Dumbest thing you have done and lived to tell about it

Ok, while not life threatening, stupid all the same...

On the way back from the $200 hamburger run to Saratoga, Wy today, I jokingly said over the intercom (as we were climbing out) : "This is your captain speaking, thanks for joining us for the short flight to Steamboat Springs...yada, yada, yada..." Well as we got closer to Steamboat, I pulled power a bit to start a gradual descent, I decided to keep up the charade. Calmly pushing the PTT on the yoke, I then announced "This is your captain speaking, we are begining our descent into the Steamboat Springs area." I then unkeyed the mic. My husband (passenger) looked at me in horror and asked why I just transmitted that instead of just saying it over the intercom. Of course we were close enought to Steamboat that anyone in the pattern or ground heard my transmision on CTAF. I made Davin (my husband) do all of the CTAF calls from that point on so that hopefully no one would associate my voice with the tail number we were flying today.
 
Land with just two and a half gallons of fuel remaining in my Arrow.
 
stagecoachco said:
Ok, while not life threatening, stupid all the same...

On the way back from the $200 hamburger run to Saratoga, Wy today, I jokingly said over the intercom (as we were climbing out) : "This is your captain speaking, thanks for joining us for the short flight to Steamboat Springs...yada, yada, yada..." Well as we got closer to Steamboat, I pulled power a bit to start a gradual descent, I decided to keep up the charade. Calmly pushing the PTT on the yoke, I then announced "This is your captain speaking, we are begining our descent into the Steamboat Springs area." I then unkeyed the mic. My husband (passenger) looked at me in horror and asked why I just transmitted that instead of just saying it over the intercom. Of course we were close enought to Steamboat that anyone in the pattern or ground heard my transmision on CTAF. I made Davin (my husband) do all of the CTAF calls from that point on so that hopefully no one would associate my voice with the tail number we were flying today.
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Lol, it's all good.
 
Datadriver said:
Land with just two and a half gallons of fuel remaining in my Arrow.
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I once pumped 20 gallons into a Cessna 150 as a 110 hour private pilot....I definately learned about fuel planning that day. I also learned to take winds aloft forecasts as a forecast, not an absolute.
 
I don't do dumb things.

Oh, wait. Today I left the flight plan in the printer. Onboard with engines running I had to run inside and "fetch" it. But that's the only thing.


Oh yeah...yesterday I forgot to call CANPASS on the 2nd leg. 3rd leg was a 1 hour flight to Canada so I had to wait an hour on the ground to give Canada 2 full hours. But that's really all.

Oh yeah...yesterday I also took off with too much fuel to land with (over max landing weight). It wasn't really my fault as the passenger showed up with WAY more stuff than advertised...but I didn't figure it out until enroute and had to get a bunch of 'delaying vectors' to burn off weight on a super short flight (CYVR to KBFI). But that's all.

Oh, wait. The day before...
 
Dumbest thing I've done so far at a little over six hours is to leave the mixture out and wondering why the plane won't start.

Hopefully it stays the dumbest thing I've done.
 
Didn't realize the control lock was in until it was time to rotate.

Much better about the whole "flight controls free and correct" thing now.

Also it took me two tries to figure out the security question to post unregistered.
 
HerrGruyere said:
Dumbest thing I've done so far at a little over six hours is to leave the mixture out and wondering why the plane won't start.

Hopefully it stays the dumbest thing I've done.
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Actually it's not the dumbest thing you've done. It's a symptom of the dumbest thing. If you can figure out what the dumb thing is, you will have solved your and this guy's issue at the same time

Unregistered said:
Didn't realize the control lock was in until it was time to rotate.

Much better about the whole "flight controls free and correct" thing now.
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One of my exploits which makes me shake my head was a time when I was painting my house almost 20 years ago. Most of the house was easily reachable by a 20' ladder, but one gable peak was so high, I had to place the ladder base very close to the house, climb to the very top rung, and stretch up over my head as far as I could reach to paint the very apex of the gable. The geometry was such that my body was flattened against the house and I was painting by braille - tipping my head back far enough to see what I was doing might have caused me to lose balance.

