So I called the NH e911 office this afternoon and had a chat.
What they would like us to do in the event of a safe off field landing is to call 911, and in this order tell them you have a non-emergency situation, you have landed a glider in a field, you do not require assistance. Explain that the sight of your airplane in the field is probably going to result in some other 911 calls. Probably, you will still get visited by someone with a badge, but this is to be preferred to an all out e-team response called in by the well meaning but clueless observer that saw you "crash".
On a somewhat related note, should you ever have problems with a land owner, the thing to do is to call the county sheriff. The sheriff is preferred over the local police because he's likely to be better versed in the applicable law (which says among other things that an irate land owner cannot impound your airplane).
Alright, so next weekend: grab your logger *and* your cell phone... and maybe check the lights on your trailer... and go!
-Evan
6 comments:
This advice makes perfect sense, but I am still not convinced that calling 911 to report the non-emergency is a good idea.
We don't have any control over what the 911 operator will do.
The famous example is when Dale Kramer called 911 after his accident a few years ago. He had just crashed; it was an actual emergency situation, and he thought that the 911 call would help get him located. A few minutes after that call, his phone rang. It was an FAA inspector calling to ask Dale to help him fill out an accident report form.
How's this:
POST-LANDOUT 911 REPORT CHECKLIST
1. I HAVE LANDED A GLIDER IN A FIELD.
2. I DO NOT HAVE AN EMERGENCY.
3. YOUR ASSISTANCE IS NOT REQUIRED.
4. MORE 911 REPORTS ARE LIKELY.
That's out of order, according to the recommendation given to Evan by the 911 person.
I would probably only make this call if I thought the likelihood of an unwanted 911 response was fairly high.
Don't call 911. Doing so will eventually make it a requirement and bring heat upon those who don't(what do you mean you landed in a field without cell coverage you are still in trouble for not calling.) Educate the first first responder and hopefully they will stop the dog and pony show. They show up to nonevents now and again not a big deal, they chock it up to practice and get on with their business.
If it was the Thetford VFD Rescue, the glider would have been disassembled, trailered home, reassembled, and back up on tow before the ambulance even got to out landing site...
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