As an electrician in the mining industry all miners are strongly encouraged to turn in "Near misses". Basically we discuss these in daily safety meetings each and every morning. By talking about something dumb you might have done that nearly got you or someone else hurt everyone becomes more aware of situational awareness or doing the right thing. No one is ever reprimanded for bringing a near miss to the table. It's a great safety practice I think all industries should implement TBH.
I've always found the term 'near miss' to be rather confusing. To my warped mind, a 'near miss' suggests someone actually got hurt - because whatever happened - it NEARLY missed.
@@SkELAo7 Not true, at least in the mining industry. Actually, every month an employee who brings up the "best near miss of the month" is awarded a $100.00 gift card. Bringing near misses to the table is rewarded, as it should be. Now if we are talking Boeing, you might have a point. 😂
I'm glad you included the clip of the guy demonstrating him releasing the yoke and the plane returning to level - it's really amazing to see it in action.
Unless you're flying a fighter or an aerobatic machine then your plane is designed to be dynamically stable, and that's exactly what this is - let go of the stick and it'll have a tendency to go back to straight and level.
@@renerpho It's decently intuitive if you think about a plane being like a falling leaf. A falling leaf will slip sideways, pick up airspeed, then level out once it has enough air under it to generate lift, eventually lose the speed, stall, then slip sideways again, and so on until it lands. If you halt the cycle with say, a propeller to keep the speed, that's an airplane.
I was instructing back in the late 70s into late 80s. My first “start to finish” student was a quick learner, but pretty full of himself and way over confident. After we had completed the minimum simulated instrument time, he commented, “I just don’t see what’s so hard about this instrument stuff-I think it’s easy.” Up to that time, it had all been under the hood, never for real. On his long dual cross country, I suspected that the weather was going to come through and give us a chance for some “for real”. We departed Casper to return to Laramie on an IFR flight plan, and soon after crossing over Casper Mountain, we started hitting a few clouds and then got pretty well socked in, other than a few glimpses of the ground below. I noticed that instead of concentrating on the instruments, he was often looking out the side window and the ground, which was barely visible through the clouds. Then the airplane went into a left bank and began to lose altitude, so I tapped his shoulder and then the instruments, and he quickly recovered. Guessing what would happen, I contacted Denver Center, asked for a block altitude, and told them this was a training flight and not to be surprised if there were big excursions in altitude and heading. I should mention-this was before headsets became ubiquitous, so my side of the conversation couldn’t be heard by my student as I spoke into the hand mic. So we flew along for another few minutes and then the airplane again banked left and started to descend. This time I let it go until we’d done a 180° reversal and lost perhaps 500-600’ before I caught his attention again. It took him longer, but he did recover the airplane and returned on course and altitude. Then he said, “I don’t understand what is happening!” I told him that he wasn’t maintaining his instrument scan-in fact, he was hardly looking at the instruments at all, and that he must concentrate solely on the instruments and not look outside. This time, he managed to keep us under control for another 5 or 6 minutes. Although the cabin of the 172 was cool (it was winter), he was sweating profusely. Finally he said that he just couldn’t take it any longer, and asked me to take over. I did, and we flew until we came out of the clouds, where I had him take over and complete the flight to Laramie. After we were on the ground, I asked him what he thought would have happened, if I hadn’t caught his attention about his loss of control. Succinctly, he said, “we would have died.”
My IFR instructor took me out over the ocean (VMC) in Charleston SC, put me under the hood and did unusual attitudes. I did satisfactorily, probably because he had told me a story about how he had to fight a student for the controls. You see, at night over the ocean near the port of Charleston, lights on the ship and boat traffic look the same as stars.!!
Boy that sure sounds like that rudder issue the 747s had for a while before they caught on with only one flight crew and plane surviving and able to tell the tale which were three of the most amazing pilots to date I've ever seen they were able to finally figure out these rudders on the 747s when going through volcano Ash it becomes like glue when it cools off in between the engine blades so it's fighting heat and cold all at the same time as you know as a pilot when you're up there well they survived but barely and when they went to push down on the rudder pedal it wouldn't move it was actually stuck and had malfunction and it took them about oh 20 or 30 years to actually figure out what had happened it was the first crash that came up with inconclusive reasons through the FAA investigation that then led to a few or a couple other 747s doing the same exact thing although the others crashed the one in the end that survived wound up saving the 747 and because of their experience made Bentley go through with a fine tune comb and figure out what it was and it turned out that as the ash from the lava went into that engine and started to cool off it got in between everything and the actual hydraulic mechanism that controls the rudder was getting stuck and causing the 747s to crash so the initial flight that they were inconclusive as to why it went down years later decades later they finally had an answer because of that they've made a lot of safety changes for the better. Knowing two people that have died in two separate plane crashes planes have always peaked my interest and I love to fly I wish I had gone to piloting school and got my pilot's license
@@dabzprincess92 Punctuation and sentence structure are your friends, allow me to demonstrate: Boy, that sure sounds like that rudder issue the 747s had for a while before they caught on. With only one flight crew and plane surviving and able to tell the tale, which were three of the most amazing pilots to date I've ever seen. They were able to finally figure out (that) these rudders on the 747s, when going through volcano ash, it becomes like glue when it cools off in between the engine blades, so it's fighting heat and cold all at the same time. As you know as a pilot when you're up there, well they survived but barely and when they went to push down on the rudder pedal it wouldn't move. It was actually stuck and had (a) malfunction, and it took them about oh 20 or 30 years to actually figure out what had happened. It was the first crash that came up with inconclusive reasons. Through the FAA investigation that then led to a few or a couple other 747s doing the same exact thing. Although the others crashed, the one in the end that survived wound up saving the 747, and because of their experience made Bentley go through with a fine tune comb and figure out what it was. And it turned out that as the ash from the lava went into that engine and started to cool off, it got in between everything, and the actual hydraulic mechanism that controls the rudder was getting stuck and causing the 747s to crash. So the initial flight that they were inconclusive as to why it went down, years later, decades later they finally had an answer. Because of that they've made a lot of safety changes for the better. Knowing two people that have died in two separate plane crashes planes have (has) always peaked my interest and I love to fly. I wish I had gone to piloting school and got my pilot's license.
As much as I fly, whether it's commercial or small planes, I feel more secure knowing that there are pilots like you that are responsible for us! Thank you
Well, nothing is 100% so you never know. Shit happens.. If it is not your time, you are not going........Heeeee. What goes up must come down, and we hope gracefully and safely. It is not always the case. Flying is still safer than driving your car or living in certain cities, when you never know, a loose bullet will hit you in the head. We all take chances......Never fear, it is a useless emotion. At the end, we all have to give up these vulnerable organic vessels......The great equalizer ! who wants to live to be 100 ? not me.....I always said I would buy a motorcycle and ride on the freeway, when I turn 80. Damn ! I just did and I do not want to get hurt and spend weeks in a hospital, so no motorcycle for me. You don't always die on the spot. If you survive, it is Hell........Bah. Too old to fly too.......on my own. Lucky to drive my car, as long as I pass that eye exam.....night blindness, you know.........Shishhhh.
Kudos to the air traffic controller for staying calm and calming the panicked pilot down enough to follow instructions. I work as an emergency call-handler and when someone calls in that amount of distress the adrenaline surge is unreal. He almost definitely saved the pilot’s life that day and probably just went about his work for the rest of the shift as if nothing had happened. Well done that man!
Man kudos to the controller, but honestly my first thought after the second transmission was "my god 15L should never fly again, zero chill in a crisis". Which honestly makes the controller all the more impressive, since he's not supposed to be the one doing the flying, and he's not trained to break thru the panic. Breaking thru the panic is so hard
ATC may not fly the planes, but they are the traffic signals and the closest thing to a rescue team until you are on the ground. There's audio clips of frustrated controllers for days, and then there's the great controllers that averted disaster, but as Garrison Keillor might say, they're all above average 😁 And, they have to be, because it is life and death.
They always are as they are sitting in their tower, very comfortably while the pilots may go through Hell, trying to safely get on the ground. To panic is never in the cards unless you know you are a goner and nothing can help you. Usually the word is " shit" ; repeated if time allows . That is what the boxes will show. Some people scream, but very few. They are bracing for impact and wonder if it is going to hurt ? usually, it does not. High speed impact is instantaneous ; not like a slow speed, close to the ground mishap. That may hurt.
Kelsi you need to get a ATC to do a collab so they can give their take and tell people what they are doing in the background during these situations. Pull some vids like this one and both give your take would be cool and informative.
Oh yea a 'Tower Time' vid would be great. Maybe take them up in a plane like he did with Stella. Of course he would need to work with an ATC that wasn't a pilot for that part to be interesting.
@@tashakreft381 yes, that’s who I was thinking of, just had a blank on the name Retired or not, he might be up for it for some reminiscing etc who knows?
I called 911, hysterical after seeing a guy fly through a red light and hit a pedestrian and keep going. I gave the location and when she asked me which direction he went I yelled "Straight!" I'm always amazed at how plane and ship captains keep their composure. Finally - a 'reasonable' reaction 😅
I was actually quite shocked by the panicked pilot. Generally when hear ATC of emergency situations I am impressed by how calm everyone seems, to the point when I hear someone acting panicked it seems out of place.
I’ve never heard any pilot sound like that. It’s just not indigenous of the way your taught think. That pilot had given up before he hit the ground and as you and I both know, you never give up.
The panicked pilot's registry number is a Cessna Skyhawk belonging to a flying club. He's an everyman pilot probably renting some hobby flying time, not a seasoned veteran. In general aviation there are pilots of every proficiency levels.
I just love Kelsey. He explains things so clearly, without lecturing but offering his experience and never judging when he doesn't have all the info. As a student pilot he's so helpful and knowledgeable.
Unless a deviation was extremely serious, owning the error, being apologetic and relaying how seriously you are taking this definitely factors into whether the controller elevates the deviation. If a near-miss occurs there is no getting around filing on the incident, but there is more discretion lesser deviations
My 23 year old is flying c-130’s. I’ve watched her being video recorded. I’m amazed and impressed with all flying!! Pilots and ATC are pretty dang smart and courageous 👍✈️
I feel you on that disoriented feeling. I'm not a pilot, I'm a scuba instructor, and the first time you dive in blue water, which means you basically loose all your reference points, it is very freaky! You have to rely on looking at your compass and depth gage to keep your orientation. That poor pilot, but the controller was awesome.
You can appreciate what happened with me, I have no balance centres in my head, I fall over when I close my eyes, So we were diving for the first time, I had a full flow bc for working, and I was following the bottom with no reference. The instructor had a good laugh as I followed the Botton over the edge and across the cliff at about 45deg down, keeping level with the wall of the cliff. When I looked around I wondered why everyone was on their side and heading up. Lol. I learned to watch my bubbles later
Every Flight Instructor should take their students to the local tower to meet the controllers. Putting a face to the voice on the radio really helps improve the students comms and makes it less intimidating asking for help if they ever need help. Back in my day, the ATC guys were very laid back and love talking to student pilots (ATC guys get brownie points used for promotions/bonus for doing this). The one time I had an issue the controllers were amazing.
It is not their job to babysit nervous dudes. Learn to control that, before you solo. You are on your own and should not depend on the ATC guy to tell you how to fly your plane. He gives you directions ! The guy went above his duty and of course. anyone would do it...it is common sense. Still, the silly pilot is done.
@@linanicolia1363 I don't care what you think it's not babysitting nervous dudes, it is helping someone in distress and preventing a possible south situation. Do people make mistakes? Yes that's something that happens in life and so have you and I, many times:) There's also a thing humans experience called emotion; and there's such thing as feeling panicked, which can cloud your judgement and rational thought process. helps to have someone there to help and guide you when you need it, especially if your livelihood may depend on it.
I'm an Air Force Air Traffic Controller and I enjoy watching your breakdowns, keep up what you do for our country and for the education/entertainment you provide on your free time. Much love from the other side of the radio 😁😁😁
I learned a valuable lesson during my basic instrument instruction. I had those foggles on and I wanted to ensure I did it right so I forced myself to not look out the window. I was fortunate in that I love reading and I read about disorientation effects while IFR flying and I read a lot about how people react to mentally prepared myself. My instructor had me do a series of initial banks and sure enough, after a couple turns, I "felt" that I was still in a hard bank despite my instruments saying I was straight and level. I chose to ignore the physical sensation and did not fixate on any one instrument, I am not sure which one I would have fixated on as you need all your basic instruments like the attitude indicator, heading indicator, altimeter, and turn coordinator to "fly right". My instructor verbally guided us all the way back to the airport and I only "cheated" just before we landed when the glare of the runway lights lit up the cockpit and I glanced up because we were flying at night. I did not do it myself of course. I give credit to my instructor and the FAA reports about errors others made that I initially learned from. Thankfully we now have these wonderful UA-cam videos that really go into depth on theses topics and I am sure help countless new pilots.
