15 March 2020

Logic = Common Sense?

I started flying a helicopter ambulance in 1986.
An old ARMY aviator I respected that had been doing the job a couple years gave me the best advice I ever received:
"Ground ambulances were doing this job long before helicopters started doing it. Don't kill yourself, your crew, AND the patient by flying in weather you shouldn't be flying in!"
In other words, there are times where "Just say NO!" saves lives.

Here in Arizona we frequently see reports of someone who has gone out hiking in the mountains and gets hurt, forcing an emergency crew to risk their lives to save the injured.

Right now we're watching "The Perfect Storm" on AMC and the Air Force Blackhawk has been dispatched to fly in unflyable weather to attempt a rescue of the sailing vessel "Mistral".

Even after being warned not to put myself and everyone else in the aircraft at risk, I still sometimes ended up flying in situations where I used ALL of my skills, (and then some) to get everyone back to safety. And I learned from those situations.

If you-
Don't wear your seatbelts.
Ride a motorcycle and don't wear protective gear.
Smoke.
Drive after consuming alcohol.
You are putting yourself AND OTHERS at risk.
And I resent that.

Don't be stupid.
Live to fight through another day, and don't force others to take risks to save you.
And don't cause heartbreak for friends and family.

4 comments:

Greybeard said...

One of my wrench-turners had a bumper sticker on his toolbox:
"Don't bust your ass. Don't let anyone else bust your ass."
Great advice.

Well Seasoned Fool said...

Circa 1968 there were very few turbine powered helicopters in Northwest Colorado. Any patients transported to Denver (a 3+ hour drive) usually went in a C-180. The FBO was down with a broken leg and asked me to fly a litter patent to Denver. Going over the Front Range, we spent about five minutes in a mountain wave. What a harrowing experience for her!

Not an ideal situation, we used what was available to do the job. Later, a turbine powered operation starting working out of the next airport to the west and took over doing the transporting.

Ed Bonderenka said...

Amen.
Then there was Major Charles Kettles.
Local Ypsilanti guy.

Old NFO said...

Excellents points all!