airplane hits man taking photo
- Thread starter didier
- Start date
jim2
SBH Insider
How the heck do you know what spots there are not permitted? Sometimes I go by and cars are all over the place. There may be signs but I'm zipping along so fast to keep the children on bikes off my tail that I 've never noticed them.
elgreaux
Senior Insider
Here is the truth of the story... It was our friend Ed Gudenas, who created the photo book St Barth XL, who was standing on the road, NOT on a car, as he doesn't have one, he had pedaled his bike up to the hill above the airport where people stand to take photos... on the harbor side of the road below the wind sock, on the road, not on the hill... yes it was Winair, and people on the plane felt it "hit" something.. the pilot told the tower as soon as he landed, who called the ambulance, who came right away..
Ed was hit at around 4:30pm, the ambulance came and took him to the hospital, but by 7pm he was back at Le Select having a glass of rosé.... he has stitches in his forehead and eyebrow as he fell face first, but did not break any teeth.. his camera was ruined in process but it was insured..
that he is alive is a miracle!
but this should really be a warning to all those folks who stand up there trying to take photos of planes landing.. !
Ed was hit at around 4:30pm, the ambulance came and took him to the hospital, but by 7pm he was back at Le Select having a glass of rosé.... he has stitches in his forehead and eyebrow as he fell face first, but did not break any teeth.. his camera was ruined in process but it was insured..
that he is alive is a miracle!
but this should really be a warning to all those folks who stand up there trying to take photos of planes landing.. !
didier
Senior Insider
thanks ellen, I heard the story from people who work at the airport, don't shoot the messenger, as was only repeating what I was told.
I'm glad Ed made it all right, this could have ended up in a tragedy.
What exactly do you mean by that? Do you blame the pilot now? Do you have any idea what it takes to land a Twin-Otter in St Barths? The approach is knowingly difficult for pilots, particularly in short final just before or above the hill (Tourmente has a name for something). Strong downdrafts can push the aircraft down in a complete uncontrollable or unexpected manner.
It is up to the people taking pictures to make sure they are away from the aircraft path. And not the other way around. Simple. No matter how good you want your picture to be.
What exactly do you mean by that? Do you blame the pilot now? Do you have any idea what it takes to land a Twin-Otter in St Barths? The approach is knowingly difficult for pilots, particularly in short final just before or above the hill (Tourmente has a name for something). Strong downdrafts can push the aircraft down in a complete uncontrollable or unexpected manner.
It is up to the people taking pictures to make sure they are away from the aircraft path. And not the other way around. Simple. No matter how good you want your picture to be.
Islander I agree with you about the people taking the photos. I have taken hundreds from the top of the hill or the side of the hill, but have always been out of the direct approach, but that pilot in this case came within six feet of hitting either the top of the hill or the hillside going down. Before the road was moved the planes landed directly over the cars going up the hill, then whose fault would it have been if the plane hit the car ?. This is one of the reasons the road was moved about six years ago because a couple of planes did clip the roofs of cars.
Lance, I don't know what happened to that aircraft. I wasn't at the controls. All I can say is, that having landed over 1000 times in St Barths myself, the approach is dangerous and difficult. The pilot can never rest on his/her previous experience when landing in St Barths, no matter how important that experience is. Each approach is a new one and must be flown with extreme alertness.
As explained in my previous post, the winds flowing from the sea into the bay create strong downdrafts. There is a venturi effect when the winds reach the airport (which lies between high hills), the resulting effect is that the winds accelerate even more. When hitting the hill, the winds are lifted along its profile, and "fall down" on the other side (Public area). At that stage the winds have been changed into powerful "rotors" (or rolling winds) which literally "pull the aircraft downward" (a little bit like a big wave crashing in the sea).
That specify part of the approach is extremely difficult, as the pilot cannot anticipate how strong the downdraft will be (winds are invisible and the windsock is not providing sufficient information about rotors). If you've been standing in that area to take pictures, I'm sure you've heard the engines of the aircraft spool up and down just before the hill. By anticipation of the downdrafts, pilots increase the engine power to make sure there's enough energy (but not too much) to go through the draft and clear the top of the hill.
What might have happened in the Winair flight is that a stronger than usual (unexpected?) downdraft brought the aircraft at a lower altitude precisely overhead the hill.
The point is: no matter where the road is/was, no matter where the cars are/were, no matter where people making pictures are/were, the only rule to keep in mind is:
DO NOT STAND IN THE -EXPECTED- AIRCRAFT PATH. EVER.
You never know when that turbulent downdraft is going to hit the aircraft and bring it down to the ground.
Edited to say: when I drive toward the roundabout, I always look if there is any aircraft on approach. When possible, I (literally) STOP on the road (if safe) until the aircraft has cleared the hill. We should all do that.
As explained in my previous post, the winds flowing from the sea into the bay create strong downdrafts. There is a venturi effect when the winds reach the airport (which lies between high hills), the resulting effect is that the winds accelerate even more. When hitting the hill, the winds are lifted along its profile, and "fall down" on the other side (Public area). At that stage the winds have been changed into powerful "rotors" (or rolling winds) which literally "pull the aircraft downward" (a little bit like a big wave crashing in the sea).
That specify part of the approach is extremely difficult, as the pilot cannot anticipate how strong the downdraft will be (winds are invisible and the windsock is not providing sufficient information about rotors). If you've been standing in that area to take pictures, I'm sure you've heard the engines of the aircraft spool up and down just before the hill. By anticipation of the downdrafts, pilots increase the engine power to make sure there's enough energy (but not too much) to go through the draft and clear the top of the hill.
What might have happened in the Winair flight is that a stronger than usual (unexpected?) downdraft brought the aircraft at a lower altitude precisely overhead the hill.
The point is: no matter where the road is/was, no matter where the cars are/were, no matter where people making pictures are/were, the only rule to keep in mind is:
DO NOT STAND IN THE -EXPECTED- AIRCRAFT PATH. EVER.
You never know when that turbulent downdraft is going to hit the aircraft and bring it down to the ground.
Edited to say: when I drive toward the roundabout, I always look if there is any aircraft on approach. When possible, I (literally) STOP on the road (if safe) until the aircraft has cleared the hill. We should all do that.
