TNFlyGirl Fatal Crash: Essential Viewing for Future Aviators // #72

[@2113rush]

All she was concentrating on was being a KZbin personality. Sad but true.

[@mikeshort3838]

I had never heard of her before the accident. It popped up on one of my feeds the day after it happened. I looked her up on KZbin and started watching her videos. As a pilot I was absolutely amazed by how far behind the airplane she was! It’s incredible how she absolutely had no idea what was going on and I’m actually surprised she didn’t crash sooner. Those videos are no longer available but others have shown clips from a few of them. I’m appalled that she was allowed to pass her check ride! She had no clue about the basics of flying! It’s truly sad that someone, anyone didn’t stop her and explain to her how dangerous she was! It’s just a shame

[@AngeloPerfili]

I doubt she would have listened.😕

[@k.larson4682]

More experienced pilots would tell her, in her comments section, that she really needed better instruction on basic skills and see really did not take those suggestions seriously.

[@benjigault9043]

There was a video where she got lost on a 50 mile cross country on a severe clear day. One video where she could not figure out what runway was runway 15. Another she had the wrong control inputs for a crosswind takeoff, had the downwind wing down... yikes.... and on and on.. She also had no idea how to manage a constant speed prop. In the video where she gets lost she has the prop at full fine 2650, and is at 21 inches of manifold pressure.... Thats actually outside the limitations of the engine for that airplane according to the POH. And the auto pilot.. and she turned off her Garmin 430 one time and had no idea how to even turn it back on... This was just a disaster... There is also a video of her driving a courtesy car from an airport and running every single stop sign.... calling them rolling stops.... A debonair is a super easy airplane to fly if you are well versed in the basics. I actually got my private in the family bonanza... This is such a ridiculous accident.. Her DPE should be looked into..

[@lasmith3129]

Surprised that her dad did not just tell her--"honey, you're not very good at this. I'm not flying with you anymore." If your kid is a slow learner, they shouldn't be 5000 feet in the air.

[@gmccord1970]

@@benjigault9043 Are you sure it’s not the other way around? I don’t see a problem with having rpm very fine pitch for the constant speed prop with lower manifold pressure. It’s when you’re not square with high manifold pressure and low rpm that you can end up lugging the engine.

[@aportman58]

I had followed her off and on since she started flying in her initial plane. When she bought this plane and watching her the one thing that jumped out with me was the lack of getting her head out of the cockpit to fly the plane. Ninety percent of the time her head was in the cockpit fiddling with all technology in the plane. She would only look up occasionally to see how turned around and how lost she was. Very sad and totally preventable loss!!!

[@Skank_and_Gutterboy]

Agreed! It didn't dawn on her that she was going the wrong direction until the sun was hitting her straight in the eyes. What kills me is that she couldn't even use some dead-reckoning to get going in a very rough basic easterly direction by using that sun angle, then looking at instruments to fine tune that? I was watching a review of her video where she was flying from Rockwood to Knoxville. Looking at the diagram of her flight path out of Rockwood, it looks like the flight of somebody who was drunk or hypoxic. I honestly don't understand how a person could have situational awareness this poor.

[@spenceredmond8641]

I’ve on;y been in a small plane once, but I do remember that the pilot was looking out the windshield 96% of the time. Always watching. You don’t want to have a collision with anything in the air.

[@anand-menon]

Juan breaks down Civil Engineering disasters not just aviation ones...He's got an analytical mind...Very surprised Sean hadn't heard of him... Among the YT aviation channels, Juan is right up there with the best.

[@SmokiesDen]

I started following him when he was covering the oroville dam spillway and stayed for the aviation content.

[@SkipFlem]

I'm disappointed that 'Sean' admitted that he never heard of Juan before.

[@TIO540S1]

Juan is also an A & P mechanic.

[@timkellyD2R]

He is an AA 777 pilot not to mention a veteran of flying large planes for the USAF and a GA pilot who flies his own plane. His accident breakdowns dive deep into the aerodynamics and physics of flying.

[@scottshuler4324]

​@@TIO540S1 Juan keeps my lawn looking bueno. !!!

[@S2StrategicDefense]

It's an unfortunate incident for sure. But the fact remains is that she was an incompetent pilot. In her videos she is constantly getting confused, can't hold heading or altitude, has zero awareness to ground references to a point that she lost heading on departure and got spun around and lost while we can all see the runway she just departed right outside her window. She's also documented to not use checklists and having troubles on comms. Fact remains is that she wasn't ready to be a pilot... and likely that she would never passed as one if her cfi was honest with her.

[@InevitableTruthTeller]

She sounds like a perfect hire under current DEI requirements

[@TIO540S1]

There’s no doubt that she was far below competent in many ways. There’s certainly a lot of blemish for her CFIs but she also had to have passed a check ride.

[@gdiup9241]

And moving to a new aircraft after ditching her old one. She should have self checked as well, that might have been a good wake up call for her. Tragic.

[@Skank_and_Gutterboy]

No doubt. It really got me when she was saying, "I have no idea where we are," and I was yelling at my TV monitor, "The airfield is filling your left window!" It's a bright sunny day and she can't even venture a guess what direction north is?! There was a big compass mounted on her dashboard front-and-center, she couldn't even look for the E and turn her plane until it was right-side-up? Could she even remember what makes water boil? I find it amazing that she survived 400 flight hours.

