Brad Hill description of Seattle mid-air collision
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| Brad Hill description of Seattle mid-air collision
Here is some more to add to Paul's excellent post: Paul and I had flown the earlier part of the day team flying for about 3.5 hours or so. We had worked our way from the local foothills and eventually ended up about 30 miles away over the rugged snowy peaks at the end of the Skykomish Valley; and the start of the Stevens Pass highway. This was pretty good considering the day was somewhat windy and the building high pressure was starting to affect the thermal activity. During our trek we were in constant radio contact: "turning left.....turning right......reversing course....." etc........Paul had brought a high end digital camera with him and was hoping to get some great in-air photos. By communicating very thoroughly, he was able to come in for some wonderful shots.....at no time was there ever any concern regarding closing rates or distances because we both were keenly aware of where we both were and what we were doing. Once we made it to Lake Isabel the lift above the peaks was consistant enough to allow is to gracefully swoop along the ridgetops, dive through the snow covered gaps of Zekes Peak and Stickney Peaks and generally cavort to our hearts content. After doing this for several minutes I decided to start heading back to Arlington. While making the jump to Mount Pilchuck, Paul and I discussed the options: I was tired and after 4 hours I was ready to go back home......I also realized that there was a strong possibility of landing out, there was a good headwind and I would have to find lift before starting the final glide. Paul however was still going strong and made the decision to go to the east side of Pilchuck and hook up with a great looking cloud street that headed back towards 3-Fingers......a beautiful set of 7500' peaks. So......Paul went east and into the lift, and I went west, into the blue and strong headwind. Paul and I communicated our decisions and he said he wanted to fly for another hour or so....and I said I was ready to head for home.....at this point we heard Willy make a call.....of course he had to make a point of using April Fools day, declaring he was on the ground with engine problems.......I recall giving him a hard time about that when he laughed and said "nah.....I am at Jim Creek at 4500 and climbing" Now Paul chimed in and said he was close to 3-Fingers in good lift........the next few minutes on the radio were really fun; listening to Willy and Paul as they described their locations and eventually hearing them say "hey.....I got you spotted" and something about the glaciers on WhiteHorse.....All to soon it was evident I was not a player anymore, kicking myself for not following Paul into the good lift, but also remembering I was wanting to land.....I called out and said I was probably going to land about 8 miles short at a small grass strip.......no reply......so I turned off the radio and 10 minutes later had safely landed. Fast forward a few hours......Ron and Chuck retrieved me with the trailer. I owed Ron dinner, so off we went to Arlington, trailer in tow. Upon arriving at the trailer tiedowns we were a little surprised to see Paul's and Willy's trailers and cars sitting there with no sign of either glider......the lift had long since dissapated and they were not back. We were concerned but figured they would come streaking in at anytime. While we were ordering dinner, and still no sign of either glider, I became really concerned and decided we had to do something.......I called 911 and had the dispatcher send an officer to check out 2 airports that I figured they may have landed at......but the scary thing was Willy should have come home, he had a DG-400 and could have motored back, but to console ourselves we figured he made have landed with Paul so they could plan a retrieve together. About 20 minutes later the Sherrif called back and said no gliders at either Darrington or Concrete.........Willy had a cell phone, we knew if he landed in a field close to home he would have called us, there is no cell coverage at the 2 airports.....now we knew somthing had gone wrong and I told the sherrif that these two were indeed MISSING and quite possibly had suffered a mid-air. Now we had the ball rolling and the next several hours had us in communication with the authorities and with a couple members of our club who were also making phone calls to try and figure out what we could do. I went to bed that night in a motel close to the airport, ready to help coordinate with Search and Rescue early in the morning since I was the last to hear Willy and Paul on the radio, and somewhat familiar with where they might have been.........I went to bed that night scared to death that 2 of my close friends may be in terrible trouble up in the mountains and I did not know what else to do. Well.......in the morning I turned on my cell phone and heard that Paul had survived and hiked out of the mountains........and all to soon we found out what happened to Willy. This event has ripped a hole in my heart.....I lost a very dear friend and could have easily lost 2. Thank God Paul survived, and as I grieve for Willy I'll find solace in knowing he died doing something he loved to do....with tears in my eyes I end this by saying "Blue skies to you Willy Otis......You will always be in my memories" Brad Apis 199AK Download 6.82 Kb. Share with your friends:
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