Topic: Aviation... There I was,.... flat on my back........

[Mrmerlin]

OK add your stories, I found this one amusing from the web......true or not yours or not, its all good............ Enjoy


Peter J. Hennessey

I was in the aviation cadet class of 42-D and graduated from twin engine flying school at Victorville. California in April, 1942. They kept me there as an instructor and six months later I was transferred to Douglas, Arizona. We were flying AT-9s, AT-17s and AT-6s. Sometime in early or mid-1943, I had an opportunity to go to Mather Field in Sacramento, California, for B-25 transition. I returned to Douglas and continued instructing, and sometime in late 1943 or early 1944, two B-25s were delivered to Douglas. One was a B-25A and the other a B-25B. Since I was one of the few pilots at Douglas who was checked out in the B-25, one was assigned to me and the other was assigned to Claude McKinney who went through B-25 transition at the same time I did. Our first assignment was to take all of the instructors up for an orientation flight so they could see how a B-25 performed. After we completed that assignment, we then began checking out some of the instructors in the bomber.


One of the instructors who was assigned to me had been instructing in the AT- 17 and had around a thousand hours of instructor pilot time. After take-off. he would pull the B-25 into a steep climb, similar to what jets do now, however he did not pick up critical single engine air speed. I kept telling him that if he lost an engine it would be the last take-off he ever would make. For some reason I could not convince him of this.


One day we went up to 9.000 feet, and I was going to demonstrate what could happen. Douglas' elevation was 4,100 feet. so we were approximately 5,000 above the ground. I dropped the gear and take-off flaps and made a power-off stall. I then gave full power to both engines and kept it in a steep climb while pulling up the gear and the flaps. I was trying to simulate a take-off. I turned the controls over to him and then pulled the right throttle back. He continued to keep it in a climb, however, the nose started moving to the right (into the dead engine) but he continued to fight it and apparently was convinced that he could control the aircraft. My belief in a situation like this is that you either have to drop the nose to pick up sufficient air-speed to control the aircraft or to reduce power on the good engine to maintain control. Neither one of these options are very good if you don't have much altitude such as immediately after take-off.


One of the difficult things about instructing is to know when to take over if the student is getting into a difficult or hazardous situation. If you take over too soon, he is likely to believe that he could have handled the situation and, of course, If you let it go too long it could be a disaster. In this case, I let it go a little too long, as I believed he would eventually see that he couldn't control the plane and take some action. However, he apparently felt that he could still Control it. When it got to the point when I became very uncomfortable, I reached up and pulled power back on the left engine and was going to push the nose down to pick up air speed. About the time I pulled the throttle back on the left engine, the plane rolled over on its back, and I thought I could pull back on the stick and "split S" out of it. however, the plane did not react as I anticipated. The right rudder pedal came all the way back and I already had the elevator control in the rear position, hoping to split S. However, the plane went into a spin to the right and we were inverted for a time. I put both feet on the right rudder pedal and could not move it a bit. I pushed on the control wheel and could barely move it. I called to my student to do the same so we were both on the controls but could not move the rudder and could barely move the stick.
The only other B-25 that I knew of that had gotten out of a spin was when we were taking transition at Mather Field, and my recollection is that they went into a spin at about 10.000 feet and lost 8,000 or 9,000 feet before it came out. We only had 5,000 feet to lose so I knew we had to do something different.


Although I never read about it or even discussed it with anyone, I'd wondered if a twin engine plane could be brought out of a spin by using one engine. When I realized that we were not likely to be able to operate the controls to get out of the spin in a normal way, I decided to try the engines. I gave full throttle to the right engine, and after two or three turns, the spin slowed down, and I came back on the throttle on the right engine. It seemed to stop rotating; however, it immediately went into a spin to the left. I opened up the throttle on the left engine and after several turns it seemed to come out of the spin and I came back on the throttle, but this time the plane went into a part of an outside loop as it went on it's back, and the nose came up well above the horizon. The plane shuddered, the nose dropped and then it went into a very tight spin.