[@Skank_and_Gutterboy]

@@TIO540S1 I'm getting the feeling that the check ride was her handing the CFI a stack of Benjamins.

[@mattwernecke2342]

She didn't take seriously the danger of flying. Bottom line.

[@ValerieGriner]

She was always making fun of herself over things that were NOT A LAUGHING MATTER! She asked her father for help multiple times and he was also CLUELESS(not a pilot). Very sad situation.

[@weaviejeebies]

​@ValerieGriner I've never been truly scared in the cockpit of a small plane before. Sitting in my own living room, looking over her shoulder through the camera with a passenger's view actually made my pulse race. My teeth were clenched. Not knowing how to turn your radio on? Not knowing what direction you're going? Terrifying. I watched my first and only video of her channel about a month before the accident. I felt terrible for her family when I heard what happened, but I wasn't surprised.

[@olivieraleman]

My father was a pilot in 50’s and 60’s, all his friends were pilots and I grew up around planes…..she seemed more about appearing to be a pilot on you tube than flying….such a shame….

[@ValerieGriner]

Always looking at herself and fluffing her hair and smacking gum. She was more about KZbin views than actual piloting. Very sad indeed.

[@scottshuler4324]

​@@ValerieGrinerBUT SO I LOOK GOOD ????

[@MarttiSuomivuori]

Whoever gave her the license is partly guilty of the accident. She was not up to flying an airplane, but she thought so. She had no idea about the skills she was lacking.

[@misfittoytower]

I'm still a student pilot, but I've already trained under a ton of different instructors because I've moved a couple times and I have progressed quite slowly. Honestly, some instructors aren't as responsible as they should be (or as good at teaching). It scares me to think of all the young students that may not have the experience or confidence to recognize whether or not their instructor is safe or confident enough. Lately, there have been a few crashes where the instructor was dangerously irresponsible, and basically their ineptitude led to the death of their students as well as themselves. If your instructor takes risks and makes you feel uncomfortable, tell someone and find another instructor.

[@kurtreber9813]

My training is very slow. 2 years and I'm doing my first cross-country solo tomorrow.. It's partly because I'm not a quick study and partly because of external factors, but I too have gone through a number of instructors. Fortunately with age comes wisdom and I can tell all my instructors have the right stuff as instructors. They let me fail, within reason. I will be the better pilot for it.

[@aviatortrucker6285]

It’s best to find yourself an older flight instructor that is not building time. I recommend somebody in mid to late 50s. My first instructor was 60 years old and he had a world of knowledge of course from the good old days which was the best way of training. Watch KZbin videos to learn how people do different things and study your required curricular but keep an open mind. Many people have different ways of takeoff and landings and all depends on what makes you comfortable and is safe. I have worked with some instructors that were about cross control and were always concerned about stalling. Today I approach the runway threshold 1.3 x VS0.

[@cigarsboozeandnews9726]

The channel Pilot Debrief did a great job on this as well.

[@scottshuler4324]

THE BEST : PROBABLE CAUSE with Dan " MAVERICK ". GYDER.

[@RealWoutLies]

Nothing I can add here that hasn’t been said. But, as a student I’ve tuned up my awareness of faults. My instructor and I will be reviewing this situation and I’ll encourage him to be hard on me.

[@weaviejeebies]

Something my CFI told me on day 1: "Physics is your best frenemy. Always keep a little corner of your mind aware that the same principles that let us come up here on our terms will take us back down on theirs if we lack knowledge or respect. Stay smart and stay humble, or buy a ticket from Delta." I lost an eye in a car accident and never reached ppl, but my friends from flight school are now ATPs and CFIs themselves, and they have that tenure because they fly with the respect and safety culture instilled by our teacher. Jenny thought she was ready when she wasn't, and physics got the better of her on its uncompromising terms. I am interested to see whether NTSB has something to say about her instructors, because my classmates and I were never so coddled. In the end, though, she was the pilot in charge. I hope the young aviators out there keep in mind that they need to drive their skill building 2x harder than their CFI does and take the initiative to fill any gaps. Jenny was just a few years younger than I am, and I am so sad for her and her family that she and her Dad won't get to enjoy the fruits of retirement.

[@keithmiles917]

There is a video showing TNFlygirl, in her Bonanza, becoming totally spacially unaware, on a clear day, whilst still in sight of the airfield that she had just taken off from. After take off she should, it seems, have been heading pretty much due east for a mere 40 miles short flight to destination, instead of which we then see her making turns left and right, flying in the opposite direction to her intended track whilst being fixated on whether or not the autopilot is working correctly and eventually also accidentally turning off the GNS430 and then having no idea how to turn it back on and all this with the departure airfield still nearby. Unbelievable. All she needed to do was stop fixating on the technology, turn back overhead the airfield and fly the intended heading from there, preferably manually. As many have commented, her seeming lack of basic skills, proficiency and good judgement begs the question as to how she was ever issued with a license to fly anything let alone a complex high performance aircraft like a Bonanza. She had even taken off in a slight crosswind with the wrong aileron correction being applied. Whether or not she was aware of her deficiencies and personal pride allowed her to think that technology would solve the problem, we may never know for sure. It does, however, look like a case of someone trying to run before they can walk. And as the saying goes, pride comes before a fall. I also wonder whether she had achieved a sufficient level of proficiency to be embarking on instrument training and how she would have coped in IMC.

[@smark1180]

I read the last sentence. The answer is obvious when she couldn't cope in VMC.

