I just won't look down!
Posted on 12/09/2016 11:09:23 AM PST by BenLurkin
Nichols suffered multiple medical problems including type II diabetes, depression and chronic pain from fibromyalgia. Some of those conditions should have prohibited him from operating an aircraft.
As part of his treatment, he was taking 13 prescription medicines, many of which are also prohibited for pilots at the controls. A toxicology test performed on his body found seven different drugs in his blood and urine that were prohibited by the FAA, including oxycodone and the sedative diazepam, also known as Valium. Such drugs can impair brain function and motor controls, according to the NTSB documents.
He had also been convicted of Driving While under the Influence five times and had been found guilty on three different drug charges. He was also jailed twice - once in 2000 and again in April 2010.
...
The new details were revealed as National Transportation Safety Board officials are holding an investigative hearing in Washington D.C. on Friday.
The hearing got underway at 8am, and is expected to last for about six hours.
Officials quizzed witnesses who saw the crash - which was the deadliest single aviation accident in the U.S. since 2009.
It comes after it was revealed earlier this year Nichols was able to exploit a loophole to continue flying the balloon - and that he would not have been allowed to pilot a plane given his rap sheet.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Now I have “Ace of Spades” stuck in my head.
Thanks, FRiend.
I have this one stuck in my head from the 5th Dimension...:^)
“Now I have “Ace of Spades” stuck in my head.”
I’ve got “Eat The Rich” stuck in mine!
“Because I Got High”
Aren’t balloon festivals, like most other festivals, an excuse to get high?
Oh, yeah, altitude, that’s the story...
are you implying that your can’t be in a stupor from pot?
With the THC content 10 times higher than in the 60s?
“It is NOT A LOOPHOLE, there is No Medical Certificate required for Gliders or Lighter-than-air.”
It is infuriating when people call things that are legal ‘loopholes’. As if everything should be illegal when they get around to closing them all.
Flying in a hot air balloon is the most fun that a person can have with their clothes on, unless, of course, said person is taking off of and landing on an aircraft carrier!
Most Commercial hot air balloon pilots are very professional, safe and sober!
HST, there are some “cowboys,” and it behooves you to vet them carefully before you fly with them.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my association with the hot air balloon pilots and crews that I have met and worked with over the time that I was actively engaged in the sport.
They are good folks and will go far out of their way to ensure you have a safe and enjoyable experience.
After all, they want you to come back and fly with them again!
You might even become interested enough in the sport to become a “crew dog.” Crewing a hot air balloon is great fun, (and good exercise!) too! You might become so enamored of the sport, as I did, that you work up to become a Crew Chief – which is even more fun!
I was honored to be a Crew Chief for the U.S. Flag Balloon (pictured in post #16) and Patriot, the Space Shuttle, which are owned and operated by FReepers victim of circumstance and abner. (www.usflagballoon.com)
Whenever I get the opportunity to do so, I recommend that folks get involved in the sport of hot air ballooning.
I don’t like hot air balloons. You go up in the air and just hang there for a while. You are at the mercy of the winds, hot air and gravity.
this story is a bunch of hot air.
A close friend of mine left the Naval Air Corps and went back to college to get a PHD in Pharmacology. One day I asked him why he didn’t pursue a career as an airline pilot and he said your career is only guaranteed till your next physical.....
I just won't look down!
Exactly and I have to have one every six months including psychological - I’m authorized to carry on the flight deck.
Don’t most commercial pilots have loss of medical insurance?
I sure had it!
The following snippet is quoted FRom https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_air_ballooning:
“A common tradition among balloonists is to have a champagne toast upon landing. Legend has it that early French aeronauts carried champagne to appease angry or frightened spectators at the landing site. A champagne toast is now often included in commercial sight-seeing flights.
“Along with the champagne, a popular toast among balloonists is: “soft winds and gentle landings.”
“Many balloonists recite the Balloonist’s Blessing (Anon, known as ‘The Balloonists Prayer’) with the champagne toast:
“The winds have welcomed you with softness
The sun has blessed you with its warm hands
You have flown so high and so well
That God has joined you in your laughter
and set you gently back into the loving arms of mother earth.”
********************
Sweetie, “ALL IN” works for me!
I have no idea what you are talking about.......
Guess we’ll have to see what he’s talking about. I have medical insurance to cover my ATP FAA medical exam which really isn’t all that expensive, runs in the neighborhood of a few hundred dollars.
Check it out, then, at https://insurance.aopa.org/personal/loss-of-medical
SG darling .... new rulz .... Champagne first, or some other *courage elixer* .... then, and only then.
Will you provide a parachute for a coward?
Fly first!
Champagne after!
I’ll hold your hand, and, you won’t need a parachute! Hot air balloons generally don’t fly high enough to allow one to open.
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