At this point I was pretty well convinced we were not going to be able to control the aircraft. Others on board were the flight engineer who had gone up into the bombardiers nose and a second lieutenant who had never been up in a B-25 and asked if he could ride with us. The centrifugal force was very great, and I knew that we couldn't get out of our seats, but I told the second lieutenant to bail out. We were using chest packs which you don't wear until you need them, and the centrifugal force was so great he could not lift up his chest pack to clip it on to the harness.


I again opened up the right engine as the plane was spinning to the right. and after three or four turns the plane stopped spinning with the nose down. I eased back on the throttle, and it did not go into another spin. I came back on the stick to put the plane in level flight, and everything was normal from that point on. We had lost only two to three thousand feet which seems unbelievable to me, but we still had several thousand feet of altitude when we got the aircraft under control. I learned something from this experience, and I'm pretty certain that the other instructor pilot was convinced of the need to pick up critical single speed after takeoff before starting to climb. In trying to analyze what had happened, I believe we were in a flat spin, and although we could stop the plane from spinning by use of the engines, we did not have enough air speed, and it was still in the stalled status. This is why it would then go into another spin and it wasn't until we were able to pick up enough forward speed that we were able to control the aircraft. I guess everyone who flies gets into some difficult situations at some time. I'd been in some before but was confident that I could control the aircraft. But in this case. when the aircraft did not respond the way I thought it should. I was pretty well convinced that we would not get out of' the aircraft alive. Fortunately we did.


We came in and landed and inspected the aircraft as best we could. It was painted olive drab, so popped rivets could be seen rather easily, but we could not detect any. Of course I reported the incident, and the aircraft was sent to sub-depot where they made a complete inspection. After about a week, I received a telephone call and was informed that they could not find any structural damage to the aircraft but wanted me to test-hop it, which I did. I got plenty of altitude and put the plane in some very tight turns, and at the end I rolled the aircraft off its back. I put the nose down and picked up quite a bit of speed and made a hard pull-out at about the red line on the airspeed indicator, The aircraft performed beautifully, and I flew that same plane for quite some time until newer models were sent to us.

[Mrmerlin]

here is the picture that goes with the post

[Joeaksa]

Dont even get me started about students freezing on the controls...

Never did primary instruction but did a lot of tailwheel transition along with jet instruction. There is a good reason why many of us have grey (or no!) hair early on in life...

Joe A

[willtel]

Don't most stories have an ending? Did I miss something?

[Joeaksa]

Yes, some have an ending with a smoking hole in the ground. I know of several personally where the student froze on the controls resulting in both on board dying in the crash.

[legion]

My favorite aviation story is the one about the guy that crashed (and survived) because he ran out of fuel. Investigation revealed that one tank was full, the other completely empty. Turns out the pilot co-owned the plane with another guy and they had agreed that they each had their own fuel tank and not to use the other's...

[Mrmerlin]

sorry I just put up the full version

[audiman08]

This doesn't involve me but I thought it was interesting. A Florida pilot crash-landed his airplane near a highway after losing power. The plane literally disintegrated around him. When rescuers arrived, he was conscious and still buckled into his seat...

[BlueSideUp]

Originally Posted by Joeaksa

Dont even get me started about students freezing on the controls...

Never did primary instruction but did a lot of tailwheel transition along with jet instruction. There is a good reason why many of us have grey (or no!) hair early on in life...

Joe A

That's why instructors only sweat on the right side of their face, at least those that teach in side by side airplanes do. When I did my tailwheel in the Champ my instructor sat in the back, I couldn't see the looks of shear terror.



What kind of plane was that guy flying? I see the double cargo doors and the abrasion or deice boot. The boxes with the bags of white stuff are a little suspect.

[Super_Dave_D]

I fixed the picture to show it was shot

[audiman08]

Originally Posted by BlueSideUp

That's why instructors only sweat on the right side of their face, at least those that teach in side by side airplanes do. When I did my tailwheel in the Champ my instructor sat in the back, I couldn't see the looks of shear terror.



