Inhof told to take a training class

[AdamZ]

I guess its good to be the King errr a Senator

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/arti...ticleid=20110201_12_0_WorldW885640&rss_lnk=12

 

[spiderweb]

Weird. "Point of no return?" Eh, maybe 10 feet above the runway? I think he just didn't realize what was going on.

 

[ScottM]

Weird. "Point of no return?" Eh, maybe 10 feet above the runway? I think he just didn't realize what was going on.

Seems like he needs some basic pilot training if:

1. he thought an approach clearance equals a landing clearance.
2. cannot initiate a go around from 10 feet above the runway
3. cannot check NOTAMS to see that the runway was closed.

 

[weilke]

Sounds like his attorney managed to convince him that continuing to be a stubborn ass about it would not get him off. Once he showed a 'compliant attitude' at least in his direct dealings with the FAA, they did what they tend to do and let him get off with remedial driving class.

 

[rottydaddy]

Weird. "Point of no return?" Eh, maybe 10 feet above the runway? I think he just didn't realize what was going on.

Never heard of this "point of no return". I've heard of a go-around; even a touch-and-go, but not the "point of no return". Maybe he was also almost out of fuel...

 

[gprellwitz]

In an interview during which he shared the letter's contents, Inhofe, who remains convinced he did nothing wrong, said he considers the matter closed.

"I elected the remedial training program because that is something that is very easy to do,'' he said, explaining he took the training in Tulsa from a young man he had trained to fly.

And I'm sure that the young man he taught to fly will impart new knowledge to the instructor. (BTW, I think it's great that a senator is an active flight instructor. Also that his son is also a pilot. But I worry about what he's teaching his students!)

"I often wonder though if I had not been a United States senator … somebody who is just a pilot would have gone through this and if they were not able to get the two documents that I want, they could have ended up losing their license.''

I wonder that too.... No, I don't. Pretty sure I know!

"Then, approximately three miles on final approach to Cameron County, they said you are cleared for, that's the words I want to get exact, cleared to approach at Cameron County,'' he said.

Cleared for/to an approach does not equal cleared to land on a closed runway.

 

[weilke]

All the while his minions go around the state and tell people that there was no actual notam and that the airport manager came up with this elaborate trap just to harm the senator......

 

[denverpilot]

This serves to prove something I've been telling my wife for years. I need minions.

 

[EppyGA]

An admission of special treatment?

"I often wonder though if I had not been a United States senator … somebody who is just a pilot would have gone through this and if they were not able to get the two documents that I want, they could have ended up losing their license.''

 

[steingar]

The FAA does do this sometimes, depending on the infraction. Might actually be a non story (other than even a lofty Senator can frak up, which is hardly news).

 

[mikea]

Cut him some slack. Isn't Inhofe the guy who landed a plane that threw off its propeller?

I was once base to final for a closed runway at an uncontrolled airport. It finally sunk in that there was big orange X on the runway and I went around, never getting below about 400 feet AGL.

 

[ScottM]

Cut him some slack. Isn't Inhofe the guy who landed a plane that threw off its propeller?

I was once base to final for a closed runway at an uncontrolled airport. It finally sunk in that there was big orange X on the runway and I went around, never getting below about 400 feet AGL.

I guess it was a good thing you had not passed the point of no return?

 

[Clark1961]

Cut him some slack. Isn't Inhofe the guy who landed a plane that threw off its propeller?

I was once base to final for a closed runway at an uncontrolled airport. It finally sunk in that there was big orange X on the runway and I went around, never getting below about 400 feet AGL.

/sarcasm=ON

Darn good thing ya didn't reach the "point of no return"!!!!

/sarcasm=OFF

Looks like the remedial training didn't do a darn bit of good. I had to learn how to go around from a very low approach before I was taught to land. Okay, so that's a good way to teach landings but it still is a true statement unlike the (cough) senator's claim.

 

[Gary F]

I have read many reports about accidents involving high time pilots and they are just as capable as beginners for making some really stupid mistakes. I suspect that overconfidence might start to creep in after a while.

