A36 19MT Engine Out Night IMC
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ก.พ. 2023
- A36 19MT Engine Out Night IMC
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FlyWire is about exploring flight and the freedom this incredible experience brings us on a personal level. Flying has always captured the imagination and excitement of living life to its fullest. Hi, I'm Scott Perdue. In a former life I flew the F-4 and F-15E, more recently I retired from a major airline. I've written for several aviation magazines over the years, was a consultant for RAND, the USAF, Navy, NASA as well as few others, wrote a military thriller- 'Pale Moon Rising' (still on Kindle). But mostly I like flying, or teaching flying. Some of the most fun I had was with Tom Gresham on a TV show called 'Wings to Adventure". We flew lots of different airplanes all over the country. Now with FlyWire I want to showcase the fun in flying, share the joy and freedom of flight and explore the world with you. Make sure you subscribe if you want to go along for the ride!
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You’re clear, concise and insightful. I’m a 787 United pilot who keeps his instructor rating current. I also have a 25 year old son who is learning to fly at his local FBO. Your channel, Dan’s channel as well as Juan’s channel are essential for new and seasoned pilots. Keep up the great work.
Did you know Hoot Gibson took your picture of Bruce McCandless?
I'm a Cherokee 140 jockey, and they are my my three favorite channels on youtube!
I really like the DMMS concept from Dan. I keep it in mind during my student ppl flights in a basic 172.
@@parkburrets4054 I did not know that! That is super cool info! Hoot is (or was) a Southwest pilot. My wife is a flight attendant for SW and has worked with Hoot before. Thanks for that tidbit.
Scott ,
I lost my engine coming out of a grass strip east of OKC with a student on my Champ on July 23,2021. I completely agree with everything you have said here. Reality is a harsh taskmaster. I was 200 ft agl and 50’ over the trees with no where to go. Fortunately, I made a successful 3 point touchdown but the ground was marshy and I went into 4’ tall grass and the mains dug into the ground and the airplane flipped over. I suffered a slight head injury and bruises but my student walked away without a problem. Scratch 1 7AC. Within 1 sec I discovered how people die. 3 things saved us. 1. I do this a lot. 2. I didn’t panic and 3. I flew all the way to the accident. The way we teach engine failures is simply inadequate for how it happens in real life.
Great comments John!
The truly lethal element was the decision to take off in that airplane in those conditions. Turned a survivable engine-out into a tragedy.
Like the Simple approach. Fly directly to airport. Then circle down to land. I had an engine out, called Mayday. The voice on the other end said that there was an abandoned airstrip somewhere ahead. I maid a beeline for a flat area (I was flying over mountains). Luckily it was clear weather. Circled to land on dirt strip with tumble weeds. Saved my flaps and gear down to the last minute on short final. Scary seeing Mt propeller dead and staring at me. Landed safely (with the wind). Made call that I was down safely. Stupid me ran out of gas. They brought some Jerry cans of gas. I put the gas in, took off, and followed them to Green River to pay my bill and thanked them profusely. I had failed to visually check my gas at Grand Canyon airport (last stop). Flying a T-34, solo VFR to Vernal, Utah from Yuma, AZ.
I’m retired United and FAA. I have 2 night IMC deadstick engine landings. I’m lucky to be alive, needless to say. Engines can and do quit all the time ( I’m also an A&P). No more night single engine for me for the subsequent 24000 hours. Great review And video
The voice of experience. Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment.
@@kwittnebel an unfortunate paradox. But you can learn from the experience of others. Hopefully...
@@henryD9363 Yes when they say things are written in blood it is definitely true. I think these videos will actually have a sizable impact on pilot decisionmaking. There is so much experience in the comments. Thanks.
You did a brilliant summary on this one, Scott.
The controller really is blameless. When he said "Give Me Wings Level" you could hear the stress in his voice, he knew what was happening out there he was watching it.
You know yourself climb and confess and also fly the plane navigate and communicate.
Bevo never failed to reinforce the fact that altitude is like a bank account and you need to get upstairs as fast as possible.
I really like what you said about trying to do math when you're under heavy stress load, man are you right!!!! That ain't going to happen.
Scott the first words I ever read in my aviation curriculum was;
FEAR LEADS TO PANIC
We've all had some White knuckle moments, but I promise you this particular incident really touched me.
