AOPA’s Air Safety Institute has introduced a monthly podcast series named “There I Was…” The podcasts are aimed at educating pilots through discussions with a variety of pilots talking about unexpected scenarios and how they survived them.
“There I Was…” is hosted by ASI’s executive director Richard McSpadden, a former commander/flight leader of the USAF Thunderbirds, and co-host Kristen Bodnar, ASI’s lead project manager and private pilot. Each 30-minute podcast segment will feature a pilot, known or unknown, some with a wealth of experience and others not so experienced, who will share a story of a challenging flight scenario and what skills they used to get out of that scenario. The presentation is very informal, much like discussions we all have with friends at the airport.
The first segment features aerobatic champion and air show performer Patty Wagstaff who recalls a flight in Alaska many years ago in which she encountered unexpected weather while flying with a non-pilot friend in a Cessna 185. Wagstaff explains the situation in which she was unexpectedly forced into IMC and how quick thinking, good planning and a bit of luck helped her out what could have been a bad situation.
Wagstaff, Bodnar and McSpadden then analyzed the factors that contributed to the successful outcome of the scenario, which could just as well have been fatal if it were not for the decisions Wagstaff made before and during the flight. You can listen to the discussion by clicking this link.
