Just got a flash news announcement that a banner towing plane with Ocean Aerial crashed outside of Ocean City, MD a couple of hours ago. Pilot's dead. Get to wait to find out which one of my friends (in all likelihood) just bit the big one.

Fuck. There are days I hate being in the flying world.

Take care of yourself.

I'm so sorry flyboy. I know how painful that is. I lost four young friends in a flying accident a month ago. They were stupid, drunk and flying to mesquite.

Hang in there.

:(

Let it all out in any way you can.

After you come of the grief and the mourning, keep the happy memories alive by leading a happy life.

That's how I dealt with the death of my best friend.

Sending good thoughts your way...and you can always vent here.

Thanks all. It's just sickening because I have to wait and see who it was. No response from the texts I've sent, but Lord knows they have enough going on right now.

http://www.wboc.com/story/19064375/crop-duster-crashes-outside-berlin

There's the story. A lot of these guys are building their time doing something that's relatively dangerous compared with, say, instructional flying or passenger-carrying ops.

Carol, you are 100% right, and bear in mind that over 650 mil fly Part 121 Commercial Ops in the US each year, typically with no deaths. Think you could get 650 mil to walk across the street without a few thousand mowed down? Unfortunately, though, when you're in this business, you will wind up knowing a LOT of the people who die. It's a pretty small community. This won't be the first or second for me :-/

So sorry to hear that, flyboy! Glad it wasn't you at the very least.

This sucks, my thoughts are with you. Flying back to the UK from NY on Sunday I'm absolutely terrified, I hate flying!!

Thanks again all for the wishes. It's hard to have to sit by yourself away from home and wait to hear. Elaine Dalton, don't you worry. You're going to be in some $100 million amazing machine that has unimpeachable maintenance and turbine engines that just don't quit.

This guy was flying a Super Cub, which is literally a kite with a moped engine. Yes, the plane is actually made from fabric, not aluminum or alloy. Banner towing is dangerous stuff. Everyone who works at that company has a dream and they've all loved flying and airplanes since they were kids. Someone's parents are going to be sick tonight.

Fidget, what happened with your friends? Flying and booze just don't mix. I'm sorry to hear that too :(



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/2012 03:36PM by flyboy21.

I really hope that it isn't one of your friends.

They crashed on the runway after taking off and no one found them until about three hours later. They think that all four of them died on impact. They were stupid to think they could fly like that... The oldest one was 26.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/2012 03:40PM by fidget.

(((Hugs))) to you flyboy.

flyboy21 Wrote:
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> Banner towing is dangerous stuff.

I've wondered that when I have seen those little planes towing those big banners. It must be like having an enormous rudder on your plane that is controlled by the wind. I imagine a good gust could really flip you around. Then there is the distraction they cause to drivers on the road. Personally I would like to see it banned. There are plenty of other safe and ubiquitous advertising methods out there. No need to have one that is so risky to pilot, and the people in the city below their plane. If we must have aerial advertising do it with blimps.

Actually, the large amount of parasite drag from the banner is why they get planes like a Super Cub or other similar planes that can fly at such low airspeeds. They won't go flying in dangerous weather, and I'm not sure about all the weight & balance issues, but I guarantee they have to be taken into account.

The PROBLEM, like in ag flying, is that there are these critical maneuvers made so close to the ground. At Ocean Aerial, the company where Garett worked, one of the two founders was killed when the banner he was hooking caught his landing gear and ultimately stalled the plane.

Same with ag flying. You miss power lines by a matter of feet. What if you're off by just a bit? In my CRJ, you the passenger would never know on my ILS approach and landing. Crop dusting, the guy's preparing for his (or her) funeral.

When Garett's engine started having problems while he dropped the banner, he was below the trees, nowhere to land, no way to climb. That's a very dangerous place to be, at such a low airspeed with no available power that close to the ground.

I'm sure dedicated veterans of this type of flying will tell you how many tens of thousands of hours they've done without a hitch, but FWIW, you couldn't pay me enough.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2012 01:41AM by flyboy21.

Thanks for the explanation. Flying is so safe these days with all the instrumentation, and systems in place to help pilots it is easy to forget how dangerous it really is. You can't put airbags in an airplane, and if something goes wrong it often goes wrong in a big way. People gotta make a living, but I hope tragdies like this cause people to think about how to make it safer for the pilot and the people below his flight path. Ironically the company doing the most of this kind of advertising aroun here is Geico. You'd think an insurance company would know the risks of this type of advertising.

flyboy21, you mentioned the Super Cub. Have you ever flown in one? I had a biennial in one back in the 1980's.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2012 10:44AM by michael.

I have never been in a Super Cub, actually. I did my private in my great uncle's Cessna 170 taildragger, and then upgraded to his true love when I did instrument--a 1949-vintage Cessna 195. With that huge radial engine. Oh how I miss those days of flying out of 9VG. He'd take it to some smaller air shows, and it was a heck of a way to build cross country time when I was still in high school.

Sadly, I had to do my commercial and CFI in more contemporary aircraft (i.e. a Piper Archer and a Seminole) because college 141 training is always boring like that.

