My first flight could have been my last.

genna

genna

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ТУ-104
So, for some reason I looked up the plane I took my intro flight on back in 1998. I really don't remember this from back then, but now that I think about it, there was something about changing the plane and the instructor with out too much explanation:

My first flight: VKX, PA-28, N4537R, 05/17/1998.
Accident Report: VKX, PA-28, N4537R, 05/17/1998(yep, the same date). 1 fatality out of 3 occupants.

http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=38332.

Apparently, the instructor took control and stalled the plane on the take off. Some THC was involved(not sure if enough)...

That could have been me...
 
I think that you're reading too much into it. You probably wouldn't have had the controls on an intro flight...unless of course you had the same pothead instructor with you.
 
So I take it the CFI died and the student survived?

Wonder how many hours the CFI had
 
Timbeck2 said:
I think that you're reading too much into it. You probably wouldn't have had the controls on an intro flight...unless of course you had the same pothead instructor with you.
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Well, I don't think we'd been in the same situation 3 people vs 2 and a complete novice vs PPL in the left seat, but the pilot of that plane was the CFII with 1200 hours. This is the NTSB report:
http://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief2.aspx?ev_id=20001211X10101&ntsbno=IAD98FA059&akey=1

I'm not really reading that much into it. I'm just noting a rather weird coincident that I didn't really know about back then.

Yes, the CFI died.
 
Wow! That is pretty crazy. I am curious though, what caused you to look into this 17 years later?
 
genna said:
Well, I don't think we'd been in the same situation 3 people vs 2 and a complete novice vs PPL in the left seat, but the pilot of that plane was the CFII with 1200 hours. This is the NTSB report:
http://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief2.aspx?ev_id=20001211X10101&ntsbno=IAD98FA059&akey=1

I'm not really reading that much into it. I'm just noting a rather weird coincident that I didn't really know about back then.

Yes, the CFI died.
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1200hrs, that's a little crazy for that type of accident.
 
azpilot said:
Wow! That is pretty crazy. I am curious though, what caused you to look into this 17 years later?
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Kind of idling at work. I was reading some thread on FB about most common training aircraft being PA28/C172(I'm thinking C150 was more common). That led me to look up my hours by aircraft type. That brought me to my first flight in the Piper, so I looked up its registration number. It was deregistered, so I googled it.. And here we are.
 
azpilot said:
Wow! That is pretty crazy. I am curious though, what caused you to look into this 17 years later?
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I'm guessing the OP googled the tail number of a plane in her logbook. It's amazing how many trainers get bent up enough to make NTSB reports. I know there's a few planes that I've flown that are no longer.

I agree with some of the other comments. VKX is in a hole in a little valley with some weird winds. Add an underpowered and heavily loaded airplane and you've got a recipe for bad ju ju.
 
And if it was May 18, 1998, then you could also say that your last flight was your first.
 
You could also argue that if you hadn't gone on your flight the sequence of events would have been altered and there would have been no incidents.
 
I don't think that CFI died. I think he's in two other threads here arguing about how pot is legal in his home state and his use of it gives no insight into his mental acuity and judgment as a pilot.
 
James331 said:
1200hrs, that's a little crazy for that type of accident.
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VKX is in a small closed valley with rising slopes on both ends. I've barely cleared the trees on a hot day with just 2 people on board coming off of 24. I think this accident happened on 6, which is more forgiving, but still can be an issue.

3 people in a PA-28-140 on a hot day coming off that runway probably means they just lacked performance and stalled it into the trees heading up the slope. It probably wasn't a matter of skill as much as they shouldn't of been taking off to begin with.
 
Guess you must not have gone back to the same school after your intro flight...

Or it seems you would have known.
 
ollopa said:
I don't think that CFI died. I think he's in two other threads here arguing about how pot is legal in his home state and his use of it gives no insight into his mental acuity and judgment as a pilot.
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Ha! I was thinking about some of the pro-pot posts I've seen around here as I read this thread.
 
Everskyward said:
Guess you must not have gone back to the same school after your intro flight...

Or it seems you would have known.
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I did. Had next 7 lessons from there until I moved and had to stop for a little while.

I vaguely remember something about the plane being in an accident, but nothing about fatal. This was not the same CFI I took intro flight with. I checked my logbook.
 
Well, couple of items.
A mile beyond the end of the runway and hitting 90 foot trees indicates the plane was not climbing and managed less than 90 feet of altitude in some 7000-plus feet of travel.
Then there is the laconic statement that both magneto shafts would not turn ??
Seems there is more left out of the report than is included. I have been in a PA28 with four good sized men (well over gross) and it climbs out just fine.
So to my warped little mind that engine was not making rated power and the real question is why.
 
Dr. O said:
...
So to my warped little mind that engine was not making rated power and the real question is why.
Click to expand...

Oh come on, it had to be the pot. This story is no good if it wasn't the pot.:popcorn:
 
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