Umm … where am I supposed to land this thing?

[SteamWake]

The 69-year-old retired Navy pilot failed to make radio contact with controllers, which he should have done, after taking off Saturday morning from an airport in Martinsburg, Va.

Piloting a two-seat RV-7A experimental plane he built himself, Prendergast made his way up the Jersey Shore, nearing New York. He had planned to fly over water to Robert Moses State Park, then go north and west to Republic, but he somehow ended up farther west on Long Island, flying just east of Kennedy, according to the Post.

Something about this story just doesent make sense but I cant quite put my finger on it.

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local...rizes-JFK.html

[SteamWake]

Not one comment?

I thought at least Golden Rivet would have something to say

[GoldenRivet]

Originally Posted by SteamWake

Not one comment?

I thought at least Golden Rivet would have something to say

i do... but i just dont know what to say yet

[longam]

Originally Posted by SteamWake

Something about this story just doesent make sense but I cant quite put my finger on it.

Don't you have to file a flight plan? But if he's retired navy it will be a slap on the wrist and don't do it again.

[SteamWake]

Originally Posted by longam

Don't you have to file a flight plan? But if he's retired navy it will be a slap on the wrist and don't do it again.

No not really you just have to file a VFR flight.

But being an 'experienced' aviator he should have known to stay the hell out of class C airspace

Reading between the lines I get the idea that this guy was a little 'rusty' and was taking his new homebuilt out for a spin and got a little lost.

Another oddity is that he neglected to tune to control as instructed when handed off. Now its real easy to get the frequency wrong or dial it up wrong but when you go to check in and get no response nor hear any other chatter you should realize something is amiss.

Frankly I am supprised that this sort of thing doesent happen more often.

As to the slap on the wrist it would not supprise me at all if they take this guy's ticket as he displayed gross incompetence. Not to mention putting lives in jeporday and probably costing 10's of thousands of dollars in manpower / delays.

[Platapus]

If the NBC article is complete and accurate, I would imagine he would get his ticket pulled. And rightly so. There were some serious violations there.

A CFR 44709 checkride ("709 ride" for short, and previously a Part 609 checkride or "609 ride" until the regulation was renumbered a few years ago).

The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration may reinspect at any time a civil aircraft, aircraft engine, propeller, appliance, design organization, production certificate holder, air navigation facility, or air agency, or reexamine an airman holding a certificate issued under section 44703 of this title.

Before acting under subsection (b) of this section, the Administrator shall advise the holder of the certificate of the charges or other reasons on which the Administrator relies for the proposed action. Except in an emergency, the Administrator shall provide the holder an opportunity to answer the charges and be heard why the certificate should not be amended, modified, suspended, or revoked.