Friend lucky to be alive to tell his story

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A friend of mine told me what he considered a "funny" story.
He had to go to a business meeting about 200 miles away so he contracted a pilot with a C206 and they agreed to meet at the airport at 0600. No matter that the runway is NOTAMed closed until 0700 because crews are resurfacing it overnight. :dunno:
They show up at the airport and sure enough, the crews are working on the middle of the runway. Pilot walks over, talks to the foreman who says "can't stop work, we need to be done by 7 to reopen". Pilot says "I don't need the whole runway, 3000ft is enough". Foreman replies "I can't tell you what to do but I cannot move the surfacing rig off the runway".
My friend thinks nothing of it, afterall the pilot is a smart man, he's been certificated by the FAA, right? They wouldn't hand out a pilot's license, specifically a CPL, to just any yahoo. *rolleyes*
Friend says they did an engine check before taxiing onto the runway (I assume a full run-up). The pilot fireballs it for takeoff and the engine sounds like crap and is missing on some of the 6 cylinders (my friend knows cars).
So I logically ask the friend how late he was to the important meeting and he said he wasn't late. Okay, I guess they had plenty of time to drive 3 hours, cool. I then follow-up with a question what needed to be fixed and he says that three of the fuel lines to the injectors were partially clogged and that a mechanic at the destination fixed it. :eek:
Naturally I swallowed hard and asked the stupidly obvious question: "you continued the takeoff?"
He said "yeah, we barely cleared the machinery on the runway", with a smile on his face.
And then they happily and obliviously continued to their destination for about an hour. :dunno:

I told my friend to stay away from that pilot. I am afraid that he won't take my advice, though.

I thought I'd share this story to make y'all feel better about making the right choices and staying on the ground when technical difficulties strike.
Lesson learned: not all of us are smart.
 
BigBadLou said:
How's that for a PoA answer? :)
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It may seem harsh, but let's consider the lives on the ground that OP's "friend" put at risk not only by taking off over ground equipment and personnel on the runway, but doing so with a reportedly rough running engine. Just doesn't seem like a good idea to me. I dunno.
 
Arbiter419 said:
It may seem harsh, but let's consider the lives on the ground that OP's "friend" put at risk not only by taking off over ground equipment and personnel on the runway, but doing so with a reportedly rough running engine. Just doesn't seem like a good idea to me. I dunno.
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I read the post as "friend hired a pilot who tried to kill him". Did I read it wrong? :dunno:

OP, don't worry, you will catch plenty of flak here on PoA, that's how we roll. :lol:

To actually contribute to the thread:
OP, tell your friend that yes, he is lucky to be alive to tell his story and that he needs to start looking out for his own life since others obviously don't care for it much. And your friend has an option of reporting the pilot's behavior to the nearest FSDO. Though he will need to find a new pilot for the future. Hopefully one that tries NOT to kill people. :lol:
 
april-fools-day-0009.jpg
 
3000 feet for take off in a C-206? Really?

Full fuel, two occupants, he should be off the ground in 500 if he knows anything ...

Still, I'd never take off with men on the runway, even at the end of it, too many variables...
 
Roger the troll,
But if it really happened, I'm sure the paving supervisor reported the departure to the airport manager and the FSDO might be waiting on the return trip.
 
Wait a minute ... if the engine was missing, did they log glider time?
 
Isn't an engine required on the MEL for a 206?
 
"Engine found after a brief search."
 
txflyer said:
3000 feet for take off in a C-206? Really?

Full fuel, two occupants, he should be off the ground in 500 if he knows anything ...

Still, I'd never take off with men on the runway, even at the end of it, too many variables...
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My thought as well.

If there was not an engine problem, I would have used the taxiway to take off, if an uncontrolled airport, and if this wasn't an April fool troll.
 
Negative, no April fools troll. Sorry, I did not realize I posted this story on the 1st until some of you called me on it. Live and learn.

I spoke to my friend later and asked him whether he wishes to report the incident and his answer was "meh, it turned out alright, no harm no foul".
Let me point out at this time that his occupation is manager. That might explain a lot about his attitude.
 
Same here. Our home 'drome has an old runway that's narrower than the new taxiways that they put in to support the new wide and long runway for private jets.

Actually, some years ago, the owner of the airport flew in one day while it was still under construction (and closed to public) and landed in a Grand Caravan on the new taxiway while the new runway wasn't yet available. He made a mistake of posting the video on YouTube where all the idiots were damning him to hell and calling for the FAA to revoke his license for reckless behavior. :lol:
 
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