Clean, honest, and to the point. No fluff, no self praise, just clean presentation of information with NO Filler music. THANK YOU Scott for your time, experience and tossing your nickel on the grass.
It appears he had 3 weeks and some weekends to go to the airport and fill up the plane that he knew was low and he didn't do it, I assume knowing he had to do it during business hours. Flying a plane at night hoping for the best on fuel seems nuts and his pump stops make it clear that is what he did.
I am not a pilot but I am an investigator in a different field, your presentations are thorough, succinct and you are a gifted speaker. I enjoy your videos and appreciate your style very much!
My dad's buddy crashed at lake chataqua in NY last week. Stalled into trees after lotot... both him and CFI survived eith mostly missing teeth and some cuts. One regret he says is that he's seat belt was too loose. Buckle up and tighten up, you just never know. Cheers.
Channels like this one is what is what I love about TH-cam. Scott: You are a great teacher and communicator. Listening to you reminds me of hanging out the FBO of my local field on rainy or foggy morning’s waiting for the weather to clear so we could take off. That was a great opportunity to gather and talk with the other pilots all on the same “boat”. I enjoyed that almost as the actual flying!
Great video Scott! As a new pilot the thought of an emergency night landing scares the hell out of me. All the more to make sure every thing is in order before a night flight.
Hi Scott. You're so right about the old Get There Idis. Over the years too many people have lost their lives because they're in a hurry. It was one of the first things drilled into my head when I was learning to fly. You simply can't get there with out fuel. Thanks again for your Nickle in the Grass.
Magnificent video! In the 90s during my commercial training me & 2 friends took the Arrow from Corsicana, TX to Harlingen, TX for the CAF Airshow. Out in hot sun all day, we departed back to Corsicana close to sunset. We were all tired, hot, worn out. I was flying, one passenger was a student. About 30 minutes after sunset I had to ask the student/friend in the back seat to talk to me non-stop to keep me awake. I was close to nodding off. Yes, watch those hours awake/flying, and don't do long flights tired, at night!
I’m not a military guy, but a friend of mine had a brother in law that was a Navy Helo pilot and used to send Naval Aviation News back to my buddy. Loved reading Grandpa Pettyibone
I am not a pilot, but like to watch these videos. I do interact with doctors and they are very committed to helping others get better. Their training and work schedules are often punishing and they keep doing it at their expense, and their staff of nurses and clinic assistants. It is sad that there is a culture for doctors and other human services providers to push themselves to the limit. With fatal consequences as this case shows. Thanks Scott.
Scott Perdue: "You might learn something.' It's been 60 years but I still remember that military aviation shot at us newbies but it went, "pay attention and you might learn something."
Don’t stop making these videos; you are saving lives, Scott. You may never know particulars, but I PROMISE you are saving lives. And thx for your military service. We are grateful. I YOU have enough fuel to land in Nashville sometime lunch is on me.
Personally, I've always added 15 minutes to the FAR reserve requirements for both sets of flight rules. I never felt that it compromised my range, and time can pass very quickly when things don't go as planned. Your content is a real service to the pilot community, thank you.
Mine happened during the day (C-172M) but lots of altitude (3,000') over Sikorsky Mem Airport. Problem? High time engine and stuck exhaust valves (Boom!) That day ended in the chocks at the nearest FBO. I had the best instructors (Mike Visser, Johnny Bosko, Rudy Sues, Crazy George Taylor (LISA) and others in the Navy) Altitude is key, don't stretch it but for me I love flying I read everything, belong to clubs, watch "FlyWire" all that together is important to me. You do a good job Scott very useful channel, its easy to make mistakes always had Mike Visser on my shoulder "Going to make the field?" He would say. Was very useful to me saved my bacon a few times. In LISA (Long Island Soaring Assoc, Brookhaven, NY we had a genuine Luftwaffe pilot in our group those guys were GOOD, incredible stories about there training. I learned volumes from them got my C Badge at 19 yo.Oh and cant forget Gunny Bumbers (Also LISA) if you made a mistake and they saw it you would get hammered for it!
Yes. Army aviators can leap tall buildings. But we also know that fatigue is insidious. I remember one night after an all day at the gunnery range being so tired I couldn't remember how to land the helicopter. We all make mistakes, some of us are just lucky enough to survive them. Thx for your sober yet honest analysis.
Excellent ideas here.. Love living in Nebraska & South Dakota. Plenty of safe emergency roads for night use if ever needed but prevention is the lesson!
Thanks Scott. I could listen to you all you all day. Your expertise, personal safety margins, flying ethic, authority' of numbers, and safety consciousness is remarkable. Your students are fortunate to have you next to them, and we are all fortunate that you take the time to make.these videos to SAVE LIVES! I've become a much more mature pilot by studying accidents and causes/outcomes.
Thanks Scott for your evaluation! Your wisdom is a BLESSING to all; and your 'grey hair' is evidence that you've thrown a LOT of 'NICKELS ON THE GRASS'. Your GENEROSITY is a gift to all!
My rules on flying at night in a SEP, as you said...fly high.And when it comes to land, never go straight in. I would approach and overhead the field at minimum 1000 to 2000 ft. And then intiate a landing where i am sure to make it even without engine. But of course, fuel should never be in question!
I'm not a pilot but I love your analytical mind and It's good to hear a fellow service member talk common sense! Love your acronyms too! God Bless, keep up the great videos!
Scott, very important work here. As pilots we need to learn from others mistakes. An honest review of accidents like these helps all of us think about the responsibility we have as pilots. Running out of fuel seems like it could never happen to us as it is so simple to correct. Yet it happens several times a year. Good work here reminding us that there is only time in our tanks, regardless of who we are or where we are going.
Agreed. Made too many emergency runs to see sick family members in the middle of the night back when nothing was open for a hundred miles. I like to fill up when I get to a half tank.
Thank you Scott! At the beginning of your video I found myself asking... What more does a guy need to know from the FAA? Running out of gas- Bad! Ensuring you have enough gas- Good! But you brought up many other good points. If I ever get a pilot's license... I think I'll stick to flying when the sun is up!!!
