AOPA's McSpadden killed in crash

[Boatguy]

AOPA's Sr. VP of the Aviation Safety Institute - Richard McSpadden, was killed in the crash of a Cessna 177RG Cardinal, he was in the right seat, near Lake Placid, NY.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/02/us/russ- ... index.html

https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/air ... -in-crash/

https://www.lakeplacidnews.com/news/loc ... dentified/

[Colin]

I had accidents like that. So many NTSB reports I can read and say, "That won't be me, I wouldn't make those decisions." So many are fuel-related or pressing on in bad weather. Never me.

This one (and Scott Crossfield) is really tough. Could he have been a better, more safety conscious pilot? It seems unlikely. Fate is the hunter.

[Boatguy]

Fate is the hunter.

A post from James Fallows.

[MackAttack]

Thanks for posting that piece - very nice read … sobering to reflect on all these things…. Stay safe everybody!

[NDCDA62]

What a tragic loss to the aviation industry. Such a talented aviator who explained incidents so impeccably well from which we learnt so much. Sincere condolences to Richard's family.

[blsewardjr]

This hit me hard as well. I looked up the IFR departure procedures. They faced some very serious obstacles on both ends of the runway in dealing with their emergency. That may explain why, according to AOPA, they were trying to make it back to the runway.

LAKE PLACID (LKP)
TAKEOFF MINIMUMS AND (OBSTACLE) DEPARTURE PROCEDURES
AMDT 1 10OCT19 (19283) (FAA)
TAKEOFF MINIMUMS:
Rwy 14, NA-Obstacles.
Rwy 32, std. w/min. climb of 485’ per NM to 4000, or 3600-3 for VCOA.
DEPARTURE PROCEDURE:
Rwy 32, climbing left turn to heading 304° to 5000 before proceeding on course.
VCOA:
Rwy 32, obtain ATC approval for VCOA when requesting IFR clearance. Climb in visual conditions to cross Lake Placid
airport at or above 5200 before proceeding on course.
TAKEOFF OBSTACLE NOTES:
[Too many to include (34 separate notes on trees, poles and buildings!)]

[dmloftus]

Absolutely tragic. His accident analyses were very insightful with great practical advice throughout. Hope he's looking out for the rest of us from heaven.