Especially when I learned that his passenger had text a loving goodbye to his wife. He knew it wasn't going to work out.
Breaks my heart. My sympathy to the family
Good vlog Scott...like Dan Gryder says...pick ONE!!! Night/IMC/ICE/Terrain.....like you say...you don't fly at night anymore....there's a reason!
Don't forget the lake! On water landing have a much higher survival rate than trying to get back to a airport. There was a lake right next to that airport. There are a lot of lakes in mountainous terrain.
Geting back in to flying after being out for25 years. Your video's are incredibly valuable with making life saving decisions.thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience.keep up the good work
I have to be careful with my comment because I am currently a controller, so I need to say up front that my opinion is my own, and does NOT represent an official FAA position. Having said that, I've worked on this exact problem for years from an ATC perspective and I will say that it creates an almost impossible situation for a controller.
Once the clouds get this low, a controller presented with a partial engine failure faces a true dilemma -- if we try to help the pilot fly a very abbreviated approach because the engine might fail entirely at any point, that abbreviated approach is extremely rushed and if it doesn't end perfectly but the engine keeps running, people will want to sue for rushing the approach.
But if we try to take them out for the full approach from the Final Approach Fix at the normal glideslope and the engine fails entirely, then the airplane will land well short. I therefore agree wholeheartedly with your advice that pilots should exercise PIC authority in these cases and head for the "airport" or "airport perimeter" at altitude, then spiral down using whatever moving map technology they have at their disposal.
Always assume the engine will completely fail. I've had countless engine failures and they never came back to life. And rough running idle power does not help. That is a total power loss. You will be landing soon.
Thanks Dean. I think the best the Controller can do is facilitate what the PIC wants to do. Ask questions, offer options. This Controller did a good job, kept at it all the way.
@@pittss2c601 countless engine failures? Wow something isn't right there. Been flying for over 30 years.
@@johnsenetto7935 Yes, in all types of aircraft. Received my PPL in 1990. I had a carburetor failure on a brand new engine. I blew a cylinder on a rented Cessna 152. These are some failures that I recall: failed fuel filter, failed air filter, blown piston, magneto failure, I've had 2 fuel tank failures (ruptures) one on a new experimental kit airplane which caused a recall from the aircraft manufacturer, fuel vapor lock on a Starduster II biplane, failed ignition switch. I glided all of them to a landing most often on a road. Mechanical things fail even when new. It happens with aircraft more often than people know.
@@pittss2c601 you need a new hobby
Scott thank you for your videos. I am a retired Australian bush pilot who spent his career bouncing around the outback here in Queensland, Australia. I have had two problems it is apropos to discuss with your audience. 1) In a B58 Baron outbound the RH engine CHT was constantly climbing and the oil pressure dropping. So, I throttle back. Nope. CHT still increasing and in the red now. I call ATC and tell them I'm coming back to Archerfield in Brisbane with a feathered engine (PAN call). Here's the kicker: I have to descend to get under the CTR steps for Brisbane International. But I don't want to trade altitude for speed - so I demand inbound at 3500 feet rather than 1500 feet. I manage my pax and the ATC requirements and land single engine with no issues. Why tell you about this non-event? Because it could have become a bigger issue if I had not simply flown the problem. My passengers all flew with me again it turned out. 2) In a B76 Duchess I flew through a bush fire plume about 100 nm from home and realised that the gum tree smoke wasn't the fire I was smelling. The cockpit filled up with acrid white oil smoke. The RH engine had fractured an oil feed line and the oil leak had caught fire. After a session of "hands like epileptic spiders" I got the engine shut down, secured and the cabin free from toxic fumes. The passengers had white faces when the propeller stopped. I landed at the nearest possible airport (Toowoomba if I remember) and one of the passengers complained we weren't in Brisbane. I looked at her and said, "buy a lottery ticket". I had a great CFI in those days who was promoting something similar to what now if called AQP. He called it "train like you're going to die". It saved me many times from being a stupid idiot and kicked in when I did have recourse to need it. All the best everyone. Stu
Great stories, Stu! Thanks for sharing!
Yes. Great stuff. Thanks.
I listened to the ATC comms on another YT channel (it was much clearer for some reason). What a great job the controller did from the first hint of a problem. I'd take him as a controller any day, especially if I had a problem. I hope he's doing OK dealing with this also.
