Aero-News: Quote of the Day

ANN's Quote of the Day usually derives from current news, though we reserve the right to pick quotes out of history that have a bearing on the day's events and issues.

Sometimes, you'll find them timely and in keeping with the content of the day's news... and sometimes, they'll just be thought-provoking.

Reader suggestions and comments are welcome... and if particularly intriguing, timely, or poignant, may themselves become future Quotes of the Day.

Let us hear from you, folks!

Aero-News Quote of the Day

“The pilot conducted a risk assessment of the flight; however, he omitted to include the carriage (transportation) of the penguin on-board... the cyclic pitch control lever advanced to the far-right position. The helicopter rolled to the right and the pilot could not recover timeously.”

Source: Part of the investigative report into a bizarre accident involving an R44... and a penguin. On January 19, the R44 Raven II took off for what was supposed to be an aerial surveillance flight. A pilot and three passengers were on board, with one of them bringing a penguin on board to transport it back to Port Elizabeth. To do so, they set the penguin inside a cardboard box with holes that was placed on a passenger’s lap. Though the passenger was supposedly holding the box, it somehow managed to slip off of his legs and onto the flight controls. 

FMI: www.caa.co.za