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Pelican pilots, who among you recounts near misses?
Tonight as I began rereading Earnest K. Gann's "Fate is the Hunter", I read in fascination the end of the prologue where Earnest describes the near miss he had while approaching NYC so many years ago and the terror and wonder he experienced in why the two planes missed by 50 feet or so and why they and the crew were spared from sure death. So I wondered how many of you have had similar near misses in your flying careers and if you care to share them. I have had 5 that come quickly to mind from 30 years, all of them without warning and almost crazy in their closeness.
From my logbooks 3 happened near or over airports(2 uncontrolled, 1 controlled) and 2 enroute over a nav-aid like a VOR. The two scariest happened over VORs, one during daylight, one at night. Over the VOR near Oneonta NY I was proceeding westbound from Albany NY in a Cessna 210 Turbo and made the turn a few degrees on course over the VOR when a Beech King Air passed in front of our nose so close we saw the copilot's moustache and that he was reading a chart, say 20 or 30 feet. Same altitude, we were decending out of IFR at about 200 knots into clear air, still under Center's control. I assume he was VFR. His tail just passed us. No time to react. He never saw us. Just a blink I still carry with me. No reported traffic. The second involve a LearJet and a Cessna 152 over the Corning VOR near the Corning-Elmira airport in Central NY. Late at night I had a student pilot doing his night flying hours in VFR conditions, and we decided to go to a nearby controlled field for practice. Precisely over the VOR as we turned for the airport 10 miles out(under approach control but not yet handed off to tower), a Lear passed directly under us within 50 feet, bright lights and all. We heard him talk to the tower so we know it was a Learjet. His approach speed must have been at least 250 knots(we were all of 100 knots if that!). He never saw us. No reported traffic. Any stories to report? |
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10-05-2009, 06:14 PM
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abit off center
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I had a turbo-cat sneak up on me from behind once, I never saw him but he saw me, scared the crap out of me when I looked to the right side. Near miss? naaaa just some formation flying after that, maybe 20 or so feet...
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______________________ Craig G2Performance Twinplug, head work, case savers, rockers arms, etc. |
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10-05-2009, 06:32 PM
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I know I shouldn't subscribe to this, as I'm terrified of flying and have a flight on Wed. But I can't look away. Can't wait to get back to safe travel on my motorcycle
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2022 BMW 530i 2021 MB GLA250 2020 BMW R1250GS |
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10-05-2009, 06:33 PM
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Non Compos Mentis
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Off the grid- Almost
Posts: 10,598
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Nothing has scared me like that.
Now that my airplane has traffic alerts, it is suprising how many airplanes share the sky that I never see. There are other times that I see an airplane that never shows up on the MFD. Gotta keep the eyes swiveling around, even with in-cockpit traffic alerts. |
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10-05-2009, 06:54 PM
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Banned
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: South of Heaven
Posts: 21,159
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"Near miss? Bullspit!!! It's a near hit!"
~George Carlin |
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10-05-2009, 08:06 PM
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Registered
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Las Vegas, NV, USA
Posts: 1,587
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btw is not a 'near miss' .. it is a 'near crash'
... A 'near miss' is bad .. very bad. Paraphrasing George Carlin ' a collision is a near miss' http://www.youtube.com/v/GFW6NHbWX0E
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Jordi Riera '84 930 (modified) |
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10-05-2009, 08:17 PM
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: N. Phoenix AZ USA
Posts: 28,943
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Do not have enough time to catalog them. Needless to say, a lot of them have been overseas where someone does not understand the language and two aircraft will not fit in the same airspace.
Still, its 3X safer flying than it is driving in the car to the airport.
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2013 Jag XF, 2002 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins (the workhorse), 1992 Jaguar XJ S-3 V-12 VDP (one of only 100 examples made), 1969 Jaguar XJ (been in the family since new), 1985 911 Targa backdated to 1973 RS specs with a 3.6 shoehorned in the back, 1959 Austin Healey Sprite (former SCCA H-Prod), 1995 BMW R1100RSL, 1971 & '72 BMW R75/5 "Toaster," Ural Tourist w/sidecar, 1949 Aeronca Sedan / QB |
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10-05-2009, 08:55 PM
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Quote:
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10-05-2009, 08:57 PM
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Way, way back I had a couple of close calls - also near an airport and a VOR - but in the last twenty years or so (since I've flown with TCAS), nothing. And that's about 13,000 hours. TCAS has been the second best tool I've flown with. The first has been weather radar.
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10-05-2009, 10:51 PM
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Banned
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 6,930
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Whats a VOR?