There was zero margin for error - a puff of wind would have probably sent me falling 20+ feet to the ground. Just stupid.
 
HerrGruyere said:
Dumbest thing I've done so far at a little over six hours is to leave the mixture out and wondering why the plane won't start.

Hopefully it stays the dumbest thing I've done.
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LOL, by the time you finish your first solo cross country that one won't even be on the radar of the top 100.:rofl:

Mistakes are not a problem, they are the greatest learning tool of all. The way I teach boat handling is to let guys get themselves as far into a bind as possible before saving it and then show them what a max performance save looks like and what it takes to pull it off. Usually by the time I save it I can judge how they react to stress as well.
 
I called my parents house over the headset bluetooth connection to my cell phone and to let them know I was on inbound. When asking the maid to put mother on the phone I was pressing the PTT button. All the people on Houston center frequency pretty much heard me tell the house keeper,"ALICIAAAA, PASAME A MI MAMAAA" and the rest of the conversation. FML
 
airguy said:
Heh heh heh.... that brings back some smiles. I watched a student once do a pretty decent preflight on a skyhawk with cowl plugs (complete with the orange "remove before flight" ribbon between the plugs hanging around the prop), he removed the cowl plugs, looked inside the inlets with a flashlight to check everything, and dutifully replaced the cowl plugs. After finishing the rest of the preflight, you guessed it, he got in, cranked up and promptly slung the cowl plugs off the prop via the attaching ribbon, about 20 feet in the air. Instructor sitting in the right seat the whole time, laughing so hard he couldn't breathe.

Priceless....
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I once started my plane with my coffee cup hanging on the prop, thank God it missed the plane on the way down:hairraise:
 
cirrusmx said:
I called my parents house over the headset bluetooth connection to my cell phone and to let them know I was on inbound. When asking the maid to put mother on the phone I was pressing the PTT button. All the people on Houston center frequency pretty much heard me tell the house keeper,"ALICIAAAA, PASAME A MI MAMAAA" and the rest of the conversation. FML
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:rofl:

Could have been worse...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IaheLG-05U
 
Unregistered said:
Didn't realize the control lock was in until it was time to rotate.

Much better about the whole "flight controls free and correct" thing now.
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RED ALERT

You can end up very very dead that way.

Part of my mental checklist on the edge of the runway once cleared for takeoff, before crossing the hold short line - I visually look at the runway and say "Runway clear", I visually look at final approach in the airspace approaching the runway and say "Final clear" and I move all aileron/elevator/rudder inputs to the stop and say "Controls free and clear" before releasing brakes and taking the active. After half a dozen repetitions it becomes quite natural.

It will save your life one day, it has stopped me from an NTSB report once.
 
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airguy said:
RED ALERT

You can end up very very dead that way.

Part of my mental checklist on the edge of the runway once cleared for takeoff, before crossing the hold short line - I visually look at the runway and say "Runway clear", I visually look at final approach in the airspace approaching the runway and say "Final clear" and I move all aileron/elevator/rudder and say "Controls free and clear" before releasing brakes and taking the active.

It will save your life one day...
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Wait, did someone say CHECKLIST!?!

Okay, I admit that too frequently I don't pay enough attention to the checklist, and it's something I'm constantly striving to improve, and mention to instructors when I fly with them.

There was the time I took off with Leslie right seat, and did a bunch of the commercial maneuvers, wondering why my speeds weren't anywhere near where they should be. Then, before a maneuver, I went to put the gear down, only to realize I failed to bring it up on takeoff! A HECK of a lot better than the other way round, though!
 
Checklist? How about pre flight? I don't even get in the plane until I manipulate the ailerons.... and when they don't move I go "D'oh! Forgot the control lock!" In fact, step one is:

Walk up to plane.

