Column Title: Close Calls by Anthony Nalli Article Title: Lucky to be Alive Published September 2009 Close Calls is a column detailing the “close call” experiences of fellow pilots. I invite you to contact me at CloseCalls@TheAviators.TV or CloseCalls@PCAS.ca to anonymously share your stories. The experience shared and lessons learned will be of benefit to all readers. Confidentiality will be assured and I will not use your name or aircraft ident without your permission. If your submission is used in Close Calls you’ll receive an official cap of the upcoming TV series The Aviators. Our pilot lived in San Diego, California in the early 1950s and spent his extra money feeding his Ryan PT22 fuel. He worked the swing shift at Conair at the time. That gave him a lot of available time that he used for flying. Friends would say to him “next time you’re going flying on a nice day, I’d love to go”. If the weather was good and their schedule permitted, our pilot gave friends an open invitation to fly that they could take him up on by calling if they wanted to fly. One day, a co-worker did just that so they made plans to go for a ride the next day. The weather over San Diego was broken clouds and wind from the west about 15 mph. It seemed perfect. Our pilot planned to go to Borrego Springs in the dessert just over the mountains. It would be a beautiful ride in a PT22. Borrego Springs was just starting to develop. The sales office even had a dirt runway at their site. Upon landing they would send a limousine out to pick you up, bring you to their office, and try to sell you a lot in the dessert. After the two underwent the sales pitch then had lunch at the restaurant when our pilot realized the time. It was getting a little late so they rushed back to the airplane. This is where the tale really begins. Taking off from Borrego Springs, the mountains climb very fast. Our pilot didn’t want them to be late for work so instead of climbing over Borrego for some altitude, he chose to fly up a wide canyon where he thought he could go into a gradual climb. Well, the mountains were climbing faster than the PT22 could. The oil pressure was dropping and the cylinder temperature was redlining. Our pilot hugged the side of the canyon with hopes of making a 180-degree turn. “I felt I could reach out and grab a handful of dirt and rock” our pilot recalls. “Air speed was slowly disintegrating. I didn’t think I had enough room to do a 180. I had a little more throttle left and did a chandelle.” “I’m still here, it worked!” thought our relieved pilot. “I always wondered for what purpose those maneuvers were taught.” He continues, “Coming out of the 180 I could clearly see the small pebbles on the ground. At that point there was a sigh of relief. My friend was not aware of any problems. I cautiously gained altitude to clear the mountains and now see scattered clouds. The closer I got to home the less scattered they were and the tops were getting higher. Panic started to set in again.” Our pilot with map in hand began to lose sight of land. Occasionally he would spot a hole in the clouds at about 7,000 feet. At the time that he calculated that at that point they should be just about over the airport no such holes existed. If he couldn’t get down they would be over the sea. Just then appeared a small hole in the cloud. Our pilot could see the airport from 7,000 feet. “I did a tight spiral, almost a spin down to 2,000 feet hoping the clouds wouldn’t close up the hole and suck me in.” “We made it. My friend Nelson couldn’t stop talking about the beautiful ride he had.” Our pilot concludes, “Nelson never knew there was a problem. After landing, my knees could not stop shaking. I never told Nelson the truth. Nelson from Detroit, if you read this, you are lucky to be alive.” Fly safe(r). Anthony Nalli is the Executive Producer of the new television series The Aviators and a staunch collision avoidance advocate operating the site PCAS.ca which is dedicated to the implementation of affordable collision avoidance devices in General Aviation with a mission to eliminate mid-air collisions and dramatically reduce close calls. Anthony can be reached at CloseCalls@TheAviators.TV or CloseCalls@PCAS.ca, 1-888-PCAS-123 (GTA: 416-225-9266), and www.PCAS.ca Visit PCAS.ca monthly to read Anthony's latest installment of Close Calls or click here to subscribe and have Close Calls automatically sent to you every month - No Purchase Necessary.
