# Pilot fakes own death (RO) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 12, 2009, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-fakes-own-death-ro/480990 "2009-01-12T21:56:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-fakes-own-death-ro/480990/21 "2009-01-13T13:23:26Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I was discussing this with another pilot over lunch. What we found most remarkable was that he was able to climb out of a six-seat Piper while in flight AND while wearing a parachute! The cockpit is tight, the door difficult to open more than a small bit while in flight, and parachutes are bulky. Can the door be jettisoned in an emergency by pulling the hinge pins, like some other light a/c? The linked news articles says that the military pilots reported the door as “open”, but presumably the slipstream would have pushed it more or less shut again after he bailed out if it had just been opened normally, which likely wouldn’t have been visible under flare illumination at night. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-fakes-own-death-ro/480990/22 "2009-01-13T13:48:43Z")
> [@Bookkeeper](#): > > Can the door be jettisoned in an emergency by pulling the hinge pins, like some other light a/c? Nope. It’s not that type of light aircraft. The Piper line (I haven’t flown the Lancer, but I have flown the Warrior and Archer which share many design features) isn’t designed for easy in-flight exits nor is there any sort of emergency door release. In fact, if the main door is jammed the “emergency exit” on the Warrior is the baggage compartment. Ha-ha-ha. I’m small and reasonably flexible, but I have strong doubts I could manage that, much less the more typical six foot tall amply padded American pilot you frequently find in such aircraft. > [@](#): > > The linked news articles says that the military pilots reported the door as “open”, but presumably the slipstream would have pushed it more or less shut again after he bailed out if it had just been opened normally, which likely wouldn’t have been visible under flare illumination at night. Certainly, if you unlock the door while in flight you can really feel the pressure of the slipstream. If you take off with the door slightly ajar the slipstream tends to push it closed, or at least not very open. I haven’t tried opening the door all way in flight (for one thing, I’m took short of arm to do that from the pilot seat) but it may be that _once you get it all the way open_ the slipstream will tend to keep it open. I also know of at least one instance where the door of Piper was pulled off while in flight, but that involved a tornado, not a bail out over Alabama. The upshot is that I have no problem with the idea that intercepting aircraft could observe the airplane door was ajar. He must have had a decent autopilot for it to maintain anything like normal flight with him moving around and crawling out the door, though - just opening a door does make the plane want to start turning, and him moving around would affect the weight and balance. It wouldn’t be as bad as some of the really, really small airplanes I’ve flown, but it would still have some effect. Anyhow, he’s in a world of shit if he gets brought in by the authorities. Declaring false emergencies is bad enough. Abandoning a perfectly good airplane in flight, only to have it crash near residential areas is… well, he’s not just looking at fines but probably jail time on top of it. If he thought he was in legal and financial trouble before he _certainly_ is now. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-fakes-own-death-ro/480990/23 "2009-01-13T14:13:04Z")
Sorry, correction - I misidentified the aircraft. It’s a Piper Malibu, not a Lancer. ---
**Author:** ![nofloyd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nofloyd/32/2870_2.png) [@nofloyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nofloyd)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-fakes-own-death-ro/480990/24 "2009-01-13T14:36:24Z")
Reminds me of a Columbo plot. Johnny Cash parachutes from a plane leaving his wife drugged up to die in the crash, cleverly breaking his leg to show how narrow his escape was. If we could only convince this guy he left a vital piece of evidence at the crash site and wait in the bushes at night for him to turn up. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-fakes-own-death-ro/480990/25 "2009-01-13T14:36:32Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Anyhow, he’s in a world of shit if he gets brought in by the authorities. Declaring false emergencies is bad enough. Abandoning a perfectly good airplane in flight, only to have it crash near residential areas is… well, he’s not just looking at fines but probably jail time on top of it. If he thought he was in legal and financial trouble before he _certainly_ is now. At the very least he purposely crashed a pretty expensive aircraft. Was it his? Was it paid off? How much do they cost? Even if everyone else were to forgive and forget, I bet somebody wants a wad of cash for a now crumpled aircraft ! ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-fakes-own-death-ro/480990/26 "2009-01-13T21:23:48Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > At the very least he purposely crashed a pretty expensive aircraft. > > Was it his? Was it paid off? Supposedly he owned a couple aircraft, it could have been his. > [@](#): > > How much do they cost? Around 2 million. The exact amount depends on equipment, state of the engine, and a bunch of other things, but definitely in the seven digits. > [@](#): > > Even if everyone else were to forgive and forget, I bet somebody wants a wad of cash for a now crumpled aircraft ! Presumably it was insured - if nothing else the insurance company will be reluctant to pay out on a _deliberately_ crashed airplane. I wish to update about the door issue - I looked up the Piper Malibu a bit and it’s a \*pressurized \*airplane, which means the door set up is probably significantly different than what I’m familiar with the Pipers I’ve flown. It would be even _less_ likely to have an “emergency jettison” though, clearly, it CAN be opened in flight (though equally clearly the pressure had to be equal on both sides to open it) as this yahoo proved. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-fakes-own-death-ro/480990/27 "2009-01-14T01:21:07Z")
This is the best entertainment in days. Failed investment broker fakes his own death by trying to bail out of a plane that he hopes will crash into the ocean. 1. He calls in an emergency. (small planes disapear with out a trace, no reason to mayday.) 2. Not enough fuel to reach the Gulf, or Auto pilot is set wrong. 3. Guard or was it the AirForce was scrambled, finds the plane. STILL IN THE AIR, but with no pilot. I bet he left his transponder on. 4. Oops, fighter jet guys see no broken windscreen and the door is open. 5. Fighter jets follow the plane as it runs out of fuel and returns to earth. (I love that part) 6. He Runs into a local and says his canoe overturned. 7. Gets a ride from the local law to a hotel. 8. Escapes the hotel into the woods. 9. Is now a fugitive on a red motorcycle that he had in storage. This is just so funny. This guy actually had the balls to bail out of a small aircraft while it was in autopilot. He had to open the damn door that is not meant to be opened while the aircraft is in flight. Crashed a very expensive airplane and is now on the run with whatever he can carry on a motorcycle. All assets frozen. And now, the whole damn country is looking for this guy. Ha. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-fakes-own-death-ro/480990/28 "2009-01-14T01:31:39Z")
And when they DO catch him he probably won’t be allowed bail because he is, of course, a _flight risk_… ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-fakes-own-death-ro/480990/29 "2009-01-14T01:45:35Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > And when they DO catch him he probably won’t be allowed bail because he is, of course, a _flight risk_… Dont tell you are here all week! Poor guy, just another victim of the coporate bailout. And with the economy plummeting like this, is it any surprise? Wouldnt have been so bad if he had a golden parachute. If only he had checked into a Holiday inn. He knew the economic downturn would turn into a crash. This incident has certainly impacted his bottom line. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-fakes-own-death-ro/480990/30 "2009-01-14T02:04:25Z")
Maybe he exited [this door](http://www.aerodynamics.co.uk/gadealer/images/deeci.jpg)? That would be easily seen as open and wouldn’t push against the slipstream nearly as much. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-fakes-own-death-ro/480990/31 "2009-01-14T02:15:21Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Perhaps the pilot will jump into a wood chipper as his final act… It would have been really funny if he had floated down in his parachute into the mouth of a wood chipper. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-fakes-own-death-ro/480990/32 "2009-01-14T02:17:49Z")
This guy was just plane crazy. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-fakes-own-death-ro/480990/33 "2009-01-14T02:24:59Z")
