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Quoted: Quoted: How common is it that they venture that close to a town ? Once there is it illegal to shoot it after it has chased several people ? Churchill, Manitoba anyone? Bucket list tour for me, someday. Torpor is weird. Beautiful animals, that would kill you in an eyeblink given the chance. |
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Quoted: Every once in awhile my dad will slip and say "Let's go to NC Store" and same with some elders. ![]() Kinda of dates him and the elders. ![]() Once in a great while I will call it NC Store. ![]() View Quote Thats funny, I used to do the same when I was in the main place here in Anchorage...They have moved now, but their old place out off raspberry and arctic was full of some really cool shit from back in the early days... |
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Quoted: Been people attacked by wolves in this area. More wolves in the area so they are coming into the villages. View Quote Further down on the polar bear link is a story about a guy who let his two dogs out in his fenced backyard, where one was stomped by a moose and died at the vets. Newsgirl says, "moose are aggressive this time of year!" Yea, no shit. Polar/Grizz/Brown/Black Bears, wolves, moose, mosquitos... I've seen vids of the nail mats and guys throwing their stored up urine high up on the trees around their cabins. Seems like the hyper-vigilance every single time you go out would get kind of tiresome. |
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Quoted: Thats funny, I used to do the same when I was in the main place here in Anchorage...They have moved now, but their old place out off raspberry and arctic was full of some really cool shit from back in the early days... View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Every once in awhile my dad will slip and say "Let's go to NC Store" and same with some elders. ![]() Kinda of dates him and the elders. ![]() Once in a great while I will call it NC Store. ![]() Thats funny, I used to do the same when I was in the main place here in Anchorage...They have moved now, but their old place out off raspberry and arctic was full of some really cool shit from back in the early days... ![]() |
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Quoted: Further down on the polar bear link is a story about a guy who let his two dogs out in his fenced backyard, where one was stomped by a moose and died at the vets. Newsgirl says, "moose are aggressive this time of year!" Yea, no shit. Polar/Grizz/Brown/Black Bears, wolves, moose, mosquitos... I've seen vids of the nail mats and guys throwing their stored up urine high up on the trees around their cabins. Seems like the hyper-vigilance every single time you go out would get kind of tiresome. View Quote But problem animals are always taken care of ASAP. |
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Quoted: Yeah, this would make everyone hate them: https://d3dqioy2sca31t.cloudfront.net/Projects/cms/production/000/030/195/large/2441337b9b2e32a847848bd51e6d4180/article-wales-llanfair-railway-station-sign.jpg View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Have you ever heard someone speak Welsh or read a sign that was printed in Welsh? It's an absolute abomination. At least Scots is just a cool brother of English... Yeah, this would make everyone hate them: https://d3dqioy2sca31t.cloudfront.net/Projects/cms/production/000/030/195/large/2441337b9b2e32a847848bd51e6d4180/article-wales-llanfair-railway-station-sign.jpg First time I saw that, it looked like someone named the town by having a seizure at their keyboard ![]() And for the folks who've never been to Wales (who would've missed my jab at the Welsh accent), the first time I was in Wales and heard the local accent, my immediate thought was, "Huh... makes me wonder if the dot-Indian English accent is actually because all the first Colonial English teachers were Welsh, and the Indians picked up the Welsh accent?" It only took a moments thought, to realize that Hindi (or Tamil? I get the 2 confused) had that same sing-song sound as the Indian English accent. *** When I mentioned it to my native Brit buddy, he laughed and said, "You know, every time I try to mimic a Welsh accent, it comes out as an Indian accent!" ![]() |
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Quoted: There are people who love their G19 so much that they're offering up 9mims in the bear defense category because, "They're not Abrams tanks." And, in cases where people peppered bears that decided to call off attacks they were able to continue - to run off and be killed later by Game Wardens, "it worked." Which means it's a GOOD choice ![]() ![]() It's birdshot for HD, or .22lr for carry. There are better guns for the task. 9mm "is a marginal fight stopper" (for humans), for bears 5x the size, they're a dopey choice. But people in GD get surprisingly pissy if you tell them 9mm is not a death ray. ![]() The tacticool crowd are the fudds of the outdoors. There I said it. ![]() View Quote There is a list online showing ~100 handgun uses to defend against bears, and in about 97% of cases it's a success, even against Griz. The usual way it goes down is the bear runs away when shot by the handgun. Not uncommon to have spray fail only to have a handgun work. And 9mm has a good track record. |
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Quoted: Not quite sure there is a reasonable sidearm that would quickly incapacitate a hungry, desperate Polar bear. LAR grizz in 45 Win Mag? Heavy 44 mag/454casull/450sw/50sw would get the job done, but not sure a woman would carry one..... View Quote AK residents are turning towards 10 mm Glocks over .44s for bear defense. Better controllability and mag capacity > power. Even .357s, 9mms and IIRC .380s have a good record in bear defense. It seems bears don't like being shot and tend to leave the area when it happens. |
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I think people sometimes forget that Polar Bears are the only truly carnivorous bear. Most other bears (including Grizzlies) are omnivores and seem to mostly eat plants (with some estimates as high as 90% of their diet), and only occasionally eat meat. Polar bears are apparently considered "hyper-carnivorus" and eat almost no plant material at all. Plus, they actively hunt for most of their food - meaning that hunting/stalking is an ingrained behavior. For most other bears, hunting is a very occasional thing, with foraging being the main source of food.
