How many people has this happened to?
It happens a lot on the slopes; one estimate is that 2% of ski-holiday airline passengers come back with broken-something. Every day I was anywhere I saw injuries, sometimes bad ones.
But maybe GA flyers are less likely to damage themselves, by self-selection? Certainly all pilots I know who ski range from good to extremely good.
What would be the logistics? You can’t fly back alone, legally or practically. And leaving the plane there for months will cost a fortune in parking and will prob99 bugger the engine through corrosion. It seems the best way is to organise a legal PIC to sit in the RH seat while you fly back and he/she does the rudder during takeoff/landing.
But can one even get into a plane with a leg in plaster? I was talking to another pilot who is a doctor and apparently if you get it all pinned and screwed then you can move about a lot sooner.
Also you can barely fly a plane with a broken arm.
If the other person was an “instructor” (which can be even a CRI AFAIK) then you would log it as PU/T or whatever and they would log it as PIC. The insurance should work because most policies cover getting training, but is that still true if the principal insured has a void medical?
Has anyone done this?
Peter wrote:
It happens a lot on the slopes; one estimate is that 2% of ski-holiday airline passengers come back with broken-something
Peter, If you are going to break something a ski resort is the best place to do it, they are set up for it…
When my daughter was a ski instructor in Sestriere and broke her arm she was fixed up and literally back on the slopes in 3 hours.
When I broke my arm I drove myself to the local hospital (UK) and it was 6 hours before I was seen and14 hours before I got home.
I reckon that if it came to it I could fly home with a broken arm just about, but would it be legal?
Peter wrote:
The insurance should work because most policies cover getting training, but is that still true if the principal insured has a void medical?
It depends on what medical insurance(s) you have also. As a member of the Air Ambulance, I will get a nurse and transport home as soon as I’m well enough to travel. This also depends on how beaten up I would be. A broken arm is nothing, a broken back is very serious, it could take months on hospital. Kind of a strange question/problem, but by far the cheapest and easiest IMO, would be to pay travel and expenses for someone you trust to fly the plane home.
I might add that this can happen when you slip on a banana skin in Crete as well…. with probably worse consequences than having a mishap in one of the ski places.
Re the airplane, I agree with LeSving, get someone you trust to fly it home for you or to act as PIC with you in the RH seat. If it happened to me, I’d have a bunch of folks I could rely on.
When flying for a charter airline I would go to Chambery on Saturdays during the ski season, my personal observation would put the injury rate well above 2%, probably nearer 4%.
As this point I might add that if you are looking for someone to recover your aircraft after an unfortunate incident on the slopes the I am open to offers.
Peter wrote:
If the other person was an “instructor” …
If that instructor was me, I would plainly refuse to do this kind of flight. Letting someone handle half the controls who has one arm or leg in plaster? If he wants to fly home in his own plane he either sits in the back seat or he pushes his seat far enough back that he can’t interfere with the controls.
Without even asking explicitely for it, I have three or four or five insurances and/or memberships (e.g. ADAC=touirng club, gold credit card, German Air Ambulance,…) which cover the transport home in case of incapacitation including sending a driver who will drive home the car with or without the family. Maybe one can talk to them if they can send a pilot instead of a driver…
Charter flights are usually full of poorer skiers therefore younger therefore more reckless. It certainly applied to me.
I agree I wouldnt fly with someone with a suspended medical who was incapacipated in a way that could present a problem in an emergency and at all unless I could competently complete the flight solo.
For a good skier the risk of injury sking within your ability is very small and would not worry me. For a novice the risk is much higher and I wouldnt fly myself to ski because I cant imagine the risk out weighs the benefit of going commercial.
Stickandrudderman wrote:
Charter flights are usually full of poorer skiers therefore younger therefore more reckless. It certainly applied to me.
The statistics of accidents is a bit funny. This is for Norway, but I guess it is very similar all over.
This is the statistics for death accidents per 100k (accidents, not illness or age, or murder). Green is men, and red is women. It grows steadily with age, until it explodes when passing 80.
The next graph is non lethal accidents per 100k that needs attention by medical professionals. Men at 10-24 are really bad. Then it becomes better until it starts to turn bad again at 70. Women are worse than men after 55.
If I don’t brake myself something this winter skiing, I can ferry plane back.
When I do ski trip, usually we are going beetwen friend that are also pilot. So if something happen one of use can fly everybody home…
Romain