 

[weilke]

So far, Inhofe has handled this about as clumsily and damaging to GA as you can imagine. He:
- didn't get a briefing
- stated that nobody as busy as him can possibly be expected to read the notams
- blames everything and anything on others (ATC, airport manager)
- has expressed continuing ignorance about basic concepts of flight ('point of no return' wtf is that)
- basically boasts about how he managed to bamboozle the FAA into letting him off easy but shows no insight about the mistakes he has made

This could have been a great learning opportunity about the problems with the current notam and briefing system, the usefullness of GA and the need for adequate airport funding levels. The way it is going right now it is about a stubborn old pilot with beginning mental decline who unfortunately is one of the 102 most powerful people in this country.

 

[Everskyward]

So far, Inhofe has handled this about as clumsily and damaging to GA as you can imagine. He:
- didn't get a briefing
- stated that nobody as busy as him can possibly be expected to read the notams
- blames everything and anything on others (ATC, airport manager)
- has expressed continuing ignorance about basic concepts of flight ('point of no return' wtf is that)
- basically boasts about how he managed to bamboozle the FAA into letting him off easy but shows no insight about the mistakes he has made

This could have been a great learning opportunity about the problems with the current notam and briefing system, the usefullness of GA and the need for adequate airport funding levels. The way it is going right now it is about a stubborn old pilot with beginning mental decline who unfortunately is one of the 102 most powerful people in this country.

+1. My problem with him is not so much that he made the mistake to begin with but how he tried to get out of it.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Guys,

I think there can be a "point of no return" in some situations. Isn't he flying a C340 or something like that? Depending on how slow he got (well below blue line, or anything lower than red line) it may not have been particularly safe to try a go-around, especially depending on any terrain/obstacles present.

Now, why he didn't see the big yellow X's that were presumably present prior to reaching that point, I do not know.

 

[Clark1961]

Guys,

I think there can be a "point of no return" in some situations. Isn't he flying a C340 or something like that? Depending on how slow he got (well below blue line, or anything lower than red line) it may not have been particularly safe to try a go-around, especially depending on any terrain/obstacles present.

Now, why he didn't see the big yellow X's that were presumably present prior to reaching that point, I do not know.

Terrain on the Texas gulf coast is rarely a problem...

The guy boned it and wants to dodge responsibility. Yup it's a common desire but most of us don't have the political power to pull it off. Now instead of shutting-up and walking away, he wants to claim he's right. Too bad for him that the rest of the pilot community knows he was wrong to land on a closed runway.

 

[weilke]

I think there can be a "point of no return" in some situations. Isn't he flying a C340 or something like that? Depending on how slow he got (well below blue line, or anything lower than red line) it may not have been particularly safe to try a go-around, especially depending on any terrain/obstacles present.

If he was to slow to go around from a distance that the 'X' and vehicles on the runway were visible, he should either:
- return for another 3rd class medical because his eyesight must be marginal.
- go for some multiengine refresher training on energy management.

 

[poadeleted20]

Cut him some slack. Isn't Inhofe the guy who landed a plane that threw off its propeller?

Yes, he is. And it was an improperly installed propeller, at that. There's a known issue with Tiger prop installation involving the backplate and the shoulders on the prop hub, and this one wasn't done right. The prop came off in cruise at like 6000 feet, and he dead-sticked it into a field without further damage. However, the issues here involve judgement, preflight planning, and aeronautical decision-making, not stick-and-rudder skills.

 

[mikea]

The hit is fitting the shan on the political blogs:

Shortly after the incident, the man supervising the construction, Sidney Boyd, spoke on the phone with the FAA, and said the landing "scared the crap out of us." (Listen to the audio here.) Boyd said he thought the driver of the truck Inhofe almost hit "actually wet his britches."

"James Inhofe, they tell me he's a Senator from Oklahoma," Boyd can be heard saying.

According to Boyd, Inhofe's plane initially touched down, and then "sky hopped" over six vehicles and personnel working on the runway, before landing for good.

"He was determined to land on that runway come hell or high water, evidently," Boyd said.