The other recording is crystal clear.
agreed, I think the controller did great. That callout for "wings level..."
This accident started on the preflight. It should have never been initiated. Too bad. Dan, shooting an approach to the mínimums with the gradient of an engine failure in IMC and icing, is just chilling. The degradation of performance due to icing, is still on the wings, even maybe the rest to the airframe. It sounds like freezing rain. It sticks like glue. Too bad. RIP.
Thanks for covering this one Scott!
Thanks, Juan!
Single engine, IMC, bad weather in low visibility, take a car, or stay home, that's my tip on this one, prayers out to the family and friends, in this tragic event.
My buddies & I always tell each other..."don't hurt the airplane today". If you don't hurt the airplane, you automatically don't hurt yourself or passengers. That is our mantra and focus.
G'day,
Not a bad strategy...
Strangely enough, when I was the Ground-Hookup/Launch-Control end of a Tug-Team, using the prototype Bailey-Moyes Dragonfly to aerotow-launch Rogallo Hang Gliders....; we went the other way - and to remind ourselves of how many facets were "mission-critical" and needed checking and monitoring and managing correctly..., we generally set out with the statement,
"Righto, that's the Plan...; now let's go out and see what we can break...!"
Australian Humour is often said to be "Sardonic", ie a hybrid of Sarcastic and Ironic and Laconic...; kind of like "Hals und Beinbruch !"
(Break your Neck and Leg !)
Was
Imperial German Air Service
for
"Good Luck !"...,
Which London's West End Theatre Actors and Hollywood's as well have shortened to
"Break a Leg...!".
Technically, mentioning the bad outcomes which one wants to avoid comes under the heading of
"Naming the Beast/Devil",
So by speaking of it, one
"Bells that Cat..."(!),
Thus ensuring that it cannot approach unseen ; which makes it, Theologically squeaking (lol !) an exercise in
Negative
Sympathetic-Magic
Spellcasting....
Kind of like planning a day of mixing and pouring Concrete, when one is trying to break a Drought ; and of course,
"Everybody knows" that "it always rains as soon as the Concrete has been laid, and started to dry..." (!).
Reading a Checklist, to ensure not making a mistake..., could be equated to chanting a Ritual Negative-Sympathetic Magic Spell, to ward off all things Evil - whereas telling oneself to remember not to hurt the Aeroplane...; is a simple Sympathetic Magic Incantation, similar to
"The Pilot's Prayer..."
uttered by many, immediately prior to Take-off or Landing ; ie,
("Please Lord/God/Deity-of-Choice..;
Let me
NOT
Fcuk-up...?!?").
Such is life,
Have a good one...
Stay safe.
;-p
Ciao !
An instructor once told me that no pilot leaves the house thinking they're gonna die today.
@@markcoveryourassets
G'day,
Too true mate !
If you are indeed possessed of a functional living Dodo...(?), then keep a Weather-Eye out for wandering Imperial Dutch Freemarket Capitalists...; apparently they're quite proud of having killed and eaten what they thought to have been the last Dodo, 400 years ago...!
Apparently they didn't care that Dodos were (are ?) tough and stringy and chewy while tasting like bland Cardboard...; the attraction was built around wild Dodos being easy to herd and capture, drive onto Ships looking for Indonesia, and thus eat fresh meat by killing Dodos all the way from Madagascar to Java or Borneo or Bali...
So, look out they don't come after your Dodo, to protect their idea of Traditional Cultural Heritage ; by making your Dodo conform to their Legends (lol) !
Take it easy,
Such is life,
Have a good one...
Stay safe.
;-p
Ciao !
Single-engine… at night… IMC… terrain. Four strikes. As Dan Gryder says… “Pick one.”
With icing
this rules out single engine flying over a city or mountains, or even daytime imc? Is that what the rule really means?
@@alanzamore8017 it’s a suggestion… but it all depends on your appetite for risk. Single-engine IMC with low ceilings gives zero outs in case of engine failure. City flying can be safe, but you need think ahead and pick open spots to land along the way.
@@alanzamore8017 The comment was not precise. On a single engine, Dan advises taking on no more than one of these four: night, ice, terrain, IFR
thanks. that makes sense.
