Bonanza ditching in the Pacific

[gsengle]

I don't know if this was deliberate or not but a couple things seem odd. First and perhaps the folks with Bonanza experience can address this but after watching the actual ditching several times you can see his shadow on the water as it converges and his sink rate looks very flat if his engine were dead I would think there would be a much steeper descent. It also looks like it never stalls there is no drop of the nose. Excellent pilot skill here. But the question I have is if this guy is such a video guy and has the presence of mind to record all that happened after the event then why did he not think to start recording the even as soon as he started having a problem. I know he was busy but his passenger could have held a camera/phone for some of it. Just seems odd that he being so into you tubing that he would pass up such an opportunity to share this event in its entirety for the benefit of others.

If you have to ditch without engine power you need to carry enough extra speed to be able to level off and control how you put it down. That’s why given the video it’s odd he’d say or think he stalled it in from ten feet...


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[flyboy0681]

2 hours ago, steingar said:

Ahh Fox News.  The guy has long hair so he MUST be a criminal.  But really, the best they could come up with was chasing a Moose?

What's this suppose to mean?

"He said he does not have insurance on the Beechcraft plane that crashed, but that it is under-insured, so he will likely lose money because of the crash. "

[Oldguy]

A few things I have taken away from this and the Cirrus headed to Hawaii who had to pull his chute when his ferry tank transfer failed:

1. Life vests are meant to be worn when flying over water. Yes, they only take a short time to put on, but you do not know how much time you have when you ditch because...
2. Planes were meant to fly, not float. It looks like the Bo took about 30 seconds before it went under; if I recall correctly, the Cirrus took a bit over 10 secs. before it went under.
3. A PLB carried with you can make a lot of difference if the plane sinks quickly. So can the strobe I wore when sailing offshore at night. Somewhere, I have my dad's signal mirror from WW II, but since I don't carry it with me, I might be inclined to either get one or learn how to use the flat screen of my phone in an emergency.
4. An inflatable raft is not a nice to have if you spend much time in the water after ditching. I recall the film on the Bo describing David being taken up to the chopper first because he was the more hypothermic of the two. Another 30 minutes might not have made a difference who was taken up first, as he may have lost consciousness by that time. A raft would have been a lifesaver if they had been in the water any longer.

@Hyett6420 gave a great presentation on ditching and survival equipment at the Mooney Summit in 2017. While most of my list above could have just as easily come from his talk, when you watch it happening and realize how quickly things can go pear shaped, it takes on an entirely new meaning.

Many of us fly in the winter and have the necessary survival equipment packed in the back of the plane. I have even seen lists shared of what to carry here on MS. Why don't we give the same importance to flying over water and having the necessary survival equipment with us? Many of us acknowledge the risks we take in everyday life, including flying, but we mitigate them to an acceptable level. Seems like this should be a consideration as well.

[tigers2007]

Well the FlightAware tracking data confirms that he was not on a flight from Colorado as the media reports. FlightAware shows no activity between 27-Apr and 05-Jun which somewhat coincides with his story that the aircraft was obtaining maintenance of sorts. I'm waiting for the media to recklessly grab his pilot certificate information and portray that "he has only been a pilot since 2018". I hate it when they associate certificate date with the date that a person started to fly. Regardless, the FlightAware data and FAA Pilot Registry can neither confirm nor deny the Reckless Endangerment and Fleeing Police, Arson, nor trashing of protected wilderness areas allegations and convictions. This dude is clearly the life of a party and master of extreme sports.  The Arson charge was regarding some jumping stunt he was doing by lighting scores of shopping carts on fire near an abandoned building. 

 

 

[gsengle]

Well the FlightAware tracking data confirms that he was not on a flight from Colorado as the media reports. FlightAware shows no activity between 27-Apr and 05-Jun which somewhat coincides with his story that the aircraft was obtaining maintenance of sorts. I'm waiting for the media to recklessly grab his pilot certificate information and portray that "he has only been a pilot since 2018". I hate it when they associate certificate date with the date that a person started to fly. Regardless, the FlightAware data and FAA Pilot Registry can neither confirm nor deny the Reckless Endangerment and Fleeing Police, Arson, nor trashing of protected wilderness areas allegations and convictions. This dude is clearly the life of a party and master of extreme sports.  The Arson charge was regarding some jumping stunt he was doing by lighting scores of shopping carts on fire near an abandoned building. 
 
 

Do you have position only flights turned on?


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[tigers2007]

Yes, I can see those flights. The Bo had plenty of local flight activity prior to the the accident.

[gsengle]

Well the FlightAware tracking data confirms that he was not on a flight from Colorado as the media reports. FlightAware shows no activity between 27-Apr and 05-Jun which somewhat coincides with his story that the aircraft was obtaining maintenance of sorts. I'm waiting for the media to recklessly grab his pilot certificate information and portray that "he has only been a pilot since 2018". I hate it when they associate certificate date with the date that a person started to fly. Regardless, the FlightAware data and FAA Pilot Registry can neither confirm nor deny the Reckless Endangerment and Fleeing Police, Arson, nor trashing of protected wilderness areas allegations and convictions. This dude is clearly the life of a party and master of extreme sports.  The Arson charge was regarding some jumping stunt he was doing by lighting scores of shopping carts on fire near an abandoned building. 
 
 

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[gsengle]

Media easily mixes up was “on a flight from” and “on a trip from”...


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[kmyfm20s]

This very well could be a legitimate ditching but it’s very hard to give a guy craving so much attention kudos for a great  job. He has burned up (pun intended) a lot of public resources in the past and it reminds me of the little boy that cried wolf, no one believes you when it’s real.