Boggles the mind how many GA pilots simply jump into these things, and "drive off like they were cars". No checklists, no double, triple, quadruple redundancy checks....and so on. I'm willing to bet there are a ton of them who don't even get a proper weather briefing, and do the necessary due diligence to see if there is any change, just before departing. Flying at night in a single engine airplane is one of the most dangerous things you can do. It exponentially increases the risk, compared to daytime. If you lose an engine you literally have no clue where to "put it down". If you're over lights you can see, but there is most likely no place to land. If you're over the "dark ground" then it could be a field, a mountain, a lake or anything in between. Either way, you're stuck between 2 terrible choices! When I fly at *_night_* in a GA single, I don't take _ANY_ chances. It is literally a matter of life and death! I make sure there is plenty of fuel (much more than the FAA min reserve of 45 min), make sure every rod, nut and bolt on that plane is in good shape, make contingency plans (ask what if? questions), make a strategic plan to follow major roads, as far as possible, and even try my best, to fly within gliding distance of nearby airports. And generally fly at a much higher altitude to increase that gliding distance!
Sir, The video recap and evaluation of aviation accidents, I think, are of great value to current pilots and to those of us (like me) who are contemplating obtaining a private pilot license. The recap of the recent mishap from North Las Vegas provides a great example. If you are trained to do a specific task great but, do not fail to think outside the box if necessary. In other words, that pilot decided it was Henderson or bust. Broader thinking may have changed the outcome.
Amazed here that seemingly constant accident events occurring every week? Every other days? That is crazy & scary. Even veteran highly skilled and experienced too!
I owned a 182 for 26 years, selling it early this year. When I first bought it, I picked up two books with accident reports on the 182. One of them was actually assembled by the NTSB and contained the straight summaries. The other was compiled by a private author and categorized NTSB reports into causes (weather, continued flight into IMC, etc.) Like these videos, they are a tremendous resource, as instead of learning from your own poor decisions (and hopefully living through them,) this is a way of doing the same thing without the adrenaline. In 1700 hours, I had two fuel starvation near misses. One was a flight from San Diego (at night) to Lubbock, Texas.) I had an incredible tailwind so pushed past Roswell. Then the wind changed... Lesson learned: don't assume conditions will continue. The second time was on a return flight from Ocean City, MD to Manassas, VA. I didn't refuel because of payload and the brevity of the flight. But, ATC routed me north and made my flight nearly twice as long as I had planned, putting me near the "running on fumes" category. Lesson learned: let ATC know your constraints. It's sort of like sailing, if you're thinking about reefing, reef now. If your hands are sweating and you're wondering whether you should pull the trigger on a decision that will be inconvenient, pull the damn trigger - the decision should have already been made. Your videos are very well done and informative. Thanks.
With so many GA accidents lately. It makes you wonder whats going on? Many are not low time pilots. So it's not the lack of experience. Maybe a lack of proficiency? I think in this case he stacked the deck with getthereitis and exhaustion. Probably was too tired to remember to flip tanks. Priceless content as always! Thanks Scott. Keep up the great work!
@@FlyWirescottperdue Well said! Haha! We have had so many planes dropping out in California alone. Is it just more GA planes in the sky? And with very little FAA and NTSB investigation we need you and Juan at Blancolirio to help gain some clarity and get the teachable moments! Thanks again!
Here in the UK, it's me! Pilot Officer Prune and my Naval friend Sub-Lieutenant Swingit. We even had our own magazine, Tee Emm. Check it out, it's fascinating. ;-)
One hour of fuel cost $4 times 15 gph. It is crazy to fly at night if you don't have to and it is crazy to fly without enough fuel to make it where ever you are going. Thanks Scott for everything. Really enjoy your hanger.
Just came across your channel. Great job! I've just started getting my pilot license. About 4 hrs so far. I play flight simulators daily and fly ultralight aircraft. Any knowledge you share is a great learning experience for me and everyone else. Thank you for your time good sir. Rusty
These videos are fantastic and really important. I liked the ‘pilot first and the rest of your life after that’ comment, really good way of thinking about it.
Another great video. Unfortunately there have been too many crashes where fuel starvation has been an issue. If weight dictates you depart with less than full fuel then an give monitor essential. I personally have a 3 hour rule. I plan to land 3 hrs into the flight. This gives me time to stretch the legs, bathroom break AND refuel Just my personal rule but it works for me.
We had a doctor killed making the same mistake here locally. Flying at night, fuel starvation, hitting a tree he didn’t see. I simple don’t fly single engines at night, just not many engine failure options. If you like flying singles at night, it might be a good investment to install a parachute recovery system.
Thank you for your regular “what events and factors led to this” analyses. I know these are never happy stories to cover (or to study). But I feel compelled to try to learn from them and avoid these mistakes as a pilot. Sadly, weather, darkness, and fatigue are often overlooked as inputs in ADM as simple as go/no-go and fighting get-there-itis.
MKL (Jackson, Tennessee) is where I was born and raised, and don’t live far from there now. I’m so sorry to hear about this accident. Condolences to the family.
Great video Scott, I am making a list of everything I need to have in my airplane when the time comes to purchase (good engine monitor). I recently flew at night and since I am older I just really dont like it as much anymore. I was at 11.5 going and 12.5 coming back and pretty much had a big divided highway with glide the entire time. Anyway, keep it up “A good pilot is always learning”.
engine monitor but also study how to interpret things. use normalize mode. do things like a visual check of the valve heads / cylinder at frequent intervals. even between annual inspections if you fly a lot hrs and/or imc. all those things are risk mitigators. doesn't guarantee nothing is going to happen. but at least it gives you your best shot. I had sudden engine failure at night imc/ifr over Tahoe (non-icing conditions). I even had a night vision device.
I was on the way to Osh Kosh one year and had landed for fuel. After take off, my co-pilot and I debated whether our low fuel gauges should be believed, after all, we KNEW we had just purchased fuel and we watched the guy put it in the tank. Fortunately, we elected to "play it safe" and landed at a nearby field. Turns out, the fuel guy had not put the caps back on the tanks and the fuel siphoned out during our short flight. We were wrong for not checking the caps on our pre-flight, we had to refuel and PAY for it at a different field. In this case, the pilot obviously knew he was on thin ice and his decision to proceed proved fatal. I was very lucky during my private pilot career and made my share of bad decisions.
3:50. I agree to a point reading about accidents can improve your awareness. however I was doing so often it started affecting my confidence level because my head was constantly filled with possible accident scenarios. I only occasionally look accidents up these days ..
The point of reviewing accidents is NOT the scenario. It's pulling the, lessons from them and incorporating them into your mindset. That is what makes us better, safer, pilots.
