An Accident Waiting to Happen
Like you, when I read about the recent collision between a helicopter and a fixed wing airplane over the Hudson River VFR corridor I felt bad so for the occupants and their families. Then I thought about how much I fly and the times I have been sharing the sky a little too closely with someone else. Unlike most of us
who fly on the West Coast, I have made that scenic trip up the Hudson River at least a dozen times when I lived in Philadelphia, The photo here is one I took over the Statue of Liberty.  I I remember how beautiful it was. I also remember how potentially
dangerous it was. Shortly after I took this picture, I decided that I needed to get out of there because there were so many helicopters and airplanes that it seemed to me only a matter of time before the unlikely would become a reality. That reality unfortunately came recently for eight people when two pilots were busy enjoying
the scenery at the same time that ATC screwed up. This incident reminds us (again) to look out the window, VFR or IFR. The more I fly (and the older I get) the more I find myself making scanning
for traffic a top priority.
After your next flight, ask yourself how many times you can remember actively scanning for traffic. Ask yourself this question after each flight and you will will eventually train yourself to make scanning for traffic something you are always doing. Chances are good that if you fly long enough you will have an opportunity to thank me for this advice.
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Tanzanian Student Passes Instrument Checkride
 When people here in
Tanzania
hear that I am a pilot many ask how do you become a pilot? I have been to different flight schools in the
USA, but the most enjoyable
has been training with
Take Flight San Diego.
When I returned to Tanzania, I was lucky to
get to fly with one of my friends who is a bush pilot here in Tanzania. It is a very different
kind of flying compared to flying in San Diego, There is little IFR flying in these areas
and no radar is available except around Dar es salaam
area, which is the financial capital of Tanzania.
Cruising at 140
knots over the Serengeti, makes the vast Serengeti not seem so vast as the
flight from Arusha to Seronera (Serengeti) takes 1 hour. But as you get into
the safari vehicle and drive towards your camp or lodge that's when you realize
the vastness of the Serengeti and its plains.
All in all, flying
in San Diego has made me prepared to start my
flying in Africa. Tanzania is a big country still in
initial stages of developing its infrastructure. We have a lot of airspace and I am working
towards making as much use of it as possible in the future.
Siima Mushendwa
J.M. Tours Ltd
Arusha,
Tanzania
http://www.jmtours.co.tz/
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