wanttaja@ssc-vax.UUCP (Ronald J Wanttaja) (11/17/84)
<After this, I'm going to chase the Concorde with my '150...> I normally don't like it when "breaking" news items are posted to the net, but I'm not sure what play this will get outside the Seattle area, go here goes: The FAA has decided that the crew of Air Force Two was at fault in a near mid-air which occured when AF2 flew VP Bush into Seattle during the campaign. The event was reported at that time in the vein of: "Air Force Two was forced to crash-dive two hundred feet to avoid collision with a small airplane..." by the news media, many of which were on the plane and gave a "Thought I wuz gonna die when that little airplane came at us" report on the air. The crew had been warned repeatedly of the proximity and location of the Mooney, but were preoccupied with setting the radios and such as they approached Boeing Field. The Co-pilot looked up, saw the Mooney, and shoved the yoke forward to drop 200 feet. After investigation of the incident, the FAA announced the following findings: 1. AF2 was approaching from behind and from the right side of the Mooney, completely out of the possible field of vision of the Mooney's pilot. 2. The crew was given at least two reports of the bearing and range of the Mooney,and should have suspended routine cockpit tasks until visually picking up the target. 3. USAF mission planners erred in scheduling AF2 to approach Boeing Field from the south, which has a high concentration of airports. I'll say... within 25 miles south of Boeing Field are Seattle-Tacoma International, Auburn Muni, Renton, Auburn Methodist, Crest, and Pierce Co. Airports, with Tacoma International and McChord AFB a little further Southwest. I don't mean to point fingers at the crew; their minor errors were only human error, and an error in procedure at that. What does tick me off is the automatic assumption by the news media that the light airplane HAD to be at fault. This, of course, is nothing new- when the 172 was hit from behind by the 727 at San Diego, it was reported that the 172 "rammed" the PSA airliner. The witch hunt in the media went on for quite a while... every couple days, it would be reported that the Mooney pilot "wanted for questioning" had not yet been found. It will be interesting to see if the media reports the FAA's findings with as much fervor as they implied the Mooney pilot was at blame. One minor flame I do have IS directed at the large-aircraft community: You guys lobbied and cried for controlled airspace, TCAs, etc "to make flying safer." The equipment required for me to operate in your territory costs as much as the entire airplane. This is fine; I'll stay out of your airspace. But when you turkeys leave your TCAs (cut across corners, drop through the bottom, etc) and/or fly into uncontrolled airspace (like happens when approaching Boeing Field) you are entering our territory. The main message to you in this case is **** KEEP YOUR GODDAMN EYES OPEN ****. 'nuff said. Ron Wanttaja (ssc-vax!wanttaja) Anarchy is better that no government at all...