Been taken over?

"Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe" <The Sea Hawk at wow way d0t com> wrote in message
news:xIudnWqR2eXwSr_bnZ2dnUVZ_g-dnZ2d@wideopenwest.com...
> Yea, my brother and I were following a guy (and his kid) when his engine
> quit and he went down. We hung around on our own since the they that went
> down was in the middle of a swamp near the Canada / Alaska border and we
> wanted to make sure they were found. We figgured it would be easier to
> find him if there was someone overhead to direct (this was before all this
> GPS stuff).
>
> ATC didn't ask us to stay. And we sure didn't get paid. But rules might be
> different between the US and NZ.

I'm in Australia. Mate, seeing an a/c go down in a swamp! You'd want to try
and land somewhere close by and try and help them wouldn't you? Obviously
too much risk for your own plane, but jeez, you'd feel helpless wouldn't
you?
Crash Lander

In article <kTBUh.13951$M.13490@news-server.bigpond.net.au>,
"Crash Lander" <here@there.com.za> wrote:

> "Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe" <The Sea Hawk at wow way d0t com> wrote in message
> news:xIudnWqR2eXwSr_bnZ2dnUVZ_g-dnZ2d@wideopenwest.com...
> > Yea, my brother and I were following a guy (and his kid) when his engine
> > quit and he went down. We hung around on our own since the they that went
> > down was in the middle of a swamp near the Canada / Alaska border and we
> > wanted to make sure they were found. We figgured it would be easier to
> > find him if there was someone overhead to direct (this was before all this
> > GPS stuff).
> >
> > ATC didn't ask us to stay. And we sure didn't get paid. But rules might be
> > different between the US and NZ.
>
> I'm in Australia. Mate, seeing an a/c go down in a swamp! You'd want to try
> and land somewhere close by and try and help them wouldn't you? Obviously
> too much risk for your own plane, but jeez, you'd feel helpless wouldn't
> you?
> Crash Lander

The law of the sea is that if another ship is in trouble, you do whatever
you can to help them. This doesn't translate too well to aircraft, but in
this case it does. If circling their location and guiding rescue personnel
to their location is all you can do, then that's what you should do. If
you're worrying about who's going to pay for your gas, you've got your head
screwed on backwards.

"Roy Smith" <roy@panix.com> wrote in message
news:roy-19076E.23503515042007@032-325-625.area1.spcsdns.net...

> The law of the sea is that if another ship is in trouble, you do whatever
> you can to help them. This doesn't translate too well to aircraft, but in
> this case it does. If circling their location and guiding rescue
> personnel
> to their location is all you can do, then that's what you should do. If
> you're worrying about who's going to pay for your gas, you've got your
> head
> screwed on backwards.

Completely agree. When he said time whilst under command of the ATC in this
situation is paid for, I almost died. I don't know why someone would expect
that, but apparently some people do, so they pay it. You don't expect
payment if you stop to help a stranded motorist, and the camaraderie of the
air surely is stronger than that.
Crash Lander

On Apr 16, 3:15 pm, "Crash Lander" <h...@there.com.za> wrote:
> "Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe" <The Sea Hawk at wow way d0t com> wrote in messagenews:xIudnWqR2eXwSr_bnZ2dnUVZ_g-dnZ2d@wideopenwest.com...

> > ATC didn't ask us to stay. And we sure didn't get paid. But rules might be
> > different between the US and NZ.
>
> I'm in Australia. Mate, seeing an a/c go down in a swamp! You'd want to try
> and land somewhere close by and try and help them wouldn't you? Obviously
> too much risk for your own plane, but jeez, you'd feel helpless wouldn't
> you?
> Crash Lander

You are in the best position to report the accident to the relevant
authorities in a timely manner, and your prompt action may save lives
without having to risk yourself and your aircraft.

I guess you may ask ATC for instructions but at the end of the day YOU
are still the pilot in command, so you can opt to continue on or
divert (once you have raised the alarm) if you feel the safety of the
plane might be at risk, in particular if you witnessed the accident.
The last thing I'd want to do is go into shock while at the controls
of an aircraft.

On Apr 15, 9:22 pm, "Crash Lander" <h...@there.com.za> wrote:
> I asked my instructor on the weekend what a pilot is expected to do, should
> he come across a downed plane, or was in the vicinity on another plane that
> was going down, or making a forced landing.

Here in the USA, you'd get on the emergency channel (if you're not
already talking to ATC), and call in a Mayday. Afterwards, circling
is up to you as PIC. I suspect most people would stay around,
especially if the location was hard to find.

About ten years ago two friends here were flying together, one a lady
practicing aerobatics in a Pitts, I believe. She decided to do one
last spin for fun, but the elevator controls messed up and she bored
into the ground. Her best friend called in the Mayday, and then, not
worrying about potential damage to himself, rough-field landed his
airplane (I think a Bo) in the field next to her wreck. He ran over
to help her but she was already dead. Very sad.

Kev