Parallel parking the Mooney (don't try this at home)

[Yetti]

http://abc7.com/plane-crash-lands-on-glendale-street;-2-onboard-unharmed/2445414/

[Jerry 5TJ]

Looks like it was N34BE a 1966 M20E.  

 

[milotron]

Glad everyone is okay, but that must be a rare twin engine M20E...

We were flying into Burbank, lost power to one of the engines for some reason,

 

iain

[bradp]

Looks like @chrixxer posted yesterday before this incident. Check in when you can.  Thanks. 

[neilpilot]

Glad everyone made it down with very minor injuries.  Sold by Jerry Pressley earlier this year.  Wonder if it will go back east for another rebuild?

[N601RX]

Audio is here. 

 

[ragedracer1977]

Sounds like everyone is OK.  Made a couple calls to see if I could find out if he's OK.  Waiting to hear back

[Hank]

Well done, chrixxer! You passed an extreme test, the rest of college will pale in comparison.

Please let us know what happened once the cause is determined. And take your brother on another flight to help him realize emotionally that it won't kill him.

[Jim Peace]

Awesome job....calm, cool and collected.    I can only hope I would be half as good if that time ever came.......

Did you fly it all the way through the crash like Bob Hoover suggested many times..................

 

Just yesterday in a hangar in Van Nuys my friends were giving me crap because I do not fly my C at night.........

[ragedracer1977]

Got back word, he's in good shape 

[sleepingsquirrel]

Just how many engines did this Mooney have?

[peevee]

48 minutes ago, ragedracer1977 said:

Got back word, he's in good shape 

Good to hear. Job well done.

[Yetti]

1 hour ago, sleepingsquirrel said:

Just how many engines did this Mooney have?

sounds like he needed n+1

[MIm20c]

Not an ideal landing location...he did a good job!

I’m curious what failed but glad he had his new radio in place for the emergency call. 

[steingar]

Damn, I can't imagine trying to put it down in a place like Burbank. Well done Chrixxer.  And the Mooney roll cage saves another two. I'll take it over a parachute any day!

[MIm20c]

1 minute ago, bluehighwayflyer said:

At night over Burbank I would take the chute every time, personally. But agreed. Very well handled. 

I agree but in this situation I wonder if by the time he realized he had a serious problem if he would be too low. 

[Ned Gravel]

Voice recording indicates he was at 1700' and still five miles out.  That is at least three and one half miles too far to make it to Burbank airport (based on what my E model can do with a windmilling prop).

Good work in a bad situation. 

[AlexLev]

Job well done. Impressive. Glad he is ok.

[Bartman]

I only hope that I would be half as calm as he sounded.  

Bent metal, no injuries. Can't ask for better from the pilot under the worst imaginable circumstances 

[Bob_Belville]

Great outcome and he sounded like a real pilot when the chips were down.

I sure hope he didn't run out of 100LL. My first Mooney was on final to KAVL when my partner experienced fuel exhaustion engine failure too low to make the runway. Interstate 26 was no doubt easier to land on safely than a Burbank city street.

[MIm20c]

2 hours ago, Bob_Belville said:

Great outcome and he sounded like a real pilot when the chips were down.

I sure hope he didn't run out of 100LL. My first Mooney was on final to KAVL when my partner experienced fuel exhaustion engine failure too low to make the runway. Interstate 26 was no doubt easier to land on safely than a Burbank city street.

I have a feeling he was renting the plane out. They talk about two college age people in the plane and I got the feeling that chrixxer was a little older.  Glad nobody on the ground was hurt and the pilot did a great job putting it down. 

[ragedracer1977]

1 hour ago, MIm20c said:

I have a feeling he was renting the plane out. They talk about two college age people in the plane and I got the feeling that chrixxer was a little older.  Glad nobody on the ground was hurt and the pilot did a great job putting it down. 

No, it was him.  He'll chime in here if he wants to, I imagine he's dealing with other stuff right now.  

[MIm20c]

2 minutes ago, ragedracer1977 said:

No, it was him.  He'll chime in here if he wants to, I imagine he's dealing with other stuff right now.  

Roger that, I’m glad he’s ok!  I’m sure he doesn’t have time to waste online right now. 

[chrixxer]

I was the pilot. My passenger was a 2016 graduate of the same university/fraternity. If I’d had a chute I would have pulled it (we were ~1800’ AGL descending into KBUR when we lost the engine). My primary concern was my passenger and those on the ground. I looked for the darkest side street I could find (10pm in Glendale on a Friday night, the major roads were clogged with traffic). I just flew her until I couldn’t. In maneuvering to avoid an apartment building I (think I) stall/spinned her into a tree. That Mooney fuselage protected us very well.

She wasn’t perfect, but she was solid. I’ve had her 4 months and flown her 65 hours (she was down for ~10 weeks getting avionics work done, which I knew when I bought her would be required), everything from pattern practice at Chino to 12K IFR trips to Utah and Arizona. Two A&Ps have worked on her. I’ll advise when I know more about what happened last night.

All I do know is, as far as I know I kept in control of the plane as much as possible, and whatever skill I have as a pilot was heavily augmented by luck (no damage to property on the ground, no injuries).

Now I’m sore, stiff, exhausted, and bowing out for at least a little while. I do believe I’ll have another Mooney someday though.

 

Edited September 28, 2017 by chrixxer

[Guest]

4 hours ago, chrixxer said:

I was the pilot. My passenger was a 2016 graduate of the same university/fraternity. If I’d had a chute I would have pulled it (we were ~1800’ AGL descending into KBUR when we lost the engine). My primary concern was my passenger and those on the ground. I looked for the darkest side street I could find (10pm in Glendale on a Friday night, the major roads were clogged with traffic). I just flew her until I couldn’t. In maneuvering to avoid an apartment building I stall/spinned her into a tree. That Mooney fuselage protected us very well.

She wasn’t perfect, but she was solid. I’ve had her 4 months and flown her 65 hours (she was down for ~10 weeks getting avionics work done, which I knew when I bought her would be required), everything from pattern practice at Chino to 12K IFR trips to Utah and Arizona. Two A&Ps have worked on her. I’ll advise when I know more about what happened last night.

All I do know is, as far as I know I kept in control of the plane as much as possible, and whatever skill I have as a pilot was heavily augmented by luck (no damage to property on the ground, no injuries).

Now I’m sore, stiff, exhausted, and bowing out for at least a little while. I do believe I’ll have another Mooney someday though.

 

I'm glad you're alive to tell the tale. Engine out at night over a city, You did a fantastic job!  

Clarence