G'day Scott......Thanks for all your videos and your effort to keep people alive....That's more than can be said for yours and our authorities!, just my opinion! I believe military training is what makes the difference. This can be seen between yourself, Juan Brown, Dan Gryder and of course of the legend himself Chuck. My question is how can we get military influences in our flying, given that the overwhelming majority of us pilots will not ever be subjected to such incredible training and cultures? Our only answer is watching credible airmen like yourself sharing safety systems. Thanks again.
i am not a pilot. this is still interesting and well presented. my dad had a private license when my brothers and i were kids. hard to imagine dad having all this knowledge, we always returned safely.
Scott, Great Job it is always appreciated. I just don't understand why we allow fuel starvation to happen over and over. I'm not perfect by no means always learning but man oh man. First thing I did to my A36 was to install the EDM 930 best thing I could have done! Its a tool though it didn't change my fuel reserve personal rules. Thanks Again for what you do
Hey. I’ve never gone through the process of completing my private pilots license process, started 15 years ago and quit when my instructor deployed. I have an interest mainly in the warbird sector of aviation but obviously will be training and probably owning a light GA aircraft. I find these videos to be very helpful in knowing what not to do before I commence my pilot training, in that environment I’m already trying to absorb a lot of information anyways. Helps to have already thought about things that can cause problems in the future.
Scott, you mentioned doctors with stuff to do the next day. I was partners with two doctors in an A-36. One of them was experienced and he also owned an F-33. He invited the other doctor to join our partnership and as most of my flying was for business during the week and theirs was weekends. Three pockets are better than two when it comes to airplanes. I told him I was OK with it if the insurance company was. The new partner had about 250 hours in a Sierra but he wasn’t instrument rated. He got the requisite instruction and dual time in our Bonanza and was cleared by the insurance company. He flew the airplane solo from Atlanta to Orlando where he spent the weekend with family. He had surgery scheduled for early Monday morning back home. He also attended a Flight Safety instrument ground school on that weekend Saturday. So, on Sunday night (Super Bowl night, in fact), he left Orlando for Atlanta. I don’t know if he got a weather briefing or what the forecast was, but it was around 1 mile and 400 ft by the time he got to Atlanta around 2030. He was on a VFR flight plan and flew into the deteriorating weather system. He requested vectors to the the airport (this was before GPS) and attempted to make an approach. The approach has an ILS and the airplane was equipped with an autopilot that would have assisted in flying the approach had he known how to use it properly. He had to go missed approach and lost control due to spatial disorientation in weather at night. He came down in a large factory parking lot right-side up at around 250 mph. The airplane hit an embankment at the end of the lot and stopped in the parking lot of an adjoining business. I happened to be at our other partner’s home that night for a Super Bowl party and we had just sat down to dinner at halftime when the call came in from the airport fire department. We drove over to the scene. On first glance from behind the yellow tape, the airplane was sitting on the pavement and did no appear to be severely damaged except in the nose and the bottom skin. The pilot could be seen in the seat, but he was dead.
@@FlyWirescottperdue True, Scott. And the very first one is know your airplane and it’s systems capability. Second; get your instrument rating if you are going to be anything other than a local fair-weather flyer. I’m not picking on “doctors and lawyers” as more businessmen own airplanes than they do, but my experience with them as a financial advisor is often the “I can figure it out myself” attitude due to their intellect. Well, in an airplane you can’t just pull over to the side of the road and call AAA like you can if your Mercedes has a problem. They are always pushed for time, which I believe limits their ability to get thoroughly trained and practice.
@@maxcorder2211 I work with world class MD's designing very sophisticated lifesaving complex electronic photonics medical equipment. Most MD's are not that smart but they sure have an entitled arrogant attitude! I was more pushed for time, I worked much longer hours than MD's (under duress 80-90 hr/wk at a fraction of the salary) and I flew very hard IMC on a Friday night / Monday morning over Tahoe in an older Mooney). One time, I lost my engine at the worst point. But like suggested in this video, I flew high and so I had more options. Nowadays, I see a similar pattern with rich "SW tech" people. Many SW folks don't have the broader understanding of the physical world. Similar issues, participation trophy or as in the old days, "more money than brains".
Scott is becoming the master, emphasizing the mistakes we've made in our past history so those in the future could avoid, the man's got credentials family tradition the one call you definitely want to be prepared for protocol expect it all, once again exquisite presentation , and interpretation on logistics, the one guy I would get high with anytime :-)
I've angered people for refusing to drive when I was too tired but I think that still seems more understandable to people. If you need to go somewhere, chances are it's at least a little important but if people can be annoyed but ultimately understand you not driving when you're tired, then people ought to learn to be even more okay with someone not flying because they're tired. It's hard to tell when you're tired though so I personally set some limits based on how long I've been up and/or when I expect to go to sleep with a good-sized margin just in case.
Single engine failure at night has got to be one of the worst scenarios to be in. I haven't done any night training yet. I don't even yet know what procedures are or done differently as far as the approach and altitude if any. I was wondering when you said what if the engine failed on descent at night. Would it make sense to stay high until close or above the airport and then drop down in a descending pattern? Is that something any pilot has done? Im now thinking about this scenario. In this moment it makes sense and to also climb out to altitude before departing the area. Always value your input. I have an amazing 2nd gen instructor and im fully confident that when I get to the night flying portion of training I will be in good hands. I trust yours and his instruction over my own thoughts of what may make sense to me.
I’m a pilot and A&P. I got started in 1989 and quickly decided that I’ll never trust an aircraft fuel gauge. Begin a trip by visually verifying how much fuel onboard. And during flight use my watch or timer to account for fuel burn based on my real life experience of how much fuel the aircraft burns per hour. And keep my figures on the conservative side. If my airplane burns around 8 or 8.5 gal per hour then let’s just call it 10 gal per hour to be on the safe side. This way I’ll always need to stop to pee long before I’m ever even close to running out of fuel. Edit: I forgot to say...keep a written note of fuel quantity at departure and a tally of time elapsed as well as which tank and when I switch tanks.
My first thought is condolences to the family and friends of this pilot. I hope we all can learn from what seems like a simple mistake, but one that can cost the ultimate price. Very informative video. I haul fuel (Motion Lotion) for a living and if I ran out, I would be incredibly embarrassed. That being said, I can pull over and stop and don’t have to worry about gliding to my next or final landing spot.