Thanks Scott. Great video. 🇺🇸🇺🇸
Scott another great common sense video. Excellent! Thanks for what you do Scott❤😊
100% agree and this is how the Garmin system works in the case of an engine failure. It steers you direct to a point over the airport, if altitude permits, and then returns control to the pilot to land. That is a simple and straightforward approach and what I have always planned to do in case of an engine failure, whether in VMC or IMC.
The first description I have seen of a practical strategy for this humdinger of a pickle.
I fly IFR in IMC in my Piper Arrow a lot. Sometimes with loved ones on board. I don't fly at night unless I have a compelling reason because it reduces options, but I still do it because I am current and proficient. One reason I avoid night flying, especially in IMC, is because I couldn't think of a realistic strategy to deal with engine out. Now I have one, thank you.
That doesn't mean I'm changing my reluctance to fly at night, or double reluctance to fly at night in IMC. But since I do it from time to time anyway, I have committed this strategy to memory. Fight the good fight ALL the way down. That's my pledge to my passengers and myself.
Of course, as an owner/pilot I pay close attention to maintenance and I have never experienced this sort of failure. Thank goodness!
I agree 100%. I am a bonanza owner/pilot. Zoom into foreflight, head straight to the field. Don't give up any altitude until over HPN. HPN is giant field. Lots of open space. Tell controller to get everyone out of the way both in the air and on the field. Circle down using foreflight. Level off at 100 feet and take what's in front of you wings level, lowest speed. Add drag as necessary. To the loss of engine power. I wonder if he picked up ice in the air intake and filter and the alternate air gates didn't open.
On paper maybe. But in these conditions?
@@beno177 Train for the scenario and it gets very easy.
Absolutely. Get yourself to the airport using as much engine power you can get at the highest altitude. With the Bonanza you can get real high quality instruction through the ABS organization and I did simulated engine failures from the pattern. Funny thing, I had what turned out to be a non-problem a couple months after this training and got myself right into position at an airport "just in case" until I got it sorted out. I did this almost entirely using the Garmin and Foreflight as it was night. If I needed to I could have circled down. What happened in this case is a shame.
Excellent
Fantastic breakdown of this accident. You’re right… i would not be able to do ANY math in that situation. Cut through the normal and get on the ground and walk away. Keep it simple. I’m heavy hearted for this pilot and his family.
Thank you for your thoughts. I totally agree that keeping it simple is the best approach. My worst nightmare would be in IMC at night, with a failing engine. Yes, looking at the map on the iPad and heading straight to the airport is great advise. Thank you again.
Flying at night is something i always avoid and especially NEVER in IMC. Having an engine out during daylight VFR is hard enough to manage let alone flying in the dark.
Very well said. I concur.
Not sure I can agree with your logic train totally….but like you said they had no plan….heck Scott who would in this case. They were dead before they took off. You do not take flight in low IMC at night with one engine period. This pilot was not a test pilot and did not have the skill set of one, no matter how much glass, autopilot or even a chute. During the day maybe, but good training a key and lots of it. This was tragic in so many ways and just hope they did not suffer. May this drive home the reality of single engine flying in weather that is much worse then your capabilities and training. Gets me very very mad…who was their flight instructor and why did they not drive home the dangers. Ahhhhhh,,,
Thanks for your great work.
Scott you and Dan nailed it . I’m going to practice this with my instrument students and my instructor in my Bonanza.
Scott, I watched this on another channel and absolutely agree, DO NOT GIVE up altitude until you have the Runway or airport made. He descended from 5k to 3k with partial power as he was working around to get set up on the ILS. I agree, open airport is a known, in that there are no trees and open space to spread the stopping out over some ground. I think ATC could use some guidance in these also, rather than treating a single engine problem as normal descent pattern, maybe ATC could suggest hold altitude until airport made. This pilot was overloaded and was doing what ATC advised. Just think all can learn from this incident. A plane will ALWAYS COME DOWN, without an engine it will not go up!
100%
@@torgy3 Same - 100% agreed. ATC is probably worried if they suggest something non-standard and it turns out bad that they will be "blamed". Perhaps they can use words like "fly the airplane" - "conserve your altitude" - "go where you need to" - "consider staying within gliding range of the airport" when they detect stress. This is really hard of course since every pilot is different and ATC can't know if the pilot is under stress, or just busy in the cockpit with normal stuff.