I’m not a pilot or a pilot in training. I’m an astrophysics undergrad and found the channel through Leon Lush. I’ve learnt so much, this is honestly an amazing service you’re providing
That "I'm going to crash" audio is chilling. I think you are right that the controller saved his life. The instruction that he gave him is the absolutely most basic thing to do, and that was probably about as much detail as the guy could absorb in that crisis. I hope the pilot bought the guy a steak dinner after that!2
@@UnshavenStatue I mean let's be honest, any pilot can freak out, especially private pilots considering you are the verge of ending your life and all the adrenaline rushes in, if it was a commercial airliner, I would agree a bit more to you
The controller did a first class job in keeping it simple and direct in a commanding manor snapping him out of panic into action I doubt the Pilot will ever forget the advise given great job and it shows the importance of that lifeline beyond just organising traffic! best wishes to all
@@DerickMasai just never heard anyone be in so much panic, I was in a similar situation when I was training for my PPL but my first thought was to concentrate on getting out of the clouds and not to wail out to ATC. I guess everyone is different.
@@DerickMasai You have a lot of faith in humanity. That's cute. The "multiple times" was part of what made it sound so cartoonish. And if it was genuine panic, it's hard to believe anything the ATC might have said would have had any effect. But I guess "any" instruction might have been okay for someone whose mind has gone blank. My own inadvertent IFR was at night. It was a sparsely populated area, so few lights on the ground, and pitch black ahead. My only clue that I had entered the clouds was the change in the sound of the air. Turned on the landing lights and it was suddenly nothing but white ahead. I was at 11.5K feet, the weather report said they'd be above 9K feet, the ground was at 2K feet, so I just advised ATC I was descending for cloud clearance, pulled the throttle, and was completely out of it at 7.5K feet, clear skies until my destination.
@@robbflynn4325 yea its kind of weird how much of a blind panic dude was in, I thought it was going to be revealed that he ate a bunch of mushrooms or took a shitload of lsd on the runway.
I love your talking about flying in IFR when you aren't trained on it. While taking flying lessons, my instructor fly through clouds for the first time and it was not at all what I expected. It reminded me of The Matrix where Morpheus had Neo in the construct and it is nothing but white. We were in the clouds for a few minutes and I thought everything was going fine but I got fixated on the airspeed indicator. It was acting, weird. I told my instructor the that and he answers, "Look at ALL your instruments." I thought I was flying straight and level but was far from it. Then my instructor took over and righted us and explained that was exactly what happened to John F Kennedy Jr. I count that as one of my best, most beneficial lessons.
Excellent point. It's imperative that you keep your scan going and not become fixated on any one instrument. In this case you learned a valuable lesson and that experience alone will serve you well in the future, especially if you pursue the instrument rating which, if possible, you should seriously consider.
Just thought to make some of you feel better , the pilot N9815L did survive. Here is a QUOTE from the Flight Club Owner, "This incident occurred at my flight club, with my favorite airplane (N9815L) just before I flew her coast to coast back in june of 2003. I met the pilot upon his return from this trip, and talked to him about it. He was on a XC flight to Kansas (from Wisconsin) to see his family. My impression is that he was a bit fatigued, and didn't notice the weather deteriorating around him. He made an all - to - common mistake, made by many new pilots, continuing a VFR flight into IMC. He was disoriented, and had spent no time in actual imc (like most new private pilots.) Once he calmed the panic, his rudimentary instrument training combined with atc radar vectors put him back on track. "
Fun fact. That pilot who was yelling “MADAY MADAY MADAY!!!!!” He survived and he actually called the control tower and thanked them for saving his life.
I remember when my instructor told me to shut my eyes and just keep the plane straight and level. I didn't cheat and I was 100% certain I was straight and level, until about 90 seconds later I opened my eyes and we had lost 1000s of ft of altitude and were sharply banked over. A good exercise in how dangerous it is to fly into clouds without an instrument rating. Glad that guy was OK.
My instructor had me close my eyes while he commanded different maneuvers. I finally peeked and noted that my "straight ahead" at the time was about 30 degrees bank and 10 degrees nose down...
But isn’t it logic to fly the instruments when u have no site of view I just don’t get it but I know it’s real life and gravity plus your sense of balance is affected it’s not a sim but isn’t it the one and only option .
@@1100BFK Yes, your logic is sound, but the human perception system has some deeply built-in equilibrium mechanisms that are really hard to overcome. So you have the "option" of following your inner ear, or of following the instruments, and they can conflict significantly. There are some POWERFUL perceptual illusions that can be overcome with training - so that you can apply that cool logic you're talking about and stay on your instruments - the right option! But without that training, these equilibrium signals can be so powerful that they can put a pilot in a confused state, even when the instruments are right there. That's why "continued VFR flight into IMC" (Instrument Meteorological Conditions) can be deadly for a VFR pilot without IFR training. This video is a prime example of that. . In a similar demonstration to Oval Teen's comment above, once while I was under the hood, my instrument instructor had me execute a 720° standard-rate left turn (two times around, taking 2 minutes each full time around the circle.) After 4 minutes of this, he had me roll out level on a heading, and then he managed to distract me away from my instrument scan for just a short moment by drawing my attention to some stuff with the radio or the transponder or something. Then he said, "Look at your bank angle." . My brain had gradually, involuntarily had my hands roll me gently back into that left turn I had leveled out of! While in the original turn, it was long enough that my equilibrium system had adapted to the turn and essentially adjusted itself to "this left turn is now 'normal', straight and level". Rolling out of it on the instruments was easy, but once I looked away from the attitude and turn indicators, my equilibrium system (which, remember, had adjusted itself to being in the left turn) essentially said "hey, this feels like a right turn now", and just very subtly, I banked the aircraft back to the left to try to return to that FEELING of being level. . That was a powerful demonstration not to trust your equilibrium in an IMC environment, and of the importance of trusting the instruments and building the habit of keeping a good scan going even in the face of distractions (like when Kelsey mentions getting fixated on one instrument - another way that your scan can go bad...)
@@svyt During my education for the certificate the basics of instrument flying were practised, like a first aid how to get out of an unintended "dive" into clouds. Regarding the ear logic, the human limitation, there is a brutal exercise. Let the pilot close the eyes and the instructor slowly puts the plane into a steep, max 60 degree left banking. When the pilot is told to open his eyes the instructor quickly turns the plane into a right 60 a degree banking in the other direction.... The guy that doesn't panic likely doesn't exist.
Some years ago, I flew around Houston doing traffic reports for various radio stations. All of our pilots were also instructors, so most of the time, I was given control of the aircraft, right after buckling up. Our Cessna was N8KE, and one day, we were granted access into controlled airspace by IAH ATC, to proceed north over I-45, but watch for a heavy inbound that would be crossing in front of us. The AA pilot called a missed approach, even though we had a visual on him, and stayed way more than 2 miles away from him, turning left and allowing him to land. Almost immediately, ATC ordered us to land at Hooks airport in Tomball, and we were given a number to call, just like this video. I was scared senseless, and my pilot instructor was Indian, and just knew he was done for. I called and spoke to the tower. The controller asked me if I had a visual on the AA aircraft at all times, and I answered “yes sir”. He asked if we kept a safe distance from the the craft, to which I responded “yes sir, and we had already started to go behind the heavy, when we heard him call the missed approach. We stayed well clear of that aircraft “. The controller asked if I was training, and I said “yes sir. Am I in trouble?”. The controller said said no, that the AA pilot had done this before. He thanked me for the report, and wished me well, and hung up. Honestly, I had to hit restroom, before going up again, this really scared me. Not the other aircraft, but getting told to land and call the tower. It truly was like being sent to the principals office, for the first time. For what it is worth, I worked for Royale Airlines years before this incident, so I knew about aircraft safety, and at the time, I had over 24 hours of flight time in my logbook. Still, being told to land and call is not an experience I care to repeat!!
IAH and Hobby are both busy. I was flying in and was told , I was number 5 behind so and so. Here you are, trying to see these guys....of course, VFR and it is a little hazy and you worry about handling your plane to stay in the pattern. Lots of stuff to do with traffic and actually flying your plane.....The best way to land these days is to do IFR, like the big boys do. If you do only VFR, stay away from busy airports..... That would be my suggestion. Safer that way !
I’ve been an instructor for 21 years and I’m pretty confident a student pilot isn’t subject to prosecution or action when following the directives of the instructor. A student pilot isn’t subject to oversight action until they are acting as pilot in command…I.e. solo work.
@@jgunther3398 well, his name in a report 20 years later will be an excellent proof he has been flying that long. And he might get invited just because someone want to hear the story. For the companies where HR won't even show his CV to someone who knows what he's doing, you probably don't want to work for them anyways..
"Prepare to copy a phone number". In police work that is the equivalent of "respond 10-19 for the watch commander". Yeah you're getting called into the principals office.
A note on the N9815L call: that was the old Flight Services group, not a direct ATC. Knowing that pilot fairly well, I can 100% tell everyone he thought he was out of options. He had done all the aviating and navigating he could. He was, at that point, communicating more as a last ditch effort for help, and to give Fort Dodge & Pella, a heads up to where he was ending up. He is still a pilot, actually continuing his journey later that day. Works in a very high stress, level headed job, 18-20 years after. It’s hard to listen to that call, knowing him and his normal demeanor. He learned a valuable lesson. He agrees he made a HUGE mistake, and hopes all pilots can listen to that and hopefully not replicate his stupidity. Drop the ego and keep self preservation.
That makes sense that it was an instructor rather than an ATC giving the mayday pilot counsel? Sounded like they were very familiar with the plane tech, which most ATCs aren't necessarily?
I have exactly one half hour flight experience many years ago in one of those Cesna "so you wanna be a pilot" promotions they offered. One thing I vividly remember the instructor (Charlie) telling me was "If you ever get into a jam, just let go of the controls. The plane (Cesna 152) will straighten up. It wants to fly itself." I never flew again after that, but that instruction has stuck with me all these years.
My flight instructor described the little Citabria I flew as a "boat, that wants to float along straight and level" basically unless I did something wrong or the trim wasn't right or something. :)
If it is trimmed, yes it will pretty much level out. But your weight shifting to one side is enough to drive the airplane into a 30 deg bank. Uneven fuel due to use of one tank can cause major trim changes.
Not the same, but I teach newer/less skilled mountain bike riders to relax on the bike more. Bikes are inherently stable, leave them alone and they will just go straight. Bikes don't crash, riders drag them to the ground.
I can totally relate to getting disoriented in the clouds. We were hiking in foggy conditions and convinced we were going the right way. It was a very sinking feeling when we looked at the GPS and found we were off route. Yes visual references aid a great deal.
Lol its nothing like that. Flying along feeling nothing is wrong. Until you are dead. Or you look down and you realize your in a stall spin. Then youre dead.
@@krotchlickmeugh627 I wouldn't say "it's nothing like that" ... It's very similar. It's a complete disorientation. Only on foot (or by car) you can only get mixed up with your x axis. In the air you also have to worry about the y axis. Granted on foot you can still get disoriented and panicked enough to fall down the y axis. That's how alot of mountain climbers and hikers die. There's also an advantage in that the only thing you have to control is your body while on foot, controlling a machine is a different animal. Not some millions of years of instinct to save you there. Regardless the disorientation is the same sort of thing. It's how people get lost in the woods all the time. "Just go straight" sounds easy but it's not when you have no bearings.
As a student I actually loved going under the hood and recovering from unusual attitudes. I was on a solo cross country flight and flew into clouds. I almost crapped my pants. Took a deep breath and did a standard rate 180 turn to get out of the clouds. Hard to believe how different it is when it's for real vs. practicing with an instructor next to you,
As to the instructor with the "bad attitude", there's some background that Kelsey could not be aware of. This particular controller had a long history of unnecessarily chastising pilots for entering his airspace on handoffs from approach and the adjoining class D, which I had experienced myself. Since this incident he has been less unpleasant. We have also come to appreciate him as many so cal pilots have told me that they avoid our airport because of the unfriendly controllers, so our wait times are minimized.
That might be, but instructors can never ignore the rules and certainly not in the presence of a student! On top of that, to me, it sounds more like he wanted to make an impression on his female student. The controller hurt his butch feelings and humiliated him in the presence of this girl student by ignoring them (which indeed isn't correct either), so he had to do something 'manly' to restore his ego and his stature in the eyes of the girl. At least in his toughts.
