Mark L. Back on Aug 6 you wrote this: On the way back I had what was definitely the closest encounter I've ever had with another of the "aircraft" species. I was in some scattered clouds at 9,999' or so (any higher and I would've needed my transponder that's out being repaired) and admittedly not really looking hard for any other trafffic, since I rarely see anything up that high anyway, and I certainly wasn't looking west where the sun was frying me from. Something caught my eye to the west, and in about 2 seconds it went from a suspected bugsplat on the canopy to a KingAir or SomeOtherTwin that I was definitely going to hit. I never imagined how quickly something going 160 mph could converge on something going 250 mph from a right angle, but it happens so fast that it's futile to even consider watching out for. I was listening to the nearby Birmingham approach, and neither one of us was talking to him, although if I'd had my transponder working (it's on a workbench somewhere in the midwest), they'd have been watching out for me, at least. I'm not sure what the moral of this is, but it's the first (and hopefully the last) time I've thought to myself "if you don't haul back on the stick in the next half a second, you're going to hit that guy". I pulled up (I think I was supposed to dive) and then turned right to get a departing glimpse of him, but he was so far gone I never saw him again. I'm pretty sure he never even saw me. Just something else to contemplate on your next flight!<<<
I am curious that no one had any input on the KRNet about this or maybe they emailed you off line or maybe you deleted it.. Did you file a NASA report ? By your own admission, you busted at least two FAR's, cruising altitudes and cloud clearances and likely two others, one being careless and reckless operation. The latter being the FAA catch-all to nail you for whatever happens that you might have been able to avoid, like looking around for other traffic. The freedom to use the airspace in your own KR or in the company jet is not without responsibility. Three weeks after your post, a glider and Hawker collided over the Nevada desert resulting in the destruction of the glider and thousands of dollars of damage to the Hawker. Fortunately everyone survived, but had the glider pilot not had a parachute that would not have been the case. This was a preventable accident, the glider pilot had his transponder off to save the battery, but that does not give him or the Hawker crew (that had TCAS, which would not have seen the glider without the transponder) any less responsibility to "see and avoid". You can Google "glider hawker midair" without the quotes to see the pictures. You mention that you didn't hear the SomeOtherTwin on Birmingham approach. 10,000 feet is usually a transition altitude for IFR traffic, the change over from approach to center or vice versa. The fact that he was at 10,000 would make me think that he was on an IFR flightplan regardless of who he was talking to. You were in his airspace. You wrote, " I'm not sure what the moral of this is, .." I think the moral is clear, very clear and I'm still surprised that none of the CFII's spoke up here. As for "..they'd have been watching out for me" referring to Birmingham approach had you had your transponder on, in 36 years of flying and several near heart-stoppers, I have had more misses while in "radar contact" than not. There is no substitute for me looking after me. I am not anyones Holy Ghost or their conscience and this is not intended to be a public rebuke, (maybe it should be) but in the thrill of the moment we as KR pilots or Gizmo pilots or whatever pilots, need to remember and adhere to the regulations, although sometimes we think they are restrictive, they have a purpose with a bottom line for safety, if not for us then for others. Selfishly, I don't want to find out that KR NET has closed down because of what might have happened to you Mark.............. k.jarvis at mchsi.com
