Pilot pulls the parachute in a Cirrus while flying in the Bahamas. Reported the plane had engine trouble. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2083980/Pair-rescued-Bahamas-coast-private-plane-plummets-sea.html Miraculous escape for pair after private plane plummets into sea off Bahamas coast. A pilot and his passenger have miraculously escaped unscathed after their private plane crashed into the sea off the Bahamas coast. Richard McGlaughlin, 59, made a distress call after his aircraft developed engine trouble and began plummeting towards the water. The pilot and his passenger, 25-year-old Elaine McGlaughlin, both from Birmingham, Alabama, deployed the plane's parachute before it crashed. With their red and white parachute a stark contrast against the stunning blue water, the duo were quickly spotted by rescue teams. The McGlaughlins were in an inflatable raft when they were seen by an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and a HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft. Twenty minutes later, they were met by a Coast Guard swimmer and a helicopter scooped them out of the warm salt water. The pair, who had been stranded two miles west of Andros in the Bahamas, were transferred to Odyssey Airport in nearby Nassau. They were then transport to an EMS crew for medical evaluation but had not sustained any injuries. Dr McGlaughlin, who was flying the Cirrus SR22 plane, is an experienced pilot and member of the Cirrus Owners Pilots Association. The doctor, who practices gastroenterology in Alabama, piloted a plane to visit Haitian hospitals after the country's earthquake in January 2010. The distress call was made at 12.15 p.m., with rescue teams finding the McGloughlins just 15 minutes later. They were taken from the water at 12.58 p.m. The smooth operation was assisted by crew from the Royal Bahamian Defence Force. . Image Unavailable, Please Login
I don't know if I would have pulled the chute or not. The plane set down only 2 miles to the west of Andros Island. You'd think that the better option would be to glide to the beach and land on the wheels, no? 2 miles is a really short gliding distance. Even at just pattern altitude (1000 AGL), it seems like it would be possible to reach the beach given that the Cirrus's glide ratio is 9.6 to 1.
That would be optimal gliding distance. With the slightest breeze or wind, the stress of a catastrophic emergency, and the time taken to fumble with nav aids, I would cut that to half of the advertised glide ratio. There is also a minimum height for deploying the parachute--pull it at a lower height and it won't have time to slow the plane sufficiently. He probably did the right thing. Glad it worked out. Two lessons come to mind. 1. The need for a waterproof, floating transceiver. So you can call for help afterwards. 2. The need for a raft with shelter from rain and sun, with some provisions. The raft should be right at the door, not somewhere in the back. Amelia Earhart's raft was stowed in the back of the airplane, making it highly unlikely that she or her copilot were able to retrieve it and use it even if they survived the impact.
Wow - glad to know this worked. My partner has an SR22 and we fly from NJ to the Bahamas (Abaco) frequently. A few weeks ago we took a flight from NJ to NY and one of the sensors on the engine was showing a cylinder not working - we turned around after 15 minutes in the air and landed safely. Good to know the chute would actually work if needed. Thanks, Erik
There seems like there is always decent winds in the Bahamas, great sailing waters! I think he did the right thing by pulling the chute. Put it this way, insurance will buy him a new plane vs. him having to take it apart on a beach and ship back to the USA to be reassembled.
good, safe aviation decision-making. No injuries, safety equipment did its job and insurance will pay for the airplane. I'll pull my chute without hesitation in IMC with engine failure, or even at night with VMC unless I KNOW I will make a safe, obstruction-free landing site.
Kudos to whoever snapped that photo before the parachute collapsed... they must have been on the scene FAST!! Glad everyone made it out OK. Jedi
The chute stayed up due to wind blowing. Probably would have stayed open for quite a while. Shoot, they're already in the raft in the pic. It was immediate... 15 or so minutes and still billowing. Coast Guard pic.
very good experienced pilot. plane floated upright until helicopter blast blew the chute and plane over. no injuries. I think more people have died for not pulling the Cirrus chute than for pulling it. I'm still believer in keeping control of the plane if visual and survivable terrain. this pilot pulled chute because there is more risk landing in water.
Poor phrasing that perpetuates the popular conception that planes simply fall out of the sky when the engine fails.
Agree. I've noticed over the years that most news articles on plane incidents contain quite a few errors or things that don't make sense. Every reporter should make friends with a pilot or two and do a quick proofread of a draft news article before submitting it.
His use of "crashed into the sea" (on a parachute???) bothered me too; but "landed into the sea" sounded oxymoronic and "settled into the sea" too bland. Oh well.
That would mean that I have survived at least 10 crashes "off-field" in a variety of airplanes. Watching "Flying Wild Alaska" on TV, just another day at the office...................................
He lost oil pressure, and eventually the engine seized. He noticed the loss of pressure right away and pointed it toward land, but didn't get there. Apparently the chute is the approved procedure for a water landing in a Cirrus, so he did exactly the right thing. As Rob said, he's a very experienced and well respected guy. Incidentally, if you ever have to ditch, the Bahamas is the place to do it! Probably the one place where my swimming pool ditching training actually reflects reality!
Here is his account - in short, engine seized at 9500 ft and he headed for Andros, but by 2300 ft reailzed he woudl not make it and I tend to agree, the chute was better than trying to ditch. I have to think fixed gear will flip a plane trying to ditch - no way you can have enough elevator authority to overcome gear hitting the water. http://www.cirruspilots.org/blogs/pull_early_pull_often/archive/2012/01/09/early-reflections-on-caps-pull-32-by-dick-mcglaughlin-in-the-bahamas.aspx
It's definitely a toss up. I can't say he made the wrong decison. For me however, I kinda think that if you are gliding and under control, why add another influence to the mix? What if the chute failed? What if the wind took you in a direction you didn't want to be going? Murphy's Law. Kudos to the pilot though for keeping a cool head. He did it right.
Why does the chute deploy in a fashion that puts the plane in a nose-down attitude? Level or nose up slightly would be my preference. Only benefit I can see to it is that if the chute fails, you will be able to gain airspeed and level out quicker. That assumes that a few other items have to be operational.
What does, a nose down attitude? Initial deceleration impulse would be the same, no matter what part of the plane hits first. Overall deceleration force would actually be less if more of the structure were available to deform and absorb impact forces, as would happen in a nose-up attitude.