Constructive analysis of these kinds of accidents will help us all, and I'm happy that Scott is doing this. 👍
My CFI always said Pitch for best glide and Point to the numbers (or the last beach/field/golf course you saw/see). Only then should you start your engine out memory items. Finally you declare.
The number of times he turned away from the ONLY place he could get down just pained me (VAS radar track).
Thanks!
Thanks Jay!
Great video!
Priceless!!!!
Thank you, one of your BEST.
EVER.
If Blanco wouldn't start shooting in a fit of jealousy, you'd get a big smoochies and a shmax, on the rump.
My instructor told me during my initial flight instruction: “Ya gotta know when to leave it in the hangar”.
Great advice here. Thanks
this is by far the best take on how to approach this type of situation
These tragic situations certainly are learning opportunities, Dad flew 40 years in the western arctic and he had at least one engine failure per year, mostly in single engine aircraft like Cessna 180/185 and Helio Courier, on floats, ski's,& wheels but also in twins too, he would say the key to surviving aviation is knowing your limits. This was a pilot making decisions that put him beyond his limits. Once panic sets in ones abilities decrease. Dad had a method for not letting fear overcome him in dire situation's, crazy as it sounds he said he bit his lip and the pain made him forget his fear. He died of natural causes
Great story, thanks!
Great video. Thanks Scott. I’ll think it over!
Another great job breaking this down and explaining things. I hope everyone understands that you're doing these to try to get others to think and not for clicks or clout. As always thanks Scott for taking the time to put these together.
Thank you for your assessment of this crash!
Excellent analysis and advice
Great discription of real options!!
Thanks for sharing your ideas on keeping it simple. Nice video, although sad but many will learn from it.
XAVION people, XAVION!! It’s an app, it’s inexpensive and it’s astounding! You can lose your engine, pitot system, electrical system, vacuum system and STILL glide to the end of the runway. There’s a four minute video “engine failure in IFR with Xavion”. Austin Meyer is the genius who developed X-Plane. If I was still flying, I would never leave the ground without it. It would have easily saved this guy’s life.
Yeah, There's an App that will save our lives when its time to fly the plane. Who needs to know how to fly? Someone will develop an app for it. Why bother.
GPS and moving map displays (synthetic vision) have improved situational awareness immensely. Foreflight already has a glide advisor. They will most likely buy the rights to Austin Meyer's XAVION app.
For the price of one tank of gas you can buy a copy of X-plane, so you can practice the scenario (using Foreflight) that Scott Perdue recommended.
@@FlyWirescottperdue Scott, I’m not trying to be a smart ass and I don’t appreciate the sarcasm when it comes to safety. With your reach, you could make a real difference getting the word out. Look at Foreflight when it started versus how far it’s come. Why not try it out for yourself and make a video. I bet you’ll change your mind.
Outstanding breakdown and great advice. Many years ago I did aerial survey work in Cessna 210s, we could do all weather and about 70% of flights were at night. We flew with two pilots and we consistently were looking for landing areas in the event of a catastrophic engine failure. Even would tune airport frequencies and click on the runway lights. Heart goes out to those involved. Thought the controller did well with “just go wing’s level, don’t care what heading “.
This pilot handed over authority to the controller in the name of "this is how I've made approaches before so let's do it that way again." I would not have accepted vectors for anything but direct to the airport (unless I had gobs of altitude, and could intercept the glideslope from above). That said, I had a partial engine failure in hard VFR 5500 feet above the Danbury airport enroute to western Massachusetts. I lost 1000 feet or so, was all set up and prepared to circle over the approach end, straighten out and land, and then the engine shook itself awake. This is where I made a real mistake: with the engine putting out power and the airplane back in a climb, I decided to continue on to Barnes Westfield in Massachusetts. It seemed like a fine idea until the engine RPMs fell once again, the engine began to shake, and I was back in an unplanned descent too far from Danbury to land.
In the glide, the engine came back to life once more. I climbed, fixated on getting back to my home field and mechanic. It happened a third time, but now, at least I could see KBAF. I slowed to best glide, the engine (again) woke back up and I made it to the runway with, as things turned out, one live cylinder out of six (the others were suffering from overheat, coked oil and shorted out plugs from said oil being splashed on them).
