Good, not great landing

[kevinw]

Nice job on making it safely on the ground. Can't imagine how scary that must have been. It's easy to look back on this and second guess yourself but the fact of the matter is you're here to tell us about it and without injury. Hold your head high for a job well done.

[Bob - S50]

11 hours ago, Amelia said:

It is with a heavy heart that I confess to wrecking a wonderful airplane.

I think you got that wrong.  You did not wreck the plane, it wrecked itself.  You kept if from taking two people with it.  Nicely done.  Glad you are OK.

[Skates97]

Sorry to hear about your plane but like all the others have said, grateful that you are both fine and could walk away without injuries. Thank you also for sharing the experience and what you went through. I appreciate reading it as well as the "Monday morning quarterback" ideas. I'm just a new pilot but reading and learning from others will hopefully help me one day if I run into a similar situation.

[Brandontwalker]

Great job on getting it out of the sky!  Please keep us all informed about the findings as to why the trim ran away. 

[Amelia]

Lessons perhaps learned include not letting force of habit trump thinking it through. With the trim so out of whack, it took a lot of power to  hold altitude. That need for substantially increased power and full flaps for landing didn't evaporate just because the runway threshold was beneath me. Shoulda, woulda, coulda held the power in and the speed up until I was well down the runway. It's not as if I didn't have plenty of runway ahead of me. Sighhhhh. Yes, it was a mechanical failure, yes,between the two of us we did manage to keep it right side up, yes, we were very lucky, but, just damn. Two more minutes of competence would have been nice. So now the real work begins. The paperwork.

[PMcClure]

Just now, Amelia said:

Lessons perhaps learned include not letting force of habit trump thinking it through. With the trim so out of whack, it took a lot of power to  hold altitude. That need for substantially increased power and full flaps for landing didn't evaporate just because the runway threshold was beneath me. Shoulda, woulda, coulda held the power in and the speed up until I was well down the runway. It's not as if I didn't have plenty of runway ahead of me. Sighhhhh. Yes, it was a mechanical failure, yes,between the two of us we did manage to keep it right side up, yes, we were very lucky, but, just damn. Two more minutes of competence would have been nice. So now the real work begins. The paperwork.

Then you could have bounced the landing and ended up in the same place or worse. It was your job to save lives. PERIOD. It would have been nice to save the plane but that is why we have insurance. I would pin a medal on you if I could. You saved your life, your right seater, protected others' property and saved all of us and the controllers, and your family from suffering the bad news.  Like I said before - great job. Congratulations. 

[Ned Gravel]

Mimi:

Ute and I are very pleased to hear that you and Rob are OK.  I think you did everything right.  Focussed under fire and able to make good decisions. 

But....you will beat yourself up a long time over this.  It will only stop when you have forgiven yourself for the loss of Marvin K Mooney - even when it wasn't your fault.  I know.  I have been there.   

Pour yourself and Rob a small scotch and go sit out on the veranda in front of the living room.  Look out over the water and the houseboat at the dock and remember that you are a good and resourceful pilot. Be at piece with the decisions you made.  If you don't believe me, go look at Marvin and remember what it took to get out of that mess in one piece.

Ute and I still have a hankering to land at First Flight and visit some more in Edenton. 

Be well.

[DonMuncy]

Mimi,

I had a similar trim "lock-up" several years ago. Mine stuck in a climb, but after a few minutes (felt like an hour) and I forced it lower, it returned to normal. We never have figured out why.

But afterward, I thought of all the things I should have done. I know how you feel.

You did fine.

Don

[mooneygirl]

Hi Mimi

 

Well, as you may know, I have "been there, done that."  I am so sorry for your experience.  When it happened to me I remember sobbing to my Dad who was also in the airplane about totaling Maggie I.  He said, "It is just a piece of metal. Metal can be replaced. There are no funerals being planned today."  It took many weeks for me to find any solace.  My Dad was also happy that I was back in the air within a week with my instructor.  He said the only tragedy would be if I didn't fly again.

If you need or want to talk, please reach out to me, anytime.  All the best in your recovery. 

 

Jolie

[MyNameIsNobody]

Very pleased to hear how well you did for you and your co-pilot.  This is nothing but a hip hip hooray story of outstanding management of a very difficult situation that could have turned out very badly with a sad story.

Super job!  I hope to perform half as well if ever such a failure of my trusted machine befalls me and those I love.  I wish I could give you a hug and wash away any feelings of woulda/coulda/shoulda.  

You are my hero today....

Edited November 30, 2016 by MyNameIsNobody

[Guest]

After reading this thread this morning, it got me thinking about circuit breaker labelling or marking to know in an instant which breaker to pull to kill trim or autopilot.  How many of you know where they are or have them marked?

I ordered some of these today.

http://www.aircraftspruce.ca/catalog/elpages/edmobreakercaps.php?clickkey=6745

Clarence

[Andy95W]

44 minutes ago, mooneygirl said:

Hi Mimi

 

Well, as you may know, I have "been there, done that."  I am so sorry for your experience.  When it happened to me I remember sobbing to my Dad who was also in the airplane about totaling Maggie I.  He said, "It is just a piece of metal. Metal can be replaced. There are no funerals being planned today."  It took many weeks for me to find any solace.  My Dad was also happy that I was back in the air within a week with my instructor.  He said the only tragedy would be if I didn't fly again.

If you need or want to talk, please reach out to me, anytime.  All the best in your recovery. 

 

Jolie

So perfect I thought it was worth repeating.

[DVA]

Picture doesn’t show the Red caps on the Flaps/Trim/AP breakers

 

[dlthig]

You done good cousin.