Great video, I have an uncle that managed to fly commercial all over the world but he doesn't seem to have nearly the common sense you do about flying. He was a procedure following guy but not a real aviator like yourself I was amazed when he couldn't understand the dynamic of backing up a trailer, and yet he flew all those people around.
I have had a fuel monitor as long as I had an aircraft, it was one of the first mods. However, my rental days all convinced me that "fly by time" is the best rule. Might as well cover the fuel quantity gauges with tape. get a rule of thumb calculation for fuel burn per hour, then fill the tank and tell yourself how much time you have in hours, and count it off. One thing I note from your accident series is that the pilots who concentrated on getting the airplane slow before impacting the ground lived, including that one that hit high trees. Getting an airplane down to freeway speeds makes the accident survivable.
@FLYWIRE-Scott Perdue. I learned about myself that as midnight approaches, exhaustion suppresses the tempo of my critical decision-making. At the end of long flights, my body is not rested, my blood sugar may be low, my hydration is often low, my bladder is often near full, and if I’m at an altitude somewhat above my home base altitude (and who isn’t?) my oxygen saturation is below optimal ... all factors to some degree that sum together influencing the analytical functions of my brain that supports effective decision-making. At this point, my brain is hoarding brain energy, suppressing/conserving uses of remaining brain energy. A subconscious autonomous conservation of remaining brain energy. This conservation diminishes my forward thinking, suppresses more complex analytical calculations, especially ones like evaluating and re-evaluating time of fuel remaining at arrival. My brain simply stops the mental gymnastics as my brain approaches exhaustion attempting to conserve enough to approach and land the airplane ... What can I do to combat this? Respect my circadian rhythm and stop flights earlier in the evening coordinated with my increasing age. Maybe in my twenties, I could whoop it up all night, yet in my 60s, I must stick to my bedtime schedule. Respect my circadian rhythm. Pilots in their 5th decades of life don’t belong airborne near or after midnight in those nighttime hours when they are typically asleep. Or they must shift their sleep time by going something like regularly to bed at 0200, awakening at 1000 or later. Breathe supplemental oxygen from liftoff to landing on every flight without regard to any altitude choices. Adequate oxygen reduces body and brain fatigue, and it’s cheap. Train pilots to use it on every flight. Keep the brain in peak form. Drink water during every flight. I know commercial pilots often drink nothing until the last hour of a flight. Is that smart? Eat readily digestible calories on a regular tempo during the flight, and especially consume some to boost blood sugar before beginning descent. Empty bladder before it becomes full (which can expose us to some embarrassment - which is better to suffer than a flight mishap while distracted by an over full bladder). Stare at this->So many accidents occur during the final few minutes of flight - wonder if the real links in the accident chain are physiological causes inside the pilot ... that we can better manage and defeat. Learn to manage the pilot, the weather, the airplane as a symbiotic combination. What do you think?
I nearly ran out of fuel ...Concerned I borrowed the Motel owners truck and bought some mogas at the servo. I think this may have saved my life...I kept thinking I might be a statistic and my peers saying "what a mug."..
Also, although no one talks of this much, I get the sense most GA pilots secretly long for a much greater range so they don't have to land as frequently for fuel. If true, this definitely means the current fuel instrumentation is inadequate for its mission.
Clean, honest, and to the point. No fluff, no self praise, just clean presentation of information with NO Filler music. THANK YOU Scott for your time, experience and tossing your nickel on the grass.
I appreciate that!
It appears he had 3 weeks and some weekends to go to the airport and fill up the plane that he knew was low and he didn't do it, I assume knowing he had to do it during business hours. Flying a plane at night hoping for the best on fuel seems nuts and his pump stops make it clear that is what he did.
Superb description and analysis of the accident. I learned so much on this channel, much more than any other channel regarding aviation accidents.
What he said, very well presented video
Very good briefing. This guy was not a pilot he was a Doctor that flys . A pilot would never run out of fuel.
This Man Does a Great Job... One of The Main Reasons He's So Good,,,, "He Knows What He's Talking About",,,,
Thanks BigWheel!
I am not a pilot but I am an investigator in a different field, your presentations are thorough, succinct and you are a gifted speaker. I enjoy your videos and appreciate your style very much!
Wow, thank you Kevin!
My dad's buddy crashed at lake chataqua in NY last week. Stalled into trees after lotot... both him and CFI survived eith mostly missing teeth and some cuts. One regret he says is that he's seat belt was too loose. Buckle up and tighten up, you just never know. Cheers.
Thank you Scott. You are making a difference and making safer pilots out of us. Please keep sharing your knowledge. Blessings ......
Thank you Adam!
Now this is the kind of no nonsense presentation every general aviation pilot needs.
Thanks Robin!
Channels like this one is what is what I love about TH-cam. Scott: You are a great teacher and communicator. Listening to you reminds me of hanging out the FBO of my local field on rainy or foggy morning’s waiting for the weather to clear so we could take off. That was a great opportunity to gather and talk with the other pilots all on the same “boat”. I enjoyed that almost as the actual flying!
Great video Scott! As a new pilot the thought of an emergency night landing scares the hell out of me. All the more to make sure every thing is in order before a night flight.
Thanks, and I totally agree!!
If you want to become an old pilot avoid night, mountains and
large bodies of water.
Hi Scott. You're so right about the old Get There Idis. Over the years too many people have lost their lives because they're in a hurry. It was one of the first things drilled into my head when I was learning to fly. You simply can't get there with out fuel. Thanks again for your Nickle in the Grass.
Magnificent video! In the 90s during my commercial training me & 2 friends took the Arrow from Corsicana, TX to Harlingen, TX for the CAF Airshow. Out in hot sun all day, we departed back to Corsicana close to sunset. We were all tired, hot, worn out. I was flying, one passenger was a student. About 30 minutes after sunset I had to ask the student/friend in the back seat to talk to me non-stop to keep me awake. I was close to nodding off. Yes, watch those hours awake/flying, and don't do long flights tired, at night!
I’m not a military guy, but a friend of mine had a brother in law that was a Navy Helo pilot and used to send Naval Aviation News back to my buddy. Loved reading Grandpa Pettyibone
I am not a pilot, but like to watch these videos. I do interact with doctors and they are very committed to helping others get better. Their training and work schedules are often punishing and they keep doing it at their expense, and their staff of nurses and clinic assistants. It is sad that there is a culture for doctors and other human services providers to push themselves to the limit. With fatal consequences as this case shows. Thanks Scott.