[@valaksimulations4503]

She could barely follow traffic laws in a car…….

[@Skank_and_Gutterboy]

The plot of the flightpath was pretty ridiculous. Knowing nothing about it, it would be reasonable for a person to ask, "Was this person drunk or hypoxic?"

[@keithmiles917]

@@Skank_and_Gutterboy Always a possibility in the case of the final flight. Does not seem to be the case in at least one previous one where she was all over the place in clear weather and with the airfield that she had just taken off from in plain sight! On that occasion, she eventually sorted herself out and reached the destination. And hypoxia is highly unlikely at the altitudes that she was flying at.

[@dyer2cycle]

I think what has made Jenny's case such an example, and so talked about, is the fact that it is so documented because of her YT channel....

[@scotthow2933]

Im not a pilot. I did fly an old Cesena that my neighbor had and tought me to always trust the sun. It has been rising and setting in the same spot for millions of years. If the sun is stright over my head look at the compass. In one of her videos she got lost right after take off and ignored both the sun and the compass all the while her dad is saying " theres hwy 40. Just fallow it" . Thats a lack of common sense......

[@itsjim2875]

So true, and her dad was telling her to follow I40 WEST, rather than EAST to Knoxville.

[@smark1180]

"I did fly an old Cesena..." No, you didn't. You can't even spell "Cessna."

[@montymcfadden1588]

Simple observation: At 400 hrs she was still taxiing the plane by trying to steer with the yoke……all ya need to know that she wasn’t ready

[@OhMySack]

That was cringeworthy when I saw that. It was definitely an if you know, you know event. I noticed her wing dipped on rotation, too. What an absolute train wreck watching all the videos that used to be available.

[@FlyingDutchman5705]

I didnt see that part, but you do need to use aileron input during taxi in case of a side wind

[@OhMySack]

​@FlyingDutchman5705 Her control inputs weren't based on wind direction but we're used like a steering input. We all did it on our first flight instruction. It's hard to comprehend steering a nose wheel with your feet when you've never flown before. I'm thinking most of us likely lost that tendency after an hour of instruction. She had 400!

[@FlyingDutchman5705]

@@OhMySack Yeah I remember doing so myself, but only on my very first time taxing as a student pilot. 400 hours? Sweet Jesus. Obviously her CFI's f***** up completely with her training or she wasn't suppose to fly at all... Sometimes it's better to stay on the ground. I remember transitioning from the C-152/172 to a high performance Bonanza after 150 flight hours. I was getting behind the aircraft at the beginning of the training, took me at least 10 hours to get ahead of it. Obviously, she wasn't ready yet to fly high performance aircrafts. Sad

[@factsondeck1552]

Wow that was covered my very first hour.

[@marklevin9882]

One thing I haven't seen yet in any of these analysis vids is how much time did she have flying without an instructor on board. We're told she had approximately 400 hrs of flight time. It just seems impossible to me that someone could have accumulated that much time w/o understanding the basic power/climb rate/airspeed relationships unless maybe the bulk of that time was spent with an instructor and acting more as a passenger than the pilot.

[@Dark_Vader888]

When i saw her fix her hair several times for the camera, thats all I needed to see to know this wasnt going to go well.

[@glennryan9770]

I learned to fly in a Taylorcraft and Aronca 7AC. No electronics and a basic 6 pac. No buttons to push just basic stick and rudder flying. After I soloed I started flying a c-150 now I had a starter and radio wow I’m big time now.

[@guitarhillbilly1482]

Unfortunately it appears in the video that her instructor was catching the fish for her instead of teaching her how to fish. It sounds like several people were not honest with her about her flying skills and buying and flying a complex airplane solo.

[@jaysdood]

Whilst I agree that the initial CFI did a poor job of training her by doing too much for her, the reality IMO is that she lacked the basic competence and aptitude to learn how to pilot a plane regardless of the CFI.

[@dks13827]

She was signed off for complex ? wow !!! ( and solo cross countries ?? wow ) she passed her FAA flight test ??? wow.

[@dks13827]

Great vid. Hey you are too nice....... you missed : she turned autopilot on and said darn it is not taking me the right way. Did you catch that ???

[@Xxxxxx19-p1c]

That blew me away!

[@dboss7239]