The average time to survive for a non-instrument rated pilot inadvertently flying into clouds is 78 seconds. It is something that was seared into my brain. My first class in flight school was nothing but watching dramatized horrific crash studies lol
Crash studies definitely get your attention. When I was in military jump school, the instructor of the malfunction class remarked that students were the most attentive in his class. In a standard low-altitude static line jump, you've got about four seconds to make things right with a total malfunction. At least you're always in VFR conditions... on second thought, maybe that's not good. At least jumpers have a reserve chute. Pilots have no reserve aircraft.
Yeah, the 3 minutes quoted by Kelsey seems a very long time in total white out. Even on the ground, where at LEAST you have one dimension of awareness. Even looking out the window of an airliner in cloud its amazing how easy it is to disorient yourself.
I have to say that I have flown IFR many times, so I thought. I cannot see the instruments at night without my glasses and I cannot see outside with my glasses. I always fly IFR. I am a student pilot about to finish private. One day my fantastic 21 year old (I am 55) instructor said, fly out over the gulf a bit instead of the shoreline and it was very dark . Once I got out there and was a good distance from land, I could not see the horizon, the water, anything. Nothing except my prop. The instructor asked if I was ok and I was good. Flying IFR THEN he said, do you see that cloud you are about to fly in and I was honestly shocked. My landing light was reflecting off it and yes I did see it but not until he pointed it out. I think I will not have a problem with IFR but to I got a REAL feel of IFR, over the water on a cloudy night and away from land, I could not see a THING. It really made me sad to hear the real panic in this pilots voice. I really wonder if he ever flew again. I hope he did but he sounded really scared
I have to say congratulations Kelsey. You are truly passionate4 and love your job. You seem to appreacitae your success while remaining grounded and cool. You are a good example to society.
@lina nicolia Hey ESL, learn some comprehension. The person you were responding to never said they were a pilot and your response was completely uncalled for.
One of the most common single engine aircraft is the Cessna with wings above the fuselage. They have positive static stability, meaning that if you let go of the controls they will tend to return to stable flight.
I once had one of those ground-fixated controllers at a Delta. We were coming in from the opposite side of the traffic pattern at the time. We got communication and he told us to report 3 mile and come in for left base (everybody else was right base for that runway). At time to report, he was in an extended conversation with someone on the ground rapid-firing question and response. Meanwhile we were coming up face to face with a V22. The instructor made the call to just turn to the runway since we were at that point anyway, and finally got the call in. The controller was quite irked, but what could we do? At least he wasn't combative though. We just took our chewing out and went to parking.
Definitely agree! Between Kelsey, Petter (Mentour Pilot) & the Air Safety Institute, trainee or newer pilots have so much learning experience available to them these days, thankfully without having to have all the scary experiences in person?
I am not a pilot, but I love your videos and how you explain everything. You seems to know what you talk about. I would never be afraid of flying in your plane, with you as a captain.
Wow, that scared pilot was so freaked out I thought it was a prank call for a bit. Thanks for the explanation Kelsey! I'll always just be a passenger but have learned so much from you :)
As a former air traffic controller, I can tell you that squawking 7700 makes the primary target on the RADAR scope flash. Your transponder code is the secondary target.
@@stephanweinberger Correct, or what was in my case busy tower ignoring me to enter control zone. If they did not respond, i would be required to land to other airport as NORDO, validate that my radio is operative and you know rest of procedures.
I have watched these videos for a couple of years. They are very educational. I have a great deal of respect for competent general aviation pilots and commercial pilots. There is a great deal to understand about flying safely and be able to do so for years.
As the mother of a 5 year old who thinks of every possible element of bedtime one thing at a time to delay actually going to sleep, I completely understand the emotion that last ATC must have been feeling 🤣
"Can i have a kiss?" "I wanna give you a hug!" "Can we read a book?" "I have to go potty!" oh my gooooood. and you just KNOW that if they sit down and close their eyes for 10 seconds they'll be out. kids are lucky they're cute.
With that attitude, instructor was giving ATC the proverbial finger...In my humble opinion 😌. You are such a nice guy, always giving the benefit of the doubt, Kelsey
I’m not sure how exactly I ended up here, prior to today, I never really put any thought into the world of aviation. And I definitely never once searched UA-cam for anything aviation related. But today this video showed up in my recommend videos. So I watched it, and then I watched another video of yours, and then another. Lol! You make interesting content buddy!! for real, I subscribed today and I’m looking forward to the next video!
Spatial disorientation. Scary stuff. I managed to give myself a fright, no jokes, sitting in my living room. I was flying through wispy stuff and had a video running on a second monitor. Looked at the video for a minute then, back to the game to see I had gone IMC. Brain complete lost it I could have sworn I was in a 90 degree left bank and had to stop myself from grabbing the yoke and yanking it right. Looked at the artificial horizon and realised I was perfectly level. Felt really silly. But am amazed I could trick my brain so easily sat in a computer chair. That pilot was lucky to have a controller on his side to reset him.
Listening to the guy that was having major problems and verbalizing that he’s rolling is one of the scariest transmissions I’ve heard. I literally got that sick feeling in my stomach listening to the broadcast.
@@cubie3835 what’s scary is I am 6 foot six 295 pounds and have had a career of beating people up for a living and yet I found myself choked up in a tear about to come out of my eye just listening to the fear in that man’s voice, I think anybody listening to that that has a heart, will be quite affected in so many different ways.
When you mess up, you need to humble yourself and hope for mercy. We landed at XYZ airport once. They had given us multiple runway changes in the terminal area. Each runway had its own frequency. Not trying to make excuses, but it was hectic and confusing. The work load of reprogramming each new approach and changing frequencies was very distracting. But at the end of the day, that’s what you sign up for. When we landed (I was the pilot flying), we exited the runway via a high speed turn off. My First Officer was pretty new. I told him to ask tower for a frequency switch to ground. The APPROACH controller said, “ I’ll give you the runway’s tower frequency first. My heart sunk all the way to my stomach because I realized that we had landed without a clearance! The tower guy was nice. He told us to continue down the taxiway and contact ground. When we arrived at the gate,deplaned the passengers and secured the aircraft, I called the tower’s land line to apologize for landing without a clearance. I was not going to make any excuses…. I was going to take whatever medicine he prescribed. He was very nice! He said, You guys were definitely cleared to land! You saw the green light (light signals are used for lost communications) didn’t you? I said, “Oh yeah! I did!!” Whew!!! That guy saved our skins! He could have easily gave us a violation for a pilot deviation. Right or wrong ALWAYS be humble!
Back in the 80-00’s my mom worked on the B-2 program. During one of their early flight tests, things didn’t go so well when she was on the flight deck (think flat spin) as an engineer, not a pilot. The flying wing design to stay in the air is nearly completely dependent on its sophisticated control systems, and did test flights with chaser planes (you know because they are invisible to radar and all). Luckily her test pilots were top notch and I still have my mom today. Those test pilots are crazy brave! It’s also why flight tests are done over the desert near the flat desert lake bed. Lots of room to land in whatever way they need to.
Always enjoy your videos. I was lucky enough to fly in a simulator a number of years ago and a friend was at the controls. The plane was all over the place and my friend could not get to straight and level. I asked, "What do planes do?" The panicked reply was "What!" I said, "What do planes do?" "They fly!" was the response. I said, "Right, now take your hands off the wheel.", and everything went smooth. I learned early to never try to over-control.
The ability to remain calm in any situation can only come from proper and adequate emergency procedures training from their flight instructor. My instructor would constantly try to catch me off guard by getting my attention elsewhere and then turning the fuel cutoff switch lol
As a former Part 147 instructor I'll tell you, good luck, and keep your head. Remember, when a pilot flies a plane, they are only responsible for that one flight but, when you as an A&P work on it, you are responsible for EVERY flight after that. So make sure you do it right, and you do it by the book, because there are places and people that will try to get you to shave a bit here and there to save time and money. Just remember, it's YOUR ticket, so don't let others tell you how to exercise those Part 65 privileges. However, I will add, do your three years as an A&P then get your IA. That is where the real money is.
The comparison to a video game when flying IFR makes sense. I remember my second grade class did a field trip to the local NAS and during it, they let each of us try to takeoff and land the simulator they had. It had all the instruments and moved around, but had nothing as far as visual flying. Out of the entire class, I was the only one to successfully takeoff and land. It really did have those gaming vibes (other then the thing moving around which was crazy fun). I believe that is where my love of flying and eventually space came from. I do wish I had pursued it.
Here's what my CFI told me a long time ago. If you're caught in IFR and you're panicking, all you really need to focus on is your compass and Vertical Speed Indicator. Maintain your compass heading = your wings are level. Maintain your Vertical Speed at zero = your altitude is constant. Notify ATC (121.5 is emergency channel), tell them you are VFR pilot in IFR, and ask for vectors. They'll give you compass direction/altitude to get out of IFR. Very gentle turns and altitude changes until you are clear. Last, he said, "It sounds pretty easy, but imagine that the plane is bouncing up and down so hard your head is banging into the ceiling because you're in turbulence. First rule is NEVER GET INTO IMC UNLESS YOU ARE INSTRUMENT RATED".
i think this is my favorite video of yours, Kelsey. i have a little bit of flying experience, but not much. i enjoy your videos, but from my own perspective, as we all do based on our own backgrounds. for me, I listen to you from the perspective of the super-geek who likes physics and math and having a pilot pretend to let me believe i'm actually piloting a Cesna or a Robinson now and again (i prefer the copters.) but, as licensed psychotherapist, with expertise in trauma and crisis. this man is in panic! he is confused. we can guess he believes he is going to die. this air traffic controller is completely calm and instructional. this ATC fellow deserves some sort of commendation. i would guess it was probably a regular day for him. it's not the "miracle on the Hudson" but everyday folks do things that make a difference everyday. the air traffic controller did exactly what that pilot needed, within seconds. he read the situation. i would guess he had figured out on the screen which plane it was, or at least that none of them were in turmoil, else we would hear a different intonation. this guy was in teacher mode. you can hear his confidence along with the calming influence. i don't know the fellow, bit if he were a gymnast, i would give him a 10. he had a calming influence. his intonation, even more than his directions spoke to that pilot: " take a breath. i'm here with you." bravo! he gave clear directions, important during the crisis. voice tone alone-, listen to how quickly the pilot's panic dissipates. fascinating. fantastic job - It's unlikely he also is a psychotherapist or a psychologist or psychiatrist. we ask so much of one another. we all need one another. and we each have our moments. i also love how you gloss over however they do things " over there" . it made me laugh that you don't know. and at the same time it speaks to an essential principle of focus within aviation. keep the blue side up.
Thanks for a free counseling session but you don’t need to be a Psychotherapist/Psychologist and/or Psychiatrist to figure out that this man was in distress!! Is called Dr. Common Sense.
@@JohnSmith-bc1pe obviously true! I just think that he did an impressive job, demonstrated skills in several domains, and did it quickly. I'm just saying i enjoyed listening to it, from my window seat perspective.
_Paraphrasing:_ *ATC:* "Are you ready to depart?" *Pilot:* "We're ready, just waiting on the cabin. No tea yet. It just takes about two minutes." *ATC:* "Then you're not ready, vacate the line." *Pilot:* "Look, we're ready, we just have to take a phone call." *ATC:* "No, you're not ready. Vacate. People are waiting --" *Pilot:* "Standby." *ATC:* "Are you _fully_ ready for departure?" *Pilot:* "Yes, we're ready, just finishing our checklist first." *ATC:* "That means you're not ready. I shouldn't have to tell you three times." *Pilot:* "Irish lass, we are _fully_ ready. We just have to complete the checklist before we are _completely_ ready to take off. If you stop talking, we'll finish." *ATC:* "Negative, ya damn Brit, vacate!" I was hoping for a "Vacate, full stop. I've got a number for you to call."
