XS22J8R
Well-Known Member
I kept the metal clipboard that was in my lap that evening as a souvenir, it looks like a wadded up piece of paper.
I shattered my left leg, right ankle, burst fracture of a vertebrae in my lower back that did result in some nerve damage affecting my feet, broken radius in my right arm, and a bunch of cuts and bruises, I seem to recall I might have had a collapsed lung too.
But no head injuries which is most important when in a bad accident. All in all I am in far far better shape than I have any right to be, I should be dead, that is why I consider 10-31 to be a second birthday.
I lost power a few minutes after takeoff, at night, on instruments. The NTSB found evidence there was water in the fuel which stalled the engine, and blamed me for not finding it during pre-flight, even though I had taken fuel samples and found no water. Some years later I learned there are allegations that there is was a defect in the fuel tank design, where water can get caught behind baffles and not make it down to the fuel sumps where the pilot takes fuel samples to look for water and contaminants. I found that out long after the statute of limitations ran out for a lawsuit. A lawyer friend of mine told me a few years ago, knowing what we know now, I would have likely got $2M-$10M 30 years ago if I'd sued. Just as well I didn't, I recovered fairly quickly with just a few physical limitations, and got back to life as usual. If I'd won all that money years back I probably would have blown it all on hookers and booze and have died from that instead!
When Cessna started making these planes again in the mid 90s after a 10 year hiatus, they put 13 fuel drain ports on the plane instead of the 3 that this model had previously. They said that was just in case you were parked on a hill or something. Sure....
And I did get back into flying, though the dream of trading a desk for the cockpit of an airliner I was pursuing then never happened. I have flown almost 5000 hours since that day, much of it as a flight instructor where students and other pilots flying around not looking where they are going try to kill you on a regular basis. None have succeeded so far.
