On the other hand, I've seen some engines fail catastrophically for no apparent reason other than a part broke. One of my friends was bragging how well his 1200 hr O-300 was running and the next flight, Bam! Rod cap broke. That's why we prepare every for every flight with the potential for the engine to crap out, right?
Pilot walks away, good landing. Plane can be used again, great landing! Might need some repairs but it was off airport! If every off airport landing ended that way..........
Ron, glad you made it through the engine failure unharmed (other than the financial pain). Sounds like you did some good thinking and good flying.
However, your current situation (airplane stranded in a farmer's field) is a rotten place to be. I hope your insurance company is helping in a big way.
The insurance company is Avemco but they immediately (like before I even got home that night) had assigned the case to a "loss specialist" company. They've been very responsive, I've been in three-way discussions between them, the FAA, and my mechanic about the whole thing. The guy even commended me for having set a google map pin on the site I came to rest. Said it made it easy to find it when he went to look. Of course, all you have to do is ask anybody in Hurt, VA (not the biggest of metropolises) where the airplane is and they'd show you in short order.
The only real sticking point was that the state police wouldn't release me from the scene until they heard from the FAA and the FAA (note it was after 5PM) took about 90 minutes to relay that they weren't going to come out (I knew this, no injuries, no substantial damage to anything, it's night and now raining). The guy from the Richmond FSDO that called me the next morning has been helpful. I asked the State Police if they could drop me somewhere like a Denny's or something where I could wait until my wife got there. He said that they didn't have a Denny's, but he'd wait with me until she got there. After some discussion over the phone with my wife, we decided to rendezvous at a Hampton Inn down the road which we had stayed at in the past so Margy knew where it was.
Amusingly, my wife is about half way to the scene when her cell phone rings. It's Randy Burdette from the Virginia Department of Aviation to tell her that apparently her plane didn't want to move to North Carolina. My wife thought maybe the FAA or the SP notified the department, but apparently he was in Danville that night and saw it on the news. Great, my wife immediately called my parents to let them know that I was OK in case it made the news up there, but it was limited to the Lynchburg/Danville/Roanoke media outlet.
Your comments on the State Police are interesting. So they knew you were there because you called 911. Yes, I know ATC told you to call 911, but why? You were OK, there was no emergency, no crime had been committed (I presume the farmer who owned the field was not pressing charges.) Why would the SP not let you go without permission from the FAA? What was their legal authority for doing so?
I have "interacted" with police at previous non-injury aircraft events. They generally aren't trained for these and generally fumble around trying to find some connection to what they have been trained for. Sometimes they revert to treating it like it was an automobile accident on a public highway rather than securing a public hazard. A calm explanation by a third party (pilot not involved in the actual accident) is usually welcomed. ("Officer, could you please give the pilot certificate back to the pilot. He will need to have it on his person when the FAA or NTSB arrive." "Oh, of course, I didn't know. I was just ensuring I had his personal details." "No problem officer, we just don't want to get the pilot in any unnecessary trouble. In the meantime, could we work to ensure that the area is safe and secure. I would suggest moving at least 50 yards from the aircraft. There is a lot of 100 Octane gasoline spilling around.")
Nonetheless, your story just adds to my growing believe that I should really consider swapping the SkyPig for a Navion.
Originally Posted by Mayhemxpc
And that's your answer. They probably don't know any better but by golly, it's an airplane so we need to do something police like!I have "interacted" with police at previous non-injury aircraft events. They generally aren't trained for these and generally fumble around trying to find some connection to what they have been trained for.
In fact, I didn't call 911. By the time I cleaned things up in the cockpit (switches off, mixture/fuel off, etc...) and got out, there were people converging on the field. I'm sure there were already a number of pending 911 calls about the plane "crash" so I didn't worry about it. VSP is tasked in Virginia to 'investigate" all aviation accidents. I've been there before even when I ended up back on the departure runway after an engine failure. Of course, cops know nothing about the silly form they're given to fill out so mostly I sit there and tell him what to put in each box.
Actually, I suspect there was little the officer could have done if I decided to leave the scene (though I really had nowhere to go). The problem is that HE couldn't leave the scene and he was my ride. We hung out until the FAA finally returned the call that says, yeah fine, we'll call you tomorrow. Then the cop gave me a ride to the Hampton. The fire department came...assisted in stringing the yellow tape all around the plane, and left. They did let me sit in the fire engine for a while when it started to rain.
Wow, you got to sit in a fire engine! Almost worth the forced landing :-)
The business about the SP (or any responding law enforcement) to stay on the scene until relieved by the FAA is correct. Similarly, if CAP makes the find, they have to stay there until relieved by law enforcement. It is a matter of securing the scene/evidence preservation IF the FAA or NTSB decide to investigate.
When this appears in next year's stats, do you think the NTSB will count this as enroute phase, landing phase or will they give you double credit. ;-)
Probably won't be in next year's stats. No major damage due to the forced landing, hence doesn't count as an accident.
Ron Wanttaja
I've driven fire engines. I spent several years as a firefighter and paramedic.
Well, the good part of this is that I the loss questionnaire I had to fill out wanted my pilot times. I've not bothered to actually add up the log book page numbers since I got my instrument rating over a decade ago. I was guessing about 800TT. Turns out that I passed 1000 in the middle of Oshkosh this year (turns out to be on the flight I was flying formation with Snowbirds 10 and 11). I've got 700 hours in Navions even.
Yep, the NTSB is not concerned. They don't count the engine towards what they consider substantial damage. Been through that 15 years ago when the last engine I had failed. Both cases the other damage to the airframe was superficial. This time I actually did damage some property on the ground, but that was pretty minor as well.
This time I was solo instead of flying Young Eagles, so I guess I'm not going to get another letter thanking me for not killing anybody. Maybe PETA will thank me for not killing the cow.
A friend who happened to be at Culpeper when they were unloading my plane from the flatbed took this picture of the engine:
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