Just came across your channel, and I must say, great work to share your experience and insight to prospective or existing pilots! Yes Juan Browne (Blancolirio) has an excellent channel, as does Scott Purdue (FlyWire), and now also Pilot Debrief. All were or are airline FO's or Captains, and all were also military pilots too. There's some things you missed on the analysis of the TNFlyGirl accident. Even Juan got it off a bit regards how the autopilot worked. If you read the actual manual Juan links to, yes the autopilot had no electric trim, but it did have authority over the elevator and had an "attitude" mode, in addition to "Altitude Hold" mode. The up/down buttons on the A/P panel switch you into ATTITUDE mode if pressed, and you can change attitude by momentary OR continuous pressing of up or down buttons. So if you are level, and want to climb, you can press the up button and this puts a bit of nose up elevator in, say +2 deg. If you hold it, it will progressively add more up elevator and hold whatever attitude you select this way. It will also then indicate if you need to adjust manual trim. So it was even more potentially dangerous than you allude to, if the operator is clueless as to how to operate it, and in her case clueless on basic stick and rudder and nav etc. If you watched some of her videos, it was hard to watch and scary to say the least how incredibly non proficient she was at the basics. She should never have passed the PPL checkride, nor gotten the complex or Debonair checkride approval. (I think some examiner or CFI heads should roll) The scenario is even worse with both her and her father, as both were fiddling with the A/P attitude buttons and manual trim on a previous flight, and in that video both displayed a lack of understanding on which way to move the manual trim wheel!!! At one point her father was moving the trim the wrong way, and she had to disconnect the A/P while saying "stop, just stop" at her father's trim input. So the A/P servo could produce an up elevator force, at the same time as the pilot could input nose down trim. And up to a point the elevator servo could overcome the nose down trim - which the NTSB says was at -5 degrees nose down - an humongous amount for a Bonanza/Debonair. And the instant you disconnect the A/P this nose down trim would produce a MINUS 0.5 g condition and nose over into a dive. Then both people's thighs could further push the yoke forward, exacerbating the dive. And if you do not pull power to idle, pull hard on the yoke and correct the manual trim within about 5-7 seconds, the rapid rise in airspeed would create so much aerodynamic force on the elevator with -5 deg down trim, it would be nearly impossible to pull out of the dive once passed about 150 kt. The final airspeed from vector addition of the 228 kt ground speed and 11,900 ft/min vertical at witnessed 60 deg nose down is 310 knots - 100 kt over Vne. The takeaway here is as you indicate, find and know your personal limits. She should not even have been piloting a C152 or a PA28-140 with the skill set displayed in most of her videos. Two videos you should watch for insight: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYK4hGBsiKeNsK8 (Pilot Debrief - shows a recent video displaying a total lack of situational awareness) kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZzIeXpqd6ahpJo (Dr. Todd Grande - a psychologist, who analyses her behavior and has a clip of her driving a car and blowing through stop signs, ignoring safe protocols and almost hitting a car on her way to lunch) She may have actually been aware she was not proficient at flying the Debonair, but had an attitude that rules don't apply to her, and hence why she wanted to master the autopilot, as she was out of her depth at manually flying it. Todd Grande nails it when he said one of her CFI's should have sat her down and explained that not everyone is cut out to be a pilot. She clearly demonstrated a lack of understanding of the basics and one of her latest CFI's was taking her back to basics.

[@dwaynemcallister7231]

Very good comment, I couldn't agree more with your explanation of the situation.

[@banjo2019]

Very good analysis and summary here. I would add one observation from a video that has now been removed, but I saw it pre-removal: her CFI was very specifically MISLEADING her in the improper use of that Century autopilot. The exact error regarding altitude increases or holds that you describe, can be sourced precisely to that very CFI on that video who was fiddling with it exactly the same way she did in later videos. So yes, the PIC did not properly educate herself on that autopilot and that’s on her. But it’s also true that a CFI while instructing her failed to educate himself either, and I’d argue this directly contributed to these 2 deaths.

[@dboss7239]

@@banjo2019 I wasn't aware of that. Like I said I believe some CFI and/or Examiner heads should roll over this. How she passed checkrides is not compatible with her behavior in most of her videos. This ancient autopilot is intuitively not obvious and in some respects opposite to more modern ones. No one seems to have read or comprehended the manual. But the manual too is poorly written and lacks proper technical communication protocol, as it has no CAUTION or WARNING statements and mixes directions for varying mechanical options together in ways that require careful study to separate what it can and cannot do for your application. I think the important points for the living are to seek, accept and respect your personal limitations; make sure you fully understand how your machinery works on the ground (don't figure it out in the air when seconds separate life or death); and high performance aircraft can be very unforgiving with mistakes, naivete, or ignorance of their safe operating envelope. Getting behind the controls of a high performance airplane without understanding how it works is like getting into a very expensive coffin which you may not get out of.

[@ValerieGriner]

I'm subscribed to all 3 channels and they are GREAT!

[@jlh9910]

excellent post.. yup unusual attitude recovery 101.. pull the the power first and foremost when you went over the top and head down it should be a human instinct basically@@ValerieGriner

[@dks13827]

I think: 1. She got checked out in that new plane ( broken autopilot ). Then it was repaired and she took off. She thought the autopilot would know her desired course, no clue about operating the autopilot. 2. some people work the trim wheel in the wrong way at first.................... I think she never really understood how to trim... that was shown when that instructor kept trimming for her ( why would he do that for a non student pilot ??? ) Her arms got tired and her Dad trimmed it down by mistake and they went straight down. Hey instructors, sometimes a clueless student just should not ever be flying a plane !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3. I am quite sure that she had far, far less than 400 hours !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No doubt.

[@carljelliff3156]

She didn’t even understand that the sun sets in the west🙄

[@henrywight4057]

I am a 25 year instrument pilot. I believe that this accident was completely preventable. It was clear to me that this pilot was completely behind the aircraft. Pilots, especially low time pilots, know your systems inside and out before you use them. It is critical to be able to operate your systems in the aircraft without giving them your full attention. AVIATE, navigate, communicate. You have to keep flying the airplane while you are working with the nav systems. This tragedy should never have happened.

[@America2gether]

Ask this: Who signed her off???? What DPE looked the other way? Complex sign off- who?! They should be de-credentialed immediately.

[@johngreydanus2033]

Apparently her takeoffs and landings were superb, she only had problem with the bit in between.

[@6821hominy]

They really wren’t as she could hardly ever stay on centerline for take off and landings.

