Close Calls by Anthony Nalli
About the Author Print E-mail

nalli.jpgThis special series is by noted author Anthony Nalli.

Close Calls is a column detailing the “close call” experiences of fellow pilots. Determining a close call can be quite subjective but for our purposes here a close call will be any situation where a pilot suddenly finds themselves in a potentially dangerous situation quite unexpectedly. Personally, I describe a close call as “closer than I’d prefer.” I invite you to contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or 1-888-PCAS-123 (GTA: 416-225-9266) to anonymously share your stories. I will collect the details and prepare the article for Close Calls. The experience shared and lessons learned will be of benefit to all readers. Confidentiality will be assured and I will not use your name or aircraft ident without your permission.

Anthony Nalli is the Director of Canadian Development, General Aviation Collision Avoidance and President of SciDac Corporation/PCAS.ca. PCAS.ca is dedicated to the implementation of affordable collision avoidance devices in General Aviation with a mission to eliminate mid-air collisions and dramatically reduce close calls. Anthony can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , 1-888-PCAS-123 (GTA: 416-225-9266), and www.PCAS.ca

As an interesting footnote, Wings Over Canada, Canada’s longest running aviation TV series, has recognized Close Calls columnist Anthony Nalli as “The most dedicated Canadian pilot: Anthony Nalli for his work on promoting flight safety with Portable Collision Avoidance Systems [supported by his wife Lisa].” He’d like to thank John Lovelace and his Wings Over Canada crew for their support and recognition of his efforts.  

 
Sept 09: The Centennial Odyssey Print E-mail

We flew a total of almost6000 miles – from the Toronto area to the shores of the Pacific ocean, then allthe way across to the Atlantic before turning back and heading for home. Andoh, what I’ve learned from the once in a lifetime experience of the recentCross Canada Century Flight. Though there was a lot of it, it wasn’t just aboutthe flying. As the journey progressed it became even more about the people, theplaces, and the awesome wonder of this incredible country. 

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Aug 09: Lucky To Be Alive Print E-mail

Our pilot lived in San Diego, California in the early 1950sand spent his extra money feeding his Ryan PT22 fuel. He worked the swing shiftat Conair at the time. That gave him a lot of available time that he used for flying.Friends would say to him “next time you’re going flying on a nice day, I’d loveto go.” If the weather was good and their schedule permitted, our pilot gavefriends an open invitation to fly that they could take him up on by calling ifthey wanted to fly. 

 

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July 09: Oh What a Century Print E-mail

Last February, on a cold day in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, Canadianastronaut Bjarni Tryggvason lifted off in a working replica of the legendary SilverDart to commemorate the centennial of flight in Canada. July 2009 will mark thejourney of 100 aircraft from the west coast to the east coast so that as a massthe Century Flight may congregate on the historic maritime site to celebratethe time when 100 years ago J.A. McCurdy mounted the original Silver Dart andembarked upon the very first flight ever to take place in Canada.

 

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June 09: Out of the Blue Print E-mail

As would usually be the case on a good VFR weekend our pilotand his wife, both pilots, were taking their Katana DA20-A1 on one of theirfavorite flights from Ottawa, Ontario (CYOW) to Lachute, Quebec (CSE4) forbreakfast. Lachute, a small general aviation airport in the Montreal, Quebecarea, is a favorite destination for them because there are plenty of openfields en route (just in case), a relatively low volume of traffic east ofOttawa, a friendly staff, and great breakfasts. They also provide a free taxi serviceinto town and bikes if you want to get some exercise on your way there.

 

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April 09: It Takes All Kinds Print E-mail

During a recent autumnweekend our pilot and his wife decided to take advantage of the beautiful dayand enjoy a leisurely flight to Heber City, Utah to visit friends and proudly showoff them their bright red Kitfox. They took their time performing theirpre-flight checks breaking up the tasks now and again to chat with friends thathad casually stopped by to visit. 

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Mar 09: Radio Silence Print E-mail

Our pilot was a relativelynew aircraft owner with almost 200 hours total time under his belt. In thattime he’s had what he considers two close calls, both of which he believes couldhave been avoided by other pilots making simple position reports. 

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Feb 09: Dumb Luck Print E-mail

There has recently beenmuch attention paid to mid-air collisions of a different sort. Those betweenaircraft and U.F.O.’s – Unidentified Feathered Objects. Bird strike incidentshave resulted in consequences ranging from a dent in the airplane to shatteringof the windshield, incapacitation of the pilot and even fatalities. Mostrecently, an Airbus was rendered disabled by birds shortly after takeoffresulting in a ditching into New York’s Hudson River. The Miracle on theHudson, as the flight is now known, yielded only a few relatively minorinjuries due in no small part to the courageous efforts of the crew. 