[kmyfm20s]

I fly with life vest all the time because I fly the coast line of California but also when I fly over the Sierras. I have determined that if I have an engine out over the sierras that several of my best options are going into lakes. 

[Eight8Victor]

Question for all you left coasters. What kind of jellyfish are in your coastal waters? There are a variety of Atlantic jellyfish, but the stings I've experienced are downright brutal and leave painful welts. I didn't watch the entire episode of Awesome Dude reality TV, but I did not see any of the blisters and welts that I've experienced. Maybe just added drama to keep viewers coming back for more?

[gsxrpilot]

This entire thread has descended into Q like conspiracy theories. I'm out.

[jetdriven]

6 minutes ago, gsxrpilot said:

This entire thread has descended into Q like conspiracy theories. I'm out.

They are not Qanon conspiracy theories. NBC actually refused to interview them because they have too many legitimate doubts about it being an accident. Do you guys remember Theodore Robert Wright IIi?  Ditched his Baron in the Gulf. got himself on USA today in front of the camera as a hero. Turns out it was an insurance job.  Similar situation. Social media influencer.  Pilot hero. 
Anyway the discussion about this over on Beechtalk is about five times better. Just saying

Edited August 22, 2019 by jetdriven

[jaylw314]

17 minutes ago, Eight8Victor said:

Question for all you left coasters. What kind of jellyfish are in your coastal waters? There are a variety of Atlantic jellyfish, but the stings I've experienced are downright brutal and leave painful welts. I didn't watch the entire episode of Awesome Dude reality TV, but I did not see any of the blisters and welts that I've experienced. Maybe just added drama to keep viewers coming back for more?

Typically, stinging jellyfish less common in California coastal waters, but occasional changes in currents will bring the odd invasion of stinging species.  

[kmyfm20s]

25 minutes ago, gsxrpilot said:

This entire thread has descended into Q like conspiracy theories. I'm out.

If you ever ditch, hopefully will not ever have to, I will with out a doubt believe your story.  You should be getting ready for Burning Man anyway and not reading this stuff:)

[ZuluZulu]

6 hours ago, N201MKTurbo said:

Last week The boss and I flew his B36TC to Santa Barbara. No part of that flight is over water, but somehow ATC seems to think it is. On departure they had us almost 10 miles off shore. You wouldn't think that was an over water flight, but it was. Some inflatable flotation in the seat backs would make me feel better in those situations.

That's pretty common for SBA.  Seems to have something to do with the mountain range immediately north of the field.

VFR departures from 15L and 15R are almost always vectored out over the water and restricted to no higher than 2000' or so.  Always gives me goosebumps until I'm finally cleared to climb.

[eman1200]

he successfully ditched in the water.  regardless of how or why it happened, it's on video and we can learn from it.

[RogueOne]

3 hours ago, jetdriven said:

They are not Qanon conspiracy theories. NBC actually refused to interview them because they have too many legitimate doubts about it being an accident. Do you guys remember Theodore Robert Wright IIi?  Ditched his Baron in the Gulf. got himself on USA today in front of the camera as a hero. Turns out it was an insurance job.  Similar situation. Social media influencer.  Pilot hero. 
Anyway the discussion about this over on Beechtalk is about five times better. Just saying

Not going to Beechtalk, but would be interested in your sharing the input that makes “it” 5x better.  Not being snippy I would genuinely appreciate the cross-sharing.

[jaylw314]

44 minutes ago, ZuluZulu said:

That's pretty common for SBA.  Seems to have something to do with the mountain range immediately north of the field.

VFR departures from 15L and 15R are almost always vectored out over the water and restricted to no higher than 2000' or so.  Always gives me goosebumps until I'm finally cleared to climb.

If you ask for a turn inland and make your voice sound really panicky, SBA approach usually gave you the turn earlier.   I learned that during my training, and I didn't even need to pretend to sound panicky  

Edited August 22, 2019 by jaylw314

[ZuluZulu]

8 minutes ago, jaylw314 said:

If you ask for a turn inland and make your voice sound really panicky, SBA approach usually gave you the turn earlier.   I learned that during my training, and I didn't even need to pretend to sound panicky  

I've tried asking, sometimes they give it to me, sometimes they don't.  Maybe I need to dial the panic knob up to 11...

[Davidv]

4 hours ago, jetdriven said:

Anyway the discussion about this over on Beechtalk is about five times better. Just saying

There’s something to people using their real name that makes them think for a second before hitting post.

[MooneyMitch]

40 minutes ago, jaylw314 said:

If you ask for a turn inland and make your voice sound really panicky, SBA approach usually gave you the turn earlier.   I learned that during my training, and I didn't even need to pretend to sound panicky  

Agree.  In addition, winds permitting, one can request runway 25 for departure too.

[thinwing]

All those jelly fish are pacific sea nettles ,and there sting is irritating rather than severe ,like a burning sensation...bad arround the lips or even under a scuba regulator...but they are everywhere!!..last dive in Monterey Bay we went thru clouds of them.Temperature off KHAF in aug is low 50s so time of useful swimming before hypothermia about 30 min or the time they were in the water.He was more hypothermic than his female partner due to difference in body fat and instead of him hugging himself to conserve heat ,he is arm outstretched to video himself,loosing even more heat.Water landing looked fine

[MooneyMitch]

“He was more hypothermic than his female partner due to difference in body fat and instead of him hugging himself to conserve heat ,he is arm outstretched to video himself,loosing even more heat.’

 

Gotta keep priorities in order of importance......hmmm, dramatic video/selfie of occurrence with awesome rescue, and possibility of YouTube presence.......or self preservation.....LOL !

[Tony Starke]

Damn, one of my posts mysteriously disappeared. I wonder what censorship magic is working somewhere behind the big curtain?