@@74gear where you ever in a Mayday Situation or will we see a series about serious accidents basically telling it from a pilots point of view :) regardless love your videos you seem like a cool guy :)
@@roscoejones4515 I mean someone could be screaming of happines, it was the tone, the guy was really fearing for his life and he was seeing his life pass through his eyes in that moment
I "volunteered" for the draft in 1972. I was at Ft. Belvoir, VA for AIT. With a fair amount of time on my hands I decided to get a pilot's license. My instruction was out of DCA which back in 1972 was open to such flying. When I got orders to go overseas on short notice my instructor decided that I was ready to be tested and right there and then he started looking around for someone to do my check flight. Captain John Ben with United Airlines (and also a check pilot) happened by coincidence to be in the tower. He offered to do the deed. He made me stay under the hood for much longer than I was used to and in circumstances that I was not at all accustomed to. He really put me through the paces. When we finally landed I couldn't get out of the plane. My legs were like jelly and my heart was beating a mile a minute. He took my log book and simply wrote "Passed, Captain John Ben". My instructor came out to the plane and talked with me for a few minutes while the nausea wore off and life went on. It was interesting learning to fly in controlled space. I later flew with the base flight club in Germany. Cherokee, $5/hr - wet. I gave up flying a few years later in Southern California because there were just too many "not so good" pilots in the air and it was anything but relaxing. I follow your site and Mentour and am fascinated by all things aviation. BUT...I almost broke into a sweat hearing this guy. It has been about 30 minutes and I'm still a little nauseated from just hearing that fear. God Bless that controller.
15:00 One of my fondest memories from Instrument flight training was my first flight in actual IMC, flying into Palomar, CA. Completely in the clouds shooting the ILS and coming out of the clouds with a tight but comfortable margin before Decision Height. That was the most amazing site and adrenaline rush seeing the runway lights and making the landing.
So horrifying; I couldn’t even imagine. Maybe he was spatially disoriented. I’m not a pilot but I’ve heard it is a very real and potentially deadly phenomenon that can happen literally in a matter of seconds. I wonder if the pilot will learn from the experience and get to continue in his aviation career or if this will be forever on his record and he’s done. And yes, kudos to the controller for his professionalism.
I remember the first time I flew into a cloud (IFR training), I had a very strong sense that I was dangerously nose up. Trusting the gauges was a great lesson. BTW, there after, I still always got that sensation but learned to disregard it.
Yeahm the somatogravic ilussion is jus terrifying to me. Last time I was on a plane I loked out the window and saw the horizon to be level, but when I looked inside the cabin, I could have sworn we were pitching up. But truth was, we were decelerating while being level. Crazy stuff
I remember the first time I had my boat in the fog. Couldn't see a hundred feet in any direction. All I had to follow was my GPS and radar. I had a hard time trusting what they were telling me to do. Radar showed a cargo ship, and it *felt* like I was going right towards it, even though I wasn't. It was hard to keep my mind from steering the boat where it wanted to go, and not where my electronics were telling me to go. I can only imagine how much worse it would be in a plane adding in that third dimension.
Youvare so right. My very first solo approach in the soup down to 400 above minimums put reality into my head. The realization that there was not an instructor in the right seat watching me for mistakes was a sobering thing
I’ve seen that video in its entirety, it hurts to listen to it. It wasn’t ATC, but Flight Service that helped him regain control. It’s worth finding and listening to.
When you were talking about getting under the cloud deck, it reminded me of when I was getting my instrument ticket, 40 years ago, I was lucky enough to have been able to do almost 90% of my flights in actual IFR conditions. It's a good feeling when you do an approach where it's below minimums, knowing you'll have to go missed, and just before going missed you see the numbers go under the aircraft.
Where are you that the decision altitude is low enough that you'll be over the runway before coming out of the clouds? Edit: Oh. 40 years ago. I guess things were different, then.
I can’t remember if it was FAA or AOPA who did it, but when I was doing my private pilot training I listened to a podcast on spin awareness. That “I’m gonna crash!” audio was the intro. It’s chilling no matter how many times I hear it.
Sounds like diving in zero viz (underwater). The cure I found was to close my eyes, because when your eyes are open and can't see anything, the brain gets all confused. It is thinking that the eyes are open, and they should be seeing something. Worked every time, calmed everyone down that I taught that technique to. I realize it is different in one way, but similar in others.
Loss of visual cues *and* instruments results in loss of orientation in seconds for me, not minutes. I would be in a climbing right hand turn EVERY time. ( My shenanigans, if not planned and trusted friend/pilot next to me, would result in a stall/spin I'm sure...) Trusting my instruments when they were returned was *interesting *. Great example of what can happen, and how helpful the controllers can be. Thank you for the great video.
During my flight training in the states I was practicing my stall recovery solo and got myself into a spin. Fortunately during my PPL training in Australia they teach spin recovery early on and so I gathered myself after the adrenaline rush and recovered the aircraft. They do or atleast did not teach this during your training for FAA PPL, and had I not learnt a bit of flying before heading to the states I might not be here today. There was a story only months prior of an instructor and student in the same state (Florida) that died after getting themselves in a spin. I completed my FAA PPL, EASA IR & CPL, and having flown under 3 different sets of regulators I can confirm that FAA standards are so poor compared to the rest of the world.
I like your sign off "Keep the blue side up". Reminds me of what we would say to each other as firefighters battling a wildfire: "Put the wet stuff on the red stuff."
I am really impressed by so many people how when the heat is on or you're having disagreements with people, you can stay so level headed and calm, express yourself, listen to what was said and have a fairly respectful conversation. It'd be kinda' fun to see Kelsey rattled by something, just for a change, but videos like this are really a good influence.
FO Kelsey I love your ending catch-phase "Keep the blue side up" I guess you could say if it's going blue, green, blue, green, blue, green, you're not having a good day! I have a long story about my first time in cloud, and how later, it probably saved my life! I'll send it to you sometime
I guess in VMC, "Keep the blue side up" refers to the sky. In IMC, I suppose it could refer to the attitude indicator. (Blue, brown, blue, brown, lol...)
Scary stuff. Being on the ground most of the time, I always pray that the planes above, especially the little ones, are being piloted by trained professionals that know what they are doing.
@@Saml01 I know that there are a lot of small plane pilots that go fly in the morning on the weekend then spend all day in the airport bar. And not necessarily in that order. I flew once with a friend who wanted to impress me by coming in 90 degrees to the runway thru an opening in a stand of trees then turns the plane parallel to the runway just before setting it down. Once is the key word in that story.
You are the steel balls!Love you all do and you are so right on!PP since 1977 had a restored Wonderful Cessna 172!With a new Rebuilt Continental 145HP smooth 6 cylinder!15 aircraft I’m checked out in complex and High Performance and passed landing at St.Barths FWI !I love to fly and you and your debriefings are amazing and you are always right!All my pilot friends think you are the best!Thank you so much!!
I was a student pilot in the late 90s. One day my instructor wasn't there & a stranger was substituting. On my take off roll this guy slammed the left brake & into the grass we went. This is NOT how my instruction was ever conducted before. I gave Mr. Substitute a deviated septum & made certain he was to never set foot on that airport again.
21:15 Jeez - that Speedbird crew was COMPLETELY in the wrong - ALL checks should have been completed/confirmed by that stage. To have the flight crew farfing about like that is a potentially dangerous situation. I think.
In January of 1982, about one month after getting my private pilot license, I made a series of stupid mistakes and almost got my family killed. My Cessna 172 got into a graveyard spiral at 147 mph before I realized what had happened. I had inadvertently gotten into a cloud, made a 180 degree turn to get out of it, and had gotten into the spiral almost immediately. I relatively quickly used the instruments to correct the airplane's attitude and got the speed back to the normal 100 mph cruising speed. We got out of the cloud rather quickly and continued the flight. By remaining outwardly calm I never let my wife know how close I had gone to killing all of us. It was completely my fault, and I was lucky to keep us from dying that day. Ever since that day I've relived that experience and frequently thought about how my stupidity almost got us all killed.
Bug smashers!! Lol my dad was a RAF pilot during WWII, and flew small planes as long as he could. I grew up at an airfield/farm hanging out and flying with my dad. I really enjoying your channel!
I'm not a controller that likes to get on to pilots all that much, but nothing makes my day more than when I get to say to a rude pilot "get a pen and paper, I've got a phone number for you to call" Dont be dumb enough to give me a reason to say it
Pilot: _"I'm gonna crash!"_
ATC: _"Negative. That procedure is not approved. Climb and maintain ..."_
Pilot. "I'm gonna crash!" ATC: "Roger. Possible pilot deviation. I have a number for you to copy."
This but seriously. A panic situation where someone steps in who is calm and aware of what needs to happen to regain control is so helpful.
Right? That AC was a total prick
ahhhhhh standby
@@randomvintagefilm273 timestamp?
As an electrician in the mining industry all miners are strongly encouraged to turn in "Near misses". Basically we discuss these in daily safety meetings each and every morning. By talking about something dumb you might have done that nearly got you or someone else hurt everyone becomes more aware of situational awareness or doing the right thing. No one is ever reprimanded for bringing a near miss to the table. It's a great safety practice I think all industries should implement TBH.
I've always found the term 'near miss' to be rather confusing. To my warped mind, a 'near miss' suggests someone actually got hurt - because whatever happened - it NEARLY missed.
Are they not "near hits" not "near misses"???
@@DanielVerberne yea, so it nearly happened, but then was a miss - shorthand LOL
"No one is ever reprimanded"
YET they ARE looked at differently and the first ones to get fired.
@@SkELAo7 Not true, at least in the mining industry. Actually, every month an employee who brings up the "best near miss of the month" is awarded a $100.00 gift card. Bringing near misses to the table is rewarded, as it should be. Now if we are talking Boeing, you might have a point. 😂
I'm glad you included the clip of the guy demonstrating him releasing the yoke and the plane returning to level - it's really amazing to see it in action.
And very counter-intuitive, if you have no flying experience. So it was nice to actually see it happen.
Unless you're flying a fighter or an aerobatic machine then your plane is designed to be dynamically stable, and that's exactly what this is - let go of the stick and it'll have a tendency to go back to straight and level.
@@charliewhiskey8440 Provided your plane is trimmed well, yes.
basic reaction to panic. Hope that guy gives up flying. It is not for him.
@@renerpho It's decently intuitive if you think about a plane being like a falling leaf. A falling leaf will slip sideways, pick up airspeed, then level out once it has enough air under it to generate lift, eventually lose the speed, stall, then slip sideways again, and so on until it lands. If you halt the cycle with say, a propeller to keep the speed, that's an airplane.
I was instructing back in the late 70s into late 80s. My first “start to finish” student was a quick learner, but pretty full of himself and way over confident. After we had completed the minimum simulated instrument time, he commented, “I just don’t see what’s so hard about this instrument stuff-I think it’s easy.” Up to that time, it had all been under the hood, never for real. On his long dual cross country, I suspected that the weather was going to come through and give us a chance for some “for real”. We departed Casper to return to Laramie on an IFR flight plan, and soon after crossing over Casper Mountain, we started hitting a few clouds and then got pretty well socked in, other than a few glimpses of the ground below. I noticed that instead of concentrating on the instruments, he was often looking out the side window and the ground, which was barely visible through the clouds. Then the airplane went into a left bank and began to lose altitude, so I tapped his shoulder and then the instruments, and he quickly recovered. Guessing what would happen, I contacted Denver Center, asked for a block altitude, and told them this was a training flight and not to be surprised if there were big excursions in altitude and heading. I should mention-this was before headsets became ubiquitous, so my side of the conversation couldn’t be heard by my student as I spoke into the hand mic.
So we flew along for another few minutes and then the airplane again banked left and started to descend. This time I let it go until we’d done a 180° reversal and lost perhaps 500-600’ before I caught his attention again. It took him longer, but he did recover the airplane and returned on course and altitude. Then he said, “I don’t understand what is happening!” I told him that he wasn’t maintaining his instrument scan-in fact, he was hardly looking at the instruments at all, and that he must concentrate solely on the instruments and not look outside.
This time, he managed to keep us under control for another 5 or 6 minutes. Although the cabin of the 172 was cool (it was winter), he was sweating profusely. Finally he said that he just couldn’t take it any longer, and asked me to take over. I did, and we flew until we came out of the clouds, where I had him take over and complete the flight to Laramie.
After we were on the ground, I asked him what he thought would have happened, if I hadn’t caught his attention about his loss of control. Succinctly, he said, “we would have died.”
My IFR instructor took me out over the ocean (VMC) in Charleston SC, put me under the hood and did unusual attitudes. I did satisfactorily, probably because he had told me a story about how he had to fight a student for the controls. You see, at night over the ocean near the port of Charleston, lights on the ship and boat traffic look the same as stars.!!
