On Sun, 25 Nov 2007 09:59:18 -0800, "Tri-Pacer" wrote:

I question the 182 pilot's decision to go on to Thun rather than Tacoma
Narrows which was close by. He said he didn't remember the freq and his
charts had been scattered. I would have yelled Mayday on 121.5 and landed at
TIW I think.

Might have been better, might not have been. No doubt any of us, right after a
major event like this, are going to be fairly rattled.

One way to handle this is sticking with routine, as well as you're able. While
I fly in the accident area all the time, I've landed at Tacoma Narrows airport
precisely once in twenty years. Given an emergency situation where the aircraft
was apparently still controllable and showing no distress, my preference would
be to land at an airport I'm more familiar with. It may have been the case with
the accident pilot.

Other factors may have come to mind, like feeling that repairs/support might be
easier to easier to access at Thun (having friends there, having used the shops
located there, etc.). It's certainly takes a far second place to any safety
considerations, but once it looks like the plane will hold together, it's
something that'll cross any owner's mind.

I once discovered a bad magneto during runup on a nearby island airport. I
could have left the plane there (not having any tiedowns along nor the cockpit
cover, on a near-abandoned public strip), hitched a ride to the ferry terminal,
caught a ferry, rode to the mainland, ordered a new magneto, waited for it to
arrive, then brought an A&P across on the ferry to install the new mag (never
having timed an aircraft before...), then wave tootles to the A&P for him to
drive back while I flew the plane home.

Instead, I cranked up the airplane, climbed to the highest legal altitude over
the island, crossed the two-mile stretch of water to the mainland, and landed
back at my home field about ten minutes later.

I'm not proud of it, but I think given the same circumstances, I'd probably do
it again.

Ron Wanttaja