In another FAA recording, airport manager Marshall Reece can be heard saying he has "got over 50 years flying, three tours of Vietnam, and I can assure you I have never seen such a reckless disregard for human life in my life."

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsme...e_scared_the_crap_out_of_out_of_airport_w.php

 

[denverpilot]

Any one of us, our license would have been pulled.

"Pardon me. Your double-standards are showing."

I suppose some watery tart handed him a sword from the bottom of the lake, so we must be his "subjects". LOL!

 

[mikea]

He said, "What the hell is this? I'm supposed to have unlimited airspace!"

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/bizarre/inhofe-scared-crap-out-airport-workers-192645

What class is "Unlimited airspace?"

 

[Tarheel Pilot]

This makes my head hurt, mainly because of the double standard that's being shown, and the fact that this Senator has such reckless regard to safe flying and safe operation of an aircraft.

I hope that any wrong information that he passed onto his students, were soon corrected afterwards.

 

[bigred177]

His initial excuse for not going around was that he was too committed to the landing. I'm assuming "sky hopped" is adding power to get airborne again over the trucks. Why didn't he just keep the power in it and do a go around?

 

[Tarheel Pilot]

His initial excuse for not going around was that he was too committed to the landing. I'm assuming "sky hopped" is adding power to get airborne again over the trucks. Why didn't he just keep the power in it and do a go around?

Because he was pass the point of no return!

 

[flyingcheesehead]

His initial excuse for not going around was that he was too committed to the landing. I'm assuming "sky hopped" is adding power to get airborne again over the trucks. Why didn't he just keep the power in it and do a go around?

Because Senators shouldn't have to go around - That's for the "little people"?

 

[ScottM]

Because he was pass the point of no return!

RaaahJuhh

 

[jnmeade]

I know a pilot of about the same age who also landed over people on a closed runway. He's still flying jets. I was on the airport when he did it, but it immediately went closed door and I never heard the outcome. My guess is he got about the same treatment as Imhof. So, maybe Imhof's treatment was not so atypical? I don't know, I'm just relating personal knowledge of a very similar case where it apparently did not turn into a big deal.

 

[Dr. O]

Depending on how slow he got (well below blue line, or anything lower than red line) it may not have been particularly safe to try a go-around
*******************************************************
Not picking on you Kent, B U T every departure from an airport begins well below blue line/red line or any other line, and well below ten feet AGL...

OK, that was fun - but I do understand your point...
The Senator blew it and was still given a kiss by the FAA because (wait for it) he is a SENATOR... One of the 100 Princes of the land with enormous personal power and direct access to vastly more legislative and financial power that can be borrowed/leased from fellow Senators by way of agreeing to vote a particular way on a particular bill in return... The FAA brass understand that in that when attempting to stomp through the Valley of Death they are not the biggest, meanest SOB in the valley...

denny-o

 

[steingar]

Actually, what really happened? The guy landed an airplane, hurt no one, and bent no metal. I'm not trying to excuse what he did, just put it in perspective.

 

[mikea]

His initial excuse for not going around was that he was too committed to the landing. I'm assuming "sky hopped" is adding power to get airborne again over the trucks. Why didn't he just keep the power in it and do a go around?

Because he has "Unlimited airspace."

We can guess the training was to let him know he didn't have Unlimited runway space, but maybe he made arrangements to get that, too.

 

[PittsDriver]

Actually, what really happened? The guy landed an airplane, hurt no one, and bent no metal. I'm not trying to excuse what he did, just put it in perspective.

AMEN. I wonder if this isn't more of a case of some hysterical people who are hell bent on frying the Senator? I'm also not suggesting that he's some role model for GA or what he did was perfectly OK - no one who wasn't there would know enough to say different. But, no harm no foul should equal no story says I.

 

[Everskyward]

The FAA does do this sometimes, depending on the infraction. Might actually be a non story (other than even a lofty Senator can frak up, which is hardly news).

I agree. How do people know that someone else wouldn't have gotten the same outcome even if they were not a Senator?

