Warbird Information Exchange

Reminds me of...
Gunsmoke (The TV series for all you youngsters) where some ne'er do well (like Bruce Dern) would get caught about to do something WRONG and say something like, "We was just having a little fun Marshall. Can't a person have any fun in this town?"

But seriously this is the kind of crap that we do not need.

"Call the fuel truck for me..." sheeesh!

_________________
Support Your Local Warbirds! KBO!
The only reasons the airplanes matter is what the veterans did with them... and why.

Isn't that guy a Delta pilot?

Here's the latest:
Delta suspends jailed pilot

By Megan Matteucci

Delta Air Lines has suspended a pilot while officials investigate charges he tried to run over two Griffin police officers with his private plane.

Dan Wayne Gryder, 48, remains in the Spalding County jail, charged with two counts of aggravated assault and obstruction. He is being held without bond and is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday, the sheriff’s office said.

Gryder, a Delta pilot and private aircraft instructor, was arrested Wednesday at the Griffin-Spalding Airport.

“He is suspended pending the completion into the investigation in this incident,” Delta spokesman Anthony Black said Thursday.

The FAA is also investigating Wednesday's incident and could issue additional punishment.

"If it was a violation, it would be a civil matter not a criminal matter," FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said.

Griffin code enforcement officers were called to the airport on Wednesday for a report of a pilot disrupting the airport. Gryder was driving his car across the runway and taxiway, Griffin Police Investigator Bryan Clanton said.

The two officers approached the suspect and he gave them a fake name. After learning the pilot was Gryder, the officers attempted to issue him six citations, police said.

However, Gryder refused to sign the tickets and boarded his plane, a 1937 DC-3A. He started the engine and told one of the officers that if she moved, he would strike her car, police said.

The officer, who was standing next to the prop, moved out of the way and summoned backup.

Additional Griffin officers and Spalding County deputies flooded the area and ordered him to stop, but Gryder continued to taxi down the runway.

Gryder got to the end of the runway and attempted to take off, but he was out of gas.

Police arrested Gryder and transported him to jail.

Gryder’s actions disrupted air traffic, prohibiting flights from departing or arriving, police said.

“He essentially shut the airport down for almost 45 minutes,” Clanton said. “His actions created a danger for all of our officers, himself and others who lawfully use the airport.”

It's this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sV1CzvZHlM

_________________

All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

So prior to the massive brain fart, he was a pretty good pilot?

_________________
"There are old pilots and bold pilots but few old, bold pilots."

One tire landing like that looks like one could put the aircraft at risk, as well as the other aircraft in taxi. Just MHO.

_________________
Kind Regards,
Gary Lewis
J.A.F.O.

He owns/owned the company.

Not to be a wise @ss, but I think my signature quote may apply in this case.

_________________
"Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves."

there is obviously more nuts than peanuts lately at delta!!

_________________
tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!

From the article:

"Griffin code enforcement officers were called to the airport on Wednesday for a report of a pilot disrupting the airport. Gryder was driving his car across the runway and taxiway, Griffin Police Investigator Bryan Clanton said."

I heard he was partying with Patty Wagstaff!

In all seriousness, that is pretty shocking. Dan was a well-respected pilot in the aviation community. Besides being a Delta 767 or 777 Captain, he owns and operates the Herpa DC-3 in which he does airshows and also offers type ratings in. He also is one of the aero-news.net television reporters. I've never heard anything bad about him at all. About two years ago, I thought about going to him to get checked out in the DC-3, but at that time the prices were too high, and I passed.

When something like that happens, it must have set him off somehow. I'm sure there is more to the story. Somebody in that position doesn't just "go off" for no apparent reason. Something had to have been building inside him to make him act that way. I honestly would be surprised if he kept his Delta job.

What's with all the bone-head actions in aviation recently? First Santa Monica buzz jobs, now this. All have involved extremely qualified and experienced pilots.

They say bad things happen in three's. So what is the next bonehead act which will cast a negative light on aviation going to be?

Justifying the act and humanizing it still doesn't make it right or any smarter to do.

_________________
F-84F Simulator Project
www.f-84f.org

I fell out of a F7F nacelle this afternoon, does that count?

_________________
Those who possess real knowledge are rare.

Those who can set that knowledge into motion in the physical world are rarer still.

The few who possess real knowledge and can set it into motion of their own hands are the rarest of all.

Did you make the news? Did you manage to give anyone cause to further restrict aviation activities?

If the answer is 'no' to all of the above, then however painful it may be to you, personally, the answer is also 'no'.

Be careful out there though!

_________________
James K

"Switch on the underwater landing lights"
Emilio Largo, Thunderball.

www.VintageAeroWriter.com

I was merely trying to explain a possibility for such behavior, not justify it. It's especially surprising, because those kinds of behaviors and/or personality flaws get vetted out pretty early in a typical professional aviator's career. You pretty much don't make it and ruin your whole career, if you were to display that kind of behavior early on. In other words, those types of people who might exhibit that kind of trait never make it into the "big leagues". They are essentially screened for many years through their various flying jobs, checkrides, and interactions with other crew members/students/and/or the public. Flying, at times, can be very stressful and is a true test to someone's real personality and character traits. It's pretty hard to fake a persona when one is under heavy stress.

There are always exceptions to people "slipping through" , but by and large, it's not typical for a professional aviator to do those kinds of acts. I'm wondering if he had some kind of latent aggressions that have somehow manifested themselves due to extraordinary stress or pressure. Who knows what happened, but one thing is for certain. Pilots don't need any more bad publicity with everything that has been happening in the last few months.

Reminds me of a fellow I know runing an excavator and a cop thought he'd sneek up behind him. Huge mistake he could have got hit.
Just maybe these people that he is accused of trying to hit, where in a blind spot, in a DC-3 that is a huge blind spot too. Besides you don't get in front of a large machine of any sort that is moving.

You just can't make up stuff like this. Who needs fiction writers when real events are so much more interesting.