19. October 2004 · Comments Off on Atlanta Crash · Categories: General

I have just watched local coverage of the crash mentioned in the post below. It appears that the plane may have lost an engine, spun out, and crashed. I FLY IN THE ATLANTA AREA, and I can assure everyone that NO plane could or would be doing any aerobatics in the vicinity of downtown Atlanta! Everyone is under positive control of Atlanta Approach, and it would not be tolerated. In addition, the Beech Baron, the type that crashed, is not approved for, nor capable of, aerobatics. The last couple of times I flew into Atlanta, much to the horror of my wife, I flew directly into Hartsfield, one of the busiest airports in the world. All of our local pilots wanted to touch me, to get my autograph – Oh, I’m kidding, but most pilots of small planes (I have a Cherokee, 4-place, single engine) are afraid to fly into places like Hartsfield. You have to mix it up with 767’s, 727’s, MD-80’s, etc. But it’s no problem, approach sends you into holding patterns, doglegs, and all kinds of maneuvers, in order to put you into flow, and then they clear you to land. Piece of cake, in spite of the wife’s fainting spells! I went up there to pick up our granddaughter coming in from Colorado (Later, to take her back) and she didn’t even blink, she loved it….I guess my not fearing Atlanta is because I started out flying in a positive-control environment. Jacksonville, FL, Fort Meyers, FL, New Orleans, etc.

I’m really sorry to hear about the crash, it makes everyone in the General Aviation community sad to lose pilots and their passengers. Flying is still the safest mode of travel, much safer than by car, but crashes always grab headlines. In a city the size of Atlanta, there will undoubtedly be more than two people killed in auto accidents today, but they will make only the local news, if at all.

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