[@jeffersonprice3800]

Guys give her a break , she's a babe. That's worth some points , ain't it? She always looked fantastic , hair gorgeous, eyebrows groomed, makeup flawless, and her outfits and sunglasses were on point. Camera angles were also terrific.

[@ED-es2qv]

It's integral to the human psyche to believe you have everything you do because you did things right. Every rich person I met believed they had what they had simply because they worked harder and/or made better decisions than everyone poorer than them. Yet they certainly don't believe that everyone richer than them is smarter and worked harder than them. If you're richer than me you were born luckier, but if you're poorer than me you make bad decisions or you're lazy. Funny how that works. I asked an engineer once how well he'd be doing if he was born in Somalia to a single mother who doesn't think it's safe to send you to school. He was silent about it after that.

[@TerrenceCooney]

I fly RC airplanes and even I have more piloting skills than this lady had (RIP) Unfortunately, this is just another sad case of someone who had more enthusiasm (and spare cash) for flying than actual ability. Frankly it's a miracle she ever actually landed a plane on her own.

[@scapilot1980]

If you go to her page and click on her "Playlist" tab, there's still three or four videos of her flying on display that have not been removed. I watched the ones that are remaining and was utterly shocked that this person was allowed to be in ANY airplane on her own. If I were to have witnessed her fundamentals and then been asked to speculate on how many hours she had, I'd have guessed 15-20. NOT 400. She makes very rookie mistakes in every video that still remains, including her instructor having to coach her no less than half a dozen times on how to make a call to atc stating that they're simply cruising at 6k feet. She literally had to practice reciting it several times and even botched her own tail number on her very own airplane. And this was on an IFR training flight!!! Unbelievable.

[@dwaynemcallister7231]

The TNflygirl crash really highlighted some flaws in the system, as you both pointed out she should not have looked so inept for her experience level, basic skills seemed missing, on my first view of her channel I came away genuinely afraid for her or any passengers she might take up. This shouldn't happen, shame on those who signed her off.

[@dks13827]

Did you see that instructor who kept trimming for Jenny ? why ??? ( in the end, trim killed her..... her arms got tired she crashed ) Dad tried to help trim at the end... he added more down trim.

[@mytech6779]

She was a failure of the system, people cheering her on with feel-good BS and "Here's another participation trophy!" instead of being honest; combined with the common practice of teaching to the test because of the FAAs focus on bureaucratic check boxes that place irrelevent trivia on the same level as true fundamentals. That gal shouldn't have had an endorsment to solo, let alone her private cert and high-perf endorsement. Basically for her operating a plane or car was all just a childish game of pretend time. (I'm not blaming her for "not taking it serious", I really believe she lacked the basic mental tools.) She had some videos a few months before the crash where she couldn't figure out a basic east-west VFR course on a clear day while still within sight of the departure runway. Engine untrimmed, no clue how to use the GPS, no sectional (paper or tablet), altitude and heading all over the map. Not fighting the plane or frazzled about how to get it all stable, no, just clueless that there were any problems at all beyond finding the magenta line. She had a video of her driving around town that showed she simply lacked the cognitive function to grasp her surroundings in general; no understanding of the machine, reasons for common rules and customs, or what can happen when things go sideways.

[@billfarnham1592]

Juan Browne is the best. He knows his stuff and explains things well. I had been watching Jenny's videos for a while because she was near me in TN and flew in and out of some of the same airports I did when I was flying. I've watched her former instructor before. From what I saw of him trying to use her autopilot, I don't believe he understood it either. He, like she, was trying to fly the plane with the autopilot. I saw him on multiple occasions pushing buttons to see if it would get the plane to do what he wanted it to do. He rarely actually instructed her on the videos I saw. He fiddled with knobs and buttons FOR her without explaining what he was doing or why. I saw one video where they were flying through some weather towards Knoxville, where the weather was worse. ATC in Knoxville was advising her to put down and let the storms pass. They were over my former home airport. They literally had it in sight, but he encouraged her to continue on. That scared me for them - I have seen what the weather does over that mountain range and would have put down for a while at the airport they literally flew right over. But they headed right on into the weather. It just wasn't their time, apparently. I think she realized her need for a new instructor, but the change was just too late, and her lack of skills and knowledge of her AP caught up with her and her dad before her new instructor had time to break bad habits and provide solid instruction. An extremely sad situation. I don't believe she was an airhead or just a daddy's rich girl buying a plane as some have opined. She wanted to do better and really learn to fly. Her time ran out. As you say - hopefully others can learn from this deadly set of events and not duplicate it.

[@ExtremeRecluse]

She acknowledged her difficulties. Instructors were just a phone call away. You're so correct; fly the damn plane.

[@keithmiles917]

That may be so but she clearly failed to acknowledge where that might lead and it didn't stop her from buying an aircraft that was way beyond her capabilities.

[@michaelbeattie8106]

​@@keithmiles917 Too many electronic toys.

[@danielmierop662]

Thank you from New Hampshire

[@jasonjohnston94]

Dirty Harry said it best. “A man’s got to know his limitations.”

[@michaelspunich7273]

The fact that Sean is not up to date with this accident nor Blancolirio, really dings the credibility of this channel.

[@chriscard3424v]

I get the impression that Jenny never reviewed the AP manual on the ground before launching into the sky. I have done that with older and newer equipment in my five airplanes in last 36 years. The old stuff has it quirks, I remember that Century 2000 I had in my Mooney over thirty years ago and studied my ass off on the G1000 prior to purchasing a C182T, and still needed to practice in the air with all the button-ology etc.

