Do we really need to be cheap? Whats your life or those of a loved one worth?

[akflyer 1427]

OK, so the question is, after all the money we spend on our planes and various other parts of our lives, why do we sometimes cheap out on survival or locating equipment??  I have been of the frame of mind for several years that I was not going to get a 406 ELT as they just cost way to damn much.  I was not going to upgrade to anything other than my old SPOT until it was no longer supported by the manufacture.  The one thing I have not cheaped out on was my survival equipment and first aid kit in the plane.

 

I have been following a post on Back Country Pilots that started out as kind of a routine crash report, arm chair quarterbacking and the normal online banter about who screwed up.  As the facts of the case came out it hit me pretty damn hard how this turned out.  Here is the link if you would like to read it as it may open your eyes as to the importance of using the technology we have available to us today, and how we may spare our family alot of agony.  I have been (and still am) of the mind set that if I burn in hard and don't survive a crash, at least I went out doing something I truly loved to do.  The only way I can think of better to go would be in a bed full of hot blonds (women of course ) and expire of heart failure.

 

http://www.backcountrypilot.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=11382

 

Above is the link to the thread.  About page 3 it really starts to get to tearing at your heart.

 

For those of you who don't care to read it, I will give you a quick run down.  Guy fly's his girlfriend and her 9 yr old daughter to her folks place (or some sort of family) for thanksgiving dinner.  Plane crashed en-route to home in Wyoming (lots of speculation on why, probably overloaded and could not out climb terrain).  CAP commander was a real Jackass and did VERY poor at coordination of the search efforts to the extent that he told private individuals that if they went out looking for this plane wreck CAP would suspend their active search and just let private citizens try to find it on their own.  Some days later the wreckage is spotted by the sheriffs department.  This search was bungled on MULTIPLE levels and in my mind there should be criminal charges brought against some people.  Corrinor determined that the pilot died very shortly after impact.  The girlfriend made it 3-4 days with both legs pinned and broken.  The 9 yr old girl was unharmed in the crash, survived 4-5 days and left tracks all over the hill side as she wandered around trying to get cell service texting her daddy to come help her.  She finally laid down next to her mother and succumbed to hypothermia....  In this day and age this little girl and her mother did not need to die! 

 

I have done alot of reflecting on the stupid shit I sometimes find myself doing.  Generally I do this when I am only flying with myself, but over the last couple thousand hours I have done some bone headed stuff with my kids and others in the plane.  Had the pilot had a 406 ELT or a Personal Locator Beacon and had brief the passengers on how to use it this would have had a very different outcome.

 

I realize that alot of you guys are flying in pretty populated areas so you don't think that you need all this tracking stuff because you are only 10 minutes away from real civilization.  What if your on the other side of a ridge, or the other side of a river and you die looking at the lights of town because you could not summons help?

 

For me I always justified it as costing too darn much money and chances are my SPOT would summons help if needed.  Truth is, I could have bought the Delorme Inreach SE and a 406 ELT for what I spent on a crawfish boil and booze a few weeks ago.  Yesterday I made the commitment to myself that I would not be in the air again with my airplane until I had those two pieces of equipment on-board. (hopefully I will arrive at home and have the presents waiting on me when I get there so I don't have to skip flying this time home!

 

At any rate, just something to think about the next time you take passengers up in the plane, it is your responsibility to take care of these people and make sure you have done all you can to get them home safe!  I know I damn sure have been very lax on passenger briefing on how to manually activate the ELT, how to pull it out of the twisted ball of metal and use the built in antenna in the event that we are upside down and the external antenna is broken off, the location and type of survival equipment on-board etc.

 

Finally, The wife and I have been struggling over baby names (particularly middle names) especially if it turns out to be a girl (we should be finding out very soon if the little thing has a pecker or not)  After reading this story and observing the way that her father has conducted himself (on the backcountry pilot forum after he stumbled onto the post while doing an internet search trying to find any facts he could on the wreck) I contacted him and asked his permission to honor young Shyann and the bravery and horror that she must have endured those cold lonely nights on the side of that mountain. With his blessing we will be naming our child Allison Shyann should it be a girl.

[akflyer 1427]

Damn, I never thought it would be me on this soap box!  Now it's time to get back to my normal politically incorrect snake oil salesman self!

 

[dholly 718]

What a sad story, and remarkable composure from a grieving parent who has lost one of Life's most precious gifts. I pray he finds some small measure of consolation in his efforts to find answers and prevent any reaccurance of such tragedy. Leni I salute you for your comments and, more importantly, your actions. I wish you and Christine the very best in the birth of your child and hope such a tribute will serve you both as a lasting reminder of just how blessed we all are to have children in our lives. I can't imagine losing a child but sometimes still need a kick to count my blessings on a daily basis. Thanks for posting this.

 

On a lighter note, I rather doubt that any child the two of you bring into this world will be 'shy' about anydamnthing!

[Av8r3400 1179]

This was my thought when I decided to get a 406 for the Mangy Fox project.

Just a heart wrenching story.

[akflyer 1427]

On a lighter note, I rather doubt that any child the two of you bring into this world will be 'shy' about anydamnthing!

 

Yeah, I dont think the kid would have a chance to be shy!  I am certain we can teach them embarrassment though!   

[dholly 718]

This is one of my sons last year. He wasn't shy about asking me to come pull him out of the ditch, but I do believe there was a tiny bit of embarassment on his face when he was trying to explain exactly how it happened.

[EDMO 1078]

Leni,

You have touched the heart of one who flew search and rescue for 11 years, and came upon similar incidents that I really don't want to talk about. We had the same "ineptitude" for want of a better word, from those in charge of CAP missions. If I could figure out how to make my photo larger, you could see the CAP patch on my uniform.

To everyone: If you want to be "thrifty" or "cheap", then do it in a way it will not threaten survival or the lives of your loved ones. Paint your ride with a roller and house paint, but don't skimp on safety in any way.

The same goes for flying: NO FLIGHT is worth dying for!

Each time before I go up - I remind myself that I want to be able to do this again.

My 2c worth.

ED in MO

Edited 17 Apr 2013 by Ed In Missouri

[RDavidson 183]

Thanks for posting that...convinced me of spending the extra money for the 406! I too was going to fly with what I had until they outlawed it. Stupid to think that way after reading that story!

Best wishes on the baby! I think that is a great name...

Ron

[akflyer 1427]

This is one of my sons last year. He wasn't shy about asking me to come pull him out of the ditch, but I do believe there was a tiny bit of embarrassment on his face when he was trying to explain exactly how it happened.

 

Reminds me of my first car "incident"  My dad always preached to me that if I was drinking or what have you, to call him no matter what time of the day or night, no questions asked he would come get me or the crew I was with... It took me about 5 months to put that to the test.. I got to call dad to come get me and the other passengers in the car at 3:30 am.  Seems I had gotten a bit distracted from driving and parked the car about 60 yards off the road.  When dad got there he noted that it was winter time and neither myself nor the 4 gals I had with me were wearing shirts, and there were none to be found in the car ( we had ditched those about 5 miles back) his only question was, why didn't you call me sooner    I told him that I was sure that mom would not have approved of him being a part of the activities that led up to my parking job   Damn, if only we could be 16 again!