Sean and Mike revisit this fatal accident with a fresh perspective on the loss of Youtuber TNFlyGirl in her newly acquired Beech Debonair. It appears there is evidence pointing to this crash being part of elaborate internet stunt that went horribly wrong resulting in the loss of two lives.
Here’s the links we reference in the video, also links to Juan Brown’s Youtube channel “Blancolirio” for a detailed analysis of this fatal crash:
https://youtu.be/R1W1ml-uRT0?si=WthzaO5xUvjU9PKD
https://youtu.be/kQUS-6SBZzM?si=NLPXLCDIgrX01JLB
https://youtu.be/JDSJ_PyGNG8?si=YuoGpfQvZ_BRytoS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViO1j1iYn18
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66z726rQNxc
DON’T MISS THIS! Go to https://www.propilotplaybook.com and enter your email to get access to our list of “The Top 10 Flight School Rip-offs” and access to free lesson from our course.
If you have a question you’d like us to answer, you can email us at: [email protected]
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
02:25 TN Fly Girl story is worse than we thought
03:03 Pro-Pilot Playbook student’s plane crashes
05:20 Consequences of bad judgement piloting aircraft
06:05 Other Youtubers’ videos about TN Fly Girl accident
07:01 Non-stop examples of bad piloting skills displayed by Jen Blalock
16:30 Mike’s advice for student pilots and flight instructors on cross-country training flights
18:14 Sean’s advice for student pilots in primary flight training
20:01 What can happen to us using automation even with driving a car
22:04 What navigation equipment Jenny Blalock TNFlyGirl actually needed to complete the simple 40nm flight on a VFR day
23:32 Money can sometimes allow a pilot to buy an airplane beyond their experience and skill level
25:15 Final words of advice for anybody currently working on their Private Pilot’s certificate to become a professional corporate or airline pilot
source
I think she did not understand how to operate a constant speed prop. I heard her say in one video, "I've got it set at 21". What did she mean? 21 inches of manifold pressure? or 2100 RPMs? The autopilot did not have alt preselect, so it can't be altitude. If it was both, or 21 squared, MP and RPM, that would be a very low power setting, IMO. Add to that, the auto pilot is gyrating up and down, because she didn't know how to use it. That could be a deadly combination. At any rate, I hope all new pilots learn something from this tragic accident. Don't be afraid to admit you don't understand something. It could save your life.
I am not a pilot and never will be, but it was quite clear watching a few of her videos she should have been flying commercial and not in the cockpit.
good work
My dad flew his 1946 Taylorcraft from Corpus Christi Tx. to northeast Connecticut and back with 0 electronics…no radios, no gps…just a map and a compass
My Dad is a pilot at Delta he syas the first thing he learnt was the old saying "There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, however there are no old bold pilots"
there should be a written test to start off with that decides if you can get you license or not…If you know nothing about the fundamentals of flight and situational awareness you shouldnt be flying
IMHO, she was not acting.
This was yet another ‘Swiss Cheese’ model of threats that resulted in her demise.
She was a successful businesswoman, put a lot of attention to her YT videos, and put her flight preparation last.
She seemed to rely heavily on the autopilot and gps, and when there was an issue, she was overwhelmed with by it, rather than reverting to the basics.
To your point, this also happens to trainees in complex jets with unfamiliar avionics.
Hopefully, this accident will serve to reinforce the concept of using levels of automation, and when to go back to basics, to GA pilots. This is especially important when dealing with complex aircraft.
Great discussion guys, subscribed!
"Best Actor in a Dramatic Mini-Series" ??
Hardly
Reality Acting requires exceptional talent to remain in character and consistent for long periods of time.
There is less evidence of acting ability than there is evidence of aeronautical ability.
She was consistently and tragically behind the airplane. Period.
I was a flight instructor in San Diego in the late 80's. There were lots of wealthy students. These people were intelligent, successful, and driven. Not used to failure. They were some of my most difficult students. They wanted all training events to be perfect and making a mistake was not an option. If they screwed something up they became incredibly frustrated and difficult to work with. They expected to get their ratings in a minimum amount of time. Some of them already had high performance aircraft and some had jets on order. Not a good mix. Learning to fly and being proficient takes time and dedication. Mistakes are inevitable so you learn from them and move on. You can't force proficiency.
I CALL B.S. she was a new pilot. she was unfamiliar with the aircraft. she didn't understand the autopilot and severely over corrected while on auto pilot. It's sad, but she was poorly trained.
