Engine out in the Rocky's without injuries

[kortopates]

I am tipping my hat to this Cirrus pilot today. His entirely unpanicked yet well thought out decision making made all the difference in the world.

In the new ACS, which replaces the PTS for private and Instrument pilot, there is a item under the area of Risk Management for the Emergency Approach and Landing, it lists "Managing startle response". How do you think he did? 

http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2017/01/n5vk-2003-cirrus-sr22-incident-occurred.html 

[Guitarmaster]

That was great decision making!  It's neat to have a chute, but it may not be the best option. 

There sure do seem to be a disproportionate number of Cirrus aircraft with engine failures...  Maybe it's just me. 

[gsxrpilot]

Obviously well thought out in the face of a crisis situation. That pilot was the very definition of cool, calm and collected.

I'm curious about the gear situation. It seems they slid quite a ways. I would have expected that gear to dig in and stop them quickly. Did the gear shear off? Just curious.

[aviatoreb]

6 minutes ago, Guitarmaster said:

There sure do seem to be a disproportionate number of Cirrus aircraft with engine failures...  Maybe it's just me. 

It does seem that way!  But on the other hand it might just be press.  When a Cirrus looses the engine, the company actually brags about it and publicizes it as a "save" by parachute.  And the press publishes as a feel good story.

If another model airplane looses an engine and lands safely on the highway then it is a gee-whiz look out for those things story in the press, and if the outcome is bad, then the press circles like vultures - but in none of these is the aircraft manufacturer publicizing.

But yeah...does seem like a lot of Cirrus loose engines.  I am curious - how is the proportion of fuel exhaustion incidents in the cirrus line?  I.e., are cirrus pilots not preflighting/planning properly, or are the engines really stopping by mechanical problems more often?

[N6758N]

Impressive, I bet the end of that cliff came up pretty quickly as they were sliding along the snow! Nice to see a story where a Cirrus pilot actually thinks before just pulling the chute like they are all brainwashed to do. A good example of how being able to determine where you land instead of letting a parachute and the weather put you into a cliff or a elementary school playground...might just save some lives. 

[kortopates]

It sure looks like the landing gear was lost in the roll out or should I say slide out. There are no signs of deep trails behind the aircraft that would indicate the gear was still there. Snow can be forgiving and also be full of ice chunks much like rocks. But without at least a preliminary report we really can't say with any certainty. We could even learn our hero ran out of gas - but I am doubting it.

Going by the  news reports, this pilot really stacked the odds in his favor:

- He pilot put out a distress signal, apparently before he landing and a mayday after they landed indicating they were both alive. Were they already communicating with Flight Following  (probably not on an IFR flight plan given a SR22 with the very high MEA's)?

- Given the distress call, the FAA called multiple authorities including sheriff's dept and AF CAP. The CAP specialists using their own radar data, were able to zero in on the crash site in under 30 minutes and give coordinates to local research and rescue teams to get to the couple stranded in negative 18 degree weather. The last radar hit was .7 miles from where they went into the snow.

- CAP reported that it took less than two hours for the couple to be rescued by helicopter 

Pretty amazing, things probably went as fast as they did because the pilot was squawking and talking - but would be even more amazing if he wasn't and still got a call off. But given they were apparently able to get a MAYDAY out after the crash that could be all they needed to be successful. But without it, that would have made the call before the crash that much more critical to a speedy rescue.

Performing the flight in the morning which helped to get rescued well before dark took the pressure or need of any emergency supplies they might of needed if they had to spend the night. But seeing a surviving crash reminds us all of the need to carry appropriate extra gear for an off field landing including things like extra warm clothes, water, food, first aid kit, etc.

After seeing two family's with 2 young kids each perish from VFR into IMC the last week (The C182 in WA and Cessna CT210K in AZ) it sure is nice a see such a great outcome.

[Skates97]

28 minutes ago, kortopates said:

Performing the flight in the morning which helped to get rescued well before dark took the pressure or need of any emergency supplies they might of needed if they had to spend the night. But seeing a surviving crash reminds us all of the need to carry appropriate extra gear for an off field landing including things like extra warm clothes, water, food, first aid kit, etc.

