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Oops, darn it...

From what I've seen these accidents tend to suck in more than air behind the pilot. Eventually the Gov't, landowners, family, friends, maintenance and parts services, plus legal professionals can get involved. Anybody that touched or knew of the plane or pilot during their respective lives can be examined. I'd not want that even though it was just me initially involved.

Gary
 
It said vision problems. Where did it precipitate to color vision problems?

I speculated "issues with color vision?" as it's the typical for first run eye exam problems. MTV noted it was likely something else. Nobody knows but the examiners.

Gary
 
Dick McIntyre was a good man! I knew him back in the late 60's.when He had a contract flying in the arctic for one of the Canadian outfits doing surveys that I was working fore. Thanks to him and 2 of his pilots they were kind enough to give me some dual flying time that started my flying career.
 
Dick McIntyre was one of only two pilots that offered me advice on flying external loads (mainly on floats) in the '70's. Paul Shanahan was the other. Everyone else said figure it out on your time when asked. These two old timers were concerned about safe ops and didn't want to loose yet another despite my inexperience. It can be risky business if not done right. Guess they had learned the hard way.

Gary
 
Dick McIntyre was one of only two pilots that offered me advice on flying external loads (mainly on floats) in the '70's. Paul Shanahan was the other. Everyone else said figure it out on your time when asked. These two old timers were concerned about safe ops and didn't want to loose yet another despite my inexperience. It can be risky business if not done right. Guess they had learned the hard way.

Gary

Dick was a career pilot in the Air Force before settling in FAI. He once told the story of a B-29 that crashed on the Greenland ice cap. Dick and his crew was tasked with the search, flying a B-29 out of Eielson AFB, near Fairbanks. A fascinating story, we asked Dick “Why fly out of Eielson for a search in Greenland?” He said “Look at a globe.”

That gent did a LOT of stuff in his day.

MTV
 
We lost more to another Alaskan midair.

News on KTUU. Name sounds very familiar. I’m sure he’s known. My condolences.


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Ahhhh crap! Know Larry the Cub pilot above well and the Cub's co-owner does my maintenance. No guarantees it'll be a nice day especially this time of year with all the flying activity in Alaska and elsewhere.

Gary
 
Yack it up on the radio at these relatively unmonitored strips and careful with the short approach stuff. Spin the plane 360* before taking the runway or pond.

Gary
 
In PAFA airspace. East and West side controlled by tower. East side Uncontroled below ? feet[would need to look at my supplement]. My work between the two is with tower and myself. always moniter The marina freq. Tower wants to know when I'm down and clear [landing] and before I take runway must have atis and inform tour hen airborne . They will give me direction and altitude as I'm landing on the East side at international. They will inform you what downwind or hight over head or direct to ski strip when traffic allows. Say unfamilure if unsure . Crazy place during hunting season. Read the Alaska supplement in depth. No radio aircraft operate in and out. After 911 FAA wanted all those small airports in 5 miles closed down.
 
Chena Marina is a very interesting place. There are at least four fairly busy landing surfaces RIGHT there, including Fairbanks International, Chena Marina strip and float pond, the Chena River at Pikes and the strip on the Chena. I was always amazed at how casual the tower controllers were at FAI with all this going on right next to the main runway at FAI.

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Chena Marina is the straight ditch just west of the south end of FAI. Hard to see, but there’s a gravel strip right next to the float pond there. I wonder if one of these planes was on wheels and the other on floats? It’s hard to see traffic on the surface from one surface to the other. Larry has a cabin on a strip on the Wood River, so was likely on wheels.

Tough deal in any case.

MTV
 

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Both on wheels Mike according to the pics I've seen so far.

I parked at AK28 Chena Marina on skis for a few years and the CTAF 118.3 is a shared freq with the adjacent FAI tower. When busy with traffic in the Class D surface area it can be a waiting game on the ground or in the air to call movement ops at Chena Marina. Or...worse yet your call can be covered with other unknown radio traffic. Another odd feature is the Chena River traffic (2Z5) in between the two airports has a CTAF of 122.9 posted. Who's listening there to 118.3? I suspect there's airspace reviews and changes coming after this sad accident.

