Midair Collision over Denver
Wow, that&#x27;s incredible.  Goes to show that people <i>do</i> walk away from plane crashes with some regularity.  My father was a pilot[0].<p>He sold his plane about 15 years ago (to a group of owners, one of which was a priest, I&#x27;m sure there&#x27;s a joke in there).  A few of winters later, he was called out to Romeo Airport; the pilot flying the plane that was formerly his had crashed the aircraft a few miles short of the runway in bad weather[1].  He was traveling with his daughter, a friend and, I think, his wife.  He died, but his daughter was able to get free and make her way to a nearby farm to call for help.  Looking at the plane, the fact that anyone <i>survived at all</i> let alone walked to a nearby house with minor injuries is pretty miraculous.<p>It&#x27;s hard to impress upon folks who have never been in a small plane like that just how ... yeah ... how much it feels like you&#x27;re hanging onto a kite.  I have no idea the kinds of structural technologies are involved in the aircraft but I know his plane was made in the 70s and was light enough that he only had a pole which attached to the front landing gear to pull it out of the hangar.  The weight is so critical that the 7-seat plane can realistically only seat 4-5 adults.  I remember being shocked that they had to weigh the <i>paint</i> they applied when he had the plane re-painted.<p>[0] I&#x27;ll spare the details as I have left many comments in the past about his experiences.<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;aviation-safety.net&#x2F;wikibase&#x2F;43894" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;aviation-safety.net&#x2F;wikibase&#x2F;43894</a> - &quot;Pilot Error&quot;; I recall my Dad saying &quot;<i>all</i> plane crashes are pilot error&quot;<p>[2] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Piper_PA-32_Cherokee_Six" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Piper_PA-32_Cherokee_Six</a>