Boy that sure sounds like that rudder issue the 747s had for a while before they caught on with only one flight crew and plane surviving and able to tell the tale which were three of the most amazing pilots to date I've ever seen they were able to finally figure out these rudders on the 747s when going through volcano Ash it becomes like glue when it cools off in between the engine blades so it's fighting heat and cold all at the same time as you know as a pilot when you're up there well they survived but barely and when they went to push down on the rudder pedal it wouldn't move it was actually stuck and had malfunction and it took them about oh 20 or 30 years to actually figure out what had happened it was the first crash that came up with inconclusive reasons through the FAA investigation that then led to a few or a couple other 747s doing the same exact thing although the others crashed the one in the end that survived wound up saving the 747 and because of their experience made Bentley go through with a fine tune comb and figure out what it was and it turned out that as the ash from the lava went into that engine and started to cool off it got in between everything and the actual hydraulic mechanism that controls the rudder was getting stuck and causing the 747s to crash so the initial flight that they were inconclusive as to why it went down years later decades later they finally had an answer because of that they've made a lot of safety changes for the better. Knowing two people that have died in two separate plane crashes planes have always peaked my interest and I love to fly I wish I had gone to piloting school and got my pilot's license
Great story
@@dabzprincess92 Punctuation and sentence structure are your friends, allow me to demonstrate:
Boy, that sure sounds like that rudder issue the 747s had for a while before they caught on. With only one flight crew and plane surviving and able to tell the tale, which were three of the most amazing pilots to date I've ever seen. They were able to finally figure out (that) these rudders on the 747s, when going through volcano ash, it becomes like glue when it cools off in between the engine blades, so it's fighting heat and cold all at the same time. As you know as a pilot when you're up there, well they survived but barely and when they went to push down on the rudder pedal it wouldn't move. It was actually stuck and had (a) malfunction, and it took them about oh 20 or 30 years to actually figure out what had happened. It was the first crash that came up with inconclusive reasons. Through the FAA investigation that then led to a few or a couple other 747s doing the same exact thing. Although the others crashed, the one in the end that survived wound up saving the 747, and because of their experience made Bentley go through with a fine tune comb and figure out what it was. And it turned out that as the ash from the lava went into that engine and started to cool off, it got in between everything, and the actual hydraulic mechanism that controls the rudder was getting stuck and causing the 747s to crash. So the initial flight that they were inconclusive as to why it went down, years later, decades later they finally had an answer. Because of that they've made a lot of safety changes for the better. Knowing two people that have died in two separate plane crashes planes have (has) always peaked my interest and I love to fly. I wish I had gone to piloting school and got my pilot's license.
@@mxslick50 Thank you… MUCH easier to read!!!!
As much as I fly, whether it's commercial or small planes, I feel more secure knowing that there are pilots like you that are responsible for us! Thank you
Well, nothing is 100% so you never know. Shit happens.. If it is not your time, you are not going........Heeeee. What goes up must come down, and we hope gracefully and safely. It is not always the case. Flying is still safer than driving your car or living in certain cities, when you never know, a loose bullet will hit you in the head. We all take chances......Never fear, it is a useless emotion. At the end, we all have to give up these vulnerable organic vessels......The great equalizer ! who wants to live to be 100 ? not me.....I always said I would buy a motorcycle and ride on the freeway, when I turn 80. Damn ! I just did and I do not want to get hurt and spend weeks in a hospital, so no motorcycle for me. You don't always die on the spot. If you survive, it is Hell........Bah. Too old to fly too.......on my own. Lucky to drive my car, as long as I pass that eye exam.....night blindness, you know.........Shishhhh.
You know you've been a great pilot when you're so awesome the controller wants to talk to you on the phone!
🤣🤣
Now that’s funny! 😂😂
Booty call!
NOT!!
😂😂
Kudos to the air traffic controller for staying calm and calming the panicked pilot down enough to follow instructions. I work as an emergency call-handler and when someone calls in that amount of distress the adrenaline surge is unreal. He almost definitely saved the pilot’s life that day and probably just went about his work for the rest of the shift as if nothing had happened. Well done that man!
Answering the call! 💪
Man kudos to the controller, but honestly my first thought after the second transmission was "my god 15L should never fly again, zero chill in a crisis". Which honestly makes the controller all the more impressive, since he's not supposed to be the one doing the flying, and he's not trained to break thru the panic. Breaking thru the panic is so hard
I thought it sounded like a prank. I’m glad it wasn’t up to my sarcastic butt to save him.
ATC may not fly the planes, but they are the traffic signals and the closest thing to a rescue team until you are on the ground. There's audio clips of frustrated controllers for days, and then there's the great controllers that averted disaster, but as Garrison Keillor might say, they're all above average 😁 And, they have to be, because it is life and death.
They always are as they are sitting in their tower, very comfortably while the pilots may go through Hell, trying to safely get on the ground. To panic is never in the cards unless you know you are a goner and nothing can help you. Usually the word is " shit" ; repeated if time allows . That is what the boxes will show. Some people scream, but very few. They are bracing for impact and wonder if it is going to hurt ? usually, it does not. High speed impact is instantaneous ; not like a slow speed, close to the ground mishap. That may hurt.
Kelsi you need to get a ATC to do a collab so they can give their take and tell people what they are doing in the background during these situations. Pull some vids like this one and both give your take would be cool and informative.
Oh yea a 'Tower Time' vid would be great. Maybe take them up in a plane like he did with Stella. Of course he would need to work with an ATC that wasn't a pilot for that part to be interesting.
Oh lord…I forget his name but that one guy known from the New York area, commonly featured in funny atc vids…
@@trayolphia5756 probably KennedySteve but I believe he retired
@@tashakreft381 yes, that’s who I was thinking of, just had a blank on the name
Retired or not, he might be up for it for some reminiscing etc who knows?
I approve ,would be super fun too i predict
"say last known position"
"THE SKY... IM IN THE GOD DAMNED SKY!"
I called 911, hysterical after seeing a guy fly through a red light and hit a pedestrian and keep going. I gave the location and when she asked me which direction he went I yelled "Straight!" I'm always amazed at how plane and ship captains keep their composure. Finally - a 'reasonable' reaction 😅
I enjoy your sense of humour. Commercial pilots really are a different breed. Amazing people.
I was actually quite shocked by the panicked pilot. Generally when hear ATC of emergency situations I am impressed by how calm everyone seems, to the point when I hear someone acting panicked it seems out of place.
By that same virtue of them always remaining calm, I was thinking it was gonna be a newbie pranking ATC. I'm glad he got his issue resolved.
I’ve never heard any pilot sound like that. It’s just not indigenous of the way your taught think. That pilot had given up before he hit the ground and as you and I both know, you never give up.
@@keithbrunson7190 He sounds like he's reasonably new, perhaps a student pilot.
@@charliewhiskey8440 he sounds so very new, one wonders if he is on his first solo. That is terrifying audio.
The panicked pilot's registry number is a Cessna Skyhawk belonging to a flying club. He's an everyman pilot probably renting some hobby flying time, not a seasoned veteran. In general aviation there are pilots of every proficiency levels.
I just love Kelsey. He explains things so clearly, without lecturing but offering his experience and never judging when he doesn't have all the info. As a student pilot he's so helpful and knowledgeable.
"Are you ready for departure?"
"Yes, we're just completing some checks..."
"Then you are not ready for departure, you f-ing bell end."
Bell end!!!! Hahahaaha. Dong!!!!!!!
The British can get pretty intense about queueing and about missing their place in a queue!
Unless a deviation was extremely serious, owning the error, being apologetic and relaying how seriously you are taking this definitely factors into whether the controller elevates the deviation. If a near-miss occurs there is no getting around filing on the incident, but there is more discretion lesser deviations
"But I'm not dead yet!"
moooom, just 1 more minute
My 23 year old is flying c-130’s. I’ve watched her being video recorded. I’m amazed and impressed with all flying!! Pilots and ATC are pretty dang smart and courageous 👍✈️
I feel you on that disoriented feeling. I'm not a pilot, I'm a scuba instructor, and the first time you dive in blue water, which means you basically loose all your reference points, it is very freaky! You have to rely on looking at your compass and depth gage to keep your orientation. That poor pilot, but the controller was awesome.
Oh, and it happens very quickly.
Feel ya. Feel where the bubbles go out of your mouthpice and not knowing front back up or down :D
I dive the PNW. Puget Sound has 0 vis due to plankton and sediment. It's trippy every single time. :)
Oh yes! Night dive and I couldn't equalize my ears and had to go back up to the boat without my team....only a flashlight, so disorienting 😂
You can appreciate what happened with me,
I have no balance centres in my head, I fall over when I close my eyes,
So we were diving for the first time, I had a full flow bc for working, and I was following the bottom with no reference.
The instructor had a good laugh as I followed the Botton over the edge and across the cliff at about 45deg down, keeping level with the wall of the cliff.
When I looked around I wondered why everyone was on their side and heading up.
Lol. I learned to watch my bubbles later
Every Flight Instructor should take their students to the local tower to meet the controllers. Putting a face to the voice on the radio really helps improve the students comms and makes it less intimidating asking for help if they ever need help. Back in my day, the ATC guys were very laid back and love talking to student pilots (ATC guys get brownie points used for promotions/bonus for doing this). The one time I had an issue the controllers were amazing.
That mayday audio literally brings a tear to my eye every time I hear it. I'm a student pilot and have much love and respect for what ATC does for us.
It is not their job to babysit nervous dudes. Learn to control that, before you solo. You are on your own and should not depend on the ATC guy to tell you how to fly your plane. He gives you directions ! The guy went above his duty and of course. anyone would do it...it is common sense. Still, the silly pilot is done.
@@linanicolia1363 I don't care what you think it's not babysitting nervous dudes, it is helping someone in distress and preventing a possible south situation. Do people make mistakes? Yes that's something that happens in life and so have you and I, many times:) There's also a thing humans experience called emotion; and there's such thing as feeling panicked, which can cloud your judgement and rational thought process. helps to have someone there to help and guide you when you need it, especially if your livelihood may depend on it.
I'm an Air Force Air Traffic Controller and I enjoy watching your breakdowns, keep up what you do for our country and for the education/entertainment you provide on your free time. Much love from the other side of the radio 😁😁😁
I learned a valuable lesson during my basic instrument instruction. I had those foggles on and I wanted to ensure I did it right so I forced myself to not look out the window. I was fortunate in that I love reading and I read about disorientation effects while IFR flying and I read a lot about how people react to mentally prepared myself. My instructor had me do a series of initial banks and sure enough, after a couple turns, I "felt" that I was still in a hard bank despite my instruments saying I was straight and level. I chose to ignore the physical sensation and did not fixate on any one instrument, I am not sure which one I would have fixated on as you need all your basic instruments like the attitude indicator, heading indicator, altimeter, and turn coordinator to "fly right". My instructor verbally guided us all the way back to the airport and I only "cheated" just before we landed when the glare of the runway lights lit up the cockpit and I glanced up because we were flying at night. I did not do it myself of course. I give credit to my instructor and the FAA reports about errors others made that I initially learned from. Thankfully we now have these wonderful UA-cam videos that really go into depth on theses topics and I am sure help countless new pilots.
I’m not a pilot or a pilot in training. I’m an astrophysics undergrad and found the channel through Leon Lush. I’ve learnt so much, this is honestly an amazing service you’re providing
How do you know someone is an astrophysicist? Theyl tell you.
Wait, did she mention she’s an Astrophysicist undergrad?
Dm me
Who asked?
Lol
That "I'm going to crash" audio is chilling. I think you are right that the controller saved his life. The instruction that he gave him is the absolutely most basic thing to do, and that was probably about as much detail as the guy could absorb in that crisis.
I hope the pilot bought the guy a steak dinner after that!2
I hope that pilot had the sense to no longer be a pilot, losing your head like that will only end poorly (à la Atlas Air in Houston)
@@UnshavenStatue I mean let's be honest, any pilot can freak out, especially private pilots considering you are the verge of ending your life and all the adrenaline rushes in, if it was a commercial airliner, I would agree a bit more to you
The controller did a first class job in keeping it simple and direct in a commanding manor snapping him out of panic into action
I doubt the Pilot will ever forget the advise given
great job and it shows the importance of that lifeline beyond just organising traffic!
best wishes to all
@@UnshavenStatue actually he called in later that same or next day (I don't recall) to schedule his next flight...
@@crazymonkeyVII Yes he did, there used to be a video here on UA-cam, may still be, where he thanked the same controllers for saving his life.
I thought the panic transmission was someone fooling around. Glad he survived, well done to the controller.
No one says mayday as a joke, let alone multiple times in one go after each sentence.
@@DerickMasai just never heard anyone be in so much panic, I was in a similar situation when I was training for my PPL but my first thought was to concentrate on getting out of the clouds and not to wail out to ATC. I guess everyone is different.