[@Skank_and_Gutterboy]

Her situational awareness was so poor that I don't think she had any business even attempting to be a pilot.

[@Skank_and_Gutterboy]

Just as bad: using her completely unqualified/unlicensed father as a copilot. In several cases, he was getting her even more screwed up.

[@carljelliff3156]

Jenny never reviewed that the sun sets in the west 😐

[@thoughtful_criticiser]

She bought the Debonair after she destroyed her Cherokee. She tried to make the high speed exit on a runway but her speed was excessive and she lext the hard surface, taking out her undercarriage, prop and engine due to the prop strike. Having watched her videos before her accident thanks to the algorithm, she was in way over her head. The NTSB need to speak with her instructors, all of them, and have a serious chat with the person who gave her the PPL. Someone who doesn't understand why airspeed falls when you climb without adding power, should not have solo'd let alone got a rating. She had no clue about crosswind take offs and landings. She blamed her autopilot when the problem was herself and had her father helping her fly when he wasn't trained.

[@keithmetler1543]

She was preoccupied by her hair, sunglasses, cameras, and chewing gum. Not disciplined enough to pilot an aircraft.

[@jcc6789]

Absolutely-the exact things that stood out to me

[@russejones]

Juan is a great source if you want a very good data driven analysis of what probably happened in an accident. Not only an FO on the 777 he was also an air force commander and flight instructor.

[@kevinbaslee3262]

Juan is awesome. He's an FO for a major airline.

[@mikewolf3829]

American to be exact.

[@Raelven]

I know a 30-something woman who drives a new SUV, luxury make and model, all the bells and whistles. She was telling me how easy her car is to drive. I tried to drive it, was totally lost. Offered her to drive my 2006 manual shift Honda Element. She was totally lost. But I know my car causes me to be a better driver.

[@user-du5fb4zf4z]

This is tragic! My primary instructor died along with his student giving primary instruction in a V tailed Bonanza. Unfortunately, a bad decision on my instructors part. Just mentioned, you must set your personal limitations.

[@rtqii]

Hair ☑ Makeup ☑ Raybans ☑ GoPros ☑ Preflight Complete ☑

[@larryweitzman5163]

Hey guys, Debbies had three basic engines, all related, early models had an o-470, 225 hp, an io-470-n, 260 hp and an io-520 in later models, 285 hp, I think this 1965 had an stc'd 260 hp io-470-n. This accident lost us another beautiful 1965 Debbie, with a great panel. There is a real shortage of airplanes, but there seems to be no shortage of poor (judgement) pilots. For Blalock being a you tube star was more important that her flying ability. Maybe her instructors were interested in other things besides teaching. Blalock didn't basically understand airplanes and flying. Instead of a six pack, a localizer and ILS we now have TV screens and too many buttons, buttonology, if you will. How did I ever feel comfortable fly ILS approaches down to 250' and 1/2 mile (my personal limits)? I did it many times in my T210, V35B and B58TC without screens and lots of buttons. My instrument instructor, Bert, about 50 years ago asked me once during a localizer approach into OXR (under the hood at night) in my C182 and he says "you know what a good Instrument platform is?" and I responded, "yeah, C182, rock solid!" to which Bert says "No, Boeing 707 and never forget it!!!" I haven't.

[@glennchaloner1729]

Don't be one of those people who tells their kids they have a beautiful singing voice when they actually sound like a chainsaw.....Just sayin.

[@animula6908]

I am a person who has no business flying who can’t be persuaded to attempt it. Where are all the videos celebrating people like me? We are protecting all of y’all every day.

[@txkflier]

I started flying a 1972 Piper Cherokee Arrow II with a 200hp IO-360, retracts, and constant speed prop at 57 hours and flew it until I had a total of 209 hours. But then, I didn't run stop lights and stop signs like they didn't apply to me and have to show how great I looked on video.

[@T_Mo271]

If you just heard about this incident yesterday, you're really not paying much attention to current aviation news.

[@phoenixmerridian9119]

I'm not even into aviation anything and i heard about this like two weeks ago

[@budowens6478]

I saw her fly a short cross country flight, when she departed, she didn’t know what direction to fly. She needed so much more training. How she passed her private pilot check ride is beyond me.

[@dks13827]

She was not a good driver, either. Yes, that makes a difference !!!!!!!!! Quite often.

[@rafarafina]

In America they go on about 1500hr rule but that’s the GA standard there that we call out in EU. I much rather hire a 500hr cadet with very robust training (EU model) than a cowboy/girl with bad flying habits and a bad attitude to learning. She didn’t know how to operate the autopilot, she climbed without power, so I ask, did she know the stall recovery? She couldn’t navigate and it’s evident on her videos. Who passed her check ride? It’s tragic that nobody stopped her from flying until she got appropriate training and raised her competence levels.

[@user-ib1zg2ec7f]

I'm not a pilot, but I've seen this girl online. These guys are really nice, but I'm not. She should never have been flying, she was in way above her skill level. Thank God she didn't fly into a commercial airline and take 200 people with her. Flying a plane is serious business. Shame on her instructor for certifying this nut who had no business in our airspace. Her only concern was looking cool in a plane, she had no business uup there.

[@TheSpark878]

United Airlines is probably pretty bummed they can't hire her for their DEI quota

[@factsondeck1552]

That’s just what I thought of when I saw their bogus commercial.

