Elderly? At 72?

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FD2
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Elderly? At 72?

#1 Post by FD2 » Sun Dec 25, 2022 11:23 pm

Elderly pilot, Sprightly youngish man, 72, confused runway at Newcastle Airport for the A1 motorway and went in to land...but realised his error while 300ft above the road

An unnamed 72-year-old pilot was flying a Reims Cessna F172M Light Aircraft
He mistook the A1 for a runway and descended to 300ft on 9 January 2022
Newcastle Air Traffic Control redirected the pilot to Newcastle Airport runway
No other passengers were onboard and there were no injuries after the incident


A new pilot, 72, mistook the A1 motorway for a runway during his first solo night flight and accidentally descended to 300ft while looking for the correct landing spot.

An investigation report found that the unnamed elderly pilot, with just 233 hours of flight experience, mistook road lights for runway lights on 9 January 2022.

He drifted his aircraft south of Newcastle International Airport and accidentally descended to around 300ft as he searched for the runway. 



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... orway.html
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Re: Elderly? At 72?

#2 Post by Fox3WheresMyBanana » Sun Dec 25, 2022 11:58 pm

Elderly is always at least 10 years older than oneself.

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Re: Elderly? At 72?

#3 Post by FD2 » Mon Dec 26, 2022 12:14 am

Exactly! ;)))

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Re: Elderly? At 72?

#4 Post by ExSp33db1rd » Mon Dec 26, 2022 1:49 am

Aged early-40's, wih the crew, the only 4 people in our Perth ( Aus.) hotel bar around 7.00 pm. Young ( ? ) man walked in and I asked where one went for a bit of entertainment in Perth ? " Do you mean for older people ?" he said !!!

One is as young, or old, as one feels.

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Re: Elderly? At 72?

#5 Post by PHXPhlyer » Mon Dec 26, 2022 2:58 am

As a lady states in an ad here:
Age is just a number and mine is unlisted.
I still cannot reconcile my chronological age with my self-perceived age.

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Re: Elderly? At 72?

#6 Post by TheGreenAnger » Mon Dec 26, 2022 5:02 am

Just the sort of mistake a young whippersnapper would make. Go up with him again. Let him build his confidence back up again, make sure he wears the right glasses this time, and let him have another go!
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Re: Elderly? At 72?

#7 Post by Ex-Ascot » Mon Dec 26, 2022 5:12 am

TheGreenAnger wrote:
Mon Dec 26, 2022 5:02 am
Just the sort of mistake a young whippersnapper would make. Go up with him again. Let him build his confidence back up again, make sure he wears the right glasses this time, and let him have another go!
Absolutely. The A40 next to Northolt was always a magnet at night.
'Yes, Madam, I am drunk, but in the morning I shall be sober and you will still be ugly.' Sir Winston Churchill.

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Re: Elderly? At 72?

#8 Post by Pinky the pilot » Mon Dec 26, 2022 7:16 am

I seem to remember quite a few years ago of a report of an Airline Crew once doing something similar.... :-?
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Re: Elderly? At 72?

#9 Post by TheGreenAnger » Mon Dec 26, 2022 10:08 am

Pinky the pilot wrote:
Mon Dec 26, 2022 7:16 am
I seem to remember quite a few years ago of a report of an Airline Crew once doing something similar.... :-?
A sad story with mitigating circumstances. The (ex) Captain subsequently committed suicide.

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/147119

http://picma.info/sites/default/files/D ... rticle.pdf

Another worthwhile comment on this incident...

https://www.captainpatrickgordon.com/sp ... -all-alive
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Re: Elderly? At 72?

#10 Post by Pontius Navigator » Mon Dec 26, 2022 10:17 am

Fox3WheresMyBanana wrote:
Sun Dec 25, 2022 11:58 pm
Elderly is always at least 10 years older than oneself.
You mean late 80s?

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Re: Elderly? At 72?

#11 Post by TheGreenAnger » Mon Dec 26, 2022 10:32 am

Some people are born old, some young people die old. It is a state of mind I guess, despite the metaphorical fan belt beginning to slip and the rusty and leaky radiator!

My better half visits a local lady, 96 years old and bed ridden, whose mind is as sharp as a pin. Despite her poor hearing, she still is deeply curious about the world, reads prodigiously and speaks with accuracy, authority and humour on many subjects and her mental acuity is well above average for people a third of her age, her only frustration being that physical infirmity keeps her from doing what she really wants to do!
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Re: Elderly? At 72?

#12 Post by Ex-Ascot » Mon Dec 26, 2022 11:52 am

Remember my first night solo at Cranwell. It was in a JP. Got airborne and thought 'Oh my God everything is black' Bit like here. Once I turned down wind I was a bit happier seeing the runway.

We had a student from the sandpit who panicked on his and wouldn't speak English. They sent a mate of his up to the tower to translate.
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Re: Elderly? At 72?

#13 Post by TheGreenAnger » Mon Dec 26, 2022 12:16 pm

Remember turning final for runway 30 at Cardiff one dark night when I did a double take in the turn as I saw a light on an apparent collision course, it took all my rational instincts to tell myself, "that's a fishing boat's light on the black sea below you fool!"

Far better pilots than me have augured into the black hole...

South African Airways Flight 228
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Re: Elderly? At 72?

#14 Post by CharlieOneSix » Mon Dec 26, 2022 1:59 pm

Ex-Ascot wrote:
Mon Dec 26, 2022 11:52 am
We had a student from the sandpit who panicked .....
When I was a baby pilot at Linton I think it was a Jordanian student on an early night solo who requested a QDM. It was a little while before it was realised he had got lost on the airfield after landing.....
The helicopter pilots' mantra: If it hasn't gone wrong then it's just about to...
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Re: Elderly? At 72?

#15 Post by TheGreenAnger » Mon Dec 26, 2022 2:39 pm

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/h ... 51499.html
Once safely level, the pilot turned back toward the airfield and with help from air traffic control he managed to reorient his flight towards the intended runway.

He then managed to safely land the Reims Cessna F172M Light Aircraft.

After a “debrief and a long ground brief on Newcastle features and radio procedures,” the pilot’s instructor cleared the pilot to continue his night-flying training, the report states.
My necessaries are embark'd: farewell. Adieu! I have too grieved a heart to take a tedious leave.

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Re: Elderly? At 72?

#16 Post by 1DC » Mon Dec 26, 2022 9:59 pm

I admit to being 82 on the outside and if pressed will agree that the legs and hands are getting a bit weak, but I'm only about 35 on the inside and I can't see that changing anytime soon..
Mrs 1DC and I did discuss today that a fair number of friends and acquaintances have disappeared upstairs this year and we haven't had the need to have that discussion before.That is something that comes with age.

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Re: Elderly? At 72?

#17 Post by ExSp33db1rd » Tue Dec 27, 2022 4:11 am

One is as young, or old, as one feels.
When I'm walking I feel about 90 ( and nearly am ! ) but when I ride my motor bike I feel about 50.

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Re: Elderly? At 72?

#18 Post by Ex-Ascot » Tue Dec 27, 2022 8:17 am

As old as one feels. The one I feel is 10 years younger than me.
'Yes, Madam, I am drunk, but in the morning I shall be sober and you will still be ugly.' Sir Winston Churchill.

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Re: Elderly? At 72?

#19 Post by 4mastacker » Tue Dec 27, 2022 12:44 pm

Apparently 70 is the new 50. Stay young peeps.
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Re: Elderly? At 72?

#20 Post by Pontius Navigator » Wed Dec 28, 2022 5:30 pm

You're old when you make excuses for not doing things that you know need doing.

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