Having purchased a Cirrus SR22 just a couple of days prior, pilot Brian Lenzmeier departed on a flight from Addison to Waco, TX with an instructor pilot on board. What followed was an engine and avionics failure that resulted in a CAPS (Cirrus Airframe Parachute System) pull over the busy Dallas area.

"There I was..." An Aviation Podcast

Episode 44: Brian Lenzmeier

Living with the consequences of an aircraft accident is hard. Living with the loss of a son is excruciating. In this episode we take a sobering look at one pilot's personal tragedy, the devastation it wrought, and the lessons all of us can take from it. Warning: This episode involves a fatality. Listener discretion is advised. You can find a video version of this story on the Air Safety Institute's YouTube channel.

Episode 43: Russ Jeter

In this episode, we talk to pilots Lynn McNorton and Genesah Duffy, who had a chance encounter in Tampa Bay just south of Peter O. Knight Airport. After experiencing engine trouble in his Mooney M20M, McNorton was forced to ditch the airplane in the bay just short of Runway 4. Duffy was nearby in an Icon A5 and was able to land in the water to render assistance.

Episode 42: Genesah Duffy and Lynn McNorton

In this special edition of “There I was…”, host Richard McSpadden and AOPA’s Cayla McLeod interview Red Bull Air Race competitor Dario Costa, who debriefs his 44-second flight inside two Turkish highway tunnels, and the painstaking planning and preparation that got him safely through.

Episode 41: Dario Costa

On a November afternoon a few days before Thanksgiving, GA pilot Henry Coffeen was practicing aerobatic maneuvers when he experienced a fire in the cockpit of his Edge 540.

Episode 40: Henry Coffeen

David Bradley joins us to talk about ferrying a flight of UH-1 “Huey” helicopters from Jefferson City, Missouri down to Ellington Air Force Base during Operation Desert Storm.

Episode 39: David Bradley

While flying his experimental Zenith 701 out of his grass airstrip in Tennessee, pilot Jon Humberd has a close call with a quickly approaching storm. To see Jon’s YouTube video of the incident, click here.

Episode 38: Jon Humberd

In the summer of 2017, aviator Brian Lloyd began a solo round-the-world flight in his Mooney to commemorate Amelia Earhart’s famous equatorial route 80 years prior. While on a flight leg from New Zealand to American Samoa, Brian experienced an engine failure over the Pacific Ocean.

Episode 37: Brian Lloyd

While flying out of a backcountry airstrip near Johannesburg in South Africa, pilot and YouTube personality Thomas Marrow experienced a prop strike in his Safari Kitplane.

Episode 36: Thomas Marrow

Former Washington Post reporter John Lancaster shares the story of flying across the U.S. in his Flight Design CTLSi light-sport aircraft, for a book he is writing about the 1919 Transcontinental Air Race. While tracing the route flown by pilots in the Air Race 100 years ago, John faced challenges with weather, congested airspace, mountainous terrain, and more. Look for the release of John's book in the next year or two! Note: This interview was recorded in August 2019.

Episode 35: John Lancaster

On an IFR flight from Bend, Oregon to Vashon Island, WA, Craig Beles and his friend and CFI Truman O’Brien experienced an engine failure in their PA-28 Cherokee 140. Over vast wilderness with no ideal landing options, the pair are forced to put the aircraft down in the treetops near Mt. St. Helens.

Episode 34: Craig Beles and Truman O'Brien

<p>On an IFR flight from Bend, Oregon to Vashon Island, WA, Craig Beles and his friend and CFI Truman O’Brien experienced an engine failure in their PA-28 Cherokee 140. Over vast wilderness with no ideal landing options, the pair are forced to put the aircraft down in the treetops near Mt. St. Helens.</p>

Warbird pilot and former aircraft racer John “Pappy” Mazza shares an engine failure experience while flying a Grumman FM-2 Wildcat.

Episode 33: John "Pappy" Mazza

Longtime GA pilot, warbird trainer and DPE Doug Rozendaal tells us a story about piloting a Beech 18 during his years of flying freight, when he experienced an electrical failure at night in low IMC.

Episode 32: Doug Rozendaal

In this episode, we talk to GA pilot Kelly Keller, who was flying back from a fishing resort in Arkansas with her husband while 7 months pregnant when she experienced an engine failure in a Cessna 172.

Episode 31: Kelly Keller

There I was…, presented by the AOPA Air Safety Institute, invites you into the cockpit with pilots across the aviation community. We fly with them as they encounter unpredictable scenarios and we learn from the knowledge and skills they utilize to fly safely out of them. This podcast honors the tradition and heritage in aviation to leverage “hangar flying” as an avenue to pass along knowledge and experience.

hubhopper

"There I was..." An Aviation Podcast

hubhopper