I wouldn't want to be chased by ANY large angry bear ![]() |
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Quoted: AK residents are turning towards 10 mm Glocks over .44s for bear defense. Better controllability and mag capacity > power. View Quote The Danish Sirius Patrol is issued 10mm Glocks (the only unit in the Danish military to have 10mm sidearms) specifically because they consider 9mm inadequate for polar bear. Obviously, they'd prefer to use their .30-06 rifles, but for emergency sidearm use, they picked 10mm. |
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Quoted: Wanted to look that one up as I'd never heard of it. I got wary though as I was typing and wasn't too sure what was on the other side when I hit "Enter". Thankfully, it showed me the ammo and not.....something else. And holy hell. That's a weird-looking slug. But I guess it serves a purpose as there's a picture of a bear on the box. View Quote Difference between the Foster slugs most people are used to seeing (for shotguns) vs Brenneke slugs. Foster slugs expand, and are commonly referred to as deer slugs. Brenneke slugs don't expand. They're intended for use where deep penetration is the key (i.e. big friggin bears). The Benelli M4 that stays in my closet is loaded with #1 FliteControl, with 2 Brenneke slugs in the end of the tube, and 5 more on the side saddle. I figure if the first rounds of #1 aren't enough, I'd probably want the ability to punch through intermediate barriers (same reason why the HD 5.56 mag has 77gr TMK on top and RA556B at the bottom). |
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I remember the story of Fred Bear, and that he wanted to kill a polar bear with his longbow.
He had no problem getting the arrow into the bear... but the problem was that every time he did that, the bear would immediately attack and try to eat him. His armed escort would have to put the bear down to save his life, so those ones couldn't be considered an archery kill. Finally he was able to get a shot at one from atop a sheer ice cliff, and the bear was unable to climb it and expired at the bottom. |
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Quoted: I think people sometimes forget that Polar Bears are the only truly carnivorous bear. Most other bears (including Grizzlies) are omnivores and seem to mostly eat plants (with some estimates as high as 90% of their diet), and only occasionally eat meat. Polar bears are apparently considered "hyper-carnivorus" and eat almost no plant material at all. Plus, they actively hunt for most of their food - meaning that hunting/stalking is an ingrained behavior. For most other bears, hunting is a very occasional thing, with foraging being the main source of food. I wouldn't want to be chased by ANY large angry bear ![]() View Quote Seeing a stuffed polar bear for the first time, gave me an appreciation to just how friggin huge they are. |
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Quoted: I used to fly for a company called Cape Smythe Air Service up there. Lived in Barrow, Deadhorse, Kotz, and Nome. During that time in Nome I'd fly to Wales regularly. 2 memories that stuck with me about Wales... 1. I did my best to not watch a buddy of mine take a shit on the runway at Wales once. He had to go, code 5, touching cotton, full fecal emergency. He decided the approach end of the runway was his most private option because it was on the backside of the plane away from our village agent. That turd of his was frozen on the runway and viewable for weeks after that. Made its own little snowdrift and everything. 2. As a pilot up there you're used to seeing the remains of aircraft wreckages. They're everywhere. One of them was in Wales. It was the remains of a Cape Smythe Piper Pa31-T3-1040, a very rare aircraft. Only 24 ever built. It happened when a pilot of ours was attempting an illegal GPS-BS approach. We did these approaches a lot and we were good at them. We'd typically let down to 50-100' over the water by the radar altimeter and just truck it in the last mile or so until we saw the runway. Well this guy was doing that but visibility was shit. Less than 1/4 mile. He can't see in front of him but he sees the end of the runway passing under him to the left. He's got gear and flaps down and he makes a play for the runway, overshoots it to the left, attempts to correct it back to the right but way over-corrects. Stalls it, digs his right wing tip into the tundra and cart-wheels the aircraft across the runway. He