What kind of plane was that guy flying? I see the double cargo doors and the abrasion or deice boot. The boxes with the bags of white stuff are a little suspect.

'64 Super Twin Beech 18:



Luckily there was no co-pilot because it looks like the co-pilot seat was destroyed.

[gassy]

Extreme Pilot Errors Video

[Joeaksa]

Believe the Twin Beech was refuelled with jet fuel, and both engines stopped shortly after takeoff in this case.

Sad ending for a beautiful airplane. Loved flying them.

[daepp]

I had a great talk with an airline pilot at an airshow about his Staggerwing. An absolutely beautiful plane, recently redone leather interior. He ran it out of fuel just short of Chino - never heard if it was a complete loss, but what a sad day for a great plane!

[Bill Douglas]

A story I thought I'd throw in here...

An old guy I knew when I was a kid, his name was Marty Hume. He was a spitfire ace during the war. He said the sadest thing was on the Monday there where a whole lot of bright young faces in dinning room and a bunch of regulars, including Marty, at the same table. Marty said he didn't get to know the new guys as they would all be dead by the end of the week and only him and the other regulars would be left. Same again next week and for the rest of the war.

[t6dpilot]

Twin Beech - wonderful flying airplane. So Joe, you got some freight dog experience in them? Now that was some tough flying from what I hear. That is an amazing story and photo of the pilot still strapped in. Sends chills down my spine - I would not want that ride.

[Joeaksa]

Scott, yep was an old freight dog in various airplanes.

David, problem with an old Staggerwing is that its mostly wooden construction and an absolute money pit to keep going. If someone gave me one would love to have it and would fly it for 10 years or so, then sell it while it was worth something. Beautiful airplanes but would much rather have a twin Beech or Waco or the like.

[Mrmerlin]

found another one

A Delta pilot's story

We were about 5 hours out of Frankfurt flying over the North Atlantic and I was in my crew rest seat taking my scheduled rest break. All of a sudden the curtains parted violently and I was told to go to the cockpit, right now, to see the captain. As soon as I got there I noticed that the crew had one of those "All Business" looks on their faces. The captain handed me a printed message. I quickly read the message and realized the importance of it. The message was from Atlanta, addressed to our flight, and simply said, "All airways over the Continental US are closed. Land ASAP at the nearest airport, advise your destination." Now, when a dispatcher tells you to land immediately without suggesting which airport, one can assume that the dispatcher has reluctantly given up control of the flight to the captain.

We knew it was a serious situation and we needed to find terra firma quickly. It was quickly decided that the nearest airport was 400 miles away, behind our right shoulder, in Gander, on the island of New Foundland. A quick request was made to the Canadian traffic controller and a right turn, directly to Gander, was approved immediately. We found out later why there was no hesitation by the Canadian controller approving our request. We, the in-flight crew, were told to get the airplane ready for an immediate landing. While this was going on another message arrived from Atlanta telling us about some terrorist activity in the New York area. We briefed the in-flight crew about going to Gander and we went about our business 'closing down' the airplane for a landing. A few minutes later I went back to the cockpit to find out that some airplanes had been hijacked and were being flown into buildings all over the US. We decided to make an announcement and LIE to the passengers for the time being. We told them that an instrument problem had arisen on the airplane and that we needed to land at Gander, to have it checked. We promised to give more information after landing in Gander.

There were many unhappy passengers but that is par for the course. We landed in Gander about 40 minutes after the start of this episode. There were already about 20 other airplanes on the ground from all over the world. After we parked on the ramp the captain made the following announcement.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you must be wondering if all these airplanes around us have the same instrument problem as we have. But the reality is that we are here for a good reason." Then he went on to explain the little bit we knew about the situation in the US. There were loud gasps and stares of disbelief. Local time at Gander was 12:30 pm. (11:00 AM EST) Gander control told us to stay put. No one was allowed to get off the aircraft. No one on the ground was allowed to come near the aircrafts. Only a car from the airport police would come around once in a while, look us over and go on to the next airplane.

