Forget sending a mayday on 121.5, send a txt!

[SuperchargedRS]

All I can say is WOW

High above a rural stretch of Florida east of Fort Myers, a young student pilot on her first solo flight began to panic.

She had stopped receiving the radio signals that served as her way points in the sky. Now she was lost, and her single-engine trainer was running out of fuel.

Desperation set in.

If her instructor were there, he would have told her to call for help on an emergency frequency. Instead, the student reached for her cellphone and thumbed a text message to a friend, also enrolled at Kemper Aviation flight school near Lantana.

I'm lost, the message read. What do I do?

Moments later, the student's plane crash-landed in a field of tall grass near LaBelle. She emerged with minor injuries.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/ ... _0127.html

[mike123]

Texting can be very useful in case of radio failure.

[Snowy]

First solo?

I'm assuming first x-country solo, otherwise... wow.......

[slam525i]

I don't even know where to begin...

Got lost in the circuit? Doesn't know 121.5? Doesn't know 122.2? Doesn't know how to read a map?

But the thing that bugs me the most, the absolute most, is that she has a phone but she texts instead of calling!?!?!

[Snowy]

I don't even know where to begin...

Got lost in the circuit? Doesn't know 121.5? Doesn't know 122.2? Doesn't know how to read a map?

But the thing that bugs me the most, the absolute most, is that she has a phone but she texts instead of calling!?!?!

Probably didn't know what to do because her headset was blocking her ear!!

[CpnCrunch]

And WTF was she doing using radio navaid as her primary source of navigation on her first solo x-country? Don't they teach students to read maps these days?!

[Big Pistons Forever]

She wasn't very smart...... she should have opened the phones browser and googled "lost aircraft procedures"

[Gogona]

She wasn't very smart...... she should have opened the phones browser and googled "lost aircraft procedures"

Lol

But guys, why did you ignore another important fact: "Moments later, the student's plane crash-landed in a field of tall grass near LaBelle. She emerged with minor injuries"

That definitely means, that her flying skills are pretty good. Can anybody here guarantee, that you are able to do such a safe emergency landing if you would accidentally ran out of fuel?

[f13]

This just proves how f-overdependent people(Esp young ones) are becoming on both the technology and more specifically on the cellphones. If the little black box that radiates your brain away is the first thing that you think of in a situation like this, then why be stunned that you got lost in the first place?!!

[stopbar]

You should take the time to read the article. It gives a lot more insight into the situation then just speculating on it.

A real eye opener to the general public but to anybody that has done international flight training it just par for the course.


Students that don't care to learn + becoming a commercial pilot + foreign countries that don't care
= lots of dead passengers in the future

The Bar

[SuperchargedRS]

International, I think they were all from India.

[CpnCrunch]

You should take the time to read the article. It gives a lot more insight into the situation then just speculating on it.

A real eye opener to the general public but to anybody that has done international flight training it just par for the course.


Students that don't care to learn + becoming a commercial pilot + foreign countries that don't care
= lots of dead passengers in the future

The Bar

Just read the article - yes, interesting reading. But the story is actually 2 years old, and the flight school is closed now after the owner and CFI died:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m ... n24968798/

Looks like he did a garden-variety stall. Kind of poetic justice for him, but unfortunate for his passengers. Perhaps if the FAA had shut him down sooner he might still be alive. Lots of people bitching about TC taking too long to shut down the cowboys, but it looks like the FAA is the same.

[TopperHarley]

OMG Im lost, WTF do I do? LOL, srsly!!@

[ScudRunner]

FML I'm lost lol TTYL

[TopperHarley]

FML I'm lost lol TTYL

OMG dont forget to watch Big Brother tonight!! LOL hayden is such a Q-T!! LOL LOL

[Shiny Side Up]

But guys, why did you ignore another important fact: "Moments later, the student's plane crash-landed in a field of tall grass near LaBelle. She emerged with minor injuries"

That definitely means, that her flying skills are pretty good. Can anybody here guarantee, that you are able to do such a safe emergency landing if you would accidentally ran out of fuel?

Umm, managing to crash an airplane and not kill yourself in the process is hardly an indication of good flying skills. I remember one crash where the largest piece of the craft remaining was the seat which was still strapped to his ass. He managed to "emerge with minor injuries" and the control column still in his hand.

[Boeing boy]

I don't even know where to begin...

Got lost in the circuit? Doesn't know 121.5? Doesn't know 122.2? Doesn't know how to read a map?

But the thing that bugs me the most, the absolute most, is that she has a phone but she texts instead of calling!?!?!

Hahahaa.... exactly what I was thinking my friend. I can only imagine what was going through her head. I assume she got kicked out of the flight school?