Very good video! Grandpa Pettibone....brings back memories.
Scott Perdue: "You might learn something.'
It's been 60 years but I still remember that military aviation shot at us newbies but it went, "pay attention and you might learn something."
Hopefully learn something all the time!
Thankyou for "let's not wait 2 years for the NTSB to complete it's report." Your logic and reason is spot on! Been there, done that, learned lessons!
Don’t stop making these videos; you are saving lives, Scott. You may never know particulars, but I PROMISE you are saving lives. And thx for your military service. We are grateful. I YOU have enough fuel to land in Nashville sometime lunch is on me.
Thanks Michael- I'll make it to Nashville one of these days.
"Why even bother?" Said it all!
You are a great communicator. Really love your factual non emotive analysis.
Thanks, I appreciate it!
Personally, I've always added 15 minutes to the FAR reserve requirements for both sets of flight rules. I never felt that it compromised my range, and time can pass very quickly when things don't go as planned. Your content is a real service to the pilot community, thank you.
Mine happened during the day (C-172M) but lots of altitude (3,000') over Sikorsky Mem Airport. Problem? High time engine and stuck exhaust valves (Boom!) That day ended in the chocks at the nearest FBO. I had the best instructors (Mike Visser, Johnny Bosko, Rudy Sues, Crazy George Taylor (LISA) and others in the Navy) Altitude is key, don't stretch it but for me I love flying I read everything, belong to clubs, watch "FlyWire" all that together is important to me. You do a good job Scott very useful channel, its easy to make mistakes always had Mike Visser on my shoulder "Going to make the field?" He would say. Was very useful to me saved my bacon a few times. In LISA (Long Island Soaring Assoc, Brookhaven, NY we had a genuine Luftwaffe pilot in our group those guys were GOOD, incredible stories about there training. I learned volumes from them got my C Badge at 19 yo.Oh and cant forget Gunny Bumbers (Also LISA) if you made a mistake and they saw it you would get hammered for it!
Yes. Army aviators can leap tall buildings. But we also know that fatigue is insidious. I remember one night after an all day at the gunnery range being so tired I couldn't remember how to land the helicopter. We all make mistakes, some of us are just lucky enough to survive them. Thx for your sober yet honest analysis.
Excellent ideas here.. Love living in Nebraska & South Dakota. Plenty of safe emergency roads for night use if ever needed but prevention is the lesson!
Thanks Scott. I could listen to you all you all day. Your expertise, personal safety margins, flying ethic, authority' of numbers, and safety consciousness is remarkable. Your students are fortunate to have you next to them, and we are all fortunate that you take the time to make.these videos to SAVE LIVES! I've become a much more mature pilot by studying accidents and causes/outcomes.
Thanks Scott for your evaluation! Your wisdom is a BLESSING to all; and your 'grey hair' is evidence that you've thrown a LOT of 'NICKELS ON THE GRASS'. Your GENEROSITY is a gift to all!
I appreciate that! I try to ignore the grey hair.
My rules on flying at night in a SEP, as you said...fly high.And when it comes to land, never go straight in. I would approach and overhead the field at minimum 1000 to 2000 ft.
And then intiate a landing where i am sure to make it even without engine.
But of course, fuel should never be in question!
Your presentation is EXCELLENT and extremely vital to flying safety. Thank you for your video
Thank you too!
I love the Grandpa Pettibone reference! I read many of his missives when I was in the Navy!
Thanks Bob, that's the approach I take in my Accident Reviews. Hopefully we all learn something!
I'm not a pilot but I love your analytical mind and It's good to hear a fellow service member talk common sense! Love your acronyms too! God Bless, keep up the great videos!
I can only talk in abbreviations;)
Scott, very important work here. As pilots we need to learn from others mistakes. An honest review of accidents like these helps all of us think about the responsibility we have as pilots. Running out of fuel seems like it could never happen to us as it is so simple to correct. Yet it happens several times a year. Good work here reminding us that there is only time in our tanks, regardless of who we are or where we are going.
Thanks Jim! Time is what we have.... enjoy it while you've got it!
Top notch reviews/investigative follow-up on these accidents, much thanks Scott..
The a thirty six is just such a beautiful airplane. This was the best piston powered airplane single engine I ever flew.
Honestly, i don’t even let my car go under 1/4 tank let alone my airplane.
That sounds like a good plan!
Agreed. Made too many emergency runs to see sick family members in the middle of the night back when nothing was open for a hundred miles. I like to fill up when I get to a half tank.
@@gomphrena-beautifulflower-8043 Good plan!
Absolutely the right plan to follow sir ! Don't push it on fuel - easily controlled !
Great job, thank you for this accident review.
you sir, should be proud, because through these videos, for sure (statically speaking) you probably already saved a few lives so far.... so, congrats!
Your dedication to teaching and to replying to all of these comments is inspiring.
Thanks Andrew! Sometimes it isn't easy.
Thank you Scott! At the beginning of your video I found myself asking... What more does a guy need to know from the FAA? Running out of gas- Bad! Ensuring you have enough gas- Good! But you brought up many other good points. If I ever get a pilot's license... I think I'll stick to flying when the sun is up!!!
Boggles the mind how many GA pilots simply jump into these things, and "drive off like they were cars". No checklists, no double, triple, quadruple redundancy checks....and so on. I'm willing to bet there are a ton of them who don't even get a proper weather briefing, and do the necessary due diligence to see if there is any change, just before departing.
Flying at night in a single engine airplane is one of the most dangerous things you can do. It exponentially increases the risk, compared to daytime. If you lose an engine you literally have no clue where to "put it down". If you're over lights you can see, but there is most likely no place to land. If you're over the "dark ground" then it could be a field, a mountain, a lake or anything in between. Either way, you're stuck between 2 terrible choices!
When I fly at *_night_* in a GA single, I don't take _ANY_ chances. It is literally a matter of life and death! I make sure there is plenty of fuel (much more than the FAA min reserve of 45 min), make sure every rod, nut and bolt on that plane is in good shape, make contingency plans (ask what if? questions), make a strategic plan to follow major roads, as far as possible, and even try my best, to fly within gliding distance of nearby airports. And generally fly at a much higher altitude to increase that gliding distance!
I totally agree with your excellent points!
That’s why we fly a plane with a parachute :)
Great video! Keep up the fantastic work.
