Looks like it was a real heartfelt tribute to one terrific guy. His enthusiasm touched the lives of many, myself included. Unable to attend, I was
thinking of him all weekend.
Another pic I meant to upload - of Leslie & Tracy, Carlos' wife and daughter, taking a moment to address everyone at the memorial yesterday at
Torrance Beach.
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.
– Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
We know we must go back if we live, and we don`t know why.
– John Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
Originally posted by David K
There were hundreds of people on the beach at sundown when the service ended... A multiple flyover by vintage aircraft doing the missing man formation
set the experince of importance this man had over those who attended today.
The recurring theme by everyone: Carlos' positive influence on all those around him - each and every day.
Here's a video showing the crowd and the missing man formation flyover:
That is a great video Doug... you got the missing man fly-by perfect... Very deep emotional day. We miss you Carlos Fiesta!
Russ surfed with no wetsuit
Not even a T-shirt, or something.
Yea, Russ rode a tanker, longboard.
But with old school style.
The old drop knee bit.
Maybe it was those dang trunks.
A green pair, but riding up high.
Old school, 60's surfer look.
And he would take off with no worries.
Nobody would drop in on him.
As it would be, we would talk in the line up.
The Teacher, Mr. Professor.
A couple of years later, this last summer, I see Russ at Rat Beach.
What is going on, Russ?
Russ is teaching some kids to surf, swim and the ocean.
A couple of the parents (moms) are hanging out, too.
They tell me how Russ is Number One.
Ladies, we already knew that. Russ is a Surfer.
And I go back out swimming and surfing with Russ and the kids.
I had the good fortune to surf with Carlos, Russ, and Sean on their last trip - all interesting, generous, fun-loving guys. Each lived an adventure
filled, charitable life to be proud of. I feel so blessed to have spent some time with them.
I am making some calls to help with Juan del Rio's request about getting Carlos' book published. If Chuck (Carlos) talked to any of you about his book
please get in touch with me, I want to help fulfill that request. Thank you!
My belated condolences to the families of Chuck Chambers, Russell Urban, and Sean Kelly. Though we e-mailed, I never had the opportunity to meet
Chuck.
I'd missed this story due to being ill and had just received an e-mail from Carlos a few weeks earlier reminding me to once again order 4 Baja
calendars, which I did without knowing about this sad tale. I'm so sorry for the friends and family.
Investigators conclude the pilot refueled twice on his way home from Baja.
By Mike Reicher
December 13, 2010
Federal investigators found that the small plane that crashed in Newport Beach's Back Bay and killed three people in November ran out of fuel,
confirming earlier speculation.
The private pilot, who was flying home from a surf trip in Baja, refueled in San Felipe and later in Calexico, a border town south of the Salton Sea,
according to a preliminary report released Monday.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators talked with ground crew members and another pilot at those airports. But witnesses were unable to
say how much fuel the plane had when it took off from Calexico.
"We do not know how much fuel was in that airplane," Wayne Pollack, lead investigator for the NTSB, said during an interview. "We're looking at a
fuel-exhaustion scenario."
Ultimately, ounces of water were found in the in the fuel tanks, the report states. Pollack said that water could have penetrated through vents, and
not necessarily through a puncture.
In Calexico, the pilot, Chuck Chambers, added 20 gallons of fuel to the tanks, which can hold 60 gallons total. The fuel lineman at the airport said
he didn't know how much gas was onboard before he added some to the right wing tank. He also said fuel didn't reach the brim.
As the plane approached John Wayne Airport on Nov. 21, the night of the crash, Chambers twice told a JWA air traffic controller, "We have just run out
of fuel."
Chambers had been flying for more than 30 years, his wife said. A real estate broker from Palos Verdes Estates, he was an avid surfer and traveled to
Mexico often to visit friends and catch un-crowded waves. The three friends were on their way to Zamperini Field Airport in Torrance when they made
the unexpected turn inland toward JWA.
The report describes an account by a Newport Beach firefighter who watched the plane pass over the fire station near Newport Center, less than a mile
southeast of the crash site. He heard the plane's engine "sputter," and said it never revved back up. It flew just "three telephone poles' height"
above the ground as it passed the witness, the report states.
Chambers and two other South Bay residents, Russell Urban, 63, of Rancho Palos Verdes, and Sean Kelly, 44, of Hermosa Beach, drowned in the crash, as
the plane rested upside down in about three feet of water, according to a coroner's report released in November.
After the plane was extracted from a mud flat, investigators found that many of its components were in working order, including the fuel screen and
the fuel tank selector.
Pollack from the NTSB said that he is still waiting on standard toxicology and autopsy results, and radar information before he completes the
investigation in 2011.
Earlier this month, a firefighter told the Daily Pilot that emergency responders initially were unable to open the doors of the four-seat Beechcraft
Musketeer, which was stuck nose-down in a mudflat. About 20 to 25 police and firefighters lifted the plane above ground enough to open the doors, he
said. The whole process took about 30 minutes, he estimated, while the tide was rising.
Since the decision was made not to Top the Tanks, but calculate what would be a sufficient total, it appears to be another unfortunate mistake with
Grave consequences.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
There has to be something to make sense of this... Carlos was a detail guy (have you spent any time on BajaExpo.com?)... and for him to mis-judge how
much fuel he needed or was available is not in his character. This flying from Mexico wasn't new to him. This was just really sad and such a great
loss.
