Sparky Imeson crash & search

N801BH said:
The bizzarre is starting to show up.. I first saw the report of him missing on the backcountrypilots site.. about 10 posts in a guy wrote that he did some really strange stuff a few days earlier,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

>I believe he was VFR from BZN-HLN. Very odd circumstances as he >almost killed
>himself Sunday. He was IFR and requested a block altitude of FL200->FL240,
>said he was testing something on his engine. He got hypoxic and was >basically
>incoherentand drifting all over the countryside until we got him down >around
>15,000 and then he landed here at BIL. He claims not to remember the >last
>hour of his flight. Me thinks there's more to the story. As for the lost
>radar return it said they lost him about 18 or so miles north of Bozeman. >To
>me that's not unexpected as that's about where you would go into the >mountains
>and I wouldn't expect the Bozeman radar site to be able to see you very >far to
>the north.

>Scott

Now here's the flightaware track of that flight,,, it is soooo strange, and who would have thought a 180 could go that high ???

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N2698Y


Comments ??
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They can get that high. Light GW plus cold, dry air probably.
 
Dave Krall CFII said:
They can get that high. Light GW plus cold, dry air probably.
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Atmospherics can help too. I once posted about a guy who wave soared a Cherokee 180 between FL200 and 240 from Long Beach to Colorado Springs.
 
SkyHog said:
I mentioned this the other day, and I feel bad saying it, but I am curious:

How can someone be a mountain flying expert if he can't stop crashing in the mountains?
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He's an old, fairly bold pilot. The kind they say doesn't exist. The kind of pilot that less experienced and much less skilled pilots make up catchy and meaningless rymes about.

He's got more hours just doing run-ups for mountain flights than most private pilots will accumulate in their whole lives. His total hours represents a significant exposure to risks of all kinds and he'd never make it that long in the mountains without doing everything right most of the time.

In the first crash, it looks like he was taking an unnecessary but common and not totaly irresponsible risk, flying that low. It's done all the time. Maybe he couldn't climb or just wanted to fly low, never did hear his full story on it.

This second event we just don't know anything yet. Incidents can be curious sometimes: At about 500 hours total PIC time, I had 2 engine failures in 6 weeks with 2 totally different aircraft with 2 different maintenance facilities. One was flying in the mountains, one at an airport -what are the odds? No problems before or since. Also, I have been hit 3 different times in 90 days by errant auto drivers, with nothing before or since!
 
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Bob Bement said:
I am thinking of getting a vest made for my compass, signaling mirror, and things like that. Bob
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I agree that if you're not wearing it, you shouldn't count on it being available after the crash.

You should be able to find a fishing or hunting vest at any outdoor store that will work nicely. Lots of pockets! The only problem is they are all camo or neutral colors. The "orange" ones you'll find online for survival vests are usually a couple hundred bucks. You'll find lots of articles, though, on what to put in one:

http://www.equipped.org/onyrown.htm
 
Dave Krall CFII said:
<snip>

In the first crash, it looks like he was taking an unnecessary but common and not totaly irresponsible risk, flying that low. It's done all the time. Maybe he couldn't climb or just wanted to fly low, never did hear his full story on it.

<snip>
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My summary of what happened is that flying with an experienced pilot he let his guard down at just the wrong moment and the experienced pilot got them into an unrecoverable (at least nearly unrecoverable) situation before Sparky realized what was happening. Even with ones guard up this can easily happen to an instructor.

Here is the full story in Sparky's own words.

http://www.mountainflying.com/Pages/crash/crash3.html

Brian
 
brcase said:
My summary of what happened is that flying with an experienced pilot he let his guard down at just the wrong moment and the experienced pilot got them into an unrecoverable (at least nearly unrecoverable) situation before Sparky realized what was happening. Even with ones guard up this can easily happen to an instructor.

Here is the full story in Sparky's own words.

http://www.mountainflying.com/Pages/crash/crash3.html

Brian
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Thanks for that link. Lots of good info in his write-up. It is particularly valuable to review and note how much more quickly aircraft lose altitude in high DA situations common in the mountains.
 
