http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/Teen-Survives-Mountain-Crash-Video-pilot-faa-gps-earhart220482-1.html

Sounds like she was pretty much unhurt, but extremely lucky and learned a valuable lesson. Painful to listen to her talk about flying into rising terrain, but glad she's around to tell the tale. I hope they don't try to turn her into a hero on the Today Show.

Despite the obvious mistake of flying past "her" point of no return in a canyon, she makes it sound like she continued to FLY the plane all the way into the crash which likely saved her life.

I read about this in the local paper the other day. I'm really glad she survived and was in awe over how lucky she was.

Matt 7GCBC wrote:she makes it sound like she continued to FLY the plane all the way into the crash which likely saved her life.

Definitely.

How do you get the audio to work? As soon as the ad is gone, it mutes.

Good for her that she flew it all the way to impact. now just watch the media get ahold of this and make a big deal about the age u can solo and get ur ppl.

I'm wondering how adequately her instructor reviewed her flight planning, and how much instruction she was given to avoid the situation she was ultimately in. But in any event, whatever she did wrong that got her there, she did things right to minimize the crash.

There's a video that I think I've seen on this forum that was retrieved some years later from the crash of an L19, where it didn't appear that the pilot did as well as this kid did, maintaining control of the airplane. He continued to raise the nose until the airplane stalled and then entered a spin into the ground.

So continuing to fly the airplane until impact is without a doubt the best thing she did.

Cary

Here's the video of the L-19 that crashed near Tabernash, CO just outside of Granby. Every time I watch it I want to scream to the guy to turn toward lower terrain.

That's the one.

Cary

Someone needs to get that girl on here. We can help her. She needs an iPad with moving sectional too.

G'Day

OregonMaule wrote:Someone needs to get that girl on here. We can help her. She needs an iPad with moving sectional too.

G'Day

The article I read didn't say where she's from. Any idea? I asked my friends 16 year old daughter if she knew McKenzie Morgan. But, She didn't.

One of the MANY things instructors are obligated to judge in a student is maturity (used in the judgement sense). This influences, relates to, and encompasses many of the other skills needed to fly a plane intelligently. Knowledge is certainly important, but is only a start.
Sometimes the need for students can color a primary instructors decision related to their continuing flight training......
I'm not sure that starting students' XCs with an iPad is all good. I would agree that having one aboard to be referenced if problems arose would be a good "crutch".
Seventeen is certainly mature enough to fly for many kids, and 35-or never-is appropriate for others....

2 cents
lc

Clarification: Not meaning to reflect directly on either this student, or her instructor. I don't know them. I am speaking only in general terms.

I don't think age has much to do with it. I've watched an awful lot of 14 year olds drive gliders around unattended, doing really well, and 16 year olds doing well too.

Flying is easy, especially for kids, but flying safely is harder- for anyone. This same outcome has happened to pilots of all ages over the years.

A video of her discussing what happened.

http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-a ... e7293.html

I don't want to be sexist but.....most female pilots I've known over the years are......excellent pilots! Yeah she screwed up but as others have said kept it flying right up until the end. Another way to look at it, if she had been flying something like my bird she could have easily made the turn around, failing that, landed the sucker without tipping over, the terrain didn't look that bad in places. Let's hope this all goes away ASAP, not the kind of press we need, even though it ended ok.