John Wayne has been having a lot of problem recently it seems. So much so that the FAA posted a safety video in January.

Runway Safety @ John Wayne Orange County

Source: https://youtu.be/xKOzdU0S3nU


Wheels

There's also audio, on the same site, of the ATC comms -- from post takeoff, prior to the landing, where he responds with a "helicopter" designation rather than the "Husky" he was actually flying, and he also screws up the handoff to the next facility, and has to be reminded of which frequency he should be on.

While, for the most part, I'm with the other posters, that individually, most of these (particularly the radio) are common enough mistakes, particularly with someone who flies multiple aircraft types, it IS concerning that they all occurred within a short period of time, and ended in the significant violations at the end of the flight (overflying the airliner, and the taxiway landing). Just seeing the airliner in front of him, *should* have provoked an immediate response of "going around" ... not "is that airliner supposed to be there?".

He was clearly having a *very* bad day. I'm glad that it didn't turn out to be a bad day for anyone else as a consequence, since most aircraft accidents are typically comprised of a chain of questionable judgement, bad decision-making, and outright mistakes.

Given his age, I'm fairly sure there will be some question regarding "competency".

At minimum, I'd expect some remedial training and an FAA checkride -- but adding up the whole picture, the FAA could, if they chose, probably build a pretty good case for yanking his ticket.

I'd bet on the first result rather than the second, but I wouldn't rule it out completely.


Regards,
4 <S!>

This is one reason why pilot's licenses required medical evaluations IIRC. If someone is "foggy" on a regular basis, they really shouldn't be flying.



The Jedi Master

The dude should move to his billion dollar ranch in the country and fly around there and buzz his cows, sheep etc.

Maybe he want's to die in an airplane...dunno, if true, he should make sure no innocents die with him.

This is ticket pulling stuff...sadly.

Why the HELL would anybody who can afford almost ANYTHING choose to fly in that mess just reminds me why I don't like most people from CA....Wheels and a few others excepted. (My English prof would call that a classic run on sentence!)

Well actually, Even though I have lived in CA for several years I still consider myself a displaced Midwesterner with those values still guiding my everyday life.


Wheels

A bit more on the instance.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-harrison-ford-landing-20170324-story.html

Yep, landing on a taxiway is almost unheard of. Not anywhere near a normal error.

Actually, it isn't. The reason for a medical to fly non-commercially has to do with needing pilots in WWI and the gov't having absolutely no record of who was flying and what their qualifications were and getting caught short. After WWI, all pilots were required to be permitted by the federal government and undergo an induction physical for military fitness. So when WWII came around, they knew just who to draft for Army Aviation. The days of being able to transition from a J-3 Cub trainer (or go directly to an L-4 observation plane, which was a Cub painted green) to a P-40 and put into a fighter squadron are long, long, long gone. But the requirement remains for no damned good reason other than institutional inertia.

And I don't require a medical at all to fly as a Sport Pilot - just my driver's license.

The need for a medical is simply to make sure that you are healthy enough to be flying an airplane. It has nothing to do with WW2. Pilots weren't drafted. They were volunteers. Every one. It has always been like that. Every guy who ever flew for the military was there because he wanted to be there.

Actually, the initial instructors for WWII were indeed drafted, or directly asked to serve. Or didn't you think we had 100's of aviators in uniform in 1938 when the USA ramped up military strength?

The Sport Pilot program has proven that no more than a driver's license is required health-wise for GA pilots. Not one single accident caused by medical incapacition.

All the medical proves is that on one day out of ten years, if one is younger, and one day out of five if one is older, the medical standards are met.

Actually, for Class 3 medical (normal non-commercial) it is every other year for pilots over 40. Five years if under 40. I don't believe it has to do with drafting pilots. Just establishes a general fitness measure for flying.

Many of the early instructors in the Air Corps were civilians. To meet the need for pilots to fill the thousands of cockpits that were being built, the government took over many civilian flight schools and that is where a lot of Army aviators got their primary instructions. They weren't military instructors. They were still civilians.
And as far as the sport pilot license goes, it is very limited. You can not fly at night, for instance. And you are limited to flying very light, low powered airplanes.

Recording of Ford talking to the ATC immediately after the incident:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-39391431

All the good flying is in smaller, light aircraft during daylight hours!

I'll dig up the links for the history of the flight physical later, and why it was introduced....might surprise y'all.

At any rate, the Class III physical is now reformed to be much less onerous. The efforts to get it completely removed came a bit short, but the compromise wasn't bad.

Personally I think the relaxation of the 3rd class medical requirements is a step backwards. But then I have to get checked out every 6 months and have an EKG annually (1st Class Medical). Flying an airplane isn't like driving a car or a motorcycle. You can't just pull off to the side of the road if you suddenly feel ill.

Well, if GA pilots, on average, flew more than 25 hours a year and carried passengers I might agree with you.

Pilots understand that airplanes aren't cars, and go through the pre-flight medical self evaluation.

Just like aircraft aren't cars, Cessna 172's aren't Boeing 777's.

I'm in between the two sides. I guess it's based on the flying you do. I do over a hundred a year, carry passengers, fly long distance to new airfields, fly at night, and fly in controlled airspace. I'm doing instrument training now and may go for the full certification. So I'm a bit over the average Private Pilot, but under any kind of commercial. So I see both sides of the coin and was OK with either way they went on the new medical rulings. I'm halfway through my current two year Class 3 medical.

That sounds logical, but the problem is that the 3rd class was largely a mirage. Then we got a decade of stats from DL sport pilots not falling out of the sky and showing there's really no benefit to the 3rd class at all as far as safety vs. self-certification.

The 3rd class also included a ton of stupid, unnecessary SIs that cost people thousands (or kept them on the ground) as well.

If I can't fly an An-225 to my summer cottage, I have zero interest in bothering at all.



The Jedi Master

The verdict is in, so to speak - no action taken against Harrison Ford regarding this incident:

https://www.yahoo.com/tv/harrison-ford-plane-near-miss-213643666.html

Then again if such an incident is severe enough to actually incapacitate (but not kill) the result is probably worse in a car.

Imagine things like a non-fatal heart attack, stroke, etc - the GA pilot might well have the time to get through the worst of it and still pull off a landing.

Driving down the freeway? That's probably not going to be a "just pull over to the side of the road"....

And as for an outright fatal medical incident behind the wheel or yoke, I'd think the odds of the resulting crash killing others would actually be higher for the uncontrolled car.

Of course I'm talking strictly GA plane here.......

Back on the Ford thing - I'm not surprised at no disciplinary action, but I'd have thought some kind of "checkride" would result, age considered and all.....