AOPA Pilot Blog: Reporting Points

I’m not sure videotaping should have been the priority here.  The amazing thing about the emergency landing of a Cessna 175 in a field in Cache County, Utah, was not that all five aboard were not injured. The amazing thing was that passenger Jonathan Fielding videotaped the whole thing on his cell phone, reports KUTV-TV.

Build an airplane — and an air strip.  Friends Patrick Tippman and Patrick Borton are about half way to building a Zenith STOL CH 750 kit plane, reports the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette.  But their work isn’t done when the aircraft is complete. They will then build a 1,700-foot grass runway at Tippman’s back yard to fly the airplane.

What did that crop duster ever do to you? Stephen Paul Riley, owner of the Flying Lead Ranch in Texas, has pleaded guilty to shooting at a cropduster that flew over his property back in 2008, reports Flying magazine.  He apparently was unhappy that Keeter Aerial Spraying was passing over his property and had warned he would shoot any aircraft flying over his ranch.

Not a good target.  A Coast Guard HC-130H Hercules practicing approaches into Hawaii’s Kahului Airport was forced to return to Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point after someone pointed a green laser into the cockpit, reports the Maui News. No one was injured in the incident, which is being investigated.

Some people just know how to fly. Old Dominion University football coach Bobby Wilder was able to do recruiting trips from Tampa, Fla., to Rochester, N.Y., because Stephen Ballard, owner of a Virginia Beach construction company, loaned his private aircraft for the effort, reports HamptonRoads.com.  The coach credits having use of a private airplane for his successful recruiting class.

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing AOPA member Shannon Osborne, a member of the North Jersey chapter of The Ninety-Nines, who has come up with a unique idea to help keep your pilot skills sharp while bad weather limits winter flying.

Shannon has pledged to donate $5 to AOPA’s Air Safety Institute for every course the 16 members of her Ninety-Nines chapter take in the month of February.  In my story, Osborne emphasized that she is a firm believer in AOPA’s safety products.

“I survived an accident where unfortunately, the other pilot didn’t. The skills I learn in these courses can save lives,” she said. “Whenever I get into a situation, I hear the voice of my flight instructor, Tim O’Neil, saying ‘fly the plane.’ You hear these things as a student, and if you keep refreshing that, you can save your life and others.”

Although I’m not a member of her chapter, I was inspired, so I’m going to take up her challenge.  As a student pilot, there many ASI interactive courses, safety quizzes, webinars and safety seminars I can take.  The courses are free and you don’t have to be an AOPA member to take them.  My flight instructor recommended I take “Say It Right,” “Runway Safety,” “Airspace for Everyone,” and “Do the Right Thing: Decision Making for Pilots.”

Since it’s just me, I’ll double my pledge to $10 a course. But I’m encouraging my fellow student pilots to do the same, with an amount of your choosing.  Osborne said that nickels add up to dimes. “If we get a lot of people out there doing this challenge, the money will add up.”

I’ll let you know what courses I took and my total donation at the end of the month.

Another miracle on the Hudson.  A man aboard a Piper Cherokee Six that ditched in New York’s Hudson River called his wife before calling 911 for help, reports AOPA Online.  Christopher Smidt and flight instructor Deniece De Priester were rescued by a boat operated by Yonkers police officers.

Daring helicopter rescue, part one!  Australia’s RACQ Capricorn Helicopter Rescue is being credited with saving the life of a 14-month-old child and two women from a truck that had been swept up in flood waters, reports the Observer.  It took three tries to rescue the trio.

Daring helicopter rescue, part two! Australia’s AGL Action Rescue Helicopter saved an elderly couple whose home had been flooded, reports the Observer.  The couple was seen clinging to the side of a log.

Do the crime, do the time.  Lamar Kelly will spend 41 months in a federal prison after being convicted of shooting at a Louisiana Army National Guard helicopter that was doing drug surveillance, reports SFGate.  Once he is released, he faces another three years of supervised release.

Bleeding, here – your airplane.  A romantic flight over Jacksonville, Fla., on New Year’s Eve took a bizarre turn when pilot Graham Hill realized that he had been shot, reports AvWeb. He handed over the controls to his girlfriend while he tended to his wound, and they made an emergency landing at Craig Field.

Pssst-wanna fly a U-2?  The good folks at the Jalopnik blog managed to get their hands on a declassified copy of the manual to fly the iconic U-2, made famous in 1960 after pilot Gary Powers was shot down in the aircraft while flying over the Soviet Union.

I want my airplane back!  Puerto Rican singer Noelia is accusing the Venezuelan government of “arbitrarily” seizing her private jet at Maiquetia International Airport in Caracas, reports Latino Daily News.  She accused National Institute of Civil Aviation agents of extortion in apprehending the jet and has asked Venezuela’s vice president for its safe return.

