Actually, it is illegal to fly a plane without a pilot certificate, and there are people in Federal lockup for having done so.
I would guess that 99.99% of all fatal car and aircraft accidents have a licensed person at the controls. Just because a person possesses a piece of government paper does not immunize them of making mistakes or becoming the innocent victim of accidents. See the Part 103 ultralight community, where accidents are rare and fatalities are even more rare. They do a good job of self-policing. The lack of government meddling in their activities allows more innovation. The emergency parachutes seen in Cirrus aircraft and others evolved from the ultralight community. Less government is always a good thing. The world will not end if the government does not license us to pursue our interests.
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Kent, would you feel that way about the two pilots up front of the 777 flying you or your family? No need for a license?
Look, I get the notion that government has gotten bloated, but licensing people to properly pilot airplanes is a means educating them to do so.
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Unfortunate incident, indeed. Me? Iâm just testing the new Comments Section to see if it really works. If it does, you will be reading this. Have a great week!
Dunno about that. I watched that video. He wasnât inverted so Iâm doubting the Second Hand Lions scenario. I lost a very good friend who lost directional control in a Challenger II he had just bought. Was doing touch and goes just fine all afternoon until the last one where he veered off the runway, across the median and taxiway and right into his own pickup truck. We never found out why either because he was not suicidal and was in good medical condition.
Sometimes shit happens.
Itâs about his attitude, not his paperwork.
I miss the style of JB
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Always hate to hear about accidents and fatalities. Thoughts/prayers to his friends and family.
As long as you are fair, unlike someone many months ago who blocked me.
Itâs always sad to read of a crash, even more so when there are fatalities.
In this case as in most the NTSB will do a good job in determination of root cause. There was an article in the past in a major Airplane mag about flying in Alaska. in it the author visited a busy FAA facility where he said a very ratty C150 w a 150 hp conversion and many other mods were incorporated. he asked the FAA official about it. He said what C150. I see nothing! after anonymity was given the FAA rep said at least half the aircraft in the bush were technically illegal to fly but it did not matter as the pilots were in the same boat. Further reading sated the pilot community is full of un certified oil;ots and plane up there. I DO NOT KNOW MYSELF. ii would guess these are all pr nearly all not for hire planes I could not imagine anyone forming a revenue making firm using these resources.
in reality life is such theyou can pretty much do as you wish until you get caught. as for this accidentâŚlike all a bit of a tragedy. like all it will take a while to determine cause.
Plausible as one of the possibilities but you do not have a clue that is the case.
Yah, it is you again.- speculating.
Thatâs why I said âcould haveâ contributed, I was being nice.
The only CERTAINTY that we have is that the man intentionally operated illegally; including his aircraft, his health, and his lack of certificate/rating. Honestly the guy gave us so many âpossibilitiesâ for crashing that everyone that speculates will be at least partially right.
He wasnât the first to do this and sadly wonât be the last. On the other hand, you have others who have gotten away with flying successfully with zero formal flight training. Who all remembers the âBarefoot Banditâ kid who stole two aircraft, a 182 which he crash landed, and later a Cessna 400 which he stole in Bloomington, IN and flew all the way to the Bahamas.
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You said âItâs proof positiveâŚâ.
Where did report of health problems come from? (You claimed hip/leg in a later post.)
Even later someone talked about his own experience with a knee injury that âflared upâ, causing him difficulty during a flight.
Proof positive as in NO medical at 60 years old; he should not have been flying. Period.
YOU can look up his right leg numbness from a motorcycle injury, the prostate cancer and chemotherapy treatments, his hospitalization in June (but you wonât because YOU havenât).
(Edit) Since the right leg is important for directional control, that certainly âcould haveâ contributed to his veering left into a barn.
All I can say about Scott Bloomquist is that he was a heck of dirt late-model driver. And that many of the technical innovations present in the sport today areat leat in part. attributable to his innovation. I never met the man, but his ârebelâ persona endeared him to legions of dirt racing fans, And in contrast to his rebellious public persona, his reputation with actual race fans who interacted with him was that he was a nice guy that was fun to be around.
I wouldnât have a clue if Blancolario (JB) knows something we donât, but a hall of fame dirt racer has left the building and his contributions to dirt racing will be missed by many for a long time to come. Thatâs more than will said of most of us.
Fair winds number zero.
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Sure, Iâm glad the comment section is Is back and weâre all learning how to use it. I look forward to learning from the rest of the group.
âNo Medical at 60 years old?â Iâm 70, an active pilot, and havenât had a medical in 20 years. Not required for my airplane, which qualifies for Sport Pilot. Like Bloomquistâs J-3, for that matter.
Now, even when flying under Sport Pilot, weâre supposed to ground ourselves if medical conditions affect safety. Flying solo, and out of his own airport, I can see someone taking it closer to the line.
Mind you, he didnât have a pilot certificate eitherâŚ
In addition, let me share this snippet from an NTSB report on another J-3 crash: "âŚduring the landing roll in a tailwheel equipped airplane, it veered suddenly to the right. Despite his control inputs, the airplane continued to veer to the right, exited the runway, and impacted a hangar located adjacent to the runway. " This is from WPR09CA002, in 2008, and is nearly identical to those of Bloomquistâs crash.
Probable cause, âThe separation of the tailwheel spring retaining clip for unknown reasons, which resulted in the loss of directional control during the landing roll.â
So letâs not leap to conclusions. Nobody accused this pilot of deliberately crashing the airplane.
The irony here is (unlike the rest of his career) Bloomquist needed to turn right.