Posted: 12/6/2014 1:38:07 PM EDT
|
Piper Navajo on a flight from Governors Harbor to Nassau ditched in the ocean off the western tip of the Island.
11 people on board, one American died. Lot of herp and derp in article which is common with newspapers I suppose. Pilot said he had a gear leg showing unlocked so he circles the airport then one engine fails. To me it sounds like fuel exhaustion. “If I had landed with the warning indicating I had only two gears out and locked, I could’ve landed on the runway and the plane would have gone to one side and killed everybody. The (officials in the tower) asked me to fly in so they could visually look and see if all the landing gears were down.” Screech Jet I believe flew US company flights to the Bahamas. Maybe he will chim http://www.tribune242.com/news/2014/dec/06/hero-pilots-life-and-death-decisions/ |
|
Quoted:
You called? I did bizjets and turboprops out there, so we had our own considerations. The Bahamas is cowboy aviation, in many respects. I don't know what happened to this guy, other than bad luck. That's no lie! I've flown in and out of the Bahamas from Bimini to Crooked Island of the far east side of the chain and have seen some stunts I couldn't believe. I've seen Navajos and Chieftains so overloaded the damn things looked like they were waddling to the threshold; automotive sparks plugs being used in Aztecs (air-boat style) and the most comical was a dude had about 12 wraps of 550 cord on the alternator in place of the belt! The flying skill of some of the Bahamian pilots bordered on criminal. |
|
Quoted:
That's no lie! I've flown in and out of the Bahamas from Bimini to Crooked Island of the far east side of the chain and have seen some stunts I couldn't believe. I've seen Navajos and Chieftains so overloaded the damn things looked like they were waddling to the threshold; automotive sparks plugs being used in Aztecs (air-boat style) and the most comical was a dude had about 12 wraps of 550 cord on the alternator in place of the belt! The flying skill of some of the Bahamian pilots bordered on criminal. Quoted:
Quoted:
You called? I did bizjets and turboprops out there, so we had our own considerations. The Bahamas is cowboy aviation, in many respects. I don't know what happened to this guy, other than bad luck. That's no lie! I've flown in and out of the Bahamas from Bimini to Crooked Island of the far east side of the chain and have seen some stunts I couldn't believe. I've seen Navajos and Chieftains so overloaded the damn things looked like they were waddling to the threshold; automotive sparks plugs being used in Aztecs (air-boat style) and the most comical was a dude had about 12 wraps of 550 cord on the alternator in place of the belt! The flying skill of some of the Bahamian pilots bordered on criminal. Over twenty years ago I flew my C182 to the Bahamas regularly. Had some Bahamian pilots tell me "We just crank it up and if she sounds good, we go" |
|
Quoted: Over twenty years ago I flew my C182 to the Bahamas regularly. Had some Bahamian pilots tell me "We just crank it up and if she sounds good, we go" Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: You called? I did bizjets and turboprops out there, so we had our own considerations. The Bahamas is cowboy aviation, in many respects. I don't know what happened to this guy, other than bad luck. That's no lie! I've flown in and out of the Bahamas from Bimini to Crooked Island of the far east side of the chain and have seen some stunts I couldn't believe. I've seen Navajos and Chieftains so overloaded the damn things looked like they were waddling to the threshold; automotive sparks plugs being used in Aztecs (air-boat style) and the most comical was a dude had about 12 wraps of 550 cord on the alternator in place of the belt! The flying skill of some of the Bahamian pilots bordered on criminal. Over twenty years ago I flew my C182 to the Bahamas regularly. Had some Bahamian pilots tell me "We just crank it up and if she sounds good, we go" I grew up in Ft Lauderdale and worked with a bunch of Bahamians. This is true of all things Bahamian, aviation just tends to be a bit more picky. |
|
Quoted:
You called? I did bizjets and turboprops out there, so we had our own considerations. The Bahamas is cowboy aviation, in many respects. I don't know what happened to this guy, other than bad luck. Given the number of hours claimed in the article and the pilot's claim that a fuel fire would have killed everybody, I'll assume that he flew the plane and he did not exhaust the fuel. There used to be a big problem with counterfeit parts in Florida. The government said they fixed it. Given the sleaziness of some operators in that area (I used to live in Pompano Beach), I would not be surprised if I was told that the sleazy operators moved their maintenance operations offshore whenever possible. I would be leery of shoelaces I bought in The Bahamas, and that's one of the more upstanding islands in the Caribbean. Could be bad luck, could be bad luck compounded by bad maintenance. |