CAPblog

Maryland Wing Pilot Found

An aircraft missing since Tuesday was located at about 12:45 p.m. today in an area called the "punch bowl" just north of the Pennsylvania state line, according to an announcement by the Maryland Wing of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). The pilot, 72-year-old David K. Weiss of Bethesda, did not survive.

Information developed last night allowed mission planners to design a search area focused on all faces of the "punch bowl" mountain formation in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The body of David Weiss was discovered in the wreckage of the Cessna he was piloting.

The pilot's sons, Steve and Mark Weiss, located the crash site and were joined by the CAP's Ground Team Alpha already at the the top of the mountain and descending to search the steep western slopes of "two-top mountain" leading into the punch bowl.

"Thanks to all the CAP personnel from the many wings that particiapted in this search. It was a taxing challenge," said Lt. Col. Kevin Redman, CAP's incident commander for the mission today. "Right now, please direct your thoughts and prayers to the family "

MDWG: Missing aircraft located

:: The letter above came with cookies for the CAP teams searching for SM Weiss, from his granddaughter. She's a Girl Scout, and it was her way of saying thank you.

I can't agree enough with Civil Airman where he points out that anyone in CAP who gets caught up in the minutia should remember days like this.

My thoughts are with David's family, friends, and fellow CAP airmen.

Considering United 93

I've been pretty conflicted about whether or not to see United 93.

My first instinct was to dismiss it all together... which then mellowed to a general feeling of, "I'll see it when it's on cable."

(Note: I'm a new Dad, and while I'm an avid moviegoer, I haven't seen the inside of a movie theater in months!)

Part of me feels like I'm too close to it all to go see the movie. Admittedly, I'm here on the blunt end of the spear of the War on Terror... but I'm here...

Flying. Training. Drilling.

Then I caught Black Five's post. That started me thinking...

Dan reviewed it from the point-of-view of an aviator. This made up my mind...

I'm going to see the movie when I get the chance. Maybe alone, maybe with a squadron-mate or two.

What do you guys think?

CALLBACK from NASA

ASRS' award-winning publication CALLBACK is presently mailed via "snail mail" to more than 90,000 subscribers and is read by more than 150,000 aviation professionals and enthusiasts.

NASA ASRS: CALLBACK

:: I have to admit, getting a piece of mail from NASA each month is pretty cool. Though they are hoping that more folks will read the newsletter via email, to save on postage. Today you can read it online in HTML, or as a PDF of the print version.

RANDOM IDEA: NASA should publish CALLBACK as a blog. Push it via RSS. Heck, it would make one hell of a podcast. (See what I mean?)

Running On Empty?

Ouch. I just heard that my Wing's training budget is almost depleted, after only a couple of major SAREXs since Spring. The culprit has to be higher AvGas prices.

CAP training budgets look like a rounding error compared to other organizations, but they are budgets. Higher fuel prices means less hours flown preparing for missions.

At our home base, we already get the, "Good Guy Discount," from our FBO. We don't pay tax, and we don't pay flow fees... so we're lucky.

Here's an idea...

Can NHQ negotiate a deal upfront with our friends at BP for a discount on all the AvGas that we put into the tanks of CAP aircraft?

Sure I get that funny look from the line  guy when I put 5 gallons into the mighty Skylane after a short hop, "Sorry to bug you, but she's like a fire truck, we gotta keep her topped off."

It still stings.

Cell Phone Offers Clue in Search for MDWG Pilot

Crews searching for a Maryland pilot who went missing Tuesday afternoon have narrowed their search to Franklin County, PA, based on calls to the missing pilot's cell phone.

David Weiss, 72, took off Tuesday right around lunchtime in his Cessna 172 from Maryland's Gaithersburg Airport, on what officials described as a routine proficiency flight. He was due to return to the airport at 2:30, but failed to show. Authorities believe Weiss is flying alone. They also said Weiss landed briefly at Frederick Municipal Airport in Maryland before he took off again en route to Gaithersburg.

A Civil Air Patrol spokesman told the Associated Press that unanswered calls to Weiss's cell phone are being routed through a cell phone tower in Saint Thomas, PA -- indicating he may have gone down near there.

ANN: Search Crews Hope Cell Phone Calls Lead To Missing MD Pilot

Public Opinion: Few clues to lost plane

:: I don't want to read into this. A cell phone is a good clue, but it's just a clue. Having a more focused search area does increase the POD dramatically.

There are a lot of folks helping with this. Keep up the good work folks. Bring him home.