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Jan 09: Expect the Unexpected Print E-mail

Our pilot was a newaircraft owner and very proud of the mid-70s Piper Cherokee he had chosen forhimself. It was very nicely equipped but lacking one thing he had convincedhimself he wanted to have – a fuel totalizer. This is a device that is displaysthe amount of fuel consumed by the aircraft with extreme accuracy. Thisconsumption is gauged by a sensor that is installed in the fuel line that keepstrack of the amount of fuel flowing past it. With needle indicators beingnotoriously unreliable, our pilot insisted on the peace of mind having atotalizer installed would provide so installed it was. 

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Dec 08: Leaving Well Enough Alone! Print E-mail

Our pilot had justflown through some light snow showers on his way to Kingston, Ontario thatmorning, so he turned on the pitot heat just before joining the circuit to makesure the pitot blade on his Warrior was clear. At the end of the downwind leg heslowed the engine, reduced power, dropped flaps, verified 70-80 knot airspeed,turned a tight base over the icy water of Lake Ontario, then looked again atthe airspeed indicator (ASI). 35 knots! Well below stall speed! 

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Nov 08: Oh, What a Century! Print E-mail

It’s coming up to the timewhen 100 years ago J.A. McCurdy mounted the now legendary Silver Dart andembarked upon the very first flight ever to take place in Canada. It was onFebruary 23, 1909 on the property of inventor Alexander Graham Bell in Baddeck,Nova Scotia. Of course, several years earlier on December 17, 1903 Orville andWilbur Wright made history in Kitty Hawk, NC when THE first flight occurred openingthe era of powered flight. 

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Oct 08: Into the Darkness of a Storm Print E-mail

Our pilot was an aerialphotographer based in southwestern Ontario who was on a job that would take himto the Thousand Islands region bordering Ontario and upstate New York. On theway he stopped in Peterborough, Ontario for fuel where he consulted with flightservices to examine a line of thunderstorms that had been pelting Ottawa to thenortheast throughout the day. The storms were heading southwest in a path thatwould eventually cross our pilots route. It was anticipated that the stormswouldn’t be near the Thousand Islands area for about two and a half hours whichwould leave better than a one hour buffer for our pilot. Or so he thought. 

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Sep 08: The Sheer Wonderment of Oshkosh Print E-mail

For the rest of my life Iwill remember 2008 as the year I took the pilot’s pilgrimage to Oshkosh for thevery first time. Those who know me know that I love my gadgets. So given thatyear in and year out EAA’s AirVenture sees the launch of the latest andgreatest aviation gadgetry, I’ve had to account for why I hadn’t yet made thetrip to Oshkosh. Well, no longer. 

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Aug 08: Collision Avoidance Technology for GA Print E-mail

A recently releasedTransportation Safety Board investigation report detailing a mid-air collisionstated that “A number of international studies have addressed the overall issueof risk of collision effectiveness of the see-and-avoid principle. Allacknowledged the underlying physiological limitations at play and that, whenmid-air collisions occur, “failure to see-and-avoid is due almost entire to thefailure to see.” One study stated that “our data suggest that the relativelylow (though unacceptable) rate of mid-air collisionsin general aviation aircraft not equipped with TCAS is as much a function ofthe ‘big sky’ as it is of effective visual scanning.” 

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July 08: Touch and...Uh oh! Print E-mail

“Well, in my illustrious 270+ hours of recreational flying as aprivate pilot, I just yesterday had my closest near disaster” starts off thismonth’s Close Calls pilot. He hadn’t flown for a little while so thought he would “shoot a couple circuits before heading out for a local sight-seeingflight.” The first circuit went without anything of note taking place. On ourpilot’s second touch-and-go… well that was another story. 

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June 08: A Tribute to Canada’s Legendary Bush Pilot Print E-mail
The summer of 2007 was a special time for me. I’m proud to be involved in EAA’s Young Eagles program and decided to invite television’s ‘Wings Over Canada’ to cover our International Young Eagles Day event. ‘Wings Over Canada’ is North America’s longest running aviation TV series and is the brainchild of Canada’s most famous bush pilot, John Lovelace.
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May 08: Only Seconds To Spare Print E-mail
This month’s Close Call comes to us from the west… the wild west as it turns out, well on that day anyway.
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April 08: No Excuses Print E-mail
This month’s Close Call takes us back to the early 1960’s into the northern Ontario bush. Our pilot was a geologist who would fly his Cessna 170 float plane into remote locations in the northern portions of Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec.
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Mar 08: Heads Up Print E-mail
I’d love to hear from readers about Close Calls of all sorts, not just traffic related incidents. Unexpected weather developments, maintenance mishaps, planning blunders. Anything that might have challenged your skills or your nerves (or likely both). Stay tuned in the coming months for a broader range of interesting and informative tales from fellow pilots.
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Feb 08: A Rapid Return Print E-mail
I welcome and very much appreciate all of the great feedback I receive from my readers. I’m grateful to those of you who take the time to share your stories with me and am truly honored to in turn share them with over 300,000 others. There are lessons being learned here… maybe thousands of times over. I look forward to continuing our good work together. It’s especially inspiring to me when users of the technology I endorse and trade exude to me some measure of the same passion I feel for it when speaking of their own experiences. This month’s Close Call is one of those experiences.
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