After seeing two family's with 2 young kids each perish from VFR into IMC the last week (The C182 in WA and Cessna CT210K in AZ) it sure is nice a see such a great outcome.

This was the exact same thought I had.

[Marauder]

Also a good reminder to carry along a survival pack. An hour and a half in the snow can get mighty cold.

[Buster1]

Have a look at my book, link below. I specifically discuss Cirrus and Bonanza engine failures with 5 yrs of data collected by Mr. Kirby. His spreadsheet is on my webpage too.

bottom line: mechanical engine failures are almost identical...nearly 20% of accidents for both types are mechanical engine stoppages (not fuel related). NTSB and FAA data also corroborates those numbers for decades.

thanks!

[Guest]

7 hours ago, Hyett6420 said:

Apologies if this is a bit blunt, its 03:30 in the morning here.   

Great great job by the pilot, perefect performance i would say.  Why the engine failed would be interesting to know and why he didnt land at 90 degrees to his actual path which appears longer, probsbly due to terrain i cant see.  Now onto those damn reporters.  At first glance the article looks fair and balanced, but then we get to "the plane is registered to mr and mrs" and a little bit later "the hospital reported that noone called mr and mrs" were being trested.  WTF, cant they just wait till they have at least been treated, calmed down a bit and are ready to discuss what is defintiely an ordeal, before they stick microphones up their noses.  Vultures.

well done pilot, im seriously impressed.  I can also imagine the hollywood version of this, plane lands and slides, cut to cliff edge, cut to plane, wife screaming, cut to cliff edge getting closer, dramatic music etc.   

Personally i would have hated to see that cliff edge coming up, knowing there was nothing you could do to stop, but could he then of used the parachute?  Serious question?  

Andrew

In the Hollywood version the pilot will deploy the CAPS parachute to slow the 10 minute slide across the snow, stopping just before the edge.  The relieved couple will deplane just as a gust a wind pulls the plane over the cliff.

Clarence

[neilpilot]

So is the Cirrus recoverable?  Heli lift?

[MooneyBob]

9 minutes ago, neilpilot said:

So is the Cirrus recoverable?  Heli lift?

Push it off the cliff. It will restart. ( Sorry couldn't resist). 

[Marauder]

In the Hollywood version the pilot will deploy the CAPS parachute to slow the 10 minute slide across the snow, stopping just before the edge.  The relieved couple will deplane just as a gust a wind pulls the plane over the cliff.
Clarence

You forgot about the part where the parachute tethers were burning throughout the descent.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Yetti]

Looks like he gear upped a cirrus.  The gear may still be buried in the 6 feet of snow.   I would guess it was a very short rollout.

[Jeff_S]

I saw an SR22 lose control in engine-out training and pancake into a runway. The gear broke off pretty quickly and the plane slid about 500 feet down and then off the runway. Both occupants exited unharmed, although obviously sheepish and embarrassed. But the point is, I think the gear is designed to shear off pretty quickly in those scenarios to minimize the chance of turnover. I have no other info on that but my own observation...would welcome any official word from someone in the know.

[kortopates]

So is the Cirrus recoverable?  Heli lift?

I was wonder the same thing. I am sure it is, but at what cost?

I imagine the insurance would look at it as it's worth it if the recovery cost don't exceed 1/3 of blue book or insured hull value since they expect on average they get that amount of value for salvage. That's why they'll total your bird before spending more than 2/3's your insured value on repairs. And they can probably recover the salvage value for significantly less than the cost to recover it without adding significantly more damage with the intent to repair it. So it could very well rely on concerns for how much structural damage it may have, which makes it less likely. I don't know if ripping the gear off guarantees a certain amount of expensive structural damage or not but that appears all we have to go on presently. And that's still not certain.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[thinwing]

12 hours ago, M20Doc said:

In the Hollywood version the pilot will deploy the CAPS parachute to slow the 10 minute slide across the snow, stopping just before the edge.  The relieved couple will deplane just as a gust a wind pulls the plane over the cliff.

Clarence

Not quite Clarence...after plane coming to a stop mere ft from Clift edge...wife says we're supposed to pull this red Handle in emergency......cut to caps rocket ejecting chute in a high wing pulling the hapless couple over the 600 ft cliff