Emergency landing at Meigs Sunday

"Henry Kisor" wrote in message
news:TU7Va.164284$ye4.111218@sccrnsc01...
From this morning's Chicago Sun-Times:

Plane in trouble lands safely at Meigs
July 28, 2003

BY MAUREEN O'DONNELL AND LUCIO GUERRERO Staff Reporters

It appears some folks still think Meigs Field is an airport.

A small plane in trouble landed at the shuttered airstrip Sunday,
startling
lakeside visitors and security. It's the second time this month that an
aircraft has used the former lakefront airport for an emergency landing.

The plane landed amid rubble churned up by Mayor Daley's closure of Meigs
after coming within 20 feet of the beach house roof at 12th Street Beach,
witnesses said.

The two people inside the single-engine Piper aircraft were attempting to
fly to an air show in Oshkosh, Wis., said Chicago police Sgt. Jerry Clancy
of the Summer Mobile Unit.

"They lost radio contact--they weren't sure what happened,'' Clancy said.

The fliers suspected their alternator failed, he said.

Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration said the plane is
registered to a Maine company and the aircraft had taken off early Sunday
from Jackson, Mich. The pilot told the FAA that he had to make the
emergency
landing because of poor weather and electrical problems on board the
plane.

Clancy said the pair hit bad weather north of Meigs and decided to turn
around and land.

He said he witnessed "a nice, smooth landing.''

Witnesses said it was obvious the plane was in trouble.

"We saw it wobbling,'' said Joann Caccamo, 29, a production assistant from
Plainfield who was visiting Chicago's lakefront. "He was really shaky.''

"It was scary,'' she said. "We actually expected to see flames.''

Caccamo and her friends said they first noticed the plane because of the
noises it was making.

"Like sputtering, like engine problems,'' said Kitty McDonnell, 36, a
mortgage loan officer from Aurora.

The plane was flying north and then doubled back, they said. As the pilot
flew south, he flew low over the 12th Street Beach house, witnesses said.

"We thought he was going to hit the roof,'' McDonnell said.

Mayor Daley closed Meigs in the middle of the night March 30, citing
terrorism concerns. But earlier this month, a helicopter pilot brought his
craft down at Meigs after thinking he hit a bird.

As for Sunday's fliers, who are not thought to be linked to any terrorist
groups, they are on their way back east.

"They just want to go home,'' Clancy said.


My favorite line:

"...Sunday's fliers, who are not thought to be linked to any terrorist
groups..." Geez. It's embarassing that they even found it necessary to
include a ridiculous line like that.

And if there have already been TWO emergency landings this month so far,
then maybe someone will notice that we are actually serious when we site
saftey concerns with closing the airport. This last incident could have
turned out very different, had there not been a relatively safe and
well-known place to land.

Good point

"Ron Rosenfeld" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 28 Jul 2003 16:21:10 GMT, "Michael 182"
wrote:

Not to mention that a failed alternator
hardly qualifies as an emergency landing situation...

Well, the article also said something about "bad" weather. YMMV but I
would treat a failed alternator in a small, single-engine a/c as an
emergency if I were in "bad" weather (e.g. less than VMC).




Ron (EPM) (N5843Q, Mooney M20E) (CP, ASEL, ASES, IA)

Hi,

"Larry Dighera" wrote:

Perhaps this nation's airmen should take to wearing "Suspected
Terrorist" buttons al la John Gilmore. :-)

We already carry the label... they're just too cheap to send us the
buttons!

Neil

On Mon, 28 Jul 2003 14:36:35 -0500, "Neil Gould"
wrote in Message-Id: :

Hi,

"Larry Dighera" wrote:

Perhaps this nation's airmen should take to wearing "Suspected
Terrorist" buttons al la John Gilmore. :-)

We already carry the label... they're just too cheap to send us the
buttons!



What can we do to change that misperception? How about a button that
reads:

Terrorists hijack airliners not bug-smashers?

Or:

Suspected Terrorist by Journalists only.

Or:

If Pilots Were Journalists, Publishing Would be Treason.

Or:

...


--

Irrational beliefs ultimately lead to irrational acts.
-- Larry Dighera,

Jeff Franks wrote:
Without the whole story, we don't know for sure, but does anyone else find
it interesting that the "eye witnesses" heard the plane sputtering and it
appeared "shaky" on final....all caused by a blown alternator?

