Lancair IV-P down at Hilton Head

"vaughn" wrote

According to the article, his windshield was covered with oil... Yes,
possibly the surf would have been a option, but who can say he wouldn't
have hit a swimmer? We weren't there.

Yes, I had not considered that. He may not have seen anyone infront of him.
Any you are right; we were not there. I was only saying that given a choice
of a chance of a death on the ground, or wrecking the plane, I hope I choose
the wreck.

Since he had a passenger, the moral decision wouldn't have been that
simple.

Hitting the surf should not be fatal, if close to shore. And again, we were
not there and these were hard choices made in seconds. Tough situation.

As far as hitting a person in the water, doubtfull at that time of the
evening in March. Very few (read practically none) are in the water. The
water is too cold for swimming without wet suits. Many more people are
strolling or jogging on the beach, though.

I considered not posting about this accident. I hope my post is food for
thought, in the possibility that this could happen to you or me. I hope I
remember the old saying, "when the engine (or prop) fails, the plane
instantly belongs to the insurance company. The plane's only remain job is
to save everyone's life."
--
Jim in NC
--
Jim in NC

Photo I saw on the web news, the airplane was in the water.

There have been two times I've had to deal with loss of power.

One was climbing out in Florida (mentioned before).

The other, I had 2000 feet of runway ahead of me.
Basically a quick (correct) decision and a non-event.


Like the man said, we weren't there.

On Mar 16, 7:27*pm, cavelamb wrote:
Photo I saw on the web news, the airplane was in the water.

There have been two times I've had to deal with loss of power.

One was climbing out in Florida (mentioned before).

The other, I had 2000 feet of runway ahead of me.
Basically a quick (correct) decision and a non-event.

Like the man said, we weren't there.

I've been on the beach at Hilton Head, it may have changed but, it was
wide enough to put down a plane no matter where the jogger was on the
beach. I'd guess the pilot didn't see him or didn't have enough time
to avoid him. The plane ended up in the water so I'd guess he couldn't
see much of anything.
Karl