AOPA Pilot Blog: Reporting Points

Better safe than sorry.  A Hawker 4000 jet carrying golfing star Sergio Garcia was forced to make an emergency landing at Ireland’s Shannon Airport after the pilot reported a generator problem, reports the Herald.  The jet was on its way to a golf tournament in Charlotte, N.C. No one was injured.

Landing gear is helpful. It was an unusual sight at Spirit of St. Louis Airport – a 1980 Centurian P210 doing a belly landing, reports KSDK.com.

He should have given a hoot. A man who allegedly repeatedly harassed and kicked an owl while paragliding and captured it on YouTube has created a firestorm among animal lovers and paragliders, reports FOX 13.  The Humane Society of Utah suspects it knows the man seen in the video and has asked for an investigation.

Miracle landing number one.  Quentin Elkins is lucky to be alive after his aircraft lost power and made an emergency landing four miles from Knoxville Downtown Island Airport, reports KnoxNews.com.

Miracle landing number two. A pilot of a seaplane had to make an emergency landing in Inlet, N.Y.’s, Seventh Lake, reports WKTV.  He was able to swim to shore uninjured.

This is why we read the bill before we vote, folks!  The bill  that put air traffic controllers back to work was passed by the U.S. House of Representative and Senate, but President Barack Obama was unable to sign it into law. Why?  Because of a typo in the legislation, reports ABC News.

Drugs in airplanes just don’t fly.  Two men are facing federal drug charges after the aircraft they had parked at Texas’  Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport was found to have  98 bundles of marijuana, four bundles of hashish and two bundles of mushrooms aboard the Piper PA-28, reports the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.

This was a test. This was only a test.  You will be forgiven if you thought a recent training exercise by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service looked real. Fifty firefighters worked with ambulance crews, police officers and workers from other agencies to participate in a drill that used the crash of an aircraft into a high-rise building in Glasgow, reports STV News.

Wheels would have been helpful.  Pilot Roland Rinnerberger made an emergency belly landing at Scottsdale Municipal Airport, reports KJRH-TV.  He was not injured in the accident. Video of the landing can be seen here.

It just blew its top!  Two pilots departing from Midland International Airport flying a World War II-era German Messerschmitt Me 262 lost the aircraft’s rear canopy because it hadn’t been latched properly, reports the Midland Reporter-Telegram.  

It’s always good when you can walk away.  A pilot who made an emergency landing in a vineyard in Santa Rosa, Calif., walked away with no injuries, reports ABC7 News.  The pilot reported he was having a problem with the throttle, which caused his aircraft to idle.

That was a quick trip! Commissioner Larry Kiker of Lee County, Fla., found himself in  hot water after FOX4 News discovered he used a county aircraft to make an 8-minute trip to the city of Labelle. The TV station used Flightaware.com to track the movements of the aircraft.

Water landing number one.  Four passengers aboard a Beechcraft A36 Bonanza managed to walk away with only minor injuries after the aircraft made an emergency landing in California’s Big Bear Lake, reports the LA Times. The pilot was attempting to land at Big Bear Airport after reporting he was having engine trouble.

Water landing number two. A pilot and his passenger sustained minor injuries after the Cessna seaplane they were flying flipped after landing in Florida’s St. Johns River, reports WTEV-TV.  The landing gear had been left down.

It’s two treats in one!  AvWeb reports seeing the Discovery 201, a pickup truck/aircraft combination at the recent Sun ‘n Fun Expo. The aircraft is a derivative of Russia’s Akord 201, which was used as a  heavy-hauling utility airplane.

Not the glider landing he wanted.  Glider pilot Jeff Long was not injured after his motor glider crashed into a tree at the Beechcraft Heritage Museum in Tullahoma, Tenn., reports the Tullahoma News.

Talk about getting high! Police arrested five people after the aircraft they had parked at Kansas’ Amelia Earhart Airport was discovered to have 42 lbs of marijuana onboard, reports the Dodge City Daily Globe.  The arrests came from a police tip.

The highway became a runway.  A crew of two flying a vintage Beechcraft 18 cargo aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing on an isolated part of Florida’s US 27 after losing both engines, reports CBS News.  The flight was an instructional one on handling stalls that became an actual emergency.

Nice landing, but having a nosewheel does help. The Independent.ie website has posted dramatic footage of a twin turbine aircraft making an emergency landing in Toowoomba, Australia, without its nosewheel.

Do the crime? Do the time!   Adam Gardenhire is facing 30 months in prison after pleading guilty to pointing a laser in the cockpits of a Netjets Cessna Citation and a police helicopter, reports AvWeb. His defense? “I didn’t know it was dangerous.”