The lesson for me (now) is this: don't waste a good runway that's in your hands for anything. Problems are always better solved on the ground, even if that ground is not your home field.
Another excellent video!
Wow, another great analysis!
Excellent thoughts!!!
Scott - thank you for your videos and commitment to this channel! Part of my essential continuing pilot training.. You really got me thinking about this one, which should make me better prepared if it happened to me.
I appreciate that! Glad to hear it’s got you thinking about ‘what ifs’
A lot of points to give some thought to. Thanks.
Great advice Scott! This is a must see video for pilots. I’m not blaming ATC but I do think some rethinking of ATC procedures in these type emergencies should be considered immediately. Thanks for this video.
Having had a fuel delivery problem once and not being over an airport, maintaining altitude became my main plan if I have a problem.
Good job. The big takeaway here is ADM. you’re in a poorly maintained rented bonanza, night, known IMC, no VFR weather anywhere, no space between the earth and lowest layer. Shoulda gone to the hotel. $139 Hampton inn has been my choice a lot. After you’re in the air you got no choice except head direct to any airport and hope for the best. You can “not” get vectors for an approach with a known sick engine. ASEL RULE:
Night
IMC
Terrain
Ice
You gotta be pretty sophisticated to pick more than one of these.
Dan you nailed it! I’m going to practice this with my instrument, students and my instructor in my bonanza.
100%...I have thought about this before...First of all, I like to have circling minimums at all times underneath me in a single (not just at the destination)...Secondly, If I do have an issue, I am flying direct to the largest possible airport in my glide ring and will circle just like a vfr engine out, using synthetic vision and my ipad to set myself up for a normal power of 180....gear up...try to make the runway, atleast the runway environment and always always always maintain airspeed all the way to the ground...If i can't make it overhead, no way am I going to the FAF...im loading the approach, aiming about a 1/4 mile to the end of the runway and doing it blind and hoping I don't find that one errant tower...
PFDs are a great resource in the cockpit even in VFR flying. I use Garmin Pilot and I have in installed on both my tablet and my cellphone so I will always have it handy. The GPS on them is also very accurate and basicaly can get you down to the threshold. Sometimes I will go up with a safety pilot and demonstrate a similar scenario under the hood where I will use basic VFR instruments and a PFD to fly down to the runway.
Might be of great benefit to do the same senario with a simulated failed engine.
Thank you for the video, that was an eye opener!
Direct to the airport and spiral down in the best strategy, I have done this and it worked!
Back in the day I worked on a Piper Super Cub fish spotter with a belly tank. Fog would roll in from the ocean a few miles away. The pilot used his boat Loran get over the field & would spiral down & land on whatever runway came into sight. Which is similar to what your saying. Probably easier with the new GPS apps.
Wise words. Maximise the chance of success.
Was it Chuck Yager or Grissom who said "Any landing you can walk away from. And if you can use the airplane again on the next day, it was a really GREAT landing."
Sounds like Bob Hoover.
@@FlyWirescottperdue 👍
Great note you put up on emergency circling approach. I think I'm going to put in my RV's POH
Brilliant, but simple Scott! Fly direct to airport, then determine next step. At least you’ll have altitude and maybe time to plan next step. Too many what if variables, and to think you’ve got time to fly an approach, think again!
In my over 45 years flying IFR / IMC in singles and multis, you need to visualize the what if! If single IFR, factor in WX before you even get started. I now fly a Caravan, IMC nearly everyday, known light icing is okay, but where are YOUR personal limits? Add the night into the mix, just compounds the amount of problems given an engine failure.
Example, if you file IFR at night, single piston engine, you need to determine your own ceiling limit at departure, enroute, and arrival, to know you have sufficient AGL that given an engine failure or other in flight emergency, you can break out with some margin to glide towards the lights of something.
Most often a road or highway will be assessable. If an airport is handy, we’ll obviously the best choice. But you can build those variables into your flight plan as what ifs. No flight, even revenue flights are that important that you can’t reconsider the odds. The Caravan’s PT6 turbine is 99.9999% reliable, but not 100%, even when you factor out pilot variables and complacency. Your Alternate Minima is only helpful if you can get there! This holds true even for multi engines, fuel issues, Vmc aspects, and so on.