@@DerickMasai You have a lot of faith in humanity. That's cute. The "multiple times" was part of what made it sound so cartoonish. And if it was genuine panic, it's hard to believe anything the ATC might have said would have had any effect. But I guess "any" instruction might have been okay for someone whose mind has gone blank.
My own inadvertent IFR was at night. It was a sparsely populated area, so few lights on the ground, and pitch black ahead. My only clue that I had entered the clouds was the change in the sound of the air. Turned on the landing lights and it was suddenly nothing but white ahead. I was at 11.5K feet, the weather report said they'd be above 9K feet, the ground was at 2K feet, so I just advised ATC I was descending for cloud clearance, pulled the throttle, and was completely out of it at 7.5K feet, clear skies until my destination.
I thought the last one was just someone fooling around!
@@robbflynn4325 yea its kind of weird how much of a blind panic dude was in, I thought it was going to be revealed that he ate a bunch of mushrooms or took a shitload of lsd on the runway.
I love your talking about flying in IFR when you aren't trained on it. While taking flying lessons, my instructor fly through clouds for the first time and it was not at all what I expected. It reminded me of The Matrix where Morpheus had Neo in the construct and it is nothing but white. We were in the clouds for a few minutes and I thought everything was going fine but I got fixated on the airspeed indicator. It was acting, weird. I told my instructor the that and he answers, "Look at ALL your instruments." I thought I was flying straight and level but was far from it. Then my instructor took over and righted us and explained that was exactly what happened to John F Kennedy Jr. I count that as one of my best, most beneficial lessons.
Excellent point. It's imperative that you keep your scan going and not become fixated on any one instrument. In this case you learned a valuable lesson and that experience alone will serve you well in the future, especially if you pursue the instrument rating which, if possible, you should seriously consider.
I just watched that episode of Mayday recently, and was thinking it must *almost* happen all the time. Glad you got to learn from it :)
Awesome
Just thought to make some of you feel better , the pilot N9815L did survive. Here is a QUOTE from the Flight Club Owner, "This incident occurred at my flight club, with my favorite airplane (N9815L) just before I flew her coast to coast back in june of 2003. I met the pilot upon his return from this trip, and talked to him about it. He was on a XC flight to Kansas (from Wisconsin) to see his family.
My impression is that he was a bit fatigued, and didn't notice the weather deteriorating around him. He made an all - to - common mistake, made by many new pilots, continuing a VFR flight into IMC. He was disoriented, and had spent no time in actual imc (like most new private pilots.) Once he calmed the panic, his rudimentary instrument training combined with atc radar vectors put him back on track. "
What's imc
@@drawmaster77 "Instrument meteorological conditions", aka "I can't fucking see anything!"
@@dragonnyxx oh 🤣
Fun fact. That pilot who was yelling “MADAY MADAY MADAY!!!!!” He survived and he actually called the control tower and thanked them for saving his life.
source
you can't call a fact without source, buddy.
@@dynad00d15 is that a fact?
@@Dee-Eddy Lets push misinformation by supporting idiots spreading ideas that come out of their ass.. What a great concept, buddy.
Just type it in google and you can find the source in two seconds. This is facts.
I remember when my instructor told me to shut my eyes and just keep the plane straight and level. I didn't cheat and I was 100% certain I was straight and level, until about 90 seconds later I opened my eyes and we had lost 1000s of ft of altitude and were sharply banked over. A good exercise in how dangerous it is to fly into clouds without an instrument rating. Glad that guy was OK.
Similar to trying to walk straight in the woods.
My instructor had me close my eyes while he commanded different maneuvers. I finally peeked and noted that my "straight ahead" at the time was about 30 degrees bank and 10 degrees nose down...
But isn’t it logic to fly the instruments when u have no site of view I just don’t get it but I know it’s real life and gravity plus your sense of balance is affected it’s not a sim but isn’t it the one and only option .
@@1100BFK Yes, your logic is sound, but the human perception system has some deeply built-in equilibrium mechanisms that are really hard to overcome. So you have the "option" of following your inner ear, or of following the instruments, and they can conflict significantly. There are some POWERFUL perceptual illusions that can be overcome with training - so that you can apply that cool logic you're talking about and stay on your instruments - the right option! But without that training, these equilibrium signals can be so powerful that they can put a pilot in a confused state, even when the instruments are right there. That's why "continued VFR flight into IMC" (Instrument Meteorological Conditions) can be deadly for a VFR pilot without IFR training. This video is a prime example of that.
.
In a similar demonstration to Oval Teen's comment above, once while I was under the hood, my instrument instructor had me execute a 720° standard-rate left turn (two times around, taking 2 minutes each full time around the circle.) After 4 minutes of this, he had me roll out level on a heading, and then he managed to distract me away from my instrument scan for just a short moment by drawing my attention to some stuff with the radio or the transponder or something. Then he said, "Look at your bank angle."
.
My brain had gradually, involuntarily had my hands roll me gently back into that left turn I had leveled out of! While in the original turn, it was long enough that my equilibrium system had adapted to the turn and essentially adjusted itself to "this left turn is now 'normal', straight and level". Rolling out of it on the instruments was easy, but once I looked away from the attitude and turn indicators, my equilibrium system (which, remember, had adjusted itself to being in the left turn) essentially said "hey, this feels like a right turn now", and just very subtly, I banked the aircraft back to the left to try to return to that FEELING of being level.
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That was a powerful demonstration not to trust your equilibrium in an IMC environment, and of the importance of trusting the instruments and building the habit of keeping a good scan going even in the face of distractions (like when Kelsey mentions getting fixated on one instrument - another way that your scan can go bad...)
@@svyt During my education for the certificate the basics of instrument flying were practised, like a first aid how to get out of an unintended "dive" into clouds.
Regarding the ear logic, the human limitation, there is a brutal exercise. Let the pilot close the eyes and the instructor slowly puts the plane into a steep, max 60 degree left banking. When the pilot is told to open his eyes the instructor quickly turns the plane into a right 60 a degree banking in the other direction.... The guy that doesn't panic likely doesn't exist.
Some years ago, I flew around Houston doing traffic reports for various radio stations. All of our pilots were also instructors, so most of the time, I was given control of the aircraft, right after buckling up. Our Cessna was N8KE, and one day, we were granted access into controlled airspace by IAH ATC, to proceed north over I-45, but watch for a heavy inbound that would be crossing in front of us. The AA pilot called a missed approach, even though we had a visual on him, and stayed way more than 2 miles away from him, turning left and allowing him to land. Almost immediately, ATC ordered us to land at Hooks airport in Tomball, and we were given a number to call, just like this video. I was scared senseless, and my pilot instructor was Indian, and just knew he was done for. I called and spoke to the tower. The controller asked me if I had a visual on the AA aircraft at all times, and I answered “yes sir”. He asked if we kept a safe distance from the the craft, to which I responded “yes sir, and we had already started to go behind the heavy, when we heard him call the missed approach. We stayed well clear of that aircraft “. The controller asked if I was training, and I said “yes sir. Am I in trouble?”. The controller said said no, that the AA pilot had done this before. He thanked me for the report, and wished me well, and hung up. Honestly, I had to hit restroom, before going up again, this really scared me. Not the other aircraft, but getting told to land and call the tower. It truly was like being sent to the principals office, for the first time. For what it is worth, I worked for Royale Airlines years before this incident, so I knew about aircraft safety, and at the time, I had over 24 hours of flight time in my logbook. Still, being told to land and call is not an experience I care to repeat!!
Haha small world! I’m also doing training at KDWH. Thanks for the interesting story!
@@drummerian1960 There are some great trainers there, best of luck to you!
@yoan goubert A little shaken, but everything was good. 👍
IAH and Hobby are both busy. I was flying in and was told , I was number 5 behind so and so. Here you are, trying to see these guys....of course, VFR and it is a little hazy and you worry about handling your plane to stay in the pattern. Lots of stuff to do with traffic and actually flying your plane.....The best way to land these days is to do IFR, like the big boys do. If you do only VFR, stay away from busy airports..... That would be my suggestion. Safer that way !
I’ve been an instructor for 21 years and I’m pretty confident a student pilot isn’t subject to prosecution or action when following the directives of the instructor. A student pilot isn’t subject to oversight action until they are acting as pilot in command…I.e. solo work.
Correct. They aren't pic
Makes sense. I suppose there are exceptions for wilful malice byr I imagine those situations are rare to the point of not even considering
However, I suspect the student will get a new instructor soon... either willingly or unwillingly (after the instructor lost his license)
that makes sense. maybe the student's name just appears in the report and could turn up?
@@jgunther3398 well, his name in a report 20 years later will be an excellent proof he has been flying that long. And he might get invited just because someone want to hear the story. For the companies where HR won't even show his CV to someone who knows what he's doing, you probably don't want to work for them anyways..
"Prepare to copy a phone number". In police work that is the equivalent of "respond 10-19 for the watch commander". Yeah you're getting called into the principals office.
A note on the N9815L call: that was the old Flight Services group, not a direct ATC. Knowing that pilot fairly well, I can 100% tell everyone he thought he was out of options. He had done all the aviating and navigating he could. He was, at that point, communicating more as a last ditch effort for help, and to give Fort Dodge & Pella, a heads up to where he was ending up. He is still a pilot, actually continuing his journey later that day. Works in a very high stress, level headed job, 18-20 years after. It’s hard to listen to that call, knowing him and his normal demeanor. He learned a valuable lesson. He agrees he made a HUGE mistake, and hopes all pilots can listen to that and hopefully not replicate his stupidity. Drop the ego and keep self preservation.
That makes sense that it was an instructor rather than an ATC giving the mayday pilot counsel? Sounded like they were very familiar with the plane tech, which most ATCs aren't necessarily?
Very nice to know. Thank you. He is someone that all of us would benefit from knowing.
I have exactly one half hour flight experience many years ago in one of those Cesna "so you wanna be a pilot" promotions they offered. One thing I vividly remember the instructor (Charlie) telling me was "If you ever get into a jam, just let go of the controls. The plane (Cesna 152) will straighten up. It wants to fly itself." I never flew again after that, but that instruction has stuck with me all these years.
My flight instructor described the little Citabria I flew as a "boat, that wants to float along straight and level" basically unless I did something wrong or the trim wasn't right or something. :)
It makes sense from a physics perspective. Birds that soar are doing that all the time.
If it is trimmed, yes it will pretty much level out.
But your weight shifting to one side is enough to drive the airplane into a 30 deg bank.
Uneven fuel due to use of one tank can cause major trim changes.
That's also know as resignation, which can be very bad.
Not the same, but I teach newer/less skilled mountain bike riders to relax on the bike more. Bikes are inherently stable, leave them alone and they will just go straight.
Bikes don't crash, riders drag them to the ground.
I can totally relate to getting disoriented in the clouds. We were hiking in foggy conditions and convinced we were going the right way. It was a very sinking feeling when we looked at the GPS and found we were off route. Yes visual references aid a great deal.
Lol its nothing like that.
Flying along feeling nothing is wrong.
Until you are dead. Or you look down and you realize your in a stall spin. Then youre dead.
@@krotchlickmeugh627 I wouldn't say "it's nothing like that" ... It's very similar. It's a complete disorientation. Only on foot (or by car) you can only get mixed up with your x axis. In the air you also have to worry about the y axis.
Granted on foot you can still get disoriented and panicked enough to fall down the y axis. That's how alot of mountain climbers and hikers die.
There's also an advantage in that the only thing you have to control is your body while on foot, controlling a machine is a different animal. Not some millions of years of instinct to save you there.
Regardless the disorientation is the same sort of thing. It's how people get lost in the woods all the time. "Just go straight" sounds easy but it's not when you have no bearings.
As a student I actually loved going under the hood and recovering from unusual attitudes. I was on a solo cross country flight and flew into clouds. I almost crapped my pants. Took a deep breath and did a standard rate 180 turn to get out of the clouds. Hard to believe how different it is when it's for real vs. practicing with an instructor next to you,
As to the instructor with the "bad attitude", there's some background that Kelsey could not be aware of. This particular controller had a long history of unnecessarily chastising pilots for entering his airspace on handoffs from approach and the adjoining class D, which I had experienced myself. Since this incident he has been less unpleasant. We have also come to appreciate him as many so cal pilots have told me that they avoid our airport because of the unfriendly controllers, so our wait times are minimized.
That might be, but instructors can never ignore the rules and certainly not in the presence of a student!
On top of that, to me, it sounds more like he wanted to make an impression on his female student. The controller hurt his butch feelings and humiliated him in the presence of this girl student by ignoring them (which indeed isn't correct either), so he had to do something 'manly' to restore his ego and his stature in the eyes of the girl. At least in his toughts.
