[Milsurplus] [ARC5] Commem. Air Force B-17, P-63 Mid-air Collision, All lives and Aircraft Lost.

[Hubert Miller]

I recall, and probably I have mentioned this here before, some decades back a California aircraft owner did a wonderful restoration of a P2V,
with complete original avionics inside. I may still have the astonishingly wonderful inside photos of that one. On one of his first test flights,
he stalled it out over a California lake. End of restoration project, end of story for owner. 

>From my reading and coming across stories of WWII aviation accidents, collisions seem not so rare. Even bombers in formation sometimes. 
I think nowadays, the pilots and aircrew are older and supposedly wiser, not so devil-may-care about risking their lives and equipment, and
a visually exciting show may just not be worth the risk putting on. 

BTW, not actually connected with the above: I just read "81 Days Below Zero", about a B-25 copilot who was the only survivor of a crash in
Alaska. Apparently not 'human error' this time; appears controls somehow froze and control was lost, going into a spin. Radioman was maybe
already suffering incapacitation somehow, as he failed to send last position report. The survivor used his chute and matches to survive the 
first nights, then most fortunately found a cabin with cached food, firewood, and a rifle. He followed a river south, reckoning it would eventually
lead to some settlement. He fell through river ice a couple times and had only minutes to start a fire before his hands were shaking too bad to
light a fire and the game would be over. So, 81 days spent travelling with temps under zero F. Search for lost plane had already been given up.
I wonder if I would have lasted more than a day or two. I may have learned a thing or two about not panicking, staying focused, and exploiting
any resources you can find. 
-Hue Miller