Sir, The video recap and evaluation of aviation accidents, I think, are of great value to current pilots and to those of us (like me) who are contemplating obtaining a private pilot license. The recap of the recent mishap from North Las Vegas provides a great example. If you are trained to do a specific task great but, do not fail to think outside the box if necessary. In other words, that pilot decided it was Henderson or bust. Broader thinking may have changed the outcome.
Thank you for watching and for commenting! Hopefully I can keep you interested.
Amazed here that seemingly constant accident events occurring every week? Every other days? That is crazy & scary. Even veteran highly skilled and experienced too!
These accident review videos of yours are really excellent. No doubt they will save lives.
Thanks, I hope so!
I owned a 182 for 26 years, selling it early this year. When I first bought it, I picked up two books with accident reports on the 182. One of them was actually assembled by the NTSB and contained the straight summaries. The other was compiled by a private author and categorized NTSB reports into causes (weather, continued flight into IMC, etc.) Like these videos, they are a tremendous resource, as instead of learning from your own poor decisions (and hopefully living through them,) this is a way of doing the same thing without the adrenaline.
In 1700 hours, I had two fuel starvation near misses. One was a flight from San Diego (at night) to Lubbock, Texas.) I had an incredible tailwind so pushed past Roswell. Then the wind changed... Lesson learned: don't assume conditions will continue. The second time was on a return flight from Ocean City, MD to Manassas, VA. I didn't refuel because of payload and the brevity of the flight. But, ATC routed me north and made my flight nearly twice as long as I had planned, putting me near the "running on fumes" category. Lesson learned: let ATC know your constraints. It's sort of like sailing, if you're thinking about reefing, reef now. If your hands are sweating and you're wondering whether you should pull the trigger on a decision that will be inconvenient, pull the damn trigger - the decision should have already been made.
Your videos are very well done and informative. Thanks.
Keep doing these videos... So many good points, for all of us to reference.... Outstanding! ANC always in that order...
Thank you! Will do!
Thanks Scott. I appreciate your continued efforts on improving safety and sharing your aeronautical wisdom / experience.
I appreciate that!
Thanks for sharing these accident reviews Sir..much appreciated!
You bet, glad you like them!
Great video, and thanks for your efforts!
With so many GA accidents lately. It makes you wonder whats going on? Many are not low time pilots. So it's not the lack of experience. Maybe a lack of proficiency? I think in this case he stacked the deck with getthereitis and exhaustion. Probably was too tired to remember to flip tanks. Priceless content as always! Thanks Scott. Keep up the great work!
Jon I would through in complacency to the mix.
@@FlyWirescottperdue Well said! Haha! We have had so many planes dropping out in California alone. Is it just more GA planes in the sky? And with very little FAA and NTSB investigation we need you and Juan at Blancolirio to help gain some clarity and get the teachable moments! Thanks again!
@@JonMulveyGuitar Thanks Jon!
I remember "Grandpa Pettibones". He was a highlight in my Naval Aviation career. Some of his lessons kept me out of trouble.
Here in the UK, it's me! Pilot Officer Prune and my Naval friend Sub-Lieutenant Swingit. We even had our own magazine, Tee Emm. Check it out, it's fascinating. ;-)
Thanks Scott. I'm a new-ish PPL and find your videos a fantastic learning resource. Keep up the great work!
Thanks Dan, I appreciate that!
Thanks so much for your service to aviation community.
I'm glad you find it worthwhile!
Thanks Scott! Looking forward to your Telluride analysis.
Can't wait for that one!
Coming soon! TP, just finished editing the Telluride S35 video. Should be up Sunday Afternoon.
One hour of fuel cost $4 times 15 gph. It is crazy to fly at night if you don't have to and it is crazy to fly without enough fuel to make it where ever you are going. Thanks Scott for everything. Really enjoy your hanger.
Great point! Thanks, I like it too!
RH: Absurd statement. There is nothing crazy about flying at night. Be competent, be prepared.
Just came across your channel. Great job! I've just started getting my pilot license. About 4 hrs so far. I play flight simulators daily and fly ultralight aircraft. Any knowledge you share is a great learning experience for me and everyone else. Thank you for your time good sir. Rusty
Welcome aboard Rusty! Keep at it, you can do it!
These videos are fantastic and really important. I liked the ‘pilot first and the rest of your life after that’ comment, really good way of thinking about it.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Just came across this channel, great stuff and lot to learn. Thanks for sharing your knowledge
Thanks for watching!
Another great video. Unfortunately there have been too many crashes where fuel starvation has been an issue. If weight dictates you depart with less than full fuel then an give monitor essential. I personally have a 3 hour rule. I plan to land 3 hrs into the flight. This gives me time to stretch the legs, bathroom break AND refuel Just my personal rule but it works for me.
Good plan!
We had a doctor killed making the same mistake here locally. Flying at night, fuel starvation, hitting a tree he didn’t see. I simple don’t fly single engines at night, just not many engine failure options. If you like flying singles at night, it might be a good investment to install a parachute recovery system.
Thank you for your regular “what events and factors led to this” analyses. I know these are never happy stories to cover (or to study).
But I feel compelled to try to learn from them and avoid these mistakes as a pilot. Sadly, weather, darkness, and fatigue are often overlooked as inputs in ADM as simple as go/no-go and fighting get-there-itis.
Well said!
Good Video & Great advice. That's a beautiful aircraft you used for a backdrop.
Thanks Noy, it was fun!
MKL (Jackson, Tennessee) is where I was born and raised, and don’t live far from there now. I’m so sorry to hear about this accident. Condolences to the family.
For sure, it is a sad thing.
Excellent presentation! Preplanning is the key. Allow 1 hr. of reserve fuel for any flight
Thanks Angel!
Excellent review, thank you. "People died for the regulations" - hits the point home.
Thanks, James!
Great job , awesome investigation, ✈️ Dan and Scott do more for GA than the NTSB and the FAA together 💪 keep up the good work
great video. great service
Interesting video where we can learn from like from most of ur videos. Thanks for the ongoing high quality content.👌🏻
Thanks Max!
Great video Scott, I am making a list of everything I need to have in my airplane when the time comes to purchase (good engine monitor). I recently flew at night and since I am older I just really dont like it as much anymore. I was at 11.5 going and 12.5 coming back and pretty much had a big divided highway with glide the entire time. Anyway, keep it up “A good pilot is always learning”.