Remove control lock.

Master on.

Flaps down.

Look at two fuel gauges.

Master off.
 
gprellwitz said:
Wait, did someone say CHECKLIST!?!

Okay, I admit that too frequently I don't pay enough attention to the checklist, and it's something I'm constantly striving to improve, and mention to instructors when I fly with them.

There was the time I took off with Leslie right seat, and did a bunch of the commercial maneuvers, wondering why my speeds weren't anywhere near where they should be. Then, before a maneuver, I went to put the gear down, only to realize I failed to bring it up on takeoff! A HECK of a lot better than the other way round, though!
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Paper or mental, doesn't really matter - as long as you do it religously and correctly before pushing the power up. If it's mental it better be right and cover the same items as paper - pretty simple in a simple airplane but you better be Spock if you fly a turbine.
 
kimberlyanne546 said:
Checklist? How about pre flight? I don't even get in the plane until I manipulate the ailerons.... and when they don't move I go "D'oh! Forgot the control lock!" In fact, step one is:

Walk up to plane.

Remove control lock.

Master on.

Flaps down.

Look at two fuel gauges.

Master off.
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Yup. Check lights, too, and stall horn, before master off. At least for me. And I do the whole aileron up/down thing as well. Habit, not checklist.
 
This is mine:

Walk up to plane

Remove control lock.

Fuel to both.

Master on.

Flaps down.

Check Strobes, Beacon.

Master off.

:mad2::mad2::mad2:

Remember that I forgot to check the fuel gauges.

Master on.

Check fuel gauges.

Master off.
 
Complete preflight.
Get in airplane.
Assure myself that everyone is belted in and all doors are closed and locked.
Attempt to start airplane.
Realize key is in bottom of pants pocket.
<curse>
Open door, unbuckle, reach for key, rebuckle, close and latch door, start airplane.
 
TMetzinger said:
Complete preflight.
Get in airplane.
Assure myself that everyone is belted in and all doors are closed and locked.
Attempt to start airplane.
Realize key is in bottom of pants pocket.
<curse>
Open door, unbuckle, reach for key, rebuckle, close and latch door, start airplane.
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Mine includes:
yell clear, then realize no seatbelt
Attempt to put on seatbelt
Open door to find seatbelt latch (Cessna req'd door to be unmatched to secure seatbelt by design in the SP)
Close door
Yell clear
Realize left tie down still in place
Remove seatbelt
repeat
 
Picked up 3/8" of clear ice over the cascades in a cap cloud in my 172.

Started flying that day in Wyoming and then onto Idaho and Washington Landed for fuel at Yakima. Called flight service for an instrument preflight to Everett Wa. Preflight briefer said clear unlimited ceilings the whole route, but possible cab clouds over mountain peaks. I said to myself, what is a cap cloud? Anyway took off for the final flight of the day, had my wife with me. Climbed up to 12,000' and headed over the mountains, Perfectly blue skys and unlimited visability. Could see a small cloud over on of the peaks. It took 20-30 mins to get there and by that time I could see it growing, but it was still fairly small. It was small enough that the flight time in the cloud would only be about 5 mins, so I flew into it. The windsheild completly covered in seconds with rime ice, I looked out the side window to see clear ice forming on the leading edge of the wing. I could feel the tail start to lower, I gave it full power to maintain altitude and the stall warning buzzer went off. Called Seatac and told them that I was doing a 180, I didn't wait for a response. I did the 180 and had to start desending to keep from stalling. I broke out of the clouds into the sun light. I looked out the side window and saw clear ice every where. As I desended the ice started to break off with loud bangs as the ice came off the front of the plane and hit the tail.

Now, before I take the rath of the pilot population, I need to say that at the time I was only a 400 hour pilot back in the late 80's. Now go ahead and take your best shot!
 