[@tomservo5347]

It's a tragedy for sure but it's a wonder she didn't collide midair with another plane as she got lost in view of the airport she'd just taken off from doing all kinds of crazy loops. That and constantly running off course and being reminded by ATC. Even on the ground she drove rolling through STOP signs in her videos with really no consideration of others. She had the Stockton Rush fatal mindset of 'I'm so loaded that rules for everyone else I'm exempt from'. Both scenarios involved egos clashing with laws of the universe in which you'll always lose when you want to throw caution out the window. It may sound harsh but if her instructor had been equally stringent (instead of just trying to score babe points) this accident didn't need to occur. Anyone up for flying United Airlines right now with hiring pilots based solely on being non-white males? This incredibly naïve thinking is tempting fate in a similar vein for indescribable tragedies in the future.

[@timg9448]

The last line got me. I had to like the video just for that line. The hard stuff is easy too.

[@BobHarvey.]

The FAA examiner who issued her PPL ought to be fired and sued. From what I’ve seen on her videos she had no qualifications to be PIC.

[@b.patriotic82]

I'm from her area in east tennessee. My condolences to her family and friends.

[@fredrohlfing5905]

Learned from other sources that she also crashed her prior plane.

[@donallan6396]

I didn't watch it, but apparently, she posted a video of her driving around jumping red lights and other violations.

[@tray8411]

On a flight prior to that,,She got lost over her home airport flying to an airport 40 miles away.. In clear skies..Its hard to watch

[@itsjim2875]

Yeah, that's her infamous Rockwood to Knoxville attempt - 40 miles almost due east. I've never flow that, but would bet that from 3,000' (or not much higher) above Rockwood, you can SEE Knoxville. How one can get lost while the departure field is still within sight is practically unbelievable.

[@LadyOaksNZ]

*KZbin Checklist - - Aviator sunglasses check ✔️ - Immaculate blonde hair check ✔️ - lipgloss check ✔️ - overhead go pro check ✔️ - right camera check ✔️ - left camera check ✔️ - dashcam check ✔️ - ipad streaming check ✔️ - her camera angles getting great profile check ✔️ - pilot clothes ~ ya looks good check ✔️ ... Now... umm. Where are we... ??? Ummm Navigation ??? ... umm ... RIP tnflygirl and dad

[@wntu4]

Her story teaches one singular lesson: Know and respect your own limits. Not everyone belongs in a cockpit. That's ok.

[@johnpooky84]

To paraphrase an old series of MasterCard commercials: "There are some people that CAN fly. For everyone else, there's Microsoft Flight Simulator".

[@dks13827]

I was checked out many times for a new rental or a new type......... the instructor would never touch anything ( except to demonstrate something of course ) . My instructors wanted to see if I could fly, or NOT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please don't miss that part of her flying.

[@rctezluh42069]

I'm a rc pilot that never intended to fly full scale anything with me in it, watching her videos was scary, rip

[@jamescameron2490]

I have watched several videos on this person, and unless I missed something I don't recall ever hearing her mention the actual course she needed to fly. "This way" or "let's see which way it takes us" isn't a course. 092° is a course.

[@jeffmeltzer1484]

"In my humble opinion, relying on the cockpit as a classroom is not ideal. With X-Plane and its add-ons, every pilot should invest in a simulation setup. The goal isn't just to log hours and understand various systems and avionics. Learning about avionics is best done on the ground, not in the aircraft." Sean, for the money you spent on that lesson learning the G1000, you could have bought X-Plane and all the add-ons for the G1000 simulator.

[@dks13827]

400 hours ? I really think that was a lie.

[@mikes2082]

Im not leaving the ground until i know everything fronteards and backwards. After that, I'm staying on ground.

[@johnedwinoliver6842]

Will the Issuer of the Pilot's License be Prosecuted or at least sued, fined or fired?

[@TheRealSimpsons1]

On one occasion when she accidentally turned off the Garmin and couldn't get it back on, she asked her Dad to start pulling fuses! Mid-flight, crazy.

[@michaelspunich7273]

Scary as heck!

[@henrywight4057]

It reminds me of John Kennedy’s accident. He trained in a 172 and then because he was rich bought a Saratoga. That’s the equivalent of learning to drive in a Volkswagen and as soon as you get your license you buy a Ferrari. Poor ADM.

[@DJ-ip8so]

Hi, I’m an aspiring pilot from the UK! I’ve only recently found the podcast and I’ve been binge watching the episodes since, great information! I was hoping you could cover the topic of how foreign pilots could go about attaining a job as an airline pilot in the US and perhaps any stories you’ve heard of this? I understand it is quite difficult to emigrate to the US even as a pilot so perhaps it would also be good to get your thoughts on whether you think with the pilot shortage that green cards would be made available? Would be great to get your guys opinions on this, thanks!

[@Woodman-Spare-that-tree]

Book a trip to Mexico. Then walk over the border. Your permanent residence in the USA is guaranteed.

[@Skank_and_Gutterboy]

What podcast are you talking about?

