Thursday, December 18, 2008

Phoenix - Sedona / Beechcraft Baron 58 (N2720V) / VFR

This flight did not end well (and that's an understatement). Being rushed by the constant intrusion of real life, I became careless.

I started out from Phoenix in good weather with two virtual friends aboard. I conducted most of the flight on autopilot. Things went well until my descent into Sedona, where visibility was almost nil in blowing snow (and remember, I filed VFR). I would have made it okay had I not forgotten to turn off HDG mode in the AP in my rush to land. I didn't remember to do this until I was practically over the threshold, and so I ended up crunching the airframe a bit to the left of the runway shortly beyond the threshold. Everyone survived, but the aircraft had to be written off. I'll have it replaced with a new one with the same tail number tomorrow.

I hate being rushed when I'm trying to fly.

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