@@arturama8581 That is pure conjecture.
Lol
I’ve heard that young guy’s Mayday call so many times, and I know he survived without crashing, but it still brings tears to my eyes, every time.
The average time to survive for a non-instrument rated pilot inadvertently flying into clouds is 78 seconds. It is something that was seared into my brain. My first class in flight school was nothing but watching dramatized horrific crash studies lol
Crash studies definitely get your attention. When I was in military jump school, the instructor of the malfunction class remarked that students were the most attentive in his class.
In a standard low-altitude static line jump, you've got about four seconds to make things right with a total malfunction. At least you're always in VFR conditions... on second thought, maybe that's not good. At least jumpers have a reserve chute. Pilots have no reserve aircraft.
Yeah, the 3 minutes quoted by Kelsey seems a very long time in total white out. Even on the ground, where at LEAST you have one dimension of awareness. Even looking out the window of an airliner in cloud its amazing how easy it is to disorient yourself.
They told me like 176 seconds, I stick with the 176 haha
yeah.......good learning.
I have to say that I have flown IFR many times, so I thought. I cannot see the instruments at night without my glasses and I cannot see outside with my glasses. I always fly IFR. I am a student pilot about to finish private. One day my fantastic 21 year old (I am 55) instructor said, fly out over the gulf a bit instead of the shoreline and it was very dark . Once I got out there and was a good distance from land, I could not see the horizon, the water, anything. Nothing except my prop. The instructor asked if I was ok and I was good. Flying IFR THEN he said, do you see that cloud you are about to fly in and I was honestly shocked. My landing light was reflecting off it and yes I did see it but not until he pointed it out. I think I will not have a problem with IFR but to I got a REAL feel of IFR, over the water on a cloudy night and away from land, I could not see a THING. It really made me sad to hear the real panic in this pilots voice. I really wonder if he ever flew again. I hope he did but he sounded really scared
Legend has it British Airways is still finishing up their final checks on RW 34
🤣🤣
It usually takes the British about 800 years to leave Ireland when they come here 😂
Thanks Kelsey for these great ATC videos, keep them coming!
Glad you liked it Marshall
@@74gear I loved it. Hope to see you in Frankfurt sometime
Jeez hearing the guy panic. There's a lot happening and sometimes people get overwhelmed. Glad he was okay.
I have to say congratulations Kelsey. You are truly passionate4 and love your job. You seem to appreacitae your success while remaining grounded and cool. You are a good example to society.
A someone prone to panic attacks, I can feel 9815L pilot's brain just going blank. This ATC is an angel
There is no time for any panic attack when you fly. Give it up ! You belong on the ground !
@lina nicolia
Hey ESL, learn some comprehension. The person you were responding to never said they were a pilot and your response was completely uncalled for.
@@childofcascadia lol all of his comments are telling people they shouldn’t fly and to remain on the ground. He is like the gravity police.
Me too, rilmar
One of the most common single engine aircraft is the Cessna with wings above the fuselage. They have positive static stability, meaning that if you let go of the controls they will tend to return to stable flight.
Yes, you understood what Kelsey said correctly. Well done! 😅
@@michaelzed1131 Well done, you have a bad attitude
I could tell he was searching for that term lol I have nothing but the utmost respect for Kelsey 😇
Aircraft with low wings can be just as stable. It's not just the wing position, it's also the angle that matters.
@@JCtheMusicMan_ Surely we're on the same page here 🤜🤛
I once had one of those ground-fixated controllers at a Delta. We were coming in from the opposite side of the traffic pattern at the time. We got communication and he told us to report 3 mile and come in for left base (everybody else was right base for that runway). At time to report, he was in an extended conversation with someone on the ground rapid-firing question and response. Meanwhile we were coming up face to face with a V22. The instructor made the call to just turn to the runway since we were at that point anyway, and finally got the call in. The controller was quite irked, but what could we do? At least he wasn't combative though. We just took our chewing out and went to parking.
i cant believe your content is for free .. its a true gift for pilots who are starting their career
im not one of them but i can still notice
Glad you’re enjoying it.
Definitely agree! Between Kelsey, Petter (Mentour Pilot) & the Air Safety Institute, trainee or newer pilots have so much learning experience available to them these days, thankfully without having to have all the scary experiences in person?
I am not a pilot, but I love your videos and how you explain everything. You seems to know what you talk about. I would never be afraid of flying in your plane, with you as a captain.
Wow, that scared pilot was so freaked out I thought it was a prank call for a bit. Thanks for the explanation Kelsey! I'll always just be a passenger but have learned so much from you :)
Exactly! I also thought he was pranking the controller.
i did too - in fact - i thought he was the nasty instructor from in first plane
@@johneyon5257 Same I was confused at first
As a former air traffic controller, I can tell you that squawking 7700 makes the primary target on the RADAR scope flash. Your transponder code is the secondary target.
One of the tricks I've learned from my instructor when ATC was not responding (after 4th call ) is to ask for a radio check.
That sounds less like a "trick" but actually quite reasonable. After 4 unanswered calls it seems at least not impossible that you have a faulty radio.
@@stephanweinberger Correct, or what was in my case busy tower ignoring me to enter control zone.
If they did not respond, i would be required to land to other airport as NORDO, validate that my radio is operative and you know rest of procedures.
I have watched these videos for a couple of years. They are very educational. I have a great deal of respect for competent general aviation pilots and commercial pilots. There is a great deal to understand about flying safely and be able to do so for years.
As the mother of a 5 year old who thinks of every possible element of bedtime one thing at a time to delay actually going to sleep, I completely understand the emotion that last ATC must have been feeling 🤣
Lol spot on! My kids at bedtime are that British Airways pilot too. One excuse after another to delay. Lots of checklists.
"Can i have a kiss?" "I wanna give you a hug!" "Can we read a book?" "I have to go potty!" oh my gooooood. and you just KNOW that if they sit down and close their eyes for 10 seconds they'll be out. kids are lucky they're cute.
@@ShamW0Wzer Lol, exactly!
We're moving into our new studio today and listening along to this 🙂
Hey I’m moving into my new place and listening to this too!
this can easily be a podcast
@@treasurediver93 obviously none of us can wait till later 🙂 good luck in your new digs!
@@apersunthathasaridiculousl1890
Definitely, I'd love if it was an hour (if Kelsey had time 😄 poor bloke)
The terror in that mans voice made my hair stand up. Wow! Glad he made it. Kudos the Air Traffic Controller, saved his life.
With that attitude, instructor was giving ATC the proverbial finger...In my humble opinion 😌. You are such a nice guy, always giving the benefit of the doubt, Kelsey
I’m not sure how exactly I ended up here, prior to today, I never really put any thought into the world of aviation. And I definitely never once searched UA-cam for anything aviation related. But today this video showed up in my recommend videos. So I watched it, and then I watched another video of yours, and then another. Lol! You make interesting content buddy!! for real, I subscribed today and I’m looking forward to the next video!
Wow Rob, thanks for the compliment glad to hear that!
You are freaking Fantastic
Your explanation of all the Terminology is Excellent
And your Hysterical 😭
Spatial disorientation. Scary stuff. I managed to give myself a fright, no jokes, sitting in my living room. I was flying through wispy stuff and had a video running on a second monitor. Looked at the video for a minute then, back to the game to see I had gone IMC. Brain complete lost it I could have sworn I was in a 90 degree left bank and had to stop myself from grabbing the yoke and yanking it right. Looked at the artificial horizon and realised I was perfectly level. Felt really silly. But am amazed I could trick my brain so easily sat in a computer chair. That pilot was lucky to have a controller on his side to reset him.
Gee if that situation had worsened you may have had to bail out onto the floor.
LOL!
Listening to the guy that was having major problems and verbalizing that he’s rolling is one of the scariest transmissions I’ve heard. I literally got that sick feeling in my stomach listening to the broadcast.
Ya same. That's gonna stick with me for a while
@@cubie3835 what’s scary is I am 6 foot six 295 pounds and have had a career of beating people up for a living and yet I found myself choked up in a tear about to come out of my eye just listening to the fear in that man’s voice, I think anybody listening to that that has a heart, will be quite affected in so many different ways.
That ATC fellow deserves an award for helping the new pilot. Thanks for posting it.
When you mess up, you need to humble yourself and hope for mercy. We landed at XYZ airport once. They had given us multiple runway changes in the terminal area. Each runway had its own frequency. Not trying to make excuses, but it was hectic and confusing. The work load of reprogramming each new approach and changing frequencies was very distracting. But at the end of the day, that’s what you sign up for. When we landed (I was the pilot flying), we exited the runway via a high speed turn off. My First Officer was pretty new. I told him to ask tower for a frequency switch to ground. The APPROACH controller said, “ I’ll give you the runway’s tower frequency first. My heart sunk all the way to my stomach because I realized that we had landed without a clearance! The tower guy was nice. He told us to continue down the taxiway and contact ground. When we arrived at the gate,deplaned the passengers and secured the aircraft, I called the tower’s land line to apologize for landing without a clearance. I was not going to make any excuses…. I was going to take whatever medicine he prescribed. He was very nice! He said, You guys were definitely cleared to land! You saw the green light (light signals are used for lost communications) didn’t you? I said, “Oh yeah! I did!!” Whew!!! That guy saved our skins! He could have easily gave us a violation for a pilot deviation. Right or wrong ALWAYS be humble!
Back in the 80-00’s my mom worked on the B-2 program. During one of their early flight tests, things didn’t go so well when she was on the flight deck (think flat spin) as an engineer, not a pilot. The flying wing design to stay in the air is nearly completely dependent on its sophisticated control systems, and did test flights with chaser planes (you know because they are invisible to radar and all). Luckily her test pilots were top notch and I still have my mom today. Those test pilots are crazy brave! It’s also why flight tests are done over the desert near the flat desert lake bed. Lots of room to land in whatever way they need to.
Always enjoy your videos. I was lucky enough to fly in a simulator a number of years ago and a friend was at the controls. The plane was all over the place and my friend could not get to straight and level. I asked, "What do planes do?" The panicked reply was "What!" I said, "What do planes do?" "They fly!" was the response. I said, "Right, now take your hands off the wheel.", and everything went smooth. I learned early to never try to over-control.
Wow, that mayday call was intense. I'm working on an A&P- I hope I never put someone in a situation where they feel that kind of fear.
The ability to remain calm in any situation can only come from proper and adequate emergency procedures training from their flight instructor. My instructor would constantly try to catch me off guard by getting my attention elsewhere and then turning the fuel cutoff switch lol
As a former Part 147 instructor I'll tell you, good luck, and keep your head. Remember, when a pilot flies a plane, they are only responsible for that one flight but, when you as an A&P work on it, you are responsible for EVERY flight after that. So make sure you do it right, and you do it by the book, because there are places and people that will try to get you to shave a bit here and there to save time and money. Just remember, it's YOUR ticket, so don't let others tell you how to exercise those Part 65 privileges. However, I will add, do your three years as an A&P then get your IA. That is where the real money is.
That guy needs to be earthbound. NO flying for him !
Sunday hangovers with Kelsey. Last night was rough. This channel always makes me feel better. 😁
You. Me. Same page.
Same here @Superfly, battling with the flu right now and listening to that intro makes me smile 😊
The comparison to a video game when flying IFR makes sense. I remember my second grade class did a field trip to the local NAS and during it, they let each of us try to takeoff and land the simulator they had. It had all the instruments and moved around, but had nothing as far as visual flying. Out of the entire class, I was the only one to successfully takeoff and land. It really did have those gaming vibes (other then the thing moving around which was crazy fun). I believe that is where my love of flying and eventually space came from. I do wish I had pursued it.
Here's what my CFI told me a long time ago. If you're caught in IFR and you're panicking, all you really need to focus on is your compass and Vertical Speed Indicator.
Maintain your compass heading = your wings are level.
Maintain your Vertical Speed at zero = your altitude is constant.
Notify ATC (121.5 is emergency channel), tell them you are VFR pilot in IFR, and ask for vectors. They'll give you compass direction/altitude to get out of IFR. Very gentle turns and altitude changes until you are clear.
