A half-hour ago, I heard a couple of airplanes outside, then silence. Not unusual; pilots love to practice aerobatics off the coast, or engage in mock dogfights (which seems an incredibly dumb idea to me), and other noises sometimes drown out the sound of their engines.
What was unusual was the next sound, that of dozens of fire trucks heading down to the beach...
Where, after an apparent mid-air collision, one of the planes had screwed itself into the sand...
The pilot of this one walked away from it. No one seems quite sure what happened to the other plane, though I have since heard a radio report of a plane crashing along the coast several miles from here.
Never a dull moment Where The Ghetto Meets The Sea!
And never a shortage of pilots who suffer attacks of brain fade, it seems....
LATER: Ninety minutes later, the "news copters" are still circling the scene getting their "breaking news" video. It's getting annoying. The latest news update is that the second plane made it safely back to a local airport.
12 comments:
ouch!
kelly -- any landing you walk away from is a good one! I suspect that poor little Pitts (at least I think it's a Pitts) is history, though.
I can't exactly tell what it is, but it's not a Pitts. Anyway, the driver is one lucky man! I witnessed several fatal plane crashes in my airshow days, and it's something I hope I never have to see again. First on the scene with a fire bottle is pretty gruesome.
That is kinda scary, Scribbs. Hope everyone ended up ok..
l&s -- I don't know modern biplanes that well. I'm pretty sure it's not a ragwing, though.
Since both my son and my ex have their own planes and fly all the time, every time I hear about a small plane crash around here my heart stops. Glad they're all right.
not long ago I posted a picture of an amphibian plane I got to fly once, a SeaBee. Yesterday I visited the flying club and the first thing I noticed, it was parked in it's usually spot. Inside I was informed that the owner finally took it off for a flight (it has been sitting unused for years)... and just an hour earlier he crashed it in a field near Julian. No one injured, but the plane will never fly again! boohoo
Cause: the propeller fell off in flight! (I plan to make a new entry about it soon....)
"Flying is for the birds!" says little "Birdie"
I remember the "SeaBee," Birdie! And to think I told you I wanted a ride in it....
Of course I probably would have tried to get a ride in the "Hindenburg," too.
Oh, the humanity....
Some one was having too much fun. I'm glad the pilot walked away from it. Looks like the plane hit goihng very slow. If they can pull it out before the tide gets it, that sucker could be worked over and fly again. Nice plane.
HO'F -- I saw it a few hours later sitting in the beach parking lot (too dark to get a photo) and it looked in remarkably good condition. I don't know what the FAA says about planes that have had a salt-water bath, but I'd want to replace a lot of metal parts before letting it fly again.
A plane is just a loose assemblage of parts flying in formation... Don't know who said that.
Wow - what incredible action shots! Even better since everyone was okay. Whew.
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