In the next hour or so all the airways over the North Atlantic were vacated and Gander alone ended up with 53 airplanes from all over the world, out of which 27 were flying US flags. We were told that each and every plane was to be offloaded, one at a time, with the foreign carriers given the priority. We were No.14 in the US category. We were further told that we would be given a tentative time to deplane at 6 pm.

Meanwhile bits of news started to come in over the aircraft radio and for the first time we learned that airplanes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York and into the Pentagon in DC.

People were trying to use their cell phones but were unable to connect due to a different cell system in Canada. Some did get through but were only able to get to the Canadian operator who would tell them that the lines to the US were either blocked or jammed and to try again. Some time late in the evening the news filtered to us that the World Trade Center buildings had collapsed and that a fourth hijacking had resulted in a crash. Now the passengers were totally bewildered and emotionally exhausted but stayed calm as we kept reminding them to look around to see that we were not the only ones in this predicament. There were 52 other planes with people on them in the same situation. We also told them that the Canadian Government was in charge and we were at their mercy.

True to their word, at 6 PM, Gander airport told us that our turn to deplane would come at 11 AM, the next morning. That took the last wind out of the passengers and they simply resigned and accepted this news without much noise and really started to get into a mode of spending the night on the airplane.

Gander had promised us any and all medical attention if needed; medicine, water, and lavatory servicing. And they were true to their word. Fortunately we had no medical situation during the night. We did have a young lady who was 33 weeks into her pregnancy. We took REALLY good care of her. The night passed without any further complications on our airplane despite the uncomfortable sleeping arrangements.

About 10:30 on the morning of the 12th we were told to get ready to leave the aircraft. A convoy of school buses showed up at the side of the airplane, the stairway was hooked up and the passengers were taken to the terminal for "processing" We, the crew, were taken to the same terminal but were told to go to a different section, where we were processed through Immigration and customs and then had to register with the Red Cross.

After that we were isolated from our passengers and were taken in a caravan of vans to a very small hotel in the town of Gander. We had no idea where our passengers were going.

The town of Gander has a population of 10,400 people. Red Cross told us that they were going to process about 10,500 passengers from all the airplanes that were forced into Gander. We were told to just relax at the hotel and wait for a call to go back to the airport, but not to expect that call for a while.

We found out the total scope of the terror back home only after getting to our hotel and turning on the TV, 24 hours after it all started. Meanwhile we enjoyed ourselves going around town discovering things and enjoying the hospitality. The people were so friendly and they just knew that we were the "Plane people". We all had a great time until we got that call, 2 days later, on the 14th at 7AM.

We made it to the airport by 8:30AM and left for Atlanta at 12:30 PM arriving in Atlanta at about 4:30PM. (Gander is 1 hour and 30 minutes ahead of EST, yes!, 1 hour and 30 minutes.) But that's not what I wanted to tell you.

What passengers told us was so uplifting and incredible and the timing couldn't have been better. We found out that Gander and the surrounding small communities, within a 75 Kilometer radius, had closed all the high schools, meeting halls, lodges, and any other large gathering places. They converted all these facilities to a mass lodging area. Some had cots set up, some had mats with sleeping bags and pillows set up. ALL the high school students HAD to volunteer taking care of the "GUESTS".

Our 218 passengers ended up in a town called Lewisporte, about 45 Kilometers from Gander. There they were put in a high school. If any women wanted to be in a women only facility, that was arranged. Families were kept together. All the elderly passengers were given no choice and were taken to private homes. Remember that young pregnant lady, she was put up in a private home right across the street from a 24 hour Urgent Care type facility.

There were DDS on call and they had both male and female nurses available and stayed with the crowd for the duration. Phone calls and emails to US and Europe were available for every one once a day. During the days the passengers were given a choice of "Excursion" trips. Some people went on boat cruises of the lakes and harbors. Some went to see the local forests. Local bakeries stayed open to make fresh bread for the guests. Food was prepared by all the residents and brought to the school for those who elected to stay put. Others were driven to the eatery of their choice and fed. They were given tokens to go to the local Laundromat to wash their clothes, since their luggage was still on the aircraft. In other words every single need was met for those unfortunate travelers. Passengers were crying while telling us these stories.