Two more walk away. A pilot who made an emergency landing at North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad International Airport after the landing gear of his Mooney  M20F collapsed, reports MyFox8.com.  And another pilot walked away after making an emergency landing on New Zealand’s Gisborne beach, reports the Dominion Post.

OK, that WAS a joke.  France’s La Poste wrote a story about how it was going to start delivering newspapers via drone as part of its modernization program. The problem was, the story was an April Fool’s joke.

It was a miracle landing.  Three adults and three children flying in a Piper Cherokee Six were lucky to be alive after their aircraft made an emergency landing in Kisbey, Saskatchewan, Canada, reports the Star Phoenix.  Canada’s Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the accident.

This training flight offered a real education.  A pilot operating a Beechcraft 18 on a training flight was forced to make an emergency landing on U.S. 27 near Weston, Fla., reports the Miami Herald.  No one was injured in the accident.

Amazing helicopter rescue, part one.  Among the more than 200 people rescued from two ice floes off the coast of Latvia, 39 were fetched by helicopter, reports RT.com. The helicopter pilots faced strong winds.

Amazing helicopter rescue, part two.  Two men trapped on Ireland’s Benevenagh Mountain were rescued by a PSNI Search and Rescue team using Irish Army helicopters, reports UTv.  The men were trapped in a snow gully.

Talk about insult after injury!  Pilot George Thomas has filed suit against the Colville, Wash., police department after accusing an officer of using “excessive force” when arresting him after he made an emergency landing at Colville Municipal Airport, reports the Spokesman-Review.  He claims his shoulder was injured after a police officer shoved him against his cruiser and stuck a taser gun in his back.

That’s an interesting use of a helicopter.  The folks at New Jersey Central Power & Light has a new tool to keep tree branches away from power lines — giant saw blades hanging from the bottom of a helicopter, reports ABC News.  The system uses blades that spin at 2,400 revolutions a minute.

Does it come with an actual rescuer?  The next time you find yourself floating in the sea waiting for a rescue, it may be from a different source.  The Mashable blog reports that an Iranian company has built Pars, a rescue drone.

Sometimes you  need to resist the urge. Some would say that Billy Cheesman Jr. went a bit overboard with his April Fool’s joke. making it appear as if an aircraft had crashed into his business’s building in Yucaipa, Calif. reports the Press-Enterprise.  He even put crime scene tape around the “crash” to make it look more real.

That could not have been easy to watch. Richard Small was noticing how dirty his 1969 Piper Twin Comanche as it was landing at New Zealand’s Taieri Aerodrome when he saw the aircraft touch down and skid off the runway, reports the New Zealand Herald.  Despite plowing through a fence at the end of the runway, the pilot and two passengers onboard were not injured.

The punishment fits the crime. Adam Gardenhire is going to federal prison for 30 months after being convicted of pointing a laser into the cockpit of a private aircraft landing at  Burbank’s Bob Hope Airport, along with a helicopter operated by the Pasadena Police Department, reports LAist.  The judge said the tough sentence was handed down as a warning to others contemplating similar stunts.

Isn’t this the Easter Bunny’s job? Children at Velocity Church in Green Township, Ohio, had their Easter eggs delivered in a unique way — by helicopter in a field at Oak Hills High School, reports Cincinnati.com. The helicopter dropped around 17,000 eggs, while the Easter Bunny distributed another 3,000.

Taking the humble golf cart to the next level.  Pro golfer Bubba Watson’s video of his new hovercraft golf cart went viral, reports Mashable.  The video and the cart are part of an advertisement for Watson sponsor Oakley sunglasses.

It’s always good when you can walk away. An 84-year-old pilot survived an emergency landing of his Cessna 170 at California’s Livermore Airport, reports Livermore Patch.  As he landed, his foot got stuck in the rudder. He made  a hard turn left off the runway and skidded in the dirt.

It’s a highway, it’s a runway!  The pilot of a Cessna 150 was forced to make an emergency landing on California’s  State Route 125 after experiencing a loss of power, reports East County magazine.  The resident of Mexico was in the area to visit relatives.

The cat used one of its nine lives.  A crew taking a wrecking ball to a house damaged by an aircraft accident in South Bend, Ind., found quite a surprise in the home’s wall, reports the Post-Tribune. A cat jumped out of a wall that was about to be destroyed.

They love the smell of jet fuel in the morning — and all day!  News Track India brings us a story about bears in Russia’s Kronotsky Nature Reserve who are getting high by sniffing fumes from discarded barrels of aircraft fuel. After deeply sniffing the fuel, the bears dig a shallow hole and lie back as the effects kick in.

I’ve never seen a hunting truck like this! Field & Stream magazine’s Gun Nut blog profiles photographer Dave Tunge, who uses his Piper Super Cub — he calls it his “hunting truck” — to hunt for pheasant.   He uses the aircraft to fly 150-200 miles away and land directly in fields to hunt for the birds.