"and for him to mis-judge how much fuel he needed or was available is not in his character."
maybe so - but when the NTSB and FAA look at this stuff it is in B&W under a magnifying glass.
lotsa dead pilots that had great character. But they also lacked sound judgment if only for a brief period.....
fuel management is solely the domain of the PIC [pilot-in-command] under part 91 regs. running out of gas continues to be the leading cause of
PREVENTABLE light AC fatalities and sadly there is no excuse for it.
checking fuel burn in cruise against ETA and ground speed is a must for pilot in flight management, and the only functional way to objectively gauge
your safety against the legal minimum reserves [30 min for VFR [visual flight rules].
when down to your minimum and not in the pattern you must land, and hopefully have figured/anticipated that contingency well beforehand.
the FAA lets you get off with 30 min fuel reserve if VFR....conservative pilots use 1 hour. all of my BBP and baja buddy pilots are in the habit of
using the one hour rule too because of the paucity of airports with gas in baja and sonora, they get used to and acceept that - and do it stateside
routinely.
sadly "get-home-itis" can interfere with sound judgment.
Carlos was a great guy, and is sorely missed. He had great character. for whatever reason there was a lapse in judgment which created tragedy for 3
lives.
other active pilots here may weigh in or think it differently.
this is my opinion.
[Edited on 12-16-2010 by capt. mike]
formerly Ordained in Rev. Ewing\'s Church by Mail - busted on tax fraud.......
Now joined L. Ron Hoover\'s church of Appliantology
\"Remember there is a big difference between kneeling down and bending over....\"
Everything mike said is right on, but I still think fuel lost in flight through a faulty seal in a fuel tank cap remains a possible explanation. The
NTSB should be able to determine that. The collapsing fuel cell caused by an increasing vacuum can jam the fuel gauge sensors and give a misleading
reading, leading the pilot to think he/she has more fuel than is actually there. It happened to me.
yes Ken yur right, i sure would prefer when the final report comes in - BTW - avg time req'd on the full findings is 2 years! that it was a mech
defect or problem - what bothers me is preliminarily they estimate he was in flight for 3.5 hours or more for a 100 minute flight giving credence to
the severe headwinds and turbulence both low coastal route and the direct one over Julian VOR.
based on his GS vs TAS he was lucky to get chevrolet speed over mother earth.
one of my non flying friends who is frequently a willing pax with me says when birds aren't flying - he's not flying.
growing up in the cold mid west Kansas farm regions i can identify with that observation!
formerly Ordained in Rev. Ewing\'s Church by Mail - busted on tax fraud.......
Now joined L. Ron Hoover\'s church of Appliantology
\"Remember there is a big difference between kneeling down and bending over....\"
Wow, 3.5 hours for less than 190 nm, that's about 54 knots on the ground. TAS should have been about 100 knots. You're right, you can drive it
faster than that. Regardless of what the gages said, he must have known he wasn't making much progress. VERY puzzling why he pressed on. Maybe some
get-home-itis.
The final report, when it comes out, will include wind conditions encountered, re-fueling information, including San Filipe as well as Calexico, and
all mechanical information concerning the aircraft, which appeared to be in relatively good condition when recovered.
The information, if correct, that the rescuers had to pry the doors open was disturbing, as the door or doors should have been cracked open before
ditching.Seems all aboard were surfers, not unfamiliar with being in the water and may have been able to exit if a door had been open even under the
dis-orienting inverted conditions.
While I haven't read Everything relating to the accident, IS there any substantial indications or evidence that the Pilot INTENDED ditching or simply
Stalled in while trying to stay aloft as long as possible ?
In any case, even the VERY Best pilots make mistakes.
One of my great boyhood idols, Scott Crossfield, died when he decided to not detour around a severe Thunderstorm that he was warned against attempting
to transit. He (and the Cessna) came out in little pieces.
Of Course, he was 85, but there wasn't any indication that age was a factor. Perhaps Arrogance ?
once the windmill stopped he was gliding, i doubt he would have let his airspeed bleed off to the point of a wing stall.
and if so he would have spun 1st and gone in nose at 90 degrees crushing the cabin with attendant trauma.
given that it was well past sundown and getting dark - he was looking for a street between bldgs and trees likely, and with nothing else suitable
picked the bay as an alternate spot for less chance of conflict with cars or structure.
would have been my choice too - water more forgiving that concrete or steel.
tailwheel [conventional] landing gear or fixed gear AC will flip over onto the back once they hit the water. this causes disorientation; but there are
training facilities which teach it using a hardware rig on slides set up at swimming pools, and with diver support.
you ride it and flip in your seat - practice it over and over till you are completely comfortable with the procedure and can do it bindfolded even.
the contracption can be practiced by riders also in pax seats.
one of my friends has a C 180 and has taken the 2 day course - says it is well worth it as he crosses the SOC regularly.
formerly Ordained in Rev. Ewing\'s Church by Mail - busted on tax fraud.......
Now joined L. Ron Hoover\'s church of Appliantology
\"Remember there is a big difference between kneeling down and bending over....\"
"If it were lush and rich, one could understand the pull, but it is fierce and hostile and sullen.
The stone mountains pile up to the sky and there is little fresh water. But we know we must go back
if we live, and we don't know why." - Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
"People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." - Theodore Roosevelt
"You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who they think can do nothing for them or to them." - Malcolm Forbes
"Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others
cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you." - Jim Rohn
"The best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer." - Cunningham's Law
Thankyou to Baja Bound
Mexico InsuranceServices for your long-term support of the BajaNomad.com Forums site.
Emergency Baja Contacts Include:
Desert Hawks;
El Rosario-based ambulance transport; Emergency #: (616) 103-0262
![[*]](images/xmbforum/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