Gary
 
Interesting. Chena Marina used to share the CTAF with the other surfaces over there (River freq.).

The standard FAA comm. procedure for uncontrolled airports overlain by Delta surface area was takeoff announcing on CTAF for the uncontrolled airport, then once airborne call the tower on their freq.

I can imagine with Chena Marina on the FAI Tower freq. that there could be long delays.

I know there were always planes coming and going from the uncontrolled airports within the FAI surface area without talking. Seemed like many of those originated from east side strips, though.

MTV
 
Pattern altitude of ~1200' MSL for AK28 and (I assume?) 2Z5 the Chena river (Riverboat Discovery ops?) vs 1500' MSL FAI was a sometimes forgotten caution.

Chena Marina has other problems. Tall trees and structures close to the runway or pond can obstruct aircraft in the pattern from the sighting of ground or water ops. Planes parked along the runway or road vehicles have little wiggle room before taking the active surface to back taxi/runup/takeoff. Short mid-surface approaches to land can block downward vision of aircraft below or behind moving or taking off.

It's truly the Wild West at times especially during a busy Fall hunting season or weather day.

Gary
 
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Perhaps all the new flashy gizmos in the cockpits have us looking inside the airplane instead of outside where our eyes belong. I know I have caught myself doing it. To counteract this I have reverted to only using the highest-resolution moving map display available today. It's full HD with color and there is no traffic or weather data lag whatsoever and there is no charge for data updates. It made out of Plexiglass and called a windscreen.
 
Similar thing happens at a grass field I learned at and instructed at. 23N is in the inner circle of KISP Class C with a cutout and a 650 MSL pattern. North South runway. 122.7 Unicom. An airplane wishing to hop over to ISP and land on 33 was sitting on the south end of the grass runway waiting for the go ahead from the tower at ISP on 119.3. Meanwhile another airplane approaching 23N from the south on 122.7 had no sight line of the airplane on the ground because he was tucked up against the trees. He started his takeoff just as the second plane (low wing) came over the trees. The take off airplane was faster than the landing airplane. The landing airplane struck the rudder of the take off airplane. Neither one knew what happened. The take off landed at ISP thinking he hit a pot hole until he saw his rudder. The RV 12 pilot says he never saw what he hit. Just spun around on the runway and saw his prop broken. Missed a double fatal by tenths of seconds. Also missed a non event by tenths of seconds in the other direction. FAA issued an advisory circular regarding operations at 23N to attempt to avoid repeating these circumstances. Essentially don’t sit on the part of the runway that can’t be seen from base or final without monitoring Unicom or announcing what you are doing. And then, don’t sit on that part of the runway at all.
 
I reviewed both Flightrader24 and ADS-B Exchange online during the reported time period of the Fairbanks area - Chena Marina airport mid-air (+-2300 GMT/1400 LCL 8/27/20). Nothing was recorded, or at least available via N-Number flight following. See and avoid only as the gizmo-driven displays were worthless in that instance.

The Fairbanks tower com tapes and TRSA radar may offer clues at some point. Same for any onboard GPS if recovered.

Gary
 
I can't imagine anyone staring at an ADS-B screen during any phase of flight but less so during landings and takeoffs. What I do imagine is two planes changing altitude in the same space. Field of view is limited.

With or without radios standard pattern entry is the best safety tool pilots have in an uncontrolled airport environment, and lots of guys don't use it. That comment isn't directed at this situation. It's just a general comment.
 
I was checking pastures in my RV8, instead of the cub a couple days ago when i heard
“ 2 papa delta i will be working the area just east of you”
It was a airtractor that showed up on my ‘in’ screen in the RV... now thinking of putting adsb in cub


Sent from my iPhone using SuperCub.Org
 
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