Personally, I have my own minimums that I consider on each leg. Get home itis will starve you of options. Swiss cheese, or the domino effect can creep on you if unprepared.
In short, there is no assurance in flying night, single pilot, IFR, IMC, no matter what avionics you trust. Power is Altitude! No power, you’re coming down eventually! Do you feel lucky?
Great comment, thanks!
Very bad situation! RIP!! That’s why I chosed to upgrade my GTN750 to the Xi with smart glide so in such a horrible situation I hope it helps. But first of all, I would probably try to stay out of these conditions. I try to avoid even VFR at night. Maybe coming home flying into the night, but I wouldn’t take off into the night. Even VFR. Let alone in IMC! If I had a turbine, or maybe a twin, that’s a different story.
If you hit CC closed caption, it spells out a few words in communication w pilot and controller
I don't really understand why people try to do approaches in hard IMC in response to engine problems. Isn't it a hard requirement to have full or almost full engine power to fly the 3 degree glideslope that the approach will have you fly? If you're engine out, isn't your only option to spiral down into the pattern until you break out? I'm not instrument rated, so I'm very confused by this.
Pretty much you got it right.
Wish this guy could be my flight instructor
I'm a 160hr non-instrument-rated pilot. Among my personal minimums, I don't fly at night. I've done it twice; for my night CC in training and my ten landings. If I ever get my instrument rating (and I'm running out of runway to do that), I will still never fly single-engine at night.
Outstanding analysis, Scott, thank you! Unfortunately, the adage of "Use your expert Aeronautical Decision Making (ADE), so you don't have to use your expert Airmanship Skills (AMS)" maybe got lost somewhere here especially when you already at the point of zero failure tolerance. Appreciate you, Scott!
Night, IMC, Single Engine… nope, I don’t need to get anywhere that bad.
I think I'd opt for direct to the airport first and vectors or fly the moving map to a somewhere on close to the end of the runway, as a dead-stick ILS is pretty demanding High risk prospect.
Makes me think of Dan Grinder, AQP and something to train with an instructor
Outstanding, Scott. Thanks for your wisdom.
I was very impressed with the help the controller offered, starting with the suggestion of landing at HPN and sorting out the problem.
Night, low IMC, ice, terrain (not as bad as Sierras but still) - I would take any one of them at a time. Two or more - no go (A36TN with anti ice).
Scott, My plane is in the shop getting a full glass panel. I was just thinking about this scenario last night (since "thinking about flying" is all I can do for now). I.e. losing an engine and ending up too high over an airport! I was thinking about this as a possibility since fuel lines were repiped and there could be a higher risk something gets into the carb jet. I wonder how "SmartGlide" would handle it? I'm 66 and just got my private a year and a half ago. Didn't discuss this scenario in training. Just practiced engine outs at pattern altitude. Should practice them at several altitudes above that. Guess what I will be doing when I get back in the air! Thanks for the insights!
Great to hear Joe! Keep training!
Night, icing, snow, bad viz. what was this man thinking? In those conditions, you are betting your ass on a good engine. As my primary helicopter instructor used to say.
Sad situation. 8( I liked plan HI the best. (Holiday Inn) There was never any sign of any engine issue before that moment it lost oil pressure? Run up, prop cycle? It sure picked a bad time to fail!! God Speed to the gentlemen on board. --gary
The Bonanza Aux Air Door is inside the engine compartment and is spring loaded. The intake is just below the prop spinner. I don’t think intake ice was an issue.
My strategy would be not to take off in this type of weather.
Yup, IMC and night combined very challenging
What's the old advice we got in the 70s in aviation class "Fly the plane".
😎
Good video. A lot of positive comments below. However, I will take the contrarian view. Where is the ADM? Night IMC in bad weather, why? I wouldn't even attempt that in my FIKI certified aircraft with a parachute.
6500’ of runway should be enough to get it down without an ILS.
Do pilots learn, over time and experience, to filter out all the static in radio transmissions?
👍☑ cut through the BS, great advise Scott.
I'm not a pilot. I can't understand how someone ends up in a situation like this. I wouldn't fly a plane like that if there was even a small chance of weather.
or...When you wished you had pursued that Airship License instead.