After all that, they were delivered to the airport right on time and without a single one missing or late. All because the local Red Cross had all the information about the goings on back at Gander and knew which group needed to leave for the airport at what time. Absolutely incredible.

When passengers came on board, it was like they had been on a cruise. Everybody knew everybody else by their name. They were swapping stories of their stay, impressing each other with who had the better time. It was mind boggling.

[Mrmerlin]

Our flight back to Atlanta looked like a party flight. We simply stayed out of their way. The passengers had totally bonded and they were calling each other by their first names, exchanging phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses. And then a strange thing happened. One of our business class passengers approached me and asked if he could speak over the PA to his fellow passengers. We never, never, allow that. But something told me to get out of his way. I said "of course". The gentleman picked up the PA and reminded everyone about what they had just gone through in the last few days. He reminded them of the hospitality they had received at the hands of total strangers. He further stated that he would like to do something in return for the good folks of the town of Lewisporte. He said he was going to set up a Trust Fund under the name of DELTA 15 (our flight number). The purpose of the trust fund is to provide a scholarship for high school student(s) of Lewisporte to help them go to college.

He asked for donations of any amount from his fellow travelers. When the paper with donations got back to us with the amounts, names, phone numbers and addresses, it totaled to $14.5K or about $20K Canadian. The gentleman who started all this turned out to be an MD from Virginia. He promised to match the donations and to start the administrative work on the scholarship. He also said that he would forward this proposal to Delta Corporate and ask them to donate as well.

Why, all of this? Just because some people in far away places were kind to some strangers, who happened to drop in among them. WHY NOT ?

[Mrmerlin]

True Pilot Stories

Tower: "Delta 351, you have traffic at 10 o'clock, 6 miles!"

Delta 351: "Give us another hint! We have digital watches!"

One day, the pilot of a Cherokee 180 was told by the tower to hold short of the runway while a DC-8 landed. The DC-8 landed, rolled out, turned around, and taxied back past the Cherokee.

Some quick-witted comedian in the DC-8 crew got on the radio and said, "What a cute little plane. Did you make it yourself?"

Our hero, the Cherokee pilot, who was not about to let the insult go by came back with a real zinger: "I made it out of DC-8 parts. Another landing like that and I'll have enough parts for another one."

There's a story about the military pilot calling for a priority landing because his single-engine jet fighter was running "a bit peaked." Air Traffic Control told the fighter jock that he was number two behind a B-52 that had one engine shut down. "Ah," the pilot remarked," the dreaded seven-engine approach."

A student became lost during a solo cross-country flight. While attempting to locate the aircraft on radar, ATC asked, "What was your last known position?"

Student: "When I was number one for take-off".

Taxiing down the tarmac, the DC-10 abruptly stopped, turned around and returned to the gate.

After an hour-long wait, it finally took off. A concerned passenger asked the flight attendant, "What was the problem?"

"The pilot was bothered by a noise he heard in the engine," explained the flight attendant, "and it took us a while to find a new pilot."

A man telephoned the United Airline office at Denver International Airport and asked, "How long does it take to fly to Colorado Springs?"

The clerk said, "Just a minute." (my favorite)

"Thank you," the man said and hung up.

Tower: "Flight 2341, for noise abatement turn right 45 degrees."

Flight 2341: "But Center, we are at 35,000 feet. How much noise can we make up here?"

Tower: "Sir, have you ever heard the noise a 747 makes when it hits a 727?"

The passenger piled his cases on the scale at the United counter in New York and said to the clerk, "I'm flying to Los Angeles. I want the square case to go to Denver, and the two round ones to go to Seattle."

"I'm sorry, sir, but we can't do that."

"Why not? You did it the last time !!!