Life can change in a second

The Tannkosh Airshow is one the highlights for us light aircraft buffs. Held every other year at the Tannheim Airfield in Southern Germany it is billed as the largest aviation event in Europe it attracts well over 1,000 private light aircraft from all over Europe. It also has a small, air show elements with some rare, vintage or otherwise interesting aircraft. Weekend before last I gorged myself on this feast of aviation.

The airfield is split into two sides. The main public side contains the exhibition stands, parking for the display aircraft, some parking for visiting aircraft and the main food and drink outlets. It’s where the majority of the public spend their time.

However the majority of the visiting aircraft part on the far side of the airfield. Also the airfield is surrounded by corn fields, in which are gaps. Gaps that they taxi aircraft down and park in field behind the corn. It’s the sheer number of aircraft that make Tannkosh a must for us light aircraft spotters. Many different types. Some common, Some unusual and rare. Highlight for me was a Cessna that had come all the way from Qatar.

Unfortunately Saturday was marred by an accident. The pilot of a visiting biplane lost control of the aircraft on take off, swerved off the runway and crashed into the parked aircraft on the far side of the airfield, before ending up in one of the cornfields. I sat and witnessed it all. It was quite noisy there up to that point with the queue of aircraft waiting for their turn to depart. A weather front was forecast to hit the area that afternoon and many pilots were trying to get home, or at least out of its way, before it hit. The airfield was immediately closed and the engines of the aircraft in the queue fell silent. This silence was an eerie experience and me and a friend sat there for a while contemplating what had happened. We were told that the two pilots of the aircraft had got out quite quickly and were OK. But what about anyone on the ground. Three ambulances and an air-ambulance were called and we could see at least one person being transferred to the air-ambulance. Never a good sign.

We hoped that none of our group was involved in the accident but we knew that all of us would probably have passed that location at some point that day, logging and photographing the visiting aircraft. Sadly our fears were realised when we got back to the coach, to be told that someone who I have been friends with for years was hurt in the accident and was the one taken away in the air ambulance. The tour operator had spoken to him in hospital. As he dived out of the way, the wing of the aircraft had hit him on the back of the head. He landed on his binoculars causing him to fracture some of his ribs and causing lung damage. He knee also took some damage along the way. He spent a week in hospital in Germany but is now back home. It could have been far worse. He can say that he was inches from death, for had he been hit by the propeller rather than the wing the outcome would have been very different.

He was in the wrong place at the wrong time but the sobering thought is that it could have been me stood there. The day before I did the airfield in a clockwise direction but ran out of time so started the Saturday in an anti-clockwise direction. My friend did it the other way round. If I had managed to see all the aircraft there on re Friday I too would have done the airfield in a clockwise direction on the Saturday as well.

All in all it was a very sobering experience. One minute you are enjoying your hobby. Fit and healthy and the next, BAM! Life changes.  

 

(Here is a link to a local  news story on the article. It does contain a picture of the aftermath of the accident and on my friend in hopital, you have been warned.

http://www.bild.de/news/inland/hubschrauberabsturz/drei-verletzte-beim-tannkosh-fliegertreffen-31972360.bild.html )