What in blazes was Cory Lidle low time pilot doing flying his plane where he was flying it? I’ve many a time taken friends for a sightseeing trip in my plane around there. The corridor was famous. Take off from Teterboro, over the George Washington Bridge, slowly down the Hudson, keep right, 1000 feet, circle the Statue of Liberty, stare diners at Windows on the World in the eye, wave, then fly back the same way. And that was BEFORE!
The thought of flying North up the East river, and messing with the rapid talk of controllers busy with the traffic pattern into La Guardia, and helicopters and seaplanes makes no sense at all. Besides, a glance at the local chart reveals that it’s a box canyon ending with the wall of restricted air space, and that a 180 is very tricky, and not possible to maintain regulation altitude. Why the FAA doesn’t keep out VFR lightplane traffic is hard to understand, ESPECIALLY NOW!
Something’s missing here. No flight instructer worthy of the licence would sanction such a trip. And whoever was flying the plane doesn’t matter, for there are dual controls, the instructor always ready to jump in.
Smack into a condo, my first thought was that this was a child custody issue. Now I think it was, “Hey Guys, guess who I’ve got up here with me . . . Oops, Mayday! Mayday!”
Aside from the sheer unprofessionalism, and the breaking of severe FAA rules, must we now expect a cover-up of some kind? Will we get to hear the tapes of ATC controllers maybe breaking the rules for a celebrity? Can we know? Will the tapes disappear?
They certainly did not help the cause of AOPA and the private pilot, struggling in today’s environment to keep flying and be accepted. (Me, no more plane, bless its heart.)
Accident? Please! Ask the right questions, reporters, it’s not about the parachute, its about breaking the rules and reckless flying. Stop mollifying the fans!
And for the hundreds down below who survived, just thank your lucky stars. The real ones, high up in the heavens. And be angry.