Sounds like he may of had ice building on the wings and in the air induction system. Since this plane does not have a carburetor, it is possible to get ice in front of the air filter and the induction passages to it. Any case, shouldn’t have even tried to fly that night. If this aircraft is equipped with cowl flaps, I’d choose to leave them closed during these conditions.
Maybe don’t take off at night into low ifr and icing conditions.
Aside from the fact that this flight probably shouldn't have been attempted, it's infuriating how long this pilot waited to declare an emergency. If you're only getting 200ft/min in a Bonanza, that's a clear problem and an emergency. Even after he realizes he's losing a cylinder he diverts but still doesn't declare. Only declares when it's clear the engine is dying. ATC even tried to prod him and he declined.
High and over the airport. Just "circle down" you say. That is what I actually had to do once in my Cessna 150F (N8914S) with it's "ice box" of a carburetor.
I was flying my 150 out of Santa Ynez to San Jose after attending a wedding for a friend with my soon to be wife. I decided to climb to 8500ft for favorable winds. By the time we had gotten to 8500ft we had passed Santa Maria Airport by a couple of miles. Not long after reaching 8500ft the engine started to run rough. It being high 90's on the ground I would have never suspected ice (it was ice but we'll get to that). I tried changing the mixture and even did try carb heat but you know the engine got even more rough and turned carb heat off (yeah we had ice but helmet fire and loosing more power was "scary"). So instead I just adjusted the mixture best I could to maintain a little over 1000 RPM. Fortunately, I was on flight following and when I reported engine trouble they declared the emergency for me. They advised Santa Maria was a couple miles behind me and vectored us back.
So there we were about 6500ft over the Santa Maria Airport. After about at least 3 circles we were on final for the middle of runway 30 an 8000ft runway. Wouldn't you guess about 100ft off the ground (where high outside air temps existed ) the engine came back with full power (yeah it was ice that finally melted on the way down). I of course landed and taxied to an FBO with a fire crew escort. I described the symptoms to mechanics on the ground and they said it was probably ice and to do a good run up before we left for San Jose. We made it home with no additional problems.
Three lessons. One, high and over the airport is not a problem. Just circle down and land. Two, you can get carb ice at high temperatures if there is enough humidity in the air. There is a chart you can see on the internet that shows it. You'd be surprised how high the temp can be and still get ice. Three, if you have carb ice the engine will run even more rough but if you leave it on for what seems uncomfortably long it will get better.
As always great analysis Scott! You're savin lives 😉
Ive heard the cleaned up version of the ATC audio on ATC point of view channel. I have been waiting for someone to go over this accident. They were texting family members their basically last goodbyes before this also. Law Enforcement that responded said the weather was terrible with constant lightning.
Fly trhe airplane, not the radios. Aviate, navigate, communicate. The pilot might have gotten out of this if he hadn't decided to say goodbye. Surprised Juan, Dan , and Scott have not mentioned this issue.
Never fly single engine IFR at night.
I can’t help but wonder with today’s technology that ATC could consider a glide ratio for vectoring. There is no sense in giving a dead stick for a barely flying airplane an ILS approach that was impossible. Some kind of vector to get at least on the localizer. As you pointed out the pilot can’t figure that out in an emergency. It would be nice for ATC to have some kind of tool for that. I fly with xAvion which constantly calculates a way to the nearest airport gliding and you just fly through the squares. Why can’t there be a ground based version of that with the controller continuously giving vectors to follow?
In fate is the hunter Gann talks about a cargo compartment fire in a DC4 which he did what You suggest
Panning wasn’t the order of the day here. The plan for that day in those conditions at night, should have been to try again after the weather improved.
With decades of failure analysis engineering experience, suggest never underestimating the seriousness of an anomaly which can quickly become a crisis if not managed properly.
Therefore the 6 Ps of success:
Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.
I’m not a pilot. Having a helmet fire is a good reason to keep me out of the air. I don’t know how you guys do it. Maybe only fly VFR? Cost/benefit analysis would never add up.
I wonder if the pilot immediately said mayday mayday mayday losing my engine, request immediate vectors to short final how this would have turned out.
going into the window and AC business? :)
Building a new hangar, you should see the other side;)
If a Bonanza can’t climb from 6k to 8k that is an emergency situation. Don’t talk yourself out of reality, accept it and deal with the problem immediately.