I think night flying is very pretty... but I approach it with the utmost respect!
engine monitor but also study how to interpret things. use normalize mode.
do things like a visual check of the valve heads / cylinder at frequent intervals. even between annual inspections if you fly a lot hrs and/or imc.
all those things are risk mitigators. doesn't guarantee nothing is going to happen. but at least it gives you your best shot.
I had sudden engine failure at night imc/ifr over Tahoe (non-icing conditions).
I even had a night vision device.
good points! Great review....thx
Thanks Michael!
I was on the way to Osh Kosh one year and had landed for fuel. After take off, my co-pilot and I debated whether our low fuel gauges should be believed, after all, we KNEW we had just purchased fuel and we watched the guy put it in the tank. Fortunately, we elected to "play it safe" and landed at a nearby field. Turns out, the fuel guy had not put the caps back on the tanks and the fuel siphoned out during our short flight. We were wrong for not checking the caps on our pre-flight, we had to refuel and PAY for it at a different field. In this case, the pilot obviously knew he was on thin ice and his decision to proceed proved fatal. I was very lucky during my private pilot career and made my share of bad decisions.
3:50. I agree to a point reading about accidents can improve your awareness. however I was doing so often it started affecting my confidence level because my head was constantly filled with possible accident scenarios. I only occasionally look accidents up these days ..
The point of reviewing accidents is NOT the scenario. It's pulling the, lessons from them and incorporating them into your mindset. That is what makes us better, safer, pilots.
G'day Scott......Thanks for all your videos and your effort to keep people alive....That's more than can be said for yours and our authorities!, just my opinion! I believe military training is what makes the difference. This can be seen between yourself, Juan Brown, Dan Gryder and of course of the legend himself Chuck. My question is how can we get military influences in our flying, given that the overwhelming majority of us pilots will not ever be subjected to such incredible training and cultures? Our only answer is watching credible airmen like yourself sharing safety systems. Thanks again.
Thanks Rodney, I appreciate that!
Thanks for the video. Fuel is a very important component of safe flight.
Gotta have the go juice.
Fuel starvation is not an engine failure. Pilots need to know their planes...
That is very true Dan.
Great review.
i am not a pilot. this is still interesting and well presented. my dad had a private license when my brothers and i were kids. hard to imagine dad having all this knowledge, we always returned safely.
Imagine that, Dad actually knew some stuff! Great story, thanks for watching!
Scott, Great Job it is always appreciated. I just don't understand why we allow fuel starvation to happen over and over. I'm not perfect by no means always learning but man oh man. First thing I did to my A36 was to install the EDM 930 best thing I could have done! Its a tool though it didn't change my fuel reserve personal rules. Thanks Again for what you do
Great idea!
Wow! Awesome video. Where have you been all my life? You have a new subscriber. Thank you!
Wow, thanks!
Hey. I’ve never gone through the process of completing my private pilots license process, started 15 years ago and quit when my instructor deployed.
I have an interest mainly in the warbird sector of aviation but obviously will be training and probably owning a light GA aircraft.
I find these videos to be very helpful in knowing what not to do before I commence my pilot training, in that environment I’m already trying to absorb a lot of information anyways.
Helps to have already thought about things that can cause problems in the future.
Brando- Go for it! Keep us posted on your flying!
Scott, you mentioned doctors with stuff to do the next day. I was partners with two doctors in an A-36. One of them was experienced and he also owned an F-33. He invited the other doctor to join our partnership and as most of my flying was for business during the week and theirs was weekends. Three pockets are better than two when it comes to airplanes. I told him I was OK with it if the insurance company was. The new partner had about 250 hours in a Sierra but he wasn’t instrument rated. He got the requisite instruction and dual time in our Bonanza and was cleared by the insurance company.
He flew the airplane solo from Atlanta to Orlando where he spent the weekend with family. He had surgery scheduled for early Monday morning back home. He also attended a Flight Safety instrument ground school on that weekend Saturday. So, on Sunday night (Super Bowl night, in fact), he left Orlando for Atlanta. I don’t know if he got a weather briefing or what the forecast was, but it was around 1 mile and 400 ft by the time he got to Atlanta around 2030. He was on a VFR flight plan and flew into the deteriorating weather system. He requested vectors to the the airport (this was before GPS) and attempted to make an approach. The approach has an ILS and the airplane was equipped with an autopilot that would have assisted in flying the approach had he known how to use it properly. He had to go missed approach and lost control due to spatial disorientation in weather at night. He came down in a large factory parking lot right-side up at around 250 mph. The airplane hit an embankment at the end of the lot and stopped in the parking lot of an adjoining business.
I happened to be at our other partner’s home that night for a Super Bowl party and we had just sat down to dinner at halftime when the call came in from the airport fire department. We drove over to the scene. On first glance from behind the yellow tape, the airplane was sitting on the pavement and did no appear to be severely damaged except in the nose and the bottom skin. The pilot could be seen in the seat, but he was dead.
Max, that is a very sad story! There are always other solutions available!
@@FlyWirescottperdue True, Scott. And the very first one is know your airplane and it’s systems capability. Second; get your instrument rating if you are going to be anything other than a local fair-weather flyer. I’m not picking on “doctors and lawyers” as more businessmen own airplanes than they do, but my experience with them as a financial advisor is often the “I can figure it out myself” attitude due to their intellect. Well, in an airplane you can’t just pull over to the side of the road and call AAA like you can if your Mercedes has a problem. They are always pushed for time, which I believe limits their ability to get thoroughly trained and practice.
@@maxcorder2211 Excellent point!
@@maxcorder2211 I work with world class MD's designing very sophisticated lifesaving complex electronic photonics medical equipment. Most MD's are not that smart but they sure have an entitled arrogant attitude! I was more pushed for time, I worked much longer hours than MD's (under duress 80-90 hr/wk at a fraction of the salary) and I flew very hard IMC on a Friday night / Monday morning over Tahoe in an older Mooney). One time, I lost my engine at the worst point. But like suggested in this video, I flew high and so I had more options. Nowadays, I see a similar pattern with rich "SW tech" people. Many SW folks don't have the broader understanding of the physical world. Similar issues, participation trophy or as in the old days, "more money than brains".
Great video. Thank you Scott, I’m a better pilot due to you!!
Scott is becoming the master, emphasizing the mistakes we've made in our past history so those in the future could avoid, the man's got credentials family tradition the one call you definitely want to be prepared for protocol expect it all, once again exquisite presentation , and interpretation on logistics, the one guy I would get high with anytime :-)
Thanks, I just bought a share of a Bonanza and seeking to soak up as much good gen as possible, this fits that bill!
