"Pilot David Lesh said he had siphoned particulate matter out of the gas but doesn’t think he got all of it. “This definitely was more stuff than I was used to seeing,” he said." Lesh, the founder of Denver-based outerwear company Virtika, said he bought the plane nearly three months ago for more than $200,000 and spent about $40,000 for upgrades. He said Tuesday’s flight was its first real trip. (www.mercurynews.com) 更多...
Crazy it was caught in video from above... and then a selfie video from the raft while coast guard comes... can’t anyone just be rescued in the moment anymore? Hah..
One of those Meme floating around on social media where the Titanic is sinking and all the passengers in the water have their cell phone. The caption reads: IF the Titanic sank today.
Reminds me of the British Airbus and Chinese Aircraft that burned in Vegas, and crashed in SF> Video shows the passengers w/ luggage in hand.
the video taken by the pilot who is in the water,shows the tail of the aircraft and another person in a lifevest floating close to him..he obviously had on a life vest to be able to stay afloat,take video picures and keep saying "there she goes"!!!on boats in lakes and rivers and oceanside aroud the u.s., there are sate wardens,lake patrols and on the coastline,the coast guard to verify ife vests etcetera on board..they don't do it however for every boat in the water..only if there appears to be an issue..as far as flying a private plane over water just for pictures or sightseeing,there are no "patrols" who check at the airport before a personal aircraft leaves the ground,and certainly not in the air..they do require that sort of thing for a commercial ventures that might be doing sightseeing tours over water..
The man seems to need a screw or two. The story that he had drained some stuff from the tank -but not enough- is pure and simple BS trying to deflect the real reason: a stunt that went sour. Pull the guys license NOW before he hits the TV News again with likely worse ending.
Sounds like 'buyer's remorse' to me .... given several clues... price, first flight, particulates in the fuel, didn't get all of them, history of the pilot/owner. The obvious one, You buy a plane, put $40k in updates and repairs, take your first flight, after getting particulates from the fuel drain, and you head out over water, not just any water, but the biggest ocean on the planet." If he collects from his insurance company, it is only because they don't want to be seen as a bad insurer.
He said he does not have insurance on the Beechcraft plane that crashed, but that it is under-insured, so he will likely lose money because of the crash.
Interesting article posted by @ToddBaldwin3 about the pilot's profile and history. But a stupid question from a non-pilot and former auto mechanic -- don't they use fuel filters on aircraft like that?
Had to be one, thanks @airuphere. That really throws the "fuel particles" claim out the window and, combined with the pilot's background for sensationalism makes it a very interesting question.
Just curious about this squawk... there are words below the title, but they don't come from the linked web page (mercurynews dot com). Comments here seem to be reacting to those words, so I was just trying to find more details.
You are correct! I was looking at a couple of different stories when I posted that, and I guessed I crossed them up. And now the story has gone viral with thousands of hits, I can't find the exact article. In this link, the quote about the "particulate matter" is pulled from an AP story.