It’s a novel form of a user fee.  Indiana’s Putnam County Airport needs runway improvements and there’s not enough federal and state funding to make the repairs.  So county officials are asking local residents to help raise the $27,000 needed to make the repairs by donating $5 a foot for the 5,400 foot runway, reports Indiana Public Media.

No more private jets — for now. The Nigerian government has stopped the country’s billionaires from importing private jets and helicopters until it develops a new policy on the practice, reports the Osun Defender.  The newspaper says the Aviation Ministry has a four-month backlog of applications to import private aircraft.

Charter fight!! Rizon Air, a Qatar-based aircraft charter company is accusing flag carrier Qatar Airways of unfair competition, reports FlightGlobal. Rizon believes that Qatar Air is trying to promote its own charter company, Qatar Executive.

Washington Dulles turns runway into a parking lot.  One of the runways at Washington Dulles International Airport was closed from Thursday through Tuesday to park 300 private jets that flew in for the president’s inauguration, reports CBS DC.

It’s a runway, it’s a parking lot — two treats in one! New York’s Calverton Airport is using its runways as parking lots for cars damaged during Super Storm Sandy, reports Yahoo! News.  Insurance Auto Auctions Corp. is paying the airport, which is closed in the winter, nearly $3 million to rent its runways.

An amazing helicopter rescue–with a twist! A helicopter pilot under contract with the Canadian military was sent to the west shore of Hudson Bay to rescue two Nunavut hunters stranded on the ice.  But all three ended up being rescued by another helicopter after the original chopper landed on ice and sank, reports MSN News Canada.

Probation for airplane shooter.  Jason Allen McCay received probation after pleading guilty to firing a shotgun at an antique biplane, reports AL.com.  Under his probation, he can’t have access to guns and ammo, and may have to take anger management classes.

It’s moving day!  Officials at Wisconsin’s Wittman Regional Airport recently completed an operation to relocate two snowy owls that had made the facility their new home, reports the airport’s blog.  Gene Jacobs of Raptor Services  used a lure and remote-controlled net to capture the owls, and they were relocated far away from the airport.

Someone should have said something. General Aviation News reports on a pilot flying a Piper Cherokee who landed on a runway in Platinum, Alaska, that had been closed for two years. The pilot said he activated the runway lights but didn’t see them when he landed. His passenger said she saw the lighted runway as they flew over and wondered why he was landing on the closed runway, but didn’t ask.

An expensive rescue.  Jacalyn Toth Brown, who survived a 2008 aircraft accident in Eagleswood Township, N.J., was awarded a $125,000 settlement by the state, reports NJ.com. Brown said state police forced her to wait hours for medical care when they didn’t start a search-and-rescue mission for her immediately after the accident was reported.

One heck of a landing, part one!  A 21-year-old student pilot made the landing of a lifetime after one of the wheels fell off his Piper Cherokee right after he took off at Australia’s Mangalore Airport, reports the Herald Sun.  He flew solo for five hours to burn off fuel, then was talked down by his flight instructor.  Check out the YouTube video here.

One heck of a landing, part two!  A pilot made what was called a “perfect” landing in the middle of traffic on Interstate 40 in Memphis, Tenn., reports WREG-TV.  Pilot Trevor Prather said his Cessna 172 experienced engine trouble, so he let ATC know about his emergency and landed his 172 between an 18-wheeler and a car.

That’s one way to avoid an aircraft repossession!  Argentina President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has decided to charter a private jet on her next official trip in order to keep the official presidential aircraft from being impounded by “vulture funds,” reports the Buenos Aires Herald.

He’s exactly where he belongs.  Michael R. Fischer found himself sitting in a Palm Beach, Fla. jail after he was arrested for shining a laser in the cockpit of a county Sheriff’s Office helicopter and an AirTran Boeing 717, reports the Palm Beach Post.  After being caught by police, Fischer claimed he was only fooling around with the laser. Right…

Airplanes – the ultimate crime stopper.  David Zehntner saw an interesting sight as he was flying his own plane over LaBelle, N.C. — a thief was attempting to steal a trailer parked at his home, reports TBO.com. Zehntner followed the thief, who had attached the trailer to his truck, and called police from the air. The thief was caught and charged with grand theft.

Driving and sleeping don’t mix.  Three small aircraft in a Valdosta Regional Airport hangar were damaged after a sleepy driver drove through the facility’s fence, reports the Valdosta Daily Times.  The driver bumped his head and lost a tooth in the incident.

Flight training is a relative bargain in the United States.  The Niger government is facing some heat after disclosing that its the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology spent US$5.1 million to train 10 pilots, reports AllAfrica.com.

What a waste.  Two Afghan women trained as helicopter pilots in the United States have been grounded since October, as that country’s military continues to “review” their applications to fly, reports the Los Angeles Times.  The hold on their flying is blamed on a resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan, which denies women the right to any education.