Search Is On For Missing CAP Member

Via Civil Air Portal:

The Maryland Wing of the Civil Air Patrol CAP has been activated by the U.S. Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Langley Air Force Base for a search and rescue mission for an overdue aircraft in the area of north-central Maryland and south-central Pennsylvania near Chambersburg, Pa.

The pilot, David K. Weiss, 72, of Bethesda Md., took off shortly after noon on Tuesday, April 25 from Gaithersburg Airport in Maryland,

MDWG: Urgent Search and Rescue Mission Information

Public Opinion: Rescuers search area for missing plane

:: Note that he ws not flying a CAP aircraft and not on a CAP mission at the time.

Nothing is harder than searching for one of our own.

Good hunting folks.

Predator Down

An unmanned aerial drone used to help Border Patrol agents find smugglers and illegal immigrants crashed Tuesday in southern Arizona, authorities said.

Operators lost contact with the $6.5 million Predator B about 3 a.m. A government helicopter found the crash site about three hours later, said U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Michael Friel.

No one was injured and nothing on the ground was damaged.

While in use, the drone has helped in the apprehension of nearly 1,800 illegal immigrants and the seizure of about 8,200 pounds of marijuana, Friel said.

CNN: Border Patrol drone crashes in southern Arizona

:: I've said it time, time, and time again. UAVs are a bad idea over CONUS.

CAP can do this mission better, cheaper, and more safely than having a 1100 pound robot cruising overhead.

Georgia Wing finds plane crash survivor

Link: CAP News Online.

A Georgia Wing ground team located a plane crash survivor Monday in north Georgia.

 

The team was tracking a transmitting Electronic Locating Transmitter in a Cessna 182 that crashed in Hall County, Ga. Of the two people aboard the plane, one was confirmed dead.

 

The man killed has been identified as Anthony Poniatoski, 80, of Elk Rapids, Mich. The passenger, Dorothy Poniatoski, 79, is in good condition at a hospital in Atlanta. The plane was en route from New Smyrna Beach, Fla., to Michigan.

We Got New Planes?

If you haven't seen this yet...

F-18s rumble over Round-Up

"That thunderous noise coming from the sky over Red Bluff on Friday night and Saturday afternoon was the Civil Air Patrol, said a U.S. Air Force Auxiliary spokeswoman.

The Red Bluff Round-Up's Friday evening program was kick-started by a pair of U.S. Air Force Auxiliary F-18s performing a fly-over at 7 p.m.

Civil Air Portal:  A Serious Case of Mistaken Identity, or...

:: My favorite comment over at Civil Air Portal must have been John's, "Somebody in the California wing had a VERY lucky day at the DRMO!"

This cracks me up. (A needed lift today! Nice touch with the photoshopery!) CA keeps up this kind of quality hi-jinks, and I may have to hang up my blogery.

You can almost hear the screaming in the newsroom from here.

That Navy PAO has probably been hospitalized. (Poor bastard!)

Alaskan Squadron Loses Two

The two pilots involved in a mid-air collision Sunday of two small planes, killing all aboard, including three children, were accomplished aviators, according to their friends, employers and public records.

David Beauregard, 45, of Wasilla captained 737-400s for Alaska Airlines, said airline spokeswoman Amanda Tobin of Seattle. Beauregard, who flew for the Army and then the Coast Guard before taking early retirement in 1996, worked for Alaska Airlines for 10 years, according to Tobin and others who knew him.

He held ratings for all manner of aircraft, including gliders, helicopters and single-- and multi-engine fixed-wing aircraft, according to the Federal Aviation Administration online registry. He was also an instructor.

William Smoke, 55, was chief pilot for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a flight instructor and a commercial pilot, according to records and those who knew him.

"So between the two of them, both these guys had thousands and thousands of hours," said Clint Johnson, a National Transportation Safety Board investigator.

Both pilots were members of the Birchwood squadron of the Alaska Civil Air Patrol, said Civil Air Patrol spokesman Mike Dryden.

"Normally we're on the other end of the search. For two squadron members to be out flying (on a non-mission) and have a mid-air collision, the odds are astronomical," he said Monday.

Beauregard was active in the tight-knit group, especially in the glider program, which teaches young aviators, Dryden said.

Smoke's membership lapsed in January, Dryden said.

He said the two men undoubtedly knew one another.

Anchorage Daily News: Pilots in collision were accomplished aviators

:: Alaska Wing is mourning the loss today.

For this to happen to two guys from the same unit is just so random...

My thoughts go out to the families, friends, and squadron mates.