How did you like it? A lot of people swear by them!

I'm sorry, Flyboy.

I wonder if that's the same plane that I saw when I was at the beach about two weeks ago. It was flying up the coast, pulling a very large banner for Phillips Seafood in OC. It flew every day I was there.

Same company. They have a few planes. Sounds like it was a pretty low-hour guy, so I'm more worried now, but just trying to carry on as normal till I hear otherwise.

This is very sad news. I too have been to funerals of coworkers.

The transportation industry has arguably the most rigorous safety training in the world. ALL accidents are preventable.

But they do happen. It is sad, and I hope his company does not mar the legacy of this person with the stigma of the words 'human error'

It couldn't have been more of a kick in the stomach. It was a kid from literally right up the road from me. Honor roll student, best dad ever (used to work for the state's DNR and ran programs to show kids how they trap animals to help control with population), had great dreams, totally family oriented guy... always humble and deferential to everyone. He liked to smile. Went to the other HS in Dorchester Co. but always was God... shit. I've got nothing.

Just felt I owed HIM an update. So someone out there knows he had dreams and loves--and ohhhh man did he love his trapping, he'd tell you all about it if you asked--and was headed for a bright future. He loved flying, wanted real bad to be an ag pilot, that's why he was doing this kind of flying in the first damn place, loved the Shore and his home.

Just... I dunno. Remember him. Remember we don't get much time. Enjoy it. Fuck, I'm going to be sick. I'll talk to you all later.

I'm so so sorry flyboy. :(

Flyboy, it was Garett Colona of Rhodesdale. He was 23.

Yep. Went to NoDo High.

"Remember we don't get much time. Enjoy it."

There are worse things than dying while persuing your dreams. A lot worse. Still, I'm sorry for your loss. It always hurts when good people die.

The character that brought you through one will bring you through the other. I enjoy your posts,

Don B.

Thanks everyone. A wicked day yesterday, but we'll move on from this. Really appreciate your kind words, and I'll pass on all that love towards his family and best friends when I see them.

Back to normal. The show must go on.

I'm reading through RfM from the week I was on vacation and noticed your thread. I'm so sorry. I just don't know what else to say.

It happened. Lot of flags at half staff around home. It was really sad. Now it's one more person who won't be living the dream... but all the more reason not to miss a minute of it.

Thanks for the nice words :) You're pretty cool in my book.

I'm sorry, again, about your friend's death.

Darn hard business eh? for sure.
sorry for your loss

I'm so sorry. Good thoughts & juju headed your way.
{{{giant hug}}}

There are old pilots and there are bold pilots but there are no old bold pilots.

Some of my patients were from NAS Coronado and Miramar. Some of the accidents were beyond horrific. I always worried when carriers went out so pilots could qualify.

I am so sorry, flyboy. So sorry. I wish I had comforting words. Sometimes I think they don't exist no matter how hard we try to make others feel better.

I'm glad you told us so we can at least try. Grief and mourning -- we do it in groups. We do it alone. Do it as long as you need.

Thanks to all of ya for those words. He was a good kid with a bright future.

Dave, I've heard that one many a time. Did you ever sling the yoke around a bit? He was a smart, head-on-straight pilot, but you couldn't pay me enough to do that ag/banner flying. There's zero margin for error of any sort and that's painfully apparent. One little engine hiccup and he had no chance. The actual cause of death was so gruesome that I wouldn't dare repeat it out loud.

I appreciate each and every single one of you. My buds at home and people I work with have been great, but y'all have so much more empathy and emotion. Sometimes it's nice to just not, y'know, be so quiet about it.

I can't say he was a best friend, but he was definitely a friend. He literally just lived on the other side of town from me--and out where I live, you know EVERYONE, and pretty well. Obviously aviation is a small community as it is, but on the Shore, it's real small.

The best way to honor his memory is get outside and go enjoy the great outdoors. If he knew you were doing that, I know he'd be pretty dang happy.

I'm sorry to hear about this. A couple of people I knew fairly well in the Air Force died in flying accidents. But I know they died doing what they loved. Of course at a time like this that sounds really trite.

I'm just a low-time private pilot, but I've had an active interest in aviation all my life and try to get airborne occasionally just to keep the francise going. I'm very much a fair wx pilot trying to keep within my limits; I have a real appreciation for the professionals who fly every day. I can't quote him, but remember Earnest K Gann's comments about how thin a margin there can be in flying, and how things can snowball quickly in an emergency. On the other hand, It's hard to explain to those not familiar with flying what it's like and why people do it.

Anyways, my thoughts are with you!

Thanks very much! I'm not of the school of thought that you're "just" anything... you're a pilot and belong with the rest of us. You get it. It's been an addiction, literally since I could crawl. I don't think I could do anything else.

If you ever have any questions as you progress in flying, my door's always open (and free, for any RfMer... no ground school CFI charges, lol)

mikey Wrote:
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> But I know they died doing what they
> loved. Of course at a time like this that sounds
> really trite.


I was going to say similar. I would rather pop my clogs doing something I loved to do than many other ways for it to happen. Still... when it happens...

I'm sorry for your loss, flyboy.