I always remember a pilot buddy asking me about the Lauda Air when the reverse thrusters came on after explaining all the lockeouts to prevent it, what would you do, I said well lets assume they are coming on and take that action, as in idle the engine, slow down I guessed?
It look a long time from warning to crash, drilled in training saying it cant happen there are lots of lockouts to prevent it.
They were on the blower to Boeing and the engine guys yet none of that group said just suppose it is coming on so take that action.
The kept flying till it ripped the wing off and killed everyone
I guess they followed the check list…
As long as we’re on the subject…After crawling on all fours over canvas bags full of bank paperwork to reach the cockpit, I was flying over the San Jacinto mountains west of Palm Springs one winter night, through embedded cells in zero-zero conditions, picking up ice, unable to maintain altitude with full power, dropping below MEA over jagged peaks with a frozen elevator and the stall warning horn blaring away. I flew the airplane on the edge of a stall while still losing altitude, determined to push back the inevitable for as long as I could. At one point I resigned myself that it was the end but somehow I made it over. But the night wasn’t over.
The final approach to Burbank featured crabbing 35 degrees against a turbulent crosswind, still zero-zero down to the minimum. As I drove home from the airport I decided to start concentrating on a sailing career.
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Yeah, seriously, we have our own squirrels. Some of those squirrels from outside are nasty. They treat us like dirt, refuse to wear masks, and leave piles of garbage behind when they go home.
There is a reason why I don’t fly anymore, did too much of it and got home ok. As one poster said ,you were lucky. Take my chances in my new SUV which I have less than 1000 miles since November due to the virus thing… Toyota texted me for my 6 month 5000 mile checkup. No oil change as it is synthetic . Got the tires rotated and fluid check. Ready for my trip to Grand Canyon I suppose and the nice attractions along the way. Just have to worry about bedbugs and killer hornets now. It never ends.
Sounds like a nice day over the northern Rockies. A C-45 with no heater* at the 13,000 MEA required a snowmobile suit, boots, and electric socks to survive the -50 or lower cockpit temperatures.
*The heater was in the starboard engine nacelle and the breaker was in the wheel well so no resetting in flight. Not that it warmed up much on the rare occasions it worked anyway.
Did your routes include Inyokern? I had some interesting experiences in and around that airport.
Cheers,
Earl
I’ve landed there along with more airports in the southern half of the state than I can remember. My bank run however, extended east more or less along the I-10 corridor out to Blythe on the Arizona border with stops in between anywhere big enough to have a bank and a landing strip. A few of the small ones had no any approach facilities whatsoever. I remember one strip that had a tiny white light at one end which would be triggered on at night by clicking the mike on a specific frequency.
I’m guessing your interesting experiences in the Inyokern area had a China Lake connection?
Indeed. In the 80’s I spent one week out of six there, teaching my project management seminar and consulting with A6 flight software maintenance group.
One morning I was on my way home, waiting by the fence at Inyokern for the C&M (Charlie and Mike) Cessna to LAX and then Western to MSP.
Beautiful early High Desert morning. And what comes slipping down out of the clouds but a Navion. I’m impressed. Taxiis up to the ramp, and two couples get out. Beautiful people. Perfect hair, designer shades, bling. They amble into ops, come out and get into the one car in the Hertz parking spaces, a Caddie or some such, and drive off.
Ok, that was cool. About five minutes later a ratty Navy Jeep (as ex-Air Force, I couldn’t believe how they let the vehicles go on that base) with a Commander and a Chief in it comes screaming up and stops next to me. The Chief jumps out, gets in my face, points to the Navion and barks “Were you in that airplane?”
'N-no" I stammer, then get hold of myself, point to ops and say “But I think they rented a car there.” The Chief charges inside, comes back out in a hurry, jumps in the Jeep and off they roar.
I think at some point somebody in the pilot seat of that Navion had some ‘splainin’ to do 
Cheers,
Earl
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Looking at the posts here I’m reminded of the old adage " a man can swim but no bastard can fly". Spoken in the early days of jets on carriers.
We used to tell new guys that if they are forced down at night over the mountains to turn the landing light on. If they didn’t like what they saw, turn it off.
Uh oh, you’re gonna get someone upset …
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