What I forgot to do was make any announcements on the CTAF after my engine failed. If it was busy, I am pretty sure I would have made a call that I had landed again and would be occupying the runway for a few minutes, and then another call to say I was clear.
Cirrus bent after encountering turbulence from cargo plane
I trusted the Tower to provide safe and adequate separation for our arrival and it could have cost us a lot more than a prop strike. I will not make that mistake again.
172 pilot accidentally cuts off Piper in traffic pattern
My own misjudgments of my timing and distance, mistake in missing calls for other aircraft to have an idea of what is going on big picture (as I would have been able to recognize that I would essentially be following an aircraft in the right traffic pattern), and the PA-28’s over extension and drift on the departure leg contributed to this event.
Gas cap flies off during takeoff
Shortly after takeoff, I noticed that the pilot side fuel cap had departed from the airplane and fuel was coming out of the wing at a tremendous rate. Fearing a severe weight imbalance, I Identified as an emergency and returned to land without further incident or damage.
Pilot pats himself on the back a little too soon
I was pretty impressed with myself that I got stopped in time to quickly dart into the FBO, landing in a record short distance. Unfortunately for me, they have changed the procedures at SMO since the last time I was there.
Confusion in tower contributes to near miss
Combine a short-staffed tower, very busy airspace, and the result is a near miss and a controller meltdown.
Airport truck ‘plays chicken’ with Mooney
After reaching rotation speed, I observed the airport vehicle cross the runway in front of me. It appeared he was playing chicken. I considered rejecting the takeoff but could not be certain the power changes and braking would help avoid the collision.
Complacency plays part in veteran pilot’s mistake
I attribute this incident to complacency on my part. I expected a clearance to land on Runway XXR, based on the winds, and when I saw the newly-resurfaced runway, I went for it. I am embarrassed by the fact that I would make such an error after so many years of flying.
Look, look, and look again
My takeaway is to look, look, and look again for aircraft that have turned for excessively long finals and also for planes doing wide (and I mean really wide) downwind legs. What you do about unwise training these days, I don’t know.