Warbird Information Exchange

We can second guess all day long about why things were done the way they were but, truth is, it sat there for 47 years without anybody else even attempting a recovery. I'm not going to beat the guy up for dreaming big and trying to make it happen even though it ended in disaster because of a bad decision. I think we've all been there it just wasn't on such a grand scale for most of us.

First there were two teams trying to get her. Both teams worked on her, so if the ones that wrecked her hadn't gotten her off the ice, the second would have.

Secondly; I'm not second guessing anything here. I will just make the simple statement that in 32 years of Aviation maintenance I have never skimped on a safety item. Ever.

Ask any of the wrenches and they will tell you the first rule of Aircraft Maintenance; Safety, safety, safety. Do it right or don't do it. If there was the slightest question that someone might die or the aircraft become damaged by my actions, that aircraft was grounded.

With this one it comes down to fatigue. Being exhausted really changes everything.

Agree. Exhaustion, conditions, supplies all factor into decision making. It's one thing to be on a flight line or in a hangar, it's another to be in the frozen wilderness. If they had been successful, we all would have hailed them as heroes and I doubt anyone would have said "yeah, but it could have ended badly"...

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"Everyone wants to live here (New Jersey), evidenced by the fact that it has the highest population per capita in the U.S..."

I agree totally

I'm a military repairer/mechanic, and so I have spent a good deal of time doing maintenance "out in the boonies". I have been so cold it hurt to think, and so hot that I've gotten blisters just touching the a/c.

I don't mean to be harsh, I honestly don't. But there have come many times when I have had to say "I'm too tired to do this". Or "Its to darn hot/cold to do this, I'll screw it up". Part of being an experienced mechanic is knowing how fatigue and weather affect the decision making process and set up controls to keep from doing something wrong.

And thats all I'll say on the matter.

So am I. People are human and nobody is immune to making mistakes. I see it happen frequently on a controlled flight line...

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"Everyone wants to live here (New Jersey), evidenced by the fact that it has the highest population per capita in the U.S..."