I think this guy did all he could and handled it pretty well....I think I would still be washing the stains out. From Youtube: "Three high definition cameras were mounted to my Beechcraft Bonanza when the engine quit on takeoff from Fairbanks Alaska on July 26th 2012, One was pointed forward, one to the right side, and one to the rear. All three cameras caught the crash as it happened in HD. Both people on board survived with only minor injuries, but the airplane didn't." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=234_naonoH8
So, the NTSB was able to run the engine, no problem with the fuel or fuel pump. Did he say he tried to restart the engine?
Not enough time at that altitude. I think he was concentrating on finding a suitable place to land and save his life (and that of his passenger).
That's a masterful piece of piloting there - he didn't extend landing gear as it would be in semi-retracted / extended state...read his notes about why he turned...he was really thinking in a panic situation, well done!
Gear down would have been monumentally worse. Possible flip or rip open the wings and spew gas everywhere. 1st thing to remember in this situation is save your bacon, the plane is now owned by the insurance company.
I noticed he said that he left the door shut for structural integrity. Got me thinking about my friend. He had that happen w/ his Bonanza; it flipped over when it hit and he wished he'd cracked the door before it hit. He said that's usually recommended. He was alone. The door jammed shut. He wasn't nearly that high, though, probably 50 feet or so. He ended up having to crawl back and exit through the baggage door. He got a cut on his ear when it hit and he was bleeding like a stuck pig. Ear was the only injury.
That landing sure looked like he slapped the ground a bit hard, assume bc he slowed it to stall speed. I was trained to always pop the door open by an ex bush pilot of 7yrs in Honduras. Trust his advice from the stories he told
Really depends on the type of aircraft and it usually says somewhere in the flight manual. Some you do want to fix the door open, others not so much. The CT-43 (military 737) said that you should always leave the doors closed in a ditching situation. If it was enough to jam the doors it would rupture the fuselage.
I think that he did a darn good job of picking something nearly straight ahead and flew the airplane all the way to the landing. It appears that the touch down was on an up-slope and thus made his arrival a bit hard but over all, he did a good job.
the main thing about engine out is the airplane needs to be flown to the flare / touch down, many panic and forget about what makes an airplane fly, it's about maintaining control ALL the way to the unintended point of landing...
The things you discover in old threads... Dale Hemman, the pilot flying the plane in this video, was killed in a plane crash July of this year. RIP. Interior Alaska Crash Preliminary Report Released by NTSB | Alaska Dispatch
Sad..I see in the article there were 5 cameras on this plane crash If they were working i wonder if we will see the footage..
What's the old Bob Hoover aphorism: "If you're faced with a forced landing, fly the thing as far into the crash as possible." This pilot did a very, very good job
My instructor offered the same advice only in a different way, "FLY the airplane! Don't turn yourself into becoming a passenger."
...except for the final instant when the plane ( or car ) will go bump... let go of the wheel and cover up... it will keep from breaking the arms...
A friend of mine, when trying to recover from an engine failure on take off in a Champ, lost his little finger that was severed because it was draped over the window sill while his hand was on the throttle. The sliding window slammed shut at impact. His left ankle and leg were shattered because of his pushing on the rudder pedal to stop the spin. He survived with many other injuries but his passenger did not because he had not fastened his seat belt. Another incident caused by trying to turn back to the strip after engine failure with no airspeed and no sense. He had a cleared corn field dead ahead of him when he lost power. I was always admonished by another old pilot friend not to use that "DEAD ahead thing" in his airplane. "Say, right up there, okay?" But it was appropriate in this case.
Great advice, that. My other favorite Hoover-ism runs along those lines: no matter what, keep flying the airplane. The story I've been told was that Bob Hoover was asked [possibly by the FAA] about an incident in which he hit a power line and lost 2' off one wing of his P-51. When asked how the plane kept flying / how he got the plane back home, Hoover replied: "Nothing said I had to crash."