Was the photo really worth all that?  Photographers in Germany assigned to cover the final landing of a Transall C-160 twin turboprop nearly had it become their final assignment, reports AvWeb. The photographers, placed 100 feet short of the runway, were nearly hit by the aircraft’s wings as it bounced on a raised roadway.

That’s Hollywood for you! “Modern Family” star Jesse Tyler Ferguson appeared to have been in a real rush to leave the Caribbean island of St. Bart after reports say he tried to take a jet being used by fashion designer Ramy Brook Sharp, reports FOXNews.com.  The star was trying to leave the island before its sundown deadline on flights.

Amazing helicopter rescue story number one.  A California Highway Patrol helicopter crew is being crediting with saving the life of a 58-year-old man after his truck drifted into a creek that was swollen after heavy rains, reports the Napa Valley Register.  Swimmers had tried to rescue the man, to no avail.

Amazing helicopter rescue story number two.  The Royal Canadian Air Force’s 442 Transport & Rescue Squadron  managed to extract a snowboarder who was stranded in a steep ravine between Horseshoe Bay and Lions Bay in British Columbia, reports Canada.com. The squadron was able to make the rescue despite poor visibility caused by snow and wind.

I’m glad Alyssa is my flight instructor.  Ravindra Pal Sing, the former director of a flight school in New Zealand, was found guilty of assault of two of his students by a local court, reports AvWeb. Sing was accused of slapping one student and pushing his head into the side of the cockpit. The other student accused him of elbowing her and raising his hand in a “threatening” manner.

Nice trick, but it still won’t help the New York Giants get into the playoffs.  .  The FAA has investigated and debunked a YouTube video purportedly showing star receiver Victor Cruz catching a football that appeared to be thrown from an airplane, reports AvWeb.

A beach landing.  A pilot was able to walk away after making an emergency landing on a beach in New Jersey’s Bay Head, reports NBC Philadelphia.

Nice, but I’d rather have the real thing.  Top Gear’s James May, who is a pilot, was recently featured in Radio Times demonstrating how to make the ultimate paper airplane.  He said his creation was a cross between a Vulcan bomber and a Fairey Delta.

Don’t steal. Mexican police officers at the scene of an aircraft accident where singer Jenni Rivera died are being accused of stealing personal items from the site, reports the Los Angeles Times.

If only it could still fly too. Jeff Bloch, a police officer and race car driver, is working on an unusual project–he is merging a 1956 Cessna 310 with a 1987 Toyota Van Wagon–all on a $500 budget, reports Flying magazine. In the planned design, the car will keep 20 inches of wing on each side of the “car” to serve as front fenders.

Size does matter. A Bell 412 helicopter helped UAE celebrate United Arab Emirates National Day by towing the world’s largest banner–a 4,600-square-meter UAE flag–along the coast, reports Aviation International News.  The flag could be seen from 20 km away.

Bears as test pilots? Who knew?  The IO9 blog reports that during the Cold War, the U.S. Air Force used bears as test pilots in the B-58 Hustler, which was the world’s first supersonic jet bomber. Live bears were sedated, strapped into the plane’s capsules and ejected at different speeds and altitudes. No bears were killed during testing.

We’ll end the week with a post from Flying magazine that includes video of passenger aircraft trying to take off and land at Spain’s Bilbao Airport in gusty crosswinds. Enjoy!!

This week, I take a look items I want from the AOPA Online Store, done in partnership with Sporty’s.

1. AOPA Knife ($27.95) — I was chatting with some of my co-workers and they just raved not only about the knife, but how popular it is with the membership. So now I want one too!
2. AOPA holiday ornament ($12.95) — I helped do some decorating at the AOPA headquarters, and got to hang this lovely ornament.  I’m one of those folks who likes to buy ornaments from the companies I work for, and I’ll be proud to hang this on my tree.
3. AOPA sweatshirt ($19.95) — you can never have too many of these, so why not an AOPA one?
4. AOPA flight bag ($24.95) — I’m still on the hunt for a bag, and this might just be the ticket for me.  It will hold all my stuff and you can’t beat the price point!
5. AOPA Zulu time watch ($49.95) — I love an old-school watch, with hands and the date. I would definitely put this one in my watch rotation.
6. AOPA Pilot t shirt ($14.95) — I’m on the staff and I have nothing with AOPA Pilot on it. This t shirt could be the remedy!
7. AOPA flashlight ($19.95) — I may have to consider this as an alternative to my beloved Maglite flashlight!
8. Ramp pass insert for AOPA wallet ($9.95) — right now, I keep my FAA student pilot certificate in the AOPA tote bag that serves as my flight bag. I think I need to give it a better home with this item.