Cirrus Ditching 253 Miles from Maui....

"The only time you can have too much fuel is when your on fire." Unknown

 

Interesting to see how the parachute deployed..plane is pretty much vertical for a bit.....there was also a 172 that ditched same day off Barbers point with 4 survivors..good day for survivors! .Four people rescued after plane crash lands off Barbers Point - Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL

 

Why?

What was the nature of the emergency? How did the CG happen to get the whole thing recorded?

The plane appeared to still be flying when the engine stopped and parachute deployed.

 

The Cirrus guy knew he wasn't going to make it a few hours before he actually ran out of gas. Supposedly, his aux fuel transfer failed.

 

Perhaps,… Failed to transfer enough fuel into the tank prior to takeoff!

Glad the pilot is safe. Not sure of the wisdom of flying a single engine over that distance of open water...

 

The CAPS releases a small trailing drogue chute to slow the plane down before the large chute opens, that's when the plane is falling vertically.

When slow enough, the main chute opens and the plane decends flat to 'landing'.

 

Makes sense, thanks.

 

This was a new aircraft from the factory being delivered. It's possible that he ran into unforecast headwinds, but unlikely. Airplanes are delivered like this all the time, if not every day at least every week.

 

Interesting to watch that go down.

 

Initial reaction when the drogue chute popped and she went vertical had to require an underwear change. Same thing on the F-111 capsule that did the same thing after ejection, Until the main chute reefed, it looked like a dive bomb pass with a great view of where you were going.

I was going to say bad flight planning until someone said he had aux tanks that did not feed. Seems like you would want to burn those first so you could turn around if they did not transfer, like external tanks.

 

Does anyone know how many C22s have successfully deployed chutes and landed safely? Years ago I talked to a trainer who said they were gimmicky, didn't generally work in the real world, and required very specific things to happen to deploy properly. Apparently it isn't simply a matter of pulling the handle...

 

Hard to imagine that the aux fuel system wasn't well tested before heading across the Pacific.

 

Im assuming it was, or should have been. Im also assuming this had some serious fuel bladders installed in the back seats. I used to do runs between Honolulu and Christmas Island in a Lear 36. One day there was a Piper AG on the ramp getting fuel in Christmas. The second we locked eyes, he knew I thought he was crazy. No auto pilot, taking leaks in Gatorade bottles and wearing a life suit that made him look like Gumby. He schooled me on how many small planes were delivered this way. He was enroute to Australia.

I dont know what was bigger, his balls or the tumor that was obviously growing in his head.

The stretch from the West Coast to Hawaii is big....really big. I always max out my fuel load and could care less if I land with big reserves. But if you are going to go down, this is the place to do it. School says you should be picked up within 24 hours max. First sign of trouble, start coordinating with ground personnel. They can give you a heading and distance of the closest ship. On board, uncontrollable fire is the exception......you have an average of 20 minutes before the plane is consumed or you are incapacitated IIRC.

 

News this morning quotes Cirrus as saying 103 lives have been saved. With the probability of multiple passengers/plane, don't think that necessarily means 103 planes.

 

Plus, you would think with over 2 hours advanced notice he wasn't going to reach Hawaii, he'd find a way to fix the aux tank transfer problem.

Assuming he had radio communications, there must be enough MacGyver types out there to help with an ad hoc solution.

If we could get Apollo 13 home, you'd think we could get 20 gallons of fuel from an aux tank into a wing tank (especially since they were already connected by some plumbing).
.

 

I think the difference is that if you survive the crash over land in reasonable health, you still might be stranded but it's easier to orient yourself and survive off the land until rescue... in the ocean, you're hoping for something to hang on to and maybe a friend like Wilson to keep you company as you panic.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Is the aux tank inside the cockpit?

 

I'm just shocked at how quickly the aircraft became a submarine - would have thought it a whole lot more buoyant than that.

 

Lindbergh had to switch tanks on his flight to Paris in 1927. He had three in the wings and one big tank in front of him but he didn't have any valve problems. They worked every time when he reached forward and turned the handles to close one and open the other.

 

I'm sure he did everything he could. I can't imagine there was anyone he could talk to on the radio who knew any more about his fuel system than he did.

This wasn't his first rodeo... or Cirrus flight across the pacific.

https://www.youtube.com/user/243leu