and his passenger were both fine. They walked away from it but the aircraft was a total loss. I had always seen the fuselage of the aircraft sitting over by the machine shed at the end of the runway in Wales but the pilot had long since departed the company. Fast forward a few years and one day I'm flying out of Nome goin to Wales. The weather there is down but it's good enough for me to get in with the GPS-BS approach. I'm flying a T3-1040 and I have one passenger onboard (with a bunch of mail and cargo). So I have this guy sitting up front with me so I can pack the cabin and belly pod to the max. I've even got him on headsets so we can chat. Turns out he's an itinerant school teacher. Then he says, "been quite a while since I've been to Wales. Last time I was here the plane crashed." I spin my head around "I'm sorry, come again? You survived a plane crash?" "Yeah, at Wales." "What company was that?" "Cape Smythe." "You mean to tell me you were the passenger on the 1040 that crashed there a few years ago?" "Yep. I didn't know what it was called but it was just like this plane." "So the last time you flew to Wales it was with this company, in a plane identical to this, on a day with weather identical to today's... and the plane crashed... yet, here you are doing it again." "Yeah, I guess so." "You've got the biggest brass balls of anyone I've ever met." "Well, you're not planning on crashing, are you?" "Well, I wasn't, but now I'm not so sure." I flew that fucking approach tighter than any approach I've flown before or since. View Quote Great story, thanks! |
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Quoted: The Danish Sirius Patrol is issued 10mm Glocks (the only unit in the Danish military to have 10mm sidearms) specifically because they consider 9mm inadequate for polar bear. Obviously, they'd prefer to use their .30-06 rifles, but for emergency sidearm use, they picked 10mm. View Quote The actual data seems to suggest even 9mm works. Usually what happens is the bear runs away when shot. But the sound doesn't scare them. A charging bear would be hard to stop even with a .44 mag or .454 if it is intent on charging even if hit. But the data shows they usually decide to leave the area even if shot with something like a 9. It seems to me the ability to score hits is much more important than having a powerful gun. Also in many attacks you have little time to respond, the bears are fast and sneaky. A long arm that might be slower to deploy might not be better then a handgun ready to go on a holster. I carried a .44 mag last time I was in Griz country, but think a 10 mm Glock is a better choice and would opt for a 9 over nothing (or just spray). |
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Quoted: In the 30s Alaska Commercial Co sold a bunch of rifles up North in 222 Remington so that is what the Eskimos used, for everything. They hunted polar bears with dog teams, releasing the dogs once they got close who would run in circles around the bear while the hunter walked up to about 20 yds and spine shot the bear. I have seen this on film. Creepy walking up to the paralyzed bear with those beady black eyes watching him. View Quote Heimo Korth mentioned that eskimos really liked the .222 Remington in the Vice interview. I once read that a favorite bear prevention gun while checking trap lines in Alaska was a Remington 700 chambered in .30-06. With no scope. Extremely simple, extremely deadly and readily available. Moose are so crazy and unpredictable too. |
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https://www.ammoland.com/2022/04/update-of-pistol-defenses-against-bears-123-cases-98-effective/
With this update, there are 123 documented cases where pistols were fired in defense against bears, without assistance from other lethal means. Three of those cases were failures. The success rate is 98% View Quote |
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Quoted: A 22 in the right spot would drop it. Heavier calibers allow more window of errors. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Not quite sure there is a reasonable sidearm that would quickly incapacitate a hungry, desperate Polar bear. LAR grizz in 45 Win Mag? Heavy 44 mag/454casull/450sw/50sw would get the job done, but not sure a woman would carry one..... A 22 in the right spot would drop it. Heavier calibers allow more window of errors. There is a real story of a Canadian trapper, female, who took down a grizzly with a single shot .22lr. The bear charged her and she waited till it was close enough to fire her shot, right in the eye. Dropped the son of bitch, too. Most people would shit themselves in that situation. Self included. |