Re: Sparky Imeson crash & search, Again !!!!

Dave Krall CFII said:
He probably had a private flight plan filed, as opposed to one with Lockmart...
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Yep. That's how they did it at the mountain flying course I took, too. They don't trust LockMart any farther than they can throw LockMart.
 
I flew from S49 Vale, OR. to BXK Buckeye, Az yeaterday close to 900 miles around a lot of MOAs and restricted airspace. I left a detailed flight plan with my wife. I called her when I fueled up in Reno, and Kingman,AZ. and when I arrived in Buckeye. I got my weather off of AOPA and I didn't file with Lockmart. I don't think I was careless. Bob
 
Bob Bement said:
I flew from S49 Vale, OR. to BXK Buckeye, Az yeaterday close to 900 miles around a lot of MOAs and restricted airspace. I left a detailed flight plan with my wife. I called her when I fueled up in Reno, and Kingman,AZ. and when I arrived in Buckeye. I got my weather off of AOPA and I didn't file with Lockmart. I don't think I was careless. Bob
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Not that I disagree with your method, but how does your flight plan info get transmitted to the search and rescue folks if/when needed? E-mail, fax, phone? And how do you get the numbers/addresses?


Trapper John
 
Received his book in the mail this morning. Puts a sad spin on it.
 
Trapper John said:
Not that I disagree with your method, but how does your flight plan info get transmitted to the search and rescue folks if/when needed? E-mail, fax, phone? And how do you get the numbers/addresses?


Trapper John
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John, You are right, that is the only flaw in my plan. I guess it only works if nothing happens to me on my flight. Bob
 
Bob Bement said:
John, You are right, that is the only flaw in my plan. I guess it only works if nothing happens to me on my flight. Bob
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The other problem I typically see with private/personal flight plans is there typically is very little actual plan. There usually is no formal time to activate them. At least with an actual flight plan you know they are going to start looking for your 1 hour after your ETA. Even if it is only by phone.

While I don't see a problem with private/personal flight plans there should be an actual plan. I.E. If I don't contact you by this time, Please call this number to start a search for me.

I found it interesting in reading some of Sparky's material that he recommended the Spot Messenger, However he apparently did not have one with him, at least with the track feature. Or one would have thought he would have been found much sooner.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
 
Skip Miller said:
I fully agree. But even if conditions are perfect, you can swallow a valve with no prior warning and suddenly be unable to outclimb that box canyon.

We have no idea what happened to Sparky, and I too am hoping for the best. But all the mountain experience in the world may not help if/when your plane craps out unexpectedly. I was responding to Nick's query: How could this happen?

-Skip
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Yep. You nailed it. A mechanical failure of any kind, over that kind of terrain can be very very unforgiving.
 
Sparky Quoted in April AOPA Pilot

Just received my April 09 AOPA Pilot and it has a feature on mountain flying.

The article includes this quote from Sparky: "The basic premise of mountain flying is to preserve your options... Always be in a place where you can turn toward lower terrain, and recognize the performance limitations of your aircraft."
 
Preliminary NTSB report released:

A witness located about 2 miles northeast of the accident site reported that on March 17, while watching two people trespass on private property, he observed a high wing airplane similar to the accident airplane flying on a northerly heading, west of a set of power lines that were adjacent to a main railroad crossing. The witness stated that the tops of the wings were below the power lines and he estimated the airplane was 20 - 30 feet above the ground traveling at a high rate of speed. He added that the airplane was low enough, it spooked a heard of elk near the airplanes flight path. The witness continued watching the airplane as it pitched upwards and to the left, making a 180-degree turn near the Kelly Gulch area to a southerly heading. He added that as the airplane pitched upwards, he was able to see the tops of the wings. The witness further stated that he stopped watching the airplane to continue observing the trespassers.
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http://www.ntsb.gov/NTSB/brief.asp?ev_id=20090319X35429&key=1
 
Been thinking about this lately after reading some other accident reports. If in fact the rancher's observation can be believed, and it was him, I wonder if a Cessna seat track could have done him in? This was a relatively new plane to him...
 
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