Eye witnesses to aviation incidents always say things like that. I bet that if
you flew a perfectly good plane over a bunch of people, and then sent out a
reporter to interview people about the "accident" that the plane that they just
saw had, they'd all say that it was shaky, wobbly, and had a sputtering engine.
They just want to have something interesting to say to get in the paper,
that's all.

- awh

"Drew Hamilton" wrote in message
...
Jeff Franks wrote:
Without the whole story, we don't know for sure, but does anyone else
find
it interesting that the "eye witnesses" heard the plane sputtering and it
appeared "shaky" on final....all caused by a blown alternator?

Eye witnesses to aviation incidents always say things like that. I bet
that if
you flew a perfectly good plane over a bunch of people, and then sent out
a
reporter to interview people about the "accident" that the plane that they
just
saw had, they'd all say that it was shaky, wobbly, and had a sputtering
engine.
They just want to have something interesting to say to get in the paper,
that's all.

My landing yesterday was shaky and wobbly until I got into ground effect
(then it was a greaser :-) ). Unusually hot afternoons here in the PNW.

-- David Brooks

"Michael 182" wrote in message news:W3cVa.166058$N7.22674@sccrnsc03...
Yeah, I liked that part as well. Not to mention that a failed alternator
hardly qualifies as an emergency landing situation...

Michael,

Judge it when you're there.

Cheers,
Sydney

"As for Sunday's fliers, who are not thought to be linked to any terrorist
groups, they are on their way back east."

let them know what you think of these comments (i.e. irrelevent and
irrational)




i plan to write them as well

Good grief! It was a Piper Cub! Always knew those things would wind up
in the hands of evildoers.

Aero-News Propwash:

************************************************** ************

An aircraft in distress, a Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser, reportedly
used what was left of Meigs Field yesterday, after a lightning
strike took out its electrical system. Landing in the grass
alongside the remnants of Meigs sundered runway, the PA-12 executed
a safe emergency landing... the second aircraft to have done so in
just two weeks (and the fourth in the last few years).

The strike was reported to have occurred just a few miles form
the airport and no injuries or significant damage were
reported.

The pilot, enroute to Oshkosh, WI, apparently to attend the
upcoming EAA AirVenture convention, opening tomorrow, Tuesday.
Friends of Meigs At Oshkosh

The Friends of Meigs Field are hosting a tent at this year's
Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture convention in Oshkosh,
WI. The group will be collecting signatures on postcards to send to
Congress and other public officials in the ongoing effort to reopen
Meigs Field.

The tent, provided gratis by the Experimental Aircraft
Association, will be "operations central" for the group, with
volunteers gathering signatures and encouraging Chicago residents
to call their aldermen and request hearings on Meigs' closure and
alternative plans to create a combination park and airport from the
famous airstrip.

If you are coming to Oshkosh, please be sure to stop by and sign
a card and offer your support to saving this valuable (and
critically needed) aviation resource.
FMI: www.friendsofmeigs.org

************************************************** **********************
all the best -- Dan Ford
email: www.danford.net/letters.htm#9

see the Warbird's Forum at http://www.danford.net/index.htm
Vietnam | Flying Tigers | Pacific War | Brewster Buffalo | Piper Cub

(Yossarian) wrote in message . com...
"Henry Kisor" wrote in message news:TU7Va.164284$ye4.111218@sccrnsc01...
From this morning's Chicago Sun-Times:

Plane in trouble lands safely at Meigs
July 28, 2003

BY MAUREEN O'DONNELL AND LUCIO GUERRERO Staff Reporters

(snip)

As for Sunday's fliers, who are not thought to be linked to any terrorist
groups, they are on their way back east.


I'm sorry but that is a ****ing stupid comment to include in the article.


If any of you followed the Chicago media, you'd know that both the Sun
Times and the Tribune were EXTREMELY critical of Mayor Moron's
actions. This was a news story - not an editorial piece, so the
writers couldn't come right out and say how stupid it was for the
mayor to say Meigs could be used for terrorism. But they could drive
home the point by REPORTING that Chicago officials don't think these
two people are linked to terrorist groups, illustrating just how
stupid the idea really is.

I picked up on the irony - you can too.

Ace