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Quoted: There is a real story of a Canadian trapper, female, who took down a grizzly with a single shot .22lr. The bear charged her and she waited till it was close enough to fire her shot, right in the eye. Dropped the son of bitch, too. Most people would shit themselves in that situation. Self included. View Quote IIRC she was being followed, and looped around to ambush it, and put multiple rounds through the ear. |
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Quoted: I think people sometimes forget that Polar Bears are the only truly carnivorous bear. Most other bears (including Grizzlies) are omnivores and seem to mostly eat plants (with some estimates as high as 90% of their diet), and only occasionally eat meat. Polar bears are apparently considered "hyper-carnivorus" and eat almost no plant material at all. Plus, they actively hunt for most of their food - meaning that hunting/stalking is an ingrained behavior. For most other bears, hunting is a very occasional thing, with foraging being the main source of food. I wouldn't want to be chased by ANY large angry bear ![]() View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: I think people sometimes forget that Polar Bears are the only truly carnivorous bear. Most other bears (including Grizzlies) are omnivores and seem to mostly eat plants (with some estimates as high as 90% of their diet), and only occasionally eat meat. Polar bears are apparently considered "hyper-carnivorus" and eat almost no plant material at all. Plus, they actively hunt for most of their food - meaning that hunting/stalking is an ingrained behavior. For most other bears, hunting is a very occasional thing, with foraging being the main source of food. I wouldn't want to be chased by ANY large angry bear ![]() ![]() In other words, polar bears (and black bears to a lesser degree) are known to treat humans as prey. Polar bears will stalk you, kill you and eat you as if you were a rare sort of seal and black bears occasionally do the same, as if you were a deer. The fact that grizzlies rarely do this is rather curious, given that grizzlies have a closer evolutionary relationship to polar bears than to black bears. https://polarbearscience.com/2014/09/16/polar-bear-attacks-on-humans-an-evolutionary-perspective/ |
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Quoted: That is terrible. I will say however if I lived ANYWHERE in Alaska other than in the city portions of Anchorage or Juneau I would always have a large caliber handgun on me-period. Hell I have land in country in the Ozarks where the bears are puppies compared to a polar bear and I carry a 44 mag on my hip all the time. View Quote people in town get chased, mauled, and eaten fairly regularly. i think 4-5 were killed in the 10 years i lived in Anchorage. I had a .44 mag that i carried with 300 grain buffalo bores. i figured if the first one didnt do trick i had 5 left for "UP CLOSE" while it was eating me. |
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Quoted: Bucket list tour for me, someday. Torpor is weird. Beautiful animals, that would kill you in an eyeblink given the chance. View Quote USAF used to base KC-97s there. Polar bears and extreme cold were the enemies. Some fool on youtube has a polar bear, swims with the monster in the pool. What does one feed a polar bear? Doggie food? Go broke feeding it anything else. . |
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Quoted: I remember the story of Fred Bear, and that he wanted to kill a polar bear with his longbow. He had no problem getting the arrow into the bear... but the problem was that every time he did that, the bear would immediately attack and try to eat him. His armed escort would have to put the bear down to save his life, so those ones couldn't be considered an archery kill. Finally he was able to get a shot at one from atop a sheer ice cliff, and the bear was unable to climb it and expired at the bottom. View Quote I know one guy that has an archery kill on a polar bear. I don't know the whole story behind it but he made several trips before he was successful. |
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Took my grandson to natural history museum a few weeks ago. They had a big coastal brown bear and a polar bear on display.