 

[Marauder]

After reading this thread this morning, it got me thinking about circuit breaker labelling or marking to know in an instant which breaker to pull to kill trim or autopilot.  How many of you know where they are or have them marked?
I ordered some of these today.
http://www.aircraftspruce.ca/catalog/elpages/edmobreakercaps.php?clickkey=6745
Clarence

I have them labeled. I actually have more now since I started labeling them for emergency power management.




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[Bob_Belville]

15 minutes ago, M20Doc said:

After reading this thread this morning, it got me thinking about circuit breaker labelling or marking to know in an instant which breaker to pull to kill trim or autopilot.  How many of you know where they are or have them marked?

I ordered some of these today.

http://www.aircraftspruce.ca/catalog/elpages/edmobreakercaps.php?clickkey=6745

Clarence

I don't have mine color code but the A/P & Trim are right on top and every once in a while I give myself a little quiz to be sure I know what each fuse goes to. 

[Bennett]

"There but for the grace of God, go I". I've now had two runaway autopilot servos, which fortunately I was ultimately able to power down. The real problem was a totally jammed up trim that nothing would budge - hand wheel or electric trim. I was very lucky that day as I was able to push the yoke hard enough to let her climb without stalling to an altitude where I thought I could glide (at idle) to an airport. Full flaps helped reduce the pressure a bit as soon as soon I was level, and then a low power glide to the airport. Used the throttle to control the rate of descent a bit, and when over the runway, popped the speed brakes and let her settle. Dropping the gear just before the approach end of the runway didn't help the trim situation, but did slow the airplane. I used a lot of runway, and it was not my best landing, but the gear didn't collapse. Just dumb luck. The problem was purely mechanical - a flashlight jammed the trim mechanism (inside the tailcone). I won't mention the mechanics name that left his flashlight there. My arms were sore for a week from pushing on the yoke. I am really glad you had a co-pilot to help you push the yoke forward.

As I said in a earlier post, you did really well to save yourself and your passenger. Sometimes things happen to aircraft that are totally unexpected, and all that "what if" training we subject ourselves to pays off. As others (and I) have said, be proud of your flying skills that allowed you to have a great outcome. Airplanes can be fixed. You undoubtedly bought insurance for years. Now it is time for the insurer to show their skill set in quickly resolving the repair process.


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[DonMuncy]

37 minutes ago, M20Doc said:

After reading this thread this morning, it got me thinking about circuit breaker labelling or marking to know in an instant which breaker to pull to kill trim or autopilot.  How many of you know where they are or have them marked?

I ordered some of these today.

http://www.aircraftspruce.ca/catalog/elpages/edmobreakercaps.php?clickkey=6745

Clarence

The only problem is if you label too many of them. You would be no better off than not labeling any. I only have one yellow one on the autopilot.

[DVA]

Just now, DonMuncy said:

The only problem is if you label too many of them. You would be no better off than not labeling any. I only have one yellow one on the autopilot.

I agree with DonMuncy 100%, oddly although I am not practicing that advice. I think I have a good reason not to - I think.

I’ve had very few issues in my flying life, but I have had an alternator issue (at night), I’ve had a gear issue (this year leaving KOSH) and I’ve had both an AP servo and trim runaway (both in a 340 though). I labeled the ALT field breakers green, as this is not normally an emergency. The gear is labeled yellow, as this is also not normally an emergency but I want to find them quickly,  and the AP/Ttrim breakers are red, cuz this is always an emergency. I have those combos committed to memory.

Just sayin...

[Steve Dawson]

Hey Amanda, Great example of staying cool and handling that negative situation. It's a lot better seeing you here than reading about something worse. 

[DonMuncy]

2 minutes ago, DVA said:

I agree with DonMuncy 100%, oddly although I am not practicing that advice. I think I have a good reason not to - I think.

I’ve had very few issues in my flying life, but I have had an alternator issue (at night), I’ve had a gear issue (this year leaving KOSH) and I’ve had both an AP servo and trim runaway (both in a 340 though). I labeled the ALT field breakers green, as this is not normally an emergency. The gear is labeled yellow, as this is also not normally an emergency but I want to find them quickly,  and the AP/Ttrim breakers are red, cuz this is always an emergency. I have those combos committed to memory.

Just sayin...

I put the single marker on my A/P after it malfunctioned. If I have another failure that scares the crap out of me, I will probably label something else and use your system.

[Guest]

All of my switches and circuit breakers are labelled and lighted.  I will mark the electric trim and autopilot with the markers I ordered, those two can ruin your day.

Clarence

[cnoe]

After reading this thread this morning, it got me thinking about circuit breaker labelling or marking to know in an instant which breaker to pull to kill trim or autopilot.  How many of you know where they are or have them marked?

I ordered some of these today.

http://www.aircraftspruce.ca/catalog/elpages/edmobreakercaps.php?clickkey=6745

Clarence

I actually did exactly that last week. One red and one yellow for the AP and AH right the middle of my breaker panel. The trim already has a breaker/switch next to the boost pump. I feel better now.

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[Guest]

4 minutes ago, Hyett6420 said:

In a J isn't the Electric Trim that big switch on the bottom edge of the panel along with all the other switches.  I didn't believe it had a CB, I thought the "switch" was the CB.

That may be the case, my point was the importance of knowing where the critical circuit breakers or switches are located.  Not all airplanes have a trim switch.

Clarence

[madjano]

Wow, great job and crm!

As far as the circuit breakers, made me think i should have those committed to memory like the switches. Especially the AP.

My brother, F14 rio, told me stories of buss panels behind him that you basically had to go by memorization and feel to shut off a smoking radio.

Glad to hear everyone is ok and we got a good discussion out of it. Curious to find out what the failure was.

Jan


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