Father died together, doing something they loved.

[tttocs 301]

I'm not judging anyone else, but personally, I would not consider flying at age 76, nor taking an 84 year old passenger in a monoplane.

 

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I'm guessing you're nowhere near that age now, so this is an easy thing to say. 

 

There are people in their 70s and then there are people in their 70s.  We don't all age at the same rates, for a host of reasons.

 

Way back when I was a young stud in my early 30s, I met a gentleman in the middle of nowhere working (if I recall correctly) as a seasonal ranger in the backcountry of Canyonlands NP in Utah.  For those not familiar, Canyonlands is a very large, very rugged, mostly backcountry National Park.  The backcountry trails are remote, challenging, unforgiving and are for the most part routes, rather than what you'd think of as developed trails in more gentile national parks, going up narrow rubble and quicksand choked canyon bottoms, over slickrock sandstone canyon walls and back down repeatedly.  This gentleman worked backcountry patrol, routinely hiking long miles day after day in this challenging terrain.  He was 72 when I met him.  He was also fitter, more athletic and mentally sharper than your average 30 year old.  He became a role model for me, as I vowed to do everything I could to try to be just like him as I grew older.  Don't know if I'll get there or not, but I'm only a decade removed from that mark and still hangin' in as a physically active and mentally involved individual.  In 10 years, I plan to celebrate my 72nd B'day hiking the rough trail where I met this gentleman.

 

Yes deterioration of faculties is an issue as we age, but we all have to be cognizant of our limitations - regardless of  our age.  That doesn't mean we should indulge in blanket ageism and dismiss those who are still fully capable just because of their age.  Absent more information, please don't dismiss this as "some old guy who should've stopped flying long ago".

 

Scott

[WILDHEART3003 8]

I'm guessing, but when he realized that he was landing on a grass strip and not the runway, he panicked pulled up and stalled the aircraft. That's just a guess judging from the story.

Micheal Moulton said his father is an "experience Pilot",  as an experience pilot, shouldn't he know to apply full power before attempt to pull up?

[FloG 148]

Micheal Moulton said his father is an "experience Pilot",  as an experience pilot, shouldn't he know to apply full power before attempt to pull up?

Of course, I don't know any details on the incident, but it seems quite likely to  me that this situation was highly unusual for the pilot, so the stress he was exposed to made him stop thinking rational for a short moment. This might have led to pulling up (which would be the logical thing to do, when one is in an exceptional situation, and the brain jumps to decisions "unconsciously") without thinking of increasing power.

I'm not saying that's what happened, but it seems entirely possibly to me. I say this because I have encountered a situation that was extremely stressful and completely new to me this summer - and in that situation I completly misunderstood an order. Even though it took me only a second to realize that it was a misunderstanding, it caused quite a mess - and this second would have made all the difference in this case too.

[mebull 27]

Sad loss of life, sad circumstances.

 

 

 

There are people in their 70s and then there are people in their 70s. We don't all age at the same rates, for a host of reasons.

 

Very well written Scott. I am one year ahead of you. The truth from my point of view is that up to a certain point age is not as relevant as mental capacity and determination.

 

 

 

Reactions, judgement, eyesight, mental acuity all decline with age - that's just a fact of life.

 

Craig, your assumption or opinion is little flawed I think.

 

Reactions: I for one was born with exceptional reaction time. I'm sixty three and a fly buzzing around me still doesn't have a chance. It would seem that some may of never had good reaction time to begin with. On the average what you wrote may be accurate, but not in all cases.

 

Judgment: I assure you there very many of us old farts who have much better judgment skills now than we had when we were 20, 30 and even forty, but again not in all cases.

 

Eyesight: Again, on the average what you wrote may be accurate, but not in all cases.

 

Mental acuity: You mean you have to be young to be able to solve complex problems or perform critical thinking rapidly? I'll let you argue that one with Captain Chesley B. Sullenberger.

I have known a few people in their Nineties who were as sharp / astute as they come and a few who were veggies. Again, on the average what you wrote may be accurate, but not in all cases.

 

It is not a fact of life it is a description of the average not an absolute.

 

As per your post, can you honestly say there has never been a case of someone who you consider ' old ' that was killed or injured by a person you consider ' not old '?

 

Now, to be fair to you. I will say there are people out there in the world (people of all ages) who are sorely lacking in some or all of the attributes you mentioned. Some will have the good judgment to quit driving a vehicle, piloting or any other activity that might endanger others or themselves. Others will be to proud or to vain to be responsible and do the right thing.

 

I'm truly sorry to hear / read of the loss of the 42 year old young man in your village, he was the same age as my son, who also rides a motorcycle. I worry about him. On a lighter note - he called me a 'old fart' the other day. I told him at least I still have hair on my head, reminding him that he is bald and I could still out run him.

 

I truly respect your opinion and in some ways I agree. I just felt like splitting a few hair, so no disrespect intended. You do realize us old people have a reputation for being crabby don't you? :Big Grin:

 

Best regards to all,

[vc10man 732]

 

 

This gentleman worked backcountry patrol, routinely hiking long miles day after day in this challenging terrain. He was 72 when I met him. He was also fitter, more athletic and mentally sharper than your average 30 year old. He became a role model for me, as I vowed to do everything I could to try to be just like him as I grew older. Don't know if I'll get there or not, but I'm only a decade removed from that mark and still hangin' in as a physically active and mentally involved individual. In 10 years, I plan to celebrate my 72nd B'day hiking the rough trail where I met this gentleman.

I know that NP, and it is a remarkable encounter fate brought you too. I met a similar elderly but by far fitter ranger in Kodachrome Basin, UT who put me, at 65, to shame.

 

Your piece brought back memories of the very first time I climbed Mt Snowdon,(in my mid-30s) here, in North Wales, with a friend. Half way up, this friend wanted to give up and turn back, till we came across a sprightly 72-year old lady from Yorkshire who had made the same ascent several times,and was on her way up, even if not as quickly as she used to do. So, I cajoled my friend and told him to use here as a spur-----he got to the summit. I then told him there was now nobody who could rob him of that achievement.

[P*Funk 9]

Everyone wants to talk about eyesight in your 70s, but maybe we should be talking about runway markings....