People age at different rates as we know. 74 may not be too old, but then it might be. I'm 66 and I sure hope someone will tell me before I do something really awful when I should no longer be flying. Maybe he is ok, but he ought to have an independent doctor giving him his medical, not someone who is in his pocket. I'm sure he doesn't want to stop flying, but he also likely doesn't want to kill himself or others flying. John Glenn was flying his P Baron at my home airport until he was 90 at high skill level. Even did the BPPP at CMH. But most of us will be dead by 90, so just because of a number doesn't mean you should or should not still be flying --- or driving a car for that matter.

(Written on 02/17/2017)(Permalink)

If he was able to see and talk to ATC about the airliner on his taxiway, doesn't seem like it was a low instrument approach. If he thought it was on his runway, Talk about a reason to go missed.......

(Written on 02/17/2017)(Permalink)

I hope so. Likely the Air Force knows a little bit more, by this time, of what and how that plane is used and what a president and his team expect so that it is not obsolete the day it rolls out the door.

(Written on 01/20/2017)(Permalink)

Maybe you are right, they were both looking and nobody minded the store and they lost it. Still, We will just disagree. No need to bother trying a localizer approach when you are below minimums and 8 miles from an airport with 4 ILS. PS It wasn't cold enough here Tuesday for ice and no one else reported ice in this state all day.

(Written on 11/13/2015)(Permalink)

You said it. My only mention of local knowledge is that anyone who has knowledge of this airport knows why you damn well better fly the localizer approach as published and not try to duck under and get a look. They had made it into KMGY which is flat as a pancake in all directions. If the weather was low enough that they felt the need to go lower and look at AKR, well, that shold have been all they needed to divert to CAK and we wouldn't be talking about it.

(Written on 11/13/2015)(Permalink)

Cheaper fuel indeed. If you don't have local knowledge, then why do you use smaller airports without ILS approaches much less a tower, when the weather is right at minimums? If you're going to go below minimums to try and sneak in, why in the world would you try it at an airport in a bowl, with hills to the east and north, no ILS and a 4000 foot runway instead on 8000? When flying approach into CAK you can often see part of the runway at AKR, but you know that it's IMC flying that localizer approach - over the hills.

(Written on 11/13/2015)(Permalink)

You said it precisely. When the weather is that low and CAK is that near, you go to Akron Canton, which sits ON a hill as opposed to AKR which sits in a bowl, with hills to the east and north where they went down. At one time I used AKR, but it lacks a lot of facilities and CAK isn't that much farther to downtown. From now through April we will have low scuz that comes and goes. In the Summer there is fog. Sometimes it burns off by 9 and sometimes not til afternoon. You don't have to be a weatherman to know what was going on here. They went to Lunken instead of CVG and then flew about 25 miles from Lunken to Wright Brothers, not DAY. And the weather was low both the day before and day they crashed.

(Written on 11/13/2015)(Permalink)

Have to wait for the report but I recall a guy in a Bonanza trying to make that trip years ago from Ohio and made it into the pattern at that airport. Killed himself and his flight instructor with him is paralyzed for life. Almost enough fuel....but not quite.

(Written on 04/03/2015)(Permalink)

If he ran out of fuel you are so right. That's not good pilotage, just the opposite. Too many people have been killed over the years for such stupidity and carelessness.

(Written on 04/03/2015)(Permalink)

Hardly. Government regulation did not cause Icahn to destroy TWA any more than it did any other airline in the last 30 years. I'm not that young to buy the free market BS. The government ended government regulating the economics of airlines in the Carter administration. Whatever else you want to say about that decision, it has permitted companies to develop monopolies at all but the largest airports in the country and ultimately will end commercial aviation to mid size cities in this country. You must be in favor of "crony capitalism" which means get the government out of my way when I want to destroy competition, but make sure the government gives me a subsidy to keep me afloat.

(Written on 03/28/2014)(Permalink)