Episode 88: Bouncing on Empty

Episode 88: Bouncing on Empty

Author: AOPA Air Safety Institute October 14, 2025 Duration: 32:55
During a mountain flying trip in a Cessna 172, Doug Tilghman and two companions become dangerously close to fuel exhaustion.

Imagine pulling up a chair in a virtual hangar, surrounded by pilots swapping their most gripping stories. That’s the feeling at the heart of "There I was..." An Aviation Podcast. Produced by the AOPA Air Safety Institute, each episode is a direct flight into real-world cockpit experiences, where seasoned aviators recount moments when weather, mechanics, or sheer chance threw them a curveball. You’ll hear the subtle tension in their voices as they describe navigating a sudden system failure or an unforecast storm, followed by the clear-headed decisions that led to a safe landing. This isn’t about sensationalism; it’s about the nuanced application of skill and training under pressure. The entire podcast is built on aviation’s rich tradition of “hangar flying”-that invaluable, informal passing of wisdom from one pilot to another. By listening, you gain access to a collective library of hard-won lessons, a resource that deepens your understanding of what it truly means to fly safely. Whether you’re a student pilot, a seasoned captain, or simply fascinated by the realities of flight, these narratives offer a profound and practical education, one compelling story at a time.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 94

"There I was..." An Aviation Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Episode 43: Russ Jeter [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:34
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 le…
Episode 42: Genesah Duffy and Lynn McNorton [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:13
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…
Episode 41: Dario Costa [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:55
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…
Episode 40: Henry Coffeen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:43
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 39: David Bradley [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:21
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 38: Jon Humberd [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:31
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 37: Brian Lloyd [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:00
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 Samo…
Episode 36: Thomas Marrow [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:17
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 35: John Lancaster [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:57
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…
Episode 34: Craig Beles and Truman O'Brien [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:52
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, th…