That white bear...if i lived in a place where they could stalk me or mine...auto 12 gage slug gun with an under slung grenade launcher would be on the shoulder. |
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Quoted: Isn't everybody? I mean, they're Welsh, right? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: The question I had was why was he so angry with the Welsh? Isn't everybody? I mean, they're Welsh, right? I've only known one Welshman. That sawed off dude was the most argumentative man i ever met. He'd argue with a tree. I imagine someone would get dead if he was drinking. |
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Quoted: Bucket list tour for me, someday. Torpor is weird. Beautiful animals, that would kill you in an eyeblink given the chance. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: How common is it that they venture that close to a town ? Once there is it illegal to shoot it after it has chased several people ? Churchill, Manitoba anyone? Bucket list tour for me, someday. Torpor is weird. Beautiful animals, that would kill you in an eyeblink given the chance. I never got up there due to jab requirement but for 2 years during the warmer months I had guys and equipment up there. By and large they loved it. |
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Quoted: Quoted: I think people sometimes forget that Polar Bears are the only truly carnivorous bear. Most other bears (including Grizzlies) are omnivores and seem to mostly eat plants (with some estimates as high as 90% of their diet), and only occasionally eat meat. Polar bears are apparently considered "hyper-carnivorus" and eat almost no plant material at all. Plus, they actively hunt for most of their food - meaning that hunting/stalking is an ingrained behavior. For most other bears, hunting is a very occasional thing, with foraging being the main source of food. I wouldn't want to be chased by ANY large angry bear ![]() https://i0.wp.com/polarbearscience.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/bear-behaviour-evolution_polarbearscience_sept-13-20141.jpg?ssl=1 In other words, polar bears (and black bears to a lesser degree) are known to treat humans as prey. Polar bears will stalk you, kill you and eat you as if you were a rare sort of seal and black bears occasionally do the same, as if you were a deer. The fact that grizzlies rarely do this is rather curious, given that grizzlies have a closer evolutionary relationship to polar bears than to black bears. https://polarbearscience.com/2014/09/16/polar-bear-attacks-on-humans-an-evolutionary-perspective/ I thought the reason some black bears did this was because they were failures at being bears? I.e., mostly yearlings-2 year old bears, who Mama kicked out, but they never got the knack of feeding on more traditional bear food. They get to starving, a human shows up, and... As opposed to polar bears, who simply view us as an easier-to-catch, diet seal? |
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Quoted: The actual data seems to suggest even 9mm works. Usually what happens is the bear runs away when shot. But the sound doesn't scare them. A charging bear would be hard to stop even with a .44 mag or .454 if it is intent on charging even if hit. But the data shows they usually decide to leave the area even if shot with something like a 9. It seems to me the ability to score hits is much more important than having a powerful gun. Also in many attacks you have little time to respond, the bears are fast and sneaky. A long arm that might be slower to deploy might not be better then a handgun ready to go on a holster. I carried a .44 mag last time I was in Griz country, but think a 10 mm Glock is a better choice and would opt for a 9 over nothing (or just spray). View Quote 9 has not nor has ever been, a death ray do all. But if you want a 9 to use against the apex predator, then go on ahead. People have killed bears using 22LR, you going to switch to that instead or is common sense that just because you can never meant that you always should ring a bell? YMMV, but in apex territory lol, no. I have a safe full of 9's and would still walk into the nearest FFL and get the right gun with the right caliber for the right job. But in a sense you are right, a 9 would be better than nothing at all...until I found a shop with a 10mm G20 and hopefully in Gen 5. |
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Quoted: I thought the reason some black bears did this was because they were failures at being bears? I.e., mostly yearlings-2 year old bears, who Mama kicked out, but they never got the knack of feeding on more traditional bear food. They get to starving, a human shows up, and... As opposed to polar bears, who simply view us as an easier-to-catch, diet seal? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I think people sometimes forget that Polar Bears are the only truly carnivorous bear. Most other bears (including Grizzlies) are omnivores and seem to mostly eat plants (with some estimates as high as 90% of their diet), and only occasionally eat meat. Polar bears are apparently considered "hyper-carnivorus" and eat almost no plant material at all. Plus, they actively hunt for most of their food - meaning that hunting/stalking is an ingrained behavior. For most other bears, hunting is a very occasional thing, with foraging being the main source of food. I wouldn't want to be chased by ANY large angry bear ![]() https://i0.wp.com/polarbearscience.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/bear-behaviour-evolution_polarbearscience_sept-13-20141.jpg?ssl=1 In other words, polar bears (and black bears to a lesser degree) are known to treat humans as prey. Polar bears will stalk you, kill you and eat you as if you were a rare sort of seal and black bears occasionally do the same, as if you were a deer. The fact that grizzlies rarely do this is rather curious, given that grizzlies have a closer evolutionary relationship to polar bears than to black bears. https://polarbearscience.com/2014/09/16/polar-bear-attacks-on-humans-an-evolutionary-perspective/ I thought the reason some black bears did this was because they were failures at being bears? I.e., mostly yearlings-2 year old bears, who Mama kicked out, but they never got the knack of feeding on more traditional bear food. They get to starving, a human shows up, and... As opposed to polar bears, who simply view us as an easier-to-catch, diet seal? Glacier National Park griz/black bears have quite the kill rate on people. It can be a taught skill and even something that deeply in-beded in the dna. |
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3 pages of bear talk and no one has brought up 45-70 ?
Y’all slipping. |
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My dad was the head inspector for NORAD. He spent a lot of time in the northern artic circle.
