Pilot Dies After Planes Collide In Mid-Air, Avoids Residential Areas - Polidicks

[url=http://uk.news.yahoo.com/planes-collide-mid-air-one-person-dead-175820156.html]Source[/url] [quote]A pilot has died after his light aircraft collided with another plane in mid-air above an airport in West Sussex. Following the collision, he steered his plane into a recreation ground close to Shoreham airport near Brighton, avoiding nearby houses before he crashed, police said. The second aircraft, a Diamond DA40, landed safely and the two crew were shaken but otherwise uninjured, a spokesman added. The 63-year-old victim, who was from the local area, was declared dead at the scene of the tragedy. Although there were people in the Adur recreation ground at the time, there were no other casualties. Motorists were warned of delays as police sealed off the A259 Brighton Road. Superintendent Neil Honnor, from Sussex Police, said: "This is a very tragic incident. "It would appear that the dead pilot tried to avoid local houses and managed to crash into the open recreation ground. "Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time." A team from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has been at the crash site. One of the planes involved in the collision belonged to Flying Time Aviation, which provides training for pilots and is based at Shoreham Airport. In a statement, the company said: "Both of the pilots operating our aircraft were uninjured during the incident." Rob Piatt, 41, from Shoreham, was sitting in a pub garden when he heard a bang overhead. He said: "I saw the tailfin of one of the aircraft floating down. The poor pilot was weaving all over the place. "He did very well to get it to the recreation ground and not crash in the airfield itself. "It was very near a kids' playground and it is an area that's popular with dog walkers. "On a gorgeous day like today there would have been loads of people out on the recreation ground. "It's a miracle no one was hurt on the ground."[/quote]

I'm impressed at the courage he must have had. It takes balls not to freak out and make sure you crash somewhere nobody else will get hurt.

Good thing no one was hurt on the ground. It would have been awesome if he survived like a bad ass.

still never understood how midair plane collisions happen when theres plenty of fucking space in the sky.

[QUOTE=frankie penis;30913526]still never understood how midair plane collisions happen when theres plenty of fucking space in the sky.[/QUOTE] Well they don't happen too often. Also remember he was flying over an Airfield, more likely for it happen there then anywhere else. Still very sad.

[QUOTE=frankie penis;30913526]still never understood how midair plane collisions happen when theres plenty of fucking space in the sky.[/QUOTE] Have you ever been in a plane? Proper communication is needed and in this case it seems there wasn't any. However, this pilot was brave enough to steer his plane away.

[QUOTE=frankie penis;30913526]still never understood how midair plane collisions happen when theres plenty of fucking space in the sky.[/QUOTE] When you're flying a plane, it's not like you can go DERP WHEREEVER YOU WANT TO GO.

[QUOTE=frankie penis;30913526]still never understood how midair plane collisions happen when theres plenty of fucking space in the sky.[/QUOTE] It's rare, but [quote][img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/World-airline-routemap-2009.png[/img][/quote]

I thought he was a recreational pilot, just flying around, not restricted to flight paths, but now that I think of it, is that even legal? Can they fly on flight paths?

[QUOTE=frankie penis;30913526]still never understood how midair plane collisions happen when theres plenty of fucking space in the sky.[/QUOTE] Happened a couple of times already. [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Collisions_involving_commercial_airliners[/url] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xe-VjoCoaI[/media] Mid-air disaster. [quote] The 1996 CHARKHI DADRI MID-AIR COLLISION occured on 12 november 1996 when saudi arabian airlines flight 763 aboeing en route from New delhi (india) to Dhahram (saudi arabia) collided in mid air with kazaksthan airlines flight 1907 en route from Shymkent (kazaksthan) to Newdelhi, Over the village of Charkhi dadri in indian state of hariyana.All 349 people onboad bothe flights were killed,making it the deadliest mid-air collision in history [/quote] Part 1 for anyone interested: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoxzhwVNaaI[/media]

[QUOTE=shian;30913791]Happened a couple of times already. [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Collisions_involving_commercial_airliners[/url] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xe-VjoCoaI[/media] Mid-air disaster.[/QUOTE] -redacted- the original i saw you post but quoted too late was: :colbert: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZEJDA_lr5k&feature=player_embedded#at=32[/media]

[QUOTE=Mr. Bleak;30913657]It's rare, but[/QUOTE] Poor Antarctica

[QUOTE=Dr Bob;30913443][b]The 63-year-old victim[/b], who was from the local area, was declared dead at the scene of the tragedy.[/QUOTE] Died 2 years before his retirement

This kinda stuff is uncommon obviously but even with the few hours it's taken me on my course to get my private pilot's license i've seen plenty of close calls, and it's all due to bad communication. On my first solo I was going in about to land and call it a day and had been calling out my position like regular to everyone when someone cut maybe 200-300 feet directly in front of me in the flight pattern going slower than me. He had to have known I was there but decided telling me he was coming was unnecessary. Had to completely mess up my pattern to not run into him. One would think you'd escape that kind of asshole when you leave the ground. But no.

Reminds me of a story where a guys plane was losing altitude, and instead of landing in a school field where children were playing, he pulled it up as best he could and crashed into the woods and was killed. Not entirely sure I could have done the same in that position.

[QUOTE=peepin;30915136]Died 2 years before his retirement[/QUOTE] :sax:

[QUOTE=MountainWatcher;30913756]I thought he was a recreational pilot, just flying around, not restricted to flight paths, but now that I think of it, is that even legal? Can they fly on flight paths?[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=EcksDee;30913632]When you're flying a plane, it's not like you can go DERP WHEREEVER YOU WANT TO GO.[/QUOTE] There are two kinds of Flying, Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and Insturment Flight Rules (IFR). In VFR the pilot navigates mainly through the windows and it is his job to keep his head on a swivel, always looking for other traffic and landmarks. VFR has a lot more freedom than IFR, and you can basically go anywhere you want as long as you follow your area's VFR rules. In VFR you CAN use your instruments as a secondary means of navigation but you are not bound to them by any means. That includes not talking to Air Traffic Control if your not in a busy airspace such as near major airports. IFR is much more strict. It requires you to file a flight plan and keep up with Air Traffic Control. In IFR you are flying by instruments, but that doesn't mean the pilot shouldn't be scanning the horizon for potential traffic. That being said, mistakes do happen. Most of the time both parties could of been doing something to advert an incident. This pilot had some balls and skill to see this plane all the way to the end and ensure he didn't injure others in the crash. [editline]5th July 2011[/editline] Ah just read that its UK. Not familiar with their Aviation rules, could be very different than the US's

This my friend, is the definition of Bad Ass.

just read up on it and it seems to be for the most part the same.

To those wondering how mid-air collisions happen, next time you hear a small airplane flying around, try looking for it, a lot of the time it's just a speck. That plane is traveling at between 100 - 200 miles per hour or 160 - 320 kph, sometimes more. If it's on a collision course with you, you only have a matter of seconds to spot that plane and get out of the way. Now put yourself in a cockpit of a plane flying through the air, because now you can't hear the other plane coming and you won't see it until it's close enough to be noticeable which reduces the time you have to avoid it even more considering you're also flying toward the other plane. Probably doesn't help that a lot of small planes are white or gray instead of a color which contrasts against the sky like black or yellow.

[QUOTE=frankie penis;30913526]still never understood how midair plane collisions happen when theres plenty of fucking space in the sky.[/QUOTE] If you're near an airfield there's planes everywhere and you can't see them until it's too late