Not a bad hypothesis, I don't think it was an "act" but she certainly was trying to create real drama. One thing I am going through right now is in 2023 I did 9 hours total due to starting a new job in a new country but 2024 I have plans for at least 50 hours which will be good… but oww man after a slow year I don't feel as sharp as I used to, I flew with an instructor and I felt rusty! She was like "you're good to go" and was very happy with my flying but i'm taking baby steps to get back to the trips i was doing before.
She sure has great looking hair and obviously spent a lot of time and effort on it.
I have to disagree with the initial part of this video. She didn't pull a stunt.
At this point, all we can do is wait for the final report.
There were a couple of videos made when the preliminary report was released.
Unfortunately, there are people who don't understand the risks involved when flying an aeroplane.
This is a hobby that you have to approach with professionalism.
Do not let complacency take place.
Especially this time of the year, use the winter times to revise and refresh your theory knowledge.
Fly the books and read the plane.
Fly safe.
Staged? Nah, i wouldn't. give here that much credit!
I know exactly where you are coming from, with kids wearing headphones and staring at electronics when riding in a car, and then having no clue how to drive or even caring to drive, or even where they are going, it's incredible…of course, it doesn't help matters that they are building vehicles now with tiny, high windows you can barely see out of anyway. Jenny seemed to display many of those characteristics, having poor situational awareness and obsessed with fiddling with electronics, in both her flying, and her driving(almost sideswiped a car changing lanes, speeding, and running stop signs in one of her videos)…HOWEVER, Jenny was not a young kid, she was 45…middle aged, she should have been exposed to riding and driving in a car without electronics, and all that in the 80's and 90's…
It's called The Dunning-Kruger effect
"It was so bad I thought it was an act. I don't know why she would post something like that."
That's because she was so bad, she didn't even KNOW how bad she was. She had no synth of direction, no spatial awareness and seemed to be unable to think in the abstract. She was failed by her instructors and whoever signed off for her to solo.
Is there a reason Florida has so many plane crashes
BrownE
The flight track of Blalock's flight looks like my first attempt to draw something on an Etch A Sketch .
That may sound cruel and insensitive, but she was dipsy-doodling around both in altitude and track in airspace occupied by other airplanes .
It is shameful and unethical that CFIs took money from Blalock for training when it was clear that she would end up in a situation that would lead to her demise.
I'm not blaming. I'm saying the situational awareness she had is a warning to everyone out there who spends all their time doing selfies for all you viewers. The dad trusted her views, thinking everything was fine. (He probably had skin in her game)Just the way she adjusted the sun visor would have been a red flag.
Some people shouldn't be flying aircraft, clearly she was one of them.
Thankfully she didn't kill or mame any 3rd party when she crashed.
Im not a pilot, but i have been following this story and watching some of her videos, i was thinking the same thing. Nobody can be this ignorant and incompetent. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. Hopefullyba wakeup call to the flight instructors out there.
It made me nervous to watch her flights.
I call them directionally challenged. I drove truck for 37 years there was one person who came to work for the company,with 2 years experience she always followed the GPS.I can only imagine what it be like in an airplane.
Follow her throughout, started my training about the same time. I was always thinking she was way behind and her instructor was turning knobs and not talking. She’d climb without adding power, make lots of fundamental mistakes. And her voice over to getting lost at Rockwood was laughter. I don’t think she was acting. She was absolutely incompetent. And her CFI did her an injustice.
That was her 2nd plane. She cut a turn off too quick, hit the grass, mud and messed up the landing gear. But she kept that off her channel. A picture is on the Debrief channel.
If JFK Jr had posted his trips, most of us would have screamed to everyone to pull his ticket
Having a lack of situational awareness, displaced confidence, coupled with with the lure of being a social media star, can be a deadly combination.
I would agree with their statement about Foreflight. I used the charts when soloing but decided to use foreflight on the check ride and missed my 2nd way point which was a grass field and couldn't find it even using the satellite view on the ipad. The examiner couldn't find it either and he lived in the area. Point made was to use buildings or towns or rail road tracks. We found it after all the maneuvers heading back to the field. Could barely make it out because the owner didn't mow the grass lately so there was no runway feature cutout. Foreflight is a good tool once you know how to use it thoroughly though which I didn't at the time.
No, she wasn't acting for the sake of getting more views, but I don't think that stopped her from posting the embarrassing episode anyway. Looking hopelessly inept didn't seem to matter. But what apparently did matter was her success on Youtube.
I don’t how and why this person was issued a PPL after seen some of her videos?