 

[Tarheel Pilot]

Actually, what really happened? The guy landed an airplane, hurt no one, and bent no metal. I'm not trying to excuse what he did, just put it in perspective.

AMEN. I wonder if this isn't more of a case of some hysterical people who are hell bent on frying the Senator? I'm also not suggesting that he's some role model for GA or what he did was perfectly OK - no one who wasn't there would know enough to say different. But, no harm no foul should equal no story says I.

Actually what happened was that we have a pilot that failed to check the NOTAMS before departure, failed to understand that cleared to approach is NOT the same as cleared to land, not only landed on a closed Runway, but also apparently did several hops down the runway flying above worker's head as they worked ON the Runway, and failed to do a go around when it was very appropriate to do one.

The bottom line is, that he was reckless, and his actions not only put himself and his passengers in danger, but also put the ground crew in danger. I think the fact that he missed the very things that they teach you in ground school and in flying school for your PPL, is a cause for concern and should've taken more seriously by the FAA.

 

[mikea]

AMEN. I wonder if this isn't more of a case of some hysterical people who are hell bent on frying the Senator? I'm also not suggesting that he's some role model for GA or what he did was perfectly OK - no one who wasn't there would know enough to say different. But, no harm no foul should equal no story says I.

I agree. How do people know that someone else wouldn't have gotten the same outcome even if they were not a Senator?

Someone else would have had to meet the requirement for a positive, constructive and contrite (how's it go, Ron?) attitude. If there was ever a definition of the opposite and "careless and reckless" I would say "What the hell is going on? I have unlimited airspace" is it. You think any other pilot would have said something like that?

 

[John Baker]

So far, Inhofe has handled this about as clumsily and damaging to GA as you can imagine. He:
- didn't get a briefing
- stated that nobody as busy as him can possibly be expected to read the notams
- blames everything and anything on others (ATC, airport manager)
- has expressed continuing ignorance about basic concepts of flight ('point of no return' wtf is that)
- basically boasts about how he managed to bamboozle the FAA into letting him off easy but shows no insight about the mistakes he has made

This could have been a great learning opportunity about the problems with the current notam and briefing system, the usefullness of GA and the need for adequate airport funding levels. The way it is going right now it is about a stubborn old pilot with beginning mental decline who unfortunately is one of the 102 most powerful people in this country.

First of all, we must remember that many folks, just like this senator, are the people who we voted to run and handle the affairs of our nation for us. This could possibly explain more than a few of the problems that keep cropping up in the news about how things are going.

For example; is the price of fuel going up, or is our dollar buying less of it because those same people are printing so many of them?



John

 

[Everskyward]

You think any other pilot would have said something like that?

I don't know what any other pilot would have said. I don't even know what the Senator said to the FAA, but neither do you. He is obviously not a great example to follow but I don't think there is enough evidence to prove he got any special treatment in comparison with someone else.

 

[Fearless Tower]

AMEN. I wonder if this isn't more of a case of some hysterical people who are hell bent on frying the Senator? I'm also not suggesting that he's some role model for GA or what he did was perfectly OK - no one who wasn't there would know enough to say different. But, no harm no foul should equal no story says I.

You're flipping nuts if you think this should be a case of 'no harm no foul'. The end does not justify the means. The FOIA disclosure makes it pretty clear that this was not a simple matter of landing on a closed runway, but his actions endangered personnel who were working on that runway. You don't have to draw blood to endanger people.

I agree that the only reason it has gotten any press is because he is a Senator, but it is pretty tough to argue that he didn't get off easy, especially when the details of the incident are brought to light. If any of us pulled a stunt like that, we would be dealing with a whole lot more than some remedial training.

 

[gismo]

Actually, what really happened? The guy landed an airplane, hurt no one, and bent no metal. I'm not trying to excuse what he did, just put it in perspective.

While I'm not clamoring to have Inhofe's pilot certificate revoked, from what I've read and heard his actions were pretty clearly reckless and definitely put the lives of some workers in jeopardy. If someone ran a seriously red light at a busy intersection going 20 mph over the speed limit but happened to miss all crossing traffic by weaving around it, how much slack would you cut them?