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I was flying myself and two friends to Seattle for a football game from Bend OR. (KBDN) The weather was typical for late fall, severe clear east of the mountains and rainy on the west side with reported mixed ice beginning at 9000 along the crest of the Cascades. We were in a 206, and the SOP in these conditions was to go north on the east side to The Dalles and then west on V112 since the low MEA kept you in rain. We were getting a 60 kt boost from a tail wind at 11000 which was good since one of the group had been late so we were running behind schedule. Then ATC offered me the lure "Cleared direct Battleground if desired" We were about 1000ft above the cloud deck so I bit. What i had forgotten is that we would be only about 10 miles north of Mt Jefferson, and when we hit the downwind wave things got real interesting real fast. In a heartbeat we were pushed into the soup and started collecting ice at an unbelievable rate. I pitched the nose up about 3 degrees and firewalled the power and managed to settle into a 200FPM sink. I immediately cried uncle and told Center I was in trouble and needed lower, knowing the ridges ahead were around 7000, and still in the ice. Turning around could point us back into even higher terrain. He told me I had about 25 miles to go until he could clear me lower. Not Good. We mushed along for what seemed like a century or two, then got those sweet words, "Descend and maintain 5000, say intentions" At 5600 we entered the rain and began shedding the ice. I told Center I would continue direct BTG then on as filed. The Hawks lost, but we really didn't care, sometimes a shortcut isn't the best option. :hairraise:
 
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Threefingeredjack said:
I was flying myself and two friends to Seattle for a football game from Bend OR. (KBDN) The weather was typical for late fall, severe clear east of the mountains and rainy on the west side with reported mixed ice beginning at 9000 along the crest of the Cascades. We were in a 206, and the SOP in these conditions was to go north on the east side to The Dalles and then west on V112 since the low MEA kept you in rain. We were getting a 60 kt boost from a tail wind at 11000 which was good since one of the group had been late so we were running behind schedule. Then ATC offered me the lure "Cleared direct Battleground if desired" We were about 1000ft above the cloud deck so I bit. What i had forgotten is that we would be only about 10 miles north of Mt Jefferson, and when we hit the downwind wave things got real interesting real fast. In a heartbeat we were pushed into the soup and started collecting ice at an unbelievable rate. I pitched the nose up about 3 degrees and firewalled the power and managed to settle into a 200FPM sink. I immediately cried uncle and told Center I was in trouble and needed lower, knowing the ridges ahead were around 7000, and still in the ice. Turning around could point us back into even higher terrain. He told me I had about 25 miles to go until he could clear me lower. Not Good. We mushed along for what seemed like a century or two, then got those sweet words, "Descend and maintain 5000, say intentions" At 5600 we entered the rain and began shedding the ice. I told Center I would continue direct BTG then on as filed. The Hawks lost, but we really didn't care, sometimes a shortcut isn't the best option. :hairraise:
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That sounds like one of the "I learned about flying from that!" series!:yikes:
 
Garthur said:
...Now, before I take the rath of the pilot population, I need to say that at the time I was only a 400 hour pilot back in the late 80's. Now go ahead and take your best shot!
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Nope. "There, but for the grace of God go I."

Life is a bag full of luck and empty bag of experience. Continue to fill the bag of experience before the bag of luck is empty.
 
I once asked a passenger their weight so I could do a W&B.
 
Hmmm... Why is the title of this thread "Dumbest thing you have done and lived to tell about it?" I mean, what's the alternative? You didn't live to tell about it but are posting it here anyway? :)
 
gprellwitz said:
Hmmm... Why is the title of this thread "Dumbest thing you have done and lived to tell about it?" I mean, what's the alternative? You didn't live to tell about it but are posting it here anyway? :)
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I have to question your assumption that there are no zombies posting here...
 
gprellwitz said:
Hmmm... Why is the title of this thread "Dumbest thing you have done and lived to tell about it?" I mean, what's the alternative? You didn't live to tell about it but are posting it here anyway? :)
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Grant, if you read my first post, you'll see this was by special request.

In other words, this whole thing wasn't my idea (including the title)!
 
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