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10-05-2009, 11:34 PM
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A VOR is a radio device located in the ground used by pilots to know where they are and which wat to go. An instrument aboard the plane detects the radio waves sent by the VOR and the pilot uses the information displayed in the instrument to navigate his way. VORs are usually located near airports or other landmarks.
(Disclaimer: This is the non-pilot explanation. My experience with VORs is limited to MS Flight Simulator) |
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10-06-2009, 12:54 AM
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Petie3rd
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Philly PA
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10-06-2009, 04:54 AM
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Commerical Pilot
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Near Misses..........
We all simply have to look outside the dam cockpit!
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10-06-2009, 04:56 AM
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canna change law physics
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Quote:
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James The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the engineer adjusts the sails.- William Arthur Ward (1921-1994) Red-beard for President, 2020 |
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10-06-2009, 05:14 AM
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Registered
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Quote:
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10-06-2009, 05:15 AM
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canna change law physics
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Quote:
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James The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the engineer adjusts the sails.- William Arthur Ward (1921-1994) Red-beard for President, 2020 |
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10-06-2009, 05:16 AM
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MAGA
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 10,779
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About 15 years ago while flying to the Sun/Fun Fly-in in Lakeland Florida in my little Grumman AA1B, we were about 45 minutes from Lakeland when a glider tow plane appeared about 75 yards off our nose. He pulled high and right, I pushed down and right. No problem, but very odd that neither of us saw one another until that point. I looked down right after and saw a couple gliders on the ground at a small grass strip we were flying over.
About 7 years ago I was leaving a local grass strip fly-in in my Pacer with my wife and kids in the plane. We re-entered the "empty" pattern and did a low pass, after climbing out and banking left to depart downwind, the windshield suddenly FILLED with blue and white. It was an old ex military pilot who I knew that was just arriving and he had seen us and decided to swoop down and pull along side to wave hello. He misjudged his diving turn and in his low wing Grumman Yankee, he could no longer see us as he dove down on us from behind us high and left passing within feet or inches of the nose of our airplane. He never saw us as he missed us by what may have been inches to 20 ft or so. My wife (who lost her first husband in small airplane crash) positively lost it and went hysteric. My kids in the back never knew it happened. Folks on the ground saw it and were horrified. The old geezer (who was a friend) got a serious talking to my myself and many other local pilots over the next several weeks and I have not done a "buzz" job again with family on board.
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10-06-2009, 05:18 AM
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: N. Phoenix AZ USA
Posts: 28,943
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Quote:
Last guy I flew with would let traffic fly directly under or over us and never even look out of the window. Even when it was within 2-3 miles and a few hundred feet of our altitude (TCAS flashing red and saying go up or down) and he was still heads down and in the cockpit. Yes, he is younger and a lot less experienced. LOOK OUTSIDE the cockpit!
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2013 Jag XF, 2002 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins (the workhorse), 1992 Jaguar XJ S-3 V-12 VDP (one of only 100 examples made), 1969 Jaguar XJ (been in the family since new), 1985 911 Targa backdated to 1973 RS specs with a 3.6 shoehorned in the back, 1959 Austin Healey Sprite (former SCCA H-Prod), 1995 BMW R1100RSL, 1971 & '72 BMW R75/5 "Toaster," Ural Tourist w/sidecar, 1949 Aeronca Sedan / QB Last edited by Joeaksa; 10-06-2009 at 05:23 AM.. |
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10-06-2009, 05:20 AM
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Registered
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: AZ
Posts: 8,414
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Quote:
As a former/fellow skydiver, you will appreciate this (probably seen it before): |
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10-06-2009, 05:44 AM
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"Look outside the airplane" is great advice, but it is not foolproof by any means, and should be supplemented by TCAS. Joe, your statement that most younger pilots are fixated on the gauges and feel that the TCAS will do everything for them simply does apply to the hundreds of pilots I've flown with in TCAS equipped airplanes over the last twenty years. Just about every pilot I've flown with has a keen sense for the need to watch for traffic outside, especially when near the airport and closer to the ground, mixing in with the slower and difficult to see GA aircraft. In all of my years, I've never met a pilot who has had as cavalier an attitude about traffic and a RED TCAS RA as the pilot you describe. Never. That guy you flew with is out to lunch Joe, and is not representative of the younger and less experienced pilot group I have flown with. Sorry you had to fly with him.
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10-06-2009, 08:39 AM
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1984 Porsche Carrera coupe
993
1969 and 1986 Porsche Targa and Coupe 1720cc and 3
Only Porsche
Only bike
1984 Porsche 911 Carrera Cabriolet
2007 Porsche Cayman
2000 Porsche Carrera
1983 Porsche 911 SC Targa 3.0
1970/1982 Porsche 914-6/911SC 2.7 RS