Not only that, but for a pilot he had a pretty poor attitude! ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-fakes-own-death-ro/480990/34 "2009-01-14T03:45:39Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > This is the best entertainment in days. > > Failed investment broker fakes his own death by trying to bail out of a plane that he hopes will crash into the ocean. > > 1. He calls in an emergency. (small planes disapear with out a trace, no reason to mayday.) > 2. Not enough fuel to reach the Gulf, or Auto pilot is set wrong. > 3. Guard or was it the AirForce was scrambled, finds the plane. STILL IN THE AIR, but with no pilot. I bet he left his transponder on. > 4. Oops, fighter jet guys see no broken windscreen and the door is open. > 5. Fighter jets follow the plane as it runs out of fuel and returns to earth. (I love that part) > 6. He Runs into a local and says his canoe overturned. > 7. Gets a ride from the local law to a hotel. > 8. Escapes the hotel into the woods. > 9. Is now a fugitive on a red motorcycle that he had in storage. I’ll bet this retard didn’t even bother obtaining a corpse so if his plan _did_ succeed, there’d at least be a body in the wreckage. (The absence of a dead pilot would raise a serious red flag amongst investigators, wouldn’t it?) Always, _always_ keep a fresh dead body on hand for contingency purposes! ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-fakes-own-death-ro/480990/35 "2009-01-14T03:51:07Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > Always, _always_ keep a fresh dead body on hand for contingency purposes! Way ahead of ya. ETA: On the other hand, lack of a body probably wouldn’t have been an issue if the plane could have made it to crash in the Gulf. Also, no need at all for a mayday call, IMO. If he was flying high enough that hypoxia would be a concern, then people might figure that it was another freaky case like that golfer whose plane flew for hours on autopilot while pilot & passengers were unconscious or dead. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-fakes-own-death-ro/480990/36 "2009-01-14T03:52:01Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > Always, _always_ keep a fresh dead body on hand for contingency purposes! It’s a royal PITA keeping fresh bodies on hand, and commercial freezer space is _expensive_. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-fakes-own-death-ro/480990/37 "2009-01-14T04:03:37Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > This is the best entertainment in days. > > Failed investment broker fakes his own death by trying to bail out of a plane that he hopes will crash into the ocean. > > 1. He calls in an emergency. (small planes disapear with out a trace, no reason to mayday.) > 2. Not enough fuel to reach the Gulf, or Auto pilot is set wrong. > 3. Guard or was it the AirForce was scrambled, finds the plane. STILL IN THE AIR, but with no pilot. I bet he left his transponder on. > 4. Oops, fighter jet guys see no broken windscreen and the door is open. > 5. Fighter jets follow the plane as it runs out of fuel and returns to earth. (I love that part) > 6. He Runs into a local and says his canoe overturned. > 7. Gets a ride from the local law to a hotel. > 8. Escapes the hotel into the woods. > 9. Is now a fugitive on a red motorcycle that he had in storage. He could have skipped right to step 9 and been ahead of the game! ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-fakes-own-death-ro/480990/38 "2009-01-14T05:01:40Z")
It appears he wanted this to be a case of accidental death rather than suicide - hence the reason he reported the emergency. If his plane hadn’t been seen in the air, and if it had actually made it to the gulf, most people would have probably assumed he was digesting with the fishes (rephrased for PETA: he was digesting with the sea kittens). I wonder if he had a life insurance policy on himself - in a new assumed identity of course - that he was expecting to collect? I have to give him credit - he kept cool under pressure with the canoe story, at least enough to prevent initial suspician, and he already had his escape route planned and stocked with supplies as shown by the nearby motorcycle in storage. I’d lay odds that that isn’t his only storage facility with supplies and vehicles. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-fakes-own-death-ro/480990/39 "2009-01-14T05:11:04Z")
It appears he has been [caught](http://news.aol.com/article/awol-pilot-accused-of-cheating-investors/303063). Worst. Flight. From. Justice. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2009, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-fakes-own-death-ro/480990/40 "2009-01-14T12:47:40Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Perhaps the pilot will jump into a wood chipper as his final act… Funny you should say that! This happened only a few miles from where my husband is working. He and his brother own a fuel wood operation, supplying wood chips to the local paper mills. They use one of [these](http://www.northerntree.com/equipment/th_mobark30.jpg) types of wood chippers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-fakes-own-death-ro/480990.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pilot-fakes-own-death-ro/480990.md?page=3)