[Dashing Dasher]

A few weeks ago - a friend of mine crashed during an emergency landing. I found out today he just lost both his legs and is still in a coma.

On Sunday a friend of mine got into a accelerated inverted flat spin that did a crossover. He punched out of the airplane at 300' and lived.

Flying is a brother/sisterhood. We take care of our own. We know that but for the grace of God....

This is one of my favorite quotes... It's on my profile page - and it's worth repeating often....

Whenever we talk about a pilot who has been killed in a flying accident, we should all keep one thing in mind. He called upon the sum of all his knowledge and made a judgment. He believed in it so strongly that he knowingly bet his life on it. That his judgment was faulty is a tragedy, not stupidity. Every instructor, supervisor, and contemporary who ever spoke to him had an opportunity to influence his judgment, so a little bit of all of us goes with every pilot we lose.
— author unknown

[Rokke]

That is a good post DD. It should also be noted that the captain of this aircraft left behind a pregnant wife and two children. That is perhaps one of the greatest tragedies of this whole event.

[Michael Goldsberry]

I'm sorry about your friend. I hope he makes it through the coma.

[Zacs Mom]

Hi ya, Dasher! I was wondering if you'd find your way to this thread. I was even thinking about pinging you to it.

I worked on the preflight line for Boeing for many years and know a lot of pilots ... many of whom I call "dear friends". I've been fortunate in that I've only lost one friend in a crash....his plane went down in some bad weather over Mt Hood. I appreciate your quote ... thanks for posting it. I hope your friend recovers. Prayers for all involved ~ friends, family and those who are seeing to his medical needs.

[Stonewall Jackson]

A few years ago, I was at an airshow when two Blackhawks bumped into each other. One managed to make a hard landing on the tarmac, but the second lurched toward the crowded bleachers. Somehow, in those few seconds, the pilot managed to coax just enough power from his crippled bird to clear the bleachers. The helicopter then plowed into an empty building, injuring everyone onboard (but they all survived). The pilot was awarded the Soldier's Medal for his actions that day, but he said that the people who deserved recognition were the instructors at Fort Rucker who'd taught him how to react in an emergency, teachings that he used to save the lives of dozens of innocent bystanders.

[expatpat]

a accelerated inverted flat spin that did a crossover

I know what a flat spin is, but what does 'accelerated' mean in this context, and what is a 'crossover'.

[ALPAPilot]

Looks to me like FL410 was withing the envelope but there were special procedures for climbing above FL370. Those procedure don't seem to have been followed, apparently causing the airplane to stall and the engines to stall as well. This type of engine seems to have a nasty habit of siezing up which would make an inflight restart most difficult. Sounds to me like poor training by the company, poor engineering by the manufacturer, lousy judgement by the pilots, and God's Grace that no one on the ground was injured. As usual, a long chain of events that no one broke. . . . There are old pilots and bold pilots, but not many old bold pilots. I'll add my prayers for the pilots and their families.