Almost every trip he had pictures of buildings damaged by polar bears trying to gain access! He said he was given a 1911 45CAL to open carry any time on site. |
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Updated info just released.
https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2023/01/18/polar-bear-kills-woman-juvenile-wales/ 24yr old mom and one year old boy. ![]() |
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I hope Mom was dead before she had to see her baby killed.
RIP ![]() |
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absolutely terrible.
![]() Step out and get ambushed in the snow and darkness by a damn polar bear. |
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Quoted: .222 Remington didn't appear until 1950. Maybe it was a different chambering? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: In the 30s Alaska Commercial Co sold a bunch of rifles up North in 222 Remington so that is what the Eskimos used, for everything. They hunted polar bears with dog teams, releasing the dogs once they got close who would run in circles around the bear while the hunter walked up to about 20 yds and spine shot the bear. I have seen this on film. Creepy walking up to the paralyzed bear with those beady black eyes watching him. .222 Remington didn't appear until 1950. Maybe it was a different chambering? |
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Quoted: I graduated 06 or so in Anchorage. The very first gun I bought at 18 was an 870 tactical model, loaded it with 3" Black Magic Magnums...bears are terrifying. View Quote ![]() bear sits next to guy |
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Quoted: Not that I personally know of other than maybe when the pipeline itself was built.....I do believe they had hired shooters to protect everyone from bears/wolves any other danger out there....But that was in the 70's... View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: That reminded of something. Do they actually pay guys to sit in towers and provide overwatch like in that Liam Neeson movie The Grey? Not that I personally know of other than maybe when the pipeline itself was built.....I do believe they had hired shooters to protect everyone from bears/wolves any other danger out there....But that was in the 70's... |
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Quoted: I used to fly for a company called Cape Smythe Air Service up there. Lived in Barrow, Deadhorse, Kotz, and Nome. During that time in Nome I'd fly to Wales regularly. 2 memories that stuck with me about Wales... 1. I did my best to not watch a buddy of mine take a shit on the runway at Wales once. He had to go, code 5, touching cotton, full fecal emergency. He decided the approach end of the runway was his most private option because it was on the backside of the plane away from our village agent. That turd of his was frozen on the runway and viewable for weeks after that. Made its own little snowdrift and everything. 2. As a pilot up there you're used to seeing the remains of aircraft wreckages. They're everywhere. One of them was in Wales. It was the remains of a Cape Smythe Piper Pa31-T3-1040, a very rare aircraft. Only 24 ever built. It happened when a pilot of ours was attempting an illegal GPS-BS approach. We did these approaches a lot and we were good at them. We'd typically let down to 50-100' over the water by the radar altimeter and just truck it in the last mile or so until we saw the runway. Well this guy was doing that but visibility was shit. Less than 1/4 mile. He can't see in front of him but he sees the end of the runway passing under him to the left. He's got gear and flaps down and he makes a play for the runway, overshoots it to the left, attempts to correct it back to the right but way over-corrects. Stalls it, digs his right wing tip into the tundra and cart-wheels the aircraft across the runway. He and his passenger were both fine. They walked away from it but the aircraft was a total loss. I had always seen the fuselage of the aircraft sitting over by the machine shed at the end of the runway in Wales but the pilot had long since departed the company. Fast forward a few years and one day I'm flying out of Nome goin to Wales. The weather there is down but it's good enough for me to get in with the GPS-BS approach. I'm flying a T3-1040 and I have one passenger onboard (with a bunch of mail and cargo). So I have this guy sitting up front with me so I can pack the cabin and belly pod to the max. I've even got him on headsets so we can chat. Turns out he's an itinerant school teacher. Then he says, "been quite a while since I've been to Wales. Last time I was here the plane crashed." I spin my head around "I'm sorry, come again? You survived a plane crash?" "Yeah, at Wales." "What company was that?" "Cape Smythe." "You mean to tell me you were the passenger on the 1040 that crashed there a few years ago?" "Yep. I didn't know what it was called but it was just like this plane." "So the last time you flew to Wales it was with this company, in a plane identical to this, on a day with weather identical to today's... and the plane crashed... yet, here you are doing it again." "Yeah, I guess so." "You've got the biggest brass balls of anyone I've ever met." "Well, you're not planning on crashing, are you?" "Well, I wasn't, but now I'm not so sure." I flew that fucking approach tighter than any approach I've flown before or since. View Quote |
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