I don't really believe in foreshadowing, but I must admit it was odd that a Ken Hamblin column in the local newspaper sparked a spirited breakfast chat with my husband the Sunday morning of my forced landing. Hamblin, a radio talk-show host, syndicated columnist and pilot, had written about a conversation he overheard between ATC and a pilot flying over southern California. Hamblin listened as the pilot, who was in trouble, asked the controller for help. The situation went from bad to worse quickly, and the end result was a downed plane, a dead pilot, and four injuries on the ground, none of which had to be. The local paper headlined Hamblin's column, "How not to kill yourself when piloting a small aircraft." My husband Steve and I talked about the column, and agreed again that we thought it was irresponsible of pilots to put motorists' lives in danger. Steve then repeated a tip aerobatics legend Marion Cole used to tell him. "If your engine quits and you need a place to land, look straight down." Pretty basic stuff, that. Did I mention I don't believe in foreshadowing?
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/flight-safety/technique/engine-out-one-avweb-staffers-eventful-flight