Have fun!
Thanks for the video Scott! Always great nuggets of info on these reviews.
Thanks Brad!
I've angered people for refusing to drive when I was too tired but I think that still seems more understandable to people. If you need to go somewhere, chances are it's at least a little important but if people can be annoyed but ultimately understand you not driving when you're tired, then people ought to learn to be even more okay with someone not flying because they're tired. It's hard to tell when you're tired though so I personally set some limits based on how long I've been up and/or when I expect to go to sleep with a good-sized margin just in case.
Single engine failure at night has got to be one of the worst scenarios to be in. I haven't done any night training yet. I don't even yet know what procedures are or done differently as far as the approach and altitude if any. I was wondering when you said what if the engine failed on descent at night. Would it make sense to stay high until close or above the airport and then drop down in a descending pattern? Is that something any pilot has done? Im now thinking about this scenario. In this moment it makes sense and to also climb out to altitude before departing the area. Always value your input. I have an amazing 2nd gen instructor and im fully confident that when I get to the night flying portion of training I will be in good hands. I trust yours and his instruction over my own thoughts of what may make sense to me.
Thanks for the discussion about this accident. I am trying to become an old pilot some day and every conversation helps!
We get better by learning all the time and accepting you're not perfect. I always say I'm not perfect, but I try to be.
Thanks, very important teaching. Apsaloutely you always know how much ⛽ you have. Let's have more teaching like this.
More to come Philip, thank you!
I’m a pilot and A&P. I got started in 1989 and quickly decided that I’ll never trust an aircraft fuel gauge. Begin a trip by visually verifying how much fuel onboard. And during flight use my watch or timer to account for fuel burn based on my real life experience of how much fuel the aircraft burns per hour. And keep my figures on the conservative side. If my airplane burns around 8 or 8.5 gal per hour then let’s just call it 10 gal per hour to be on the safe side. This way I’ll always need to stop to pee long before I’m ever even close to running out of fuel. Edit: I forgot to say...keep a written note of fuel quantity at departure and a tally of time elapsed as well as which tank and when I switch tanks.
Excellent points guy!
My first thought is condolences to the family and friends of this pilot. I hope we all can learn from what seems like a simple mistake, but one that can cost the ultimate price. Very informative video. I haul fuel (Motion Lotion) for a living and if I ran out, I would be incredibly embarrassed. That being said, I can pull over and stop and don’t have to worry about gliding to my next or final landing spot.
Thanks Av8ir
Thank you again for a great vid. I only teach in a 35 but glad I subscribed to your channel so I can learn and fwd on to others.
Someone else observed in these comments... 'A good pilot is always learning.' I try to be a good pilot.
Great video, I have an uncle that managed to fly commercial all over the world but he doesn't seem to have nearly the common sense you do about flying. He was a procedure following guy but not a real aviator like yourself I was amazed when he couldn't understand the dynamic of backing up a trailer, and yet he flew all those people around.
Thanks J, I appreciate that!
Good morning. I love your videos. Is there any chance of showing the accident site?
I have had a fuel monitor as long as I had an aircraft, it was one of the first mods. However, my rental days all convinced me that "fly by time" is the best rule. Might as well cover the fuel quantity gauges with tape. get a rule of thumb calculation for fuel burn per hour, then fill the tank and tell yourself how much time you have in hours, and count it off.
One thing I note from your accident series is that the pilots who concentrated on getting the airplane slow before impacting the ground lived, including that one that hit high trees. Getting an airplane down to freeway speeds makes the accident survivable.
Energy is the key, understand it in all its forms!
great job!
@FLYWIRE-Scott Perdue. I learned about myself that as midnight approaches, exhaustion suppresses the tempo of my critical decision-making. At the end of long flights, my body is not rested, my blood sugar may be low, my hydration is often low, my bladder is often near full, and if I’m at an altitude somewhat above my home base altitude (and who isn’t?) my oxygen saturation is below optimal ... all factors to some degree that sum together influencing the analytical functions of my brain that supports effective decision-making. At this point, my brain is hoarding brain energy, suppressing/conserving uses of remaining brain energy. A subconscious autonomous conservation of remaining brain energy. This conservation diminishes my forward thinking, suppresses more complex analytical calculations, especially ones like evaluating and re-evaluating time of fuel remaining at arrival. My brain simply stops the mental gymnastics as my brain approaches exhaustion attempting to conserve enough to approach and land the airplane ... What can I do to combat this? Respect my circadian rhythm and stop flights earlier in the evening coordinated with my increasing age. Maybe in my twenties, I could whoop it up all night, yet in my 60s, I must stick to my bedtime schedule. Respect my circadian rhythm. Pilots in their 5th decades of life don’t belong airborne near or after midnight in those nighttime hours when they are typically asleep. Or they must shift their sleep time by going something like regularly to bed at 0200, awakening at 1000 or later. Breathe supplemental oxygen from liftoff to landing on every flight without regard to any altitude choices. Adequate oxygen reduces body and brain fatigue, and it’s cheap. Train pilots to use it on every flight. Keep the brain in peak form. Drink water during every flight. I know commercial pilots often drink nothing until the last hour of a flight. Is that smart? Eat readily digestible calories on a regular tempo during the flight, and especially consume some to boost blood sugar before beginning descent. Empty bladder before it becomes full (which can expose us to some embarrassment - which is better to suffer than a flight mishap while distracted by an over full bladder). Stare at this->So many accidents occur during the final few minutes of flight - wonder if the real links in the accident chain are physiological causes inside the pilot ... that we can better manage and defeat. Learn to manage the pilot, the weather, the airplane as a symbiotic combination. What do you think?
Robin- you are absolutely right! Or to quote Clint Eastwood... 'A man's got to know his limitations!'
I nearly ran out of fuel ...Concerned I borrowed the Motel owners truck and bought some mogas at the servo. I think this may have saved my life...I kept thinking I might be a statistic and my peers saying "what a mug."..
Good decision! Thanks for sharing!
Great informative videos, keep it up I love it.
Thanks, will do!
Why inspectors do so little: job security. Most people today are going through the motions.There is NO $ provided for doing it right.
Well done.
Also, although no one talks of this much, I get the sense most GA pilots secretly long for a much greater range so they don't have to land as frequently for fuel. If true, this definitely means the current fuel instrumentation is inadequate for its mission.