To catch a thief.  A helicopter owned by Detroit’s WJBK-TV played a key role in helping police nab a car thief suspect, reports MLive.com.  The helicopter helped police keep track of the suspect’s car during a 20-minute high-speed chase.

I guess it wasn’t a helicopter to the rescue.   Two men who escaped from a prison located outside of Montreal via helicopter are now back in jail, reports the Guardian.  The trio were arrested about 30 miles away from the prison.

A mentor earlier in life might have been helpful. Jonathan Standridge, a project manager at Boeing, has become a mentor to Colton Harris-Moore, who became well known as the Barefoot Bandit, reports AvWeb. 21-year-old Harris-Moore was arrested after a two-year spree of stealing and flying aircraft.  Standridge says the young man wants to earn a degree in  aeronautical engineering degree, earn a pilot’s certificate and design his own aircraft in the future.

This is MY kind of wedding! Heather Howley and Marius Ivascu decided to bring the aviation theme to their recent wedding, reports Yahoo News.  The bride, a helicopter pilot, flew up 3,000 feet to allow the groom, a pilot and skydiving instructor, to jump and land at their reception.  The reception was held at Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, an aviation history museum.

Do the crime? Do the time.  James R. Cate of Talpa, Texas, is facing 1.5 years in prison after being convicted of shooting at a crop duster spraying his neighbor’s field, reports KENS-TV.  A bullet hit the propeller, went through the engine cowling and into the chemical hopper, but the pilot wasn’t injured.

Meet dumb and dumber!   Margarito Trisitan III and Eugene Uresti were arrested after allegedly shining a laser into the cockpit of a Customs and Border Protection helicopter, reports the Monitor.  The men were found after the helicopter followed the car where the light came from.  Trisitan was also charged with marijuana possession.

Not such a happy birthday. New Zealand’s Nelson Aero Club celebrated its 80th birthday last year, and it might be its last.  The club’s two instructors were laid off after a meltdown of procedures, reports Stuff.co.nz.  Club members rallied to call for a special meeting about future operations.

We all love a good ending.  Linda Shackelford, a NASA employee, managed to walk away after an emergency landing in a wooded area outside of Baytown, Texas, reports KTRK-TV.  Shackelford said her engine stalled.

On Feb. 7, I did a blog post and story on AOPA member Shannon Osborne, a member of the North Jersey chapter of The Ninety-Nines, who had come up with a unique idea to help keep pilot skills sharp when bad weather limits winter flying.  She pledged to donate $5 to the AOPA Foundation’s Air Safety Institute for every course the 16 members of her Ninety-Nines chapter took in the month of February.

Eight of Osborne’s chapter’s 16 members participated in her challenge, taking five ASI safety courses.  So she flew to Frederick last week with her former flight instructor, Tim O’Neil, and presented ASI with a check for $40. “I’d like to see 100 percent chapter participation next year and make this challenge an annual thing,” she said.

Osborne would also like to see more Ninety-Nines chapters take up the challenge, or even donate to ASI. “If we can get more people talking about ASI products, more will be invested in safety,” she said.  ”It’s a focus on air safety and that’s a win-win for everyone.”

I’m a student pilot, so I decided to take up Osborne’s challenge, completing four courses: “Say It Right,” “Runway Safety,” “Airspace for Everyone,” and “Do the Right Thing: Decision Making for Pilots.” And I was happy to write a $50 check to the foundation.  For a complete list of ASI offerings, click here.

Back to prison for you! Convicted murderer Panagiotis Vlastos thought he was escaping from Greece’s Trikala Prison when a helicopter showed up in the courtyard. Instead, Vlastos found himself shot in the leg and looking at a helicopter riddled with bullet holes, reports AvWeb.

Mountain lion versus helicopter – who wins?  David Nash was hiking on California’s Stevens Trail when he found himself being stalked by a mountain lion.  Nash called 911 and the California Highway Patrol dispatched helicopter crew Monty Emery and David White, who scared the mountain lion away with a high intensity spotlight, reports Flying magazine.

We knew this wasn’t going to end well.  William Stokely of Tulsa, Okla., has been forced to hand over his Robinson R44 helicopter and is banned from flying or owning an aircraft for two years after pleading guilty to trying to change the the registration marks on his aircraft, reports Flight Global.

Can you blame him?  Pilot Ray Kelly was forced to make an emergency landing in a hay field after his Piper PA-32 experienced an “odd phenomenon,” reports WRAL-TV.  He declined a flight home, and couldn’t say when he would fly again.

Talk about show and tell!  School children at Australia’s Cape Clear Primary School got a real show during recess — an aircraft making an emergency landing on a field next door, reports the Australian.  The pilot and passenger suffered only minor injuries.