Last, he said, "It sounds pretty easy, but imagine that the plane is bouncing up and down so hard your head is banging into the ceiling because you're in turbulence. First rule is NEVER GET INTO IMC UNLESS YOU ARE INSTRUMENT RATED".
i think this is my favorite video of yours, Kelsey. i have a little bit of flying experience, but not much.
i enjoy your videos, but from my own perspective, as we all do based on our own backgrounds. for me, I listen to you from the perspective of the super-geek who likes physics and math and having a pilot pretend to let me believe i'm actually piloting a Cesna or a Robinson now and again (i prefer the copters.)
but, as licensed psychotherapist, with expertise in trauma and crisis.
this man is in panic! he is confused. we can guess he believes he is going to die. this air traffic controller is completely calm and instructional. this ATC fellow deserves some sort of commendation.
i would guess it was probably a regular day for him. it's not the "miracle on the Hudson" but everyday folks do things that make a difference everyday. the air traffic controller did exactly what that pilot needed, within seconds. he read the situation. i would guess he had figured out on the screen which plane it was, or at least that none of them were in turmoil, else we would hear a different intonation. this guy was in teacher mode. you can hear his confidence along with the calming influence. i don't know the fellow, bit if he were a gymnast, i would give him a 10.
he had a calming influence. his intonation, even more than his directions spoke to that pilot: " take a breath. i'm here with you."
bravo!
he gave clear directions, important during the crisis. voice tone alone-, listen to how quickly the pilot's panic dissipates.
fascinating. fantastic job - It's unlikely he also is a psychotherapist or a psychologist or psychiatrist. we ask so much of one another.
we all need one another. and we each have our moments.
i also love how you gloss over however they do things " over there" .
it made me laugh that you don't know. and at the same time it speaks to an essential principle of focus within aviation.
keep the blue side up.
Thanks for a free counseling session but you don’t need to be a Psychotherapist/Psychologist and/or Psychiatrist to figure out that this man was in distress!! Is called Dr. Common Sense.
@@JohnSmith-bc1pe lol
@@JohnSmith-bc1pe
obviously true! I just think that he did an impressive job, demonstrated skills in several domains, and did it quickly. I'm just saying i enjoyed listening to it, from my window seat perspective.
or... if you prefer to be catty, i always did like the Dr. Denis Leary therapeutic method.
_Paraphrasing:_
*ATC:* "Are you ready to depart?"
*Pilot:* "We're ready, just waiting on the cabin. No tea yet. It just takes about two minutes."
*ATC:* "Then you're not ready, vacate the line."
*Pilot:* "Look, we're ready, we just have to take a phone call."
*ATC:* "No, you're not ready. Vacate. People are waiting --"
*Pilot:* "Standby."
*ATC:* "Are you _fully_ ready for departure?"
*Pilot:* "Yes, we're ready, just finishing our checklist first."
*ATC:* "That means you're not ready. I shouldn't have to tell you three times."
*Pilot:* "Irish lass, we are _fully_ ready. We just have to complete the checklist before we are _completely_ ready to take off. If you stop talking, we'll finish."
*ATC:* "Negative, ya damn Brit, vacate!"
I was hoping for a "Vacate, full stop. I've got a number for you to call."
Yeah, at times, it almost sounded like a Monty Python skit! "Are you ready for takeoff?" "Yes, we're ready?" "So, you're ready?" "Actually, no."
"I am ready now but just give me a few more minutes and I'll be more ready".
That controller was a straight smooth criminal coming in a calmly just hey bro let go, push down, n fly. Awesome job.
Having the lighthearted one after the intense one was very nice.
Yay! I was just bingeing some older Kelsey content awaiting the new one
I could hear pure fear and nervousness in that "mayday mayday mayday" of the beggining
Ya that was genuine fear for sure
@@74gear where you ever in a Mayday Situation or will we see a series about serious accidents basically telling it from a pilots point of view :) regardless love your videos you seem like a cool guy :)
Maybe it was the SCREAMING that was your first clue?🤔
@@roscoejones4515 I mean someone could be screaming of happines, it was the tone, the guy was really fearing for his life and he was seeing his life pass through his eyes in that moment
I "volunteered" for the draft in 1972. I was at Ft. Belvoir, VA for AIT. With a fair amount of time on my hands I decided to get a pilot's license. My instruction was out of DCA which back in 1972 was open to such flying. When I got orders to go overseas on short notice my instructor decided that I was ready to be tested and right there and then he started looking around for someone to do my check flight. Captain John Ben with United Airlines (and also a check pilot) happened by coincidence to be in the tower. He offered to do the deed. He made me stay under the hood for much longer than I was used to and in circumstances that I was not at all accustomed to. He really put me through the paces. When we finally landed I couldn't get out of the plane. My legs were like jelly and my heart was beating a mile a minute. He took my log book and simply wrote "Passed, Captain John Ben". My instructor came out to the plane and talked with me for a few minutes while the nausea wore off and life went on. It was interesting learning to fly in controlled space. I later flew with the base flight club in Germany. Cherokee, $5/hr - wet. I gave up flying a few years later in Southern California because there were just too many "not so good" pilots in the air and it was anything but relaxing. I follow your site and Mentour and am fascinated by all things aviation. BUT...I almost broke into a sweat hearing this guy. It has been about 30 minutes and I'm still a little nauseated from just hearing that fear. God Bless that controller.
15:00 One of my fondest memories from Instrument flight training was my first flight in actual IMC, flying into Palomar, CA. Completely in the clouds shooting the ILS and coming out of the clouds with a tight but comfortable margin before Decision Height. That was the most amazing site and adrenaline rush seeing the runway lights and making the landing.
So horrifying; I couldn’t even imagine. Maybe he was spatially disoriented. I’m not a pilot but I’ve heard it is a very real and potentially deadly phenomenon that can happen literally in a matter of seconds. I wonder if the pilot will learn from the experience and get to continue in his aviation career or if this will be forever on his record and he’s done. And yes, kudos to the controller for his professionalism.
Always look forward to your videos. As someone with minimal flight experience, I love the explanations with what is happening. Thank you!
I remember the first time I flew into a cloud (IFR training), I had a very strong sense that I was dangerously nose up. Trusting the gauges was a great lesson. BTW, there after, I still always got that sensation but learned to disregard it.
Yeahm the somatogravic ilussion is jus terrifying to me. Last time I was on a plane I loked out the window and saw the horizon to be level, but when I looked inside the cabin, I could have sworn we were pitching up. But truth was, we were decelerating while being level. Crazy stuff
So educational. That controller is a HERO. Thank you for what you do. ❤
I remember the first time I had my boat in the fog. Couldn't see a hundred feet in any direction. All I had to follow was my GPS and radar. I had a hard time trusting what they were telling me to do. Radar showed a cargo ship, and it *felt* like I was going right towards it, even though I wasn't. It was hard to keep my mind from steering the boat where it wanted to go, and not where my electronics were telling me to go. I can only imagine how much worse it would be in a plane adding in that third dimension.
Youvare so right. My very first solo approach in the soup down to 400 above minimums put reality into my head. The realization that there was not an instructor in the right seat watching me for mistakes was a sobering thing
I’ve seen that video in its entirety, it hurts to listen to it. It wasn’t ATC, but Flight Service that helped him regain control. It’s worth finding and listening to.
Do you have a link to it or what keywords to search?
Would also like a link or keywords!
@@ZandarKoad Look Mayday mayday mayday. I don’t remember how I found it.
When you were talking about getting under the cloud deck, it reminded me of when I was getting my instrument ticket, 40 years ago, I was lucky enough to have been able to do almost 90% of my flights in actual IFR conditions. It's a good feeling when you do an approach where it's below minimums, knowing you'll have to go missed, and just before going missed you see the numbers go under the aircraft.
Nice, my school didn’t let us do real IFR for our instrument rating
Where are you that the decision altitude is low enough that you'll be over the runway before coming out of the clouds?
Edit: Oh. 40 years ago. I guess things were different, then.
I can’t remember if it was FAA or AOPA who did it, but when I was doing my private pilot training I listened to a podcast on spin awareness. That “I’m gonna crash!” audio was the intro. It’s chilling no matter how many times I hear it.
Let go, push forward, pull back. That's all he needed to hear. Saved his life. What a blessing.
Sounds like diving in zero viz (underwater). The cure I found was to close my eyes, because when your eyes are open and can't see anything, the brain gets all confused. It is thinking that the eyes are open, and they should be seeing something. Worked every time, calmed everyone down that I taught that technique to. I realize it is different in one way, but similar in others.
Absolutely fascinating story with the mayday and your running commentary, making sense for us non-pilots.😊
Loss of visual cues *and* instruments results in loss of orientation in seconds for me, not minutes. I would be in a climbing right hand turn EVERY time. ( My shenanigans, if not planned and trusted friend/pilot next to me, would result in a stall/spin I'm sure...) Trusting my instruments when they were returned was *interesting *. Great example of what can happen, and how helpful the controllers can be. Thank you for the great video.
During my flight training in the states I was practicing my stall recovery solo and got myself into a spin.
Fortunately during my PPL training in Australia they teach spin recovery early on and so I gathered myself after the adrenaline rush and recovered the aircraft.
They do or atleast did not teach this during your training for FAA PPL, and had I not learnt a bit of flying before heading to the states I might not be here today.
There was a story only months prior of an instructor and student in the same state (Florida) that died after getting themselves in a spin.
I completed my FAA PPL, EASA IR & CPL, and having flown under 3 different sets of regulators I can confirm that FAA standards are so poor compared to the rest of the world.
I like your sign off "Keep the blue side up". Reminds me of what we would say to each other as firefighters battling a wildfire: "Put the wet stuff on the red stuff."
I am really impressed by so many people how when the heat is on or you're having disagreements with people, you can stay so level headed and calm, express yourself, listen to what was said and have a fairly respectful conversation. It'd be kinda' fun to see Kelsey rattled by something, just for a change, but videos like this are really a good influence.
FO Kelsey I love your ending catch-phase "Keep the blue side up" I guess you could say if it's going blue, green, blue, green, blue, green, you're not having a good day! I have a long story about my first time in cloud, and how later, it probably saved my life! I'll send it to you sometime
To quote that poor guy on the video,
“I’m rolling, I’m rolling!!!”
I guess in VMC, "Keep the blue side up" refers to the sky. In IMC, I suppose it could refer to the attitude indicator. (Blue, brown, blue, brown, lol...)
some of the best life lessons can come from aviators. thank you (from a non aviator)
Scary stuff. Being on the ground most of the time, I always pray that the planes above, especially the little ones, are being piloted by trained professionals that know what they are doing.
I feel the same way driving down the street watching little Jonny or Sally on their phone
Should we tell him the truth?
thots and prays lel
@@Saml01 - Ignorance is bliss
@@Saml01 I know that there are a lot of small plane pilots that go fly in the morning on the weekend then spend all day in the airport bar. And not necessarily in that order. I flew once with a friend who wanted to impress me by coming in 90 degrees to the runway thru an opening in a stand of trees then turns the plane parallel to the runway just before setting it down. Once is the key word in that story.
You are the steel balls!Love you all do and you are so right on!PP since 1977 had a restored Wonderful Cessna 172!With a new Rebuilt Continental 145HP smooth 6 cylinder!15 aircraft I’m checked out in complex and High Performance and passed landing at St.Barths FWI !I love to fly and you and your debriefings are amazing and you are always right!All my pilot friends think you are the best!Thank you so much!!
I was a student pilot in the late 90s. One day my instructor wasn't there & a stranger was substituting. On my take off roll this guy slammed the left brake & into the grass we went. This is NOT how my instruction was ever conducted before. I gave Mr. Substitute a deviated septum & made certain he was to never set foot on that airport again.
21:15 Jeez - that Speedbird crew was COMPLETELY in the wrong - ALL checks should have been completed/confirmed by that stage. To have the flight crew farfing about like that is a potentially dangerous situation. I think.
Morning Kelsey, hope you have a wonderful safe week, thanks for the new video!
In January of 1982, about one month after getting my private pilot license, I made a series of stupid mistakes and almost got my family killed. My Cessna 172 got into a graveyard spiral at 147 mph before I realized what had happened. I had inadvertently gotten into a cloud, made a 180 degree turn to get out of it, and had gotten into the spiral almost immediately. I relatively quickly used the instruments to correct the airplane's attitude and got the speed back to the normal 100 mph cruising speed. We got out of the cloud rather quickly and continued the flight. By remaining outwardly calm I never let my wife know how close I had gone to killing all of us. It was completely my fault, and I was lucky to keep us from dying that day. Ever since that day I've relived that experience and frequently thought about how my stupidity almost got us all killed.
blessed with survival to learn from it.
Bug smashers!! Lol my dad was a RAF pilot during WWII, and flew small planes as long as he could. I grew up at an airfield/farm hanging out and flying with my dad. I really enjoying your channel!
I'm not a controller that likes to get on to pilots all that much, but nothing makes my day more than when I get to say to a rude pilot "get a pen and paper, I've got a phone number for you to call"
Dont be dumb enough to give me a reason to say it