[@alexugljesic]

Looking at her video from the plane flying with father, few things come to my mind. Without any disrespect for this tragedy, my impression is that she either was not trained well, or even worse, she was not aware how much there is to learn, to become a pilot. From her video, impression is that she is far from capable of flying solo. She has not even take of properly, not to mention a lot of other, not even mistakes, better to say evidences that she is not capable of flying that plane, at least in fully controlled manner, to to mention her total disorientation in space. From that video (cross country flight, when she is trying to figure out which way to go), i got impression that she is more concentrated if she looks good for cameras, than on flying itself. Somebody (her flying instructors, and those who gave her PPL) should have told her that she is not capable of flying, or at least, far from capable of flying solo. Now it's too late. I am a CPL rated pilot & flying instructor...

[@carljelliff3156]

She shouldn’t have been allowed to drive a car😐

[@55418und]

Her videos show her incompetence. Poorly trained from the start. Very sad set of circumstances. Very sad.

[@TGAV8]

Excellent advice. Love the videos.

[@colb715]

Way too much aircraft for this girl. She needed to focus as a new PPL on flying not YouTubing! Sadly it cost her her life.

[@fifi23o5]

I've seen some of her videos and when I've heard she crashed, I wasn't really surprised. What I managed to see from her is her lack of understanding the mechanics and principles of flight. Her instructor didn't help her at all, although he helped her too much. Maybe her ''influencer status'' played a role in his demeanor, too. During her training, I was under impression, she was more interested in filming her training than actually learning to fly. Bad combination, an ''influencer'' who is doing it for clout, instructor who doesn't do his job, unsatisfactory ground school, overconfident student, too advanced plane for her skill, distraction by ''necessity'' to film...

[@markalexwhite]

Reminds me of something my father used to say: too much money and not enough sense!

[@eddiebeaty8150]

I honestly think she rushed herself and her instructors failed to slow her down. She was clueless to basic navigation and got way to fixated on the gadgets she didn't completely understand. Not to mention her fixation on getting her KZbin videos filmed. I'm sad for her and her father 😢

[@DW-ts5ki]

She was a U-tuber at heart. Not a pilot. Flying was the avenue to get her noticed. Her instructors with their signatures in her log book should be reviewed. Never seening any of her posts, i don't know what she was like. They must be quite revealing.

[@michaelhart6318]

The inability to find the runway you just departed 45 seconds ago...what else do you really need to know? Constantly behind the airplane. She had no business flying, period.

[@svenskanorsk]

Calling yourself “TNflygirl” when you don’t know the basic physics of flight says a lot. She wanted the prestige and identity of a pilot when she should have been more concerned with how to actually fly a plane.

[@v1kng99]

Hey tell him congrats, I’m training out of North Perry airport as well. I recognize that runway and that controller voice.

[@HtPt]

Always respect Mother Nature , gravity can be unforgiving.

[@marcrodstein1745]

Maybe it's not a good idea to be a pilot and make a movie at the same time.

[@darrinsteven7002]

She was a danger to others and herself on the Road as well as in the Sky. Zero spacial awareness in every situation is terrifying. Not everyone should drive a car, let alone be at the controls of an Aircraft.

[@smark1180]

Is something wrong with your shift key?

[@essiebessie661]

She desperately wanted to be on KZbin. Well….this is her 15 minutes.

[@7thsealord888]

Very informative. Never a pilot, just a dude with a long-time interest in aviation. With the Blalock tragedy, I feel like her approach to flying mainly amounted to "Push a button, and it does a thing." Not good.

[@nigelsookram882]

Nobody wanted to tell the attractive Blonde..no

[@minnesotajack1]

At its core, that’s the problem.

[@michaeljohn8905]

I consider my self a low time pilot 200 hours and my CFI teaches the basics . He does have the gps but we use VOR and maps . Later on when I have forflight but it’s only there for backup. I don’t have it on. It’s a distraction this video needs to be shown to everyone. I think people are to worried about what they look and sound like on YT that they are thinking about that rather than focusing on flying. This woman was spending time to look good for her audience and it seems like she was more worried about what she was doing on her social media. This is sad all the way around but how did she get signed off !!! The DPE ?? Anyone ??

[@Great-Documentaries]

Sean. Why are you laughing at times here? This isn't even slightly funny. Two people are dead. Laughter is very inappropriate. Nor should I have to tell you this.

[@AlfonseGambino]

I watched all her youtube vids after the crash. She was more concerned with social media over safety. She should never have had a license or have been in the air period. Her poor dad died because she sucked at flying. In one of her videos the first ten minutes she was flying in zigzags and circles and didn't even know she was still by the runway she took off from. Its like anyone can get a pilot license now or something. Ill never step foot on a plane again, and nothing against women but especially if it were a female pilot. In a disaster situation a man can handle pressure 100 times better than a female.

[@richardcarroll9864]

Hard for me to believe he didn't know about the crash till two days agom

[@bobcfi1306]

I think there is story about her first aircraft

[@donallan6396]

Somebody posted a photo of her Cherokee smunched up .The story was that she tried to exit a runway going too fast.

[@robertpresha9504]

Never heard of her until she was dead.Some people should not be flying. And she took her dad with her 😢.

[@rcastillo114]

One thing, not just the autopilot per se, but at least in the videos I have seen, I don’t see her setting up the NAVs nor the GPS to actually feed the autopilot with input for it to do what she wants it to do. You need to learn to fly the airplane and navigate prior to pretending to use the autopilot… and then, you need to know to understand what the autopilot does and what inputs it gets to get the job done.

[@nfcboys1984]

Very sad, but her CFI should be held accountable for passing her check rides. She was so woefully unprepared to fly, much less the aircraft she owned.

[@raygun1392]

"Which was is up"