This is how it's done

[skydvrboy]

I don't have many details, but it appears the pilot was training and had a mechanical problem.  Executed a safe emergency landing in a field.  Well done!

https://fox4kc.com/news/plane-makes-emergency-landing-during-practice-flight-in-clay-county/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0vPvypyqmqUKGO0911MeaBg-nUqBGKKsrXrYzI4bVWtC_AbY1XDHNe0k8_aem_ARRhZd8Ht0HZrM15C6Dn4cxaRNrHiZSLh2Hpsz5erQ5Ivy5l9c9IU6LDI1c8CLh1PftmMEEUh1Ssx0URBPhXP48m

[PeteMc]

Excellent job! 

And potentially a new owner too.  The Registration shows as "Pending."

 

Edited May 30, 2024 by PeteMc

[skydvrboy]

The new owner was getting transition training from a very experienced CFI.  Engine just stopped mid flight.

[hubcap]

I am scheduled to have coffee with the pilot/owner on Saturday. I hooked him up with the instructor. He is a new owner. Great plane and apparently undamaged after the off field landing. I am looking forward to hearing the first hand account.

[RoundTwo]

15 hours ago, hubcap said:

I am scheduled to have coffee with the pilot/owner on Saturday. I hooked him up with the instructor. He is a new owner. Great plane and apparently undamaged after the off field landing. I am looking forward to hearing the first hand account.

Great news on the outcome of the Forrest landing, but I wonder how much disassembly will have to be done to get the plane out of there.

[hubcap]

What a pleasant time I had listening to all the details from the man himself. He is a new owner of a Mooney and took great care to tell me what an amazing plane it is. The plane had been flown 30-40 hrs / year for the last several years. He purchased the plane a few weeks ago and was getting instruction for his insurance. The engine is an IO360 with approximately 1000 hrs on it. He was flying with an instructor at approximately 3500 ft when the engine seized without warning. It is locked up. The propeller did not windmill at all. They found a nice place to set it down in a farmers field and there it sets. It is unharmed in any way except for the seized engine. They are waiting for it to dry out before pulling the engine.

 

[LANCECASPER]

Wow great outcome. I wish they all worked out that way.

[Fly Boomer]

14 hours ago, LANCECASPER said:

Wow great outcome. I wish they all worked out that way.

If it were mine, I would feel good about the landing, but I would feel a lot better about the outcome once the airplane is back on dry land and in a hangar without damage.  I suspect that many airplanes put down with minimal damage are soon destroyed by over-achievers with big yellow machines.  I wish I lived near someone like DMAX who knows how to retrieve an airplane without destroying it.

[hubcap]

It dried out enough for them to start pulling the engine yesterday -

 

[Fly Boomer]

3 hours ago, hubcap said:

It dried out enough for them to start pulling the engine yesterday

How are they going to get it out of that field?

[natdm]

Glad they're ok!

So since the engine is busted, and the plane is unharmed, doesn't this fall under wear and tear and not covered by insurance?

[hubcap]

1 hour ago, Fly Boomer said:

How are they going to get it out of that field?

I’m not sure what the plan is to relocate the plane.

[EricJ]

4 minutes ago, hubcap said:

I’m not sure what the plan is to relocate the plane.

It'll be a lot lighter without the engine, so takeoff roll will be much shorter.   Maybe they can fly it out that way.

 

[Hank]

4 minutes ago, EricJ said:

It'll be a lot lighter without the engine, so takeoff roll will be much shorter.   Maybe they can fly it out that way.

Glider tow? Just need someone with a glider rating to help out . . . .

[EricJ]

7 minutes ago, Hank said:

Glider tow? Just need someone with a glider rating to help out . . . .

There used to be vid around (can't find it now) of a C206 or similar towing a C172.    I don't recall whether the 172 still had an engine or was just weighted to be balanced, but it was definitely something I never expected to see.

 

[201Steve]

I’ve heard two forklifts with old mattress between the bottom of the wing and the forks. Lift on each wing. But, I often wonder if you had say a gear collapse on the runway, would you be able to conjur up two mattresses and two forklifts before the crane showed up. 
 

it’s good to have these things thought out in advance in case you find yourself at a busy airport eager to quickly reopen the runway. 

[PeteMc]

2 hours ago, Fly Boomer said:

How are they going to get it out of that field?

I've heard of helicopters recovering planes.  And it will be a lot lighter now without the engine.

 

[201Mooniac]

6 minutes ago, PeteMc said:

I've heard of helicopters recovering planes.  And it will be a lot lighter now without the engine.

 

A friend of mine had his 252 recovered by a helicopter when he crashed it into the side of a mountain.  Luckily he was okay but the airplane not so much.  In that case they didn't really worry about damaging the aircraft with the helicopter lift but I'm not sure how carefully they could do it for a plane like this that is in otherwise perfect condition.

[Yetti]

just winch it up on the back of a roll back wrecker and put it at an angle.   Some wide load signs and off you go.

[EricJ]

27 minutes ago, 201Mooniac said:

A friend of mine had his 252 recovered by a helicopter when he crashed it into the side of a mountain.  Luckily he was okay but the airplane not so much.  In that case they didn't really worry about damaging the aircraft with the helicopter lift but I'm not sure how carefully they could do it for a plane like this that is in otherwise perfect condition.

A few years ago there was the case where somebody's partner landed their J model in a field in the Rockies after the mag walked out of the accessory case after maintenance.   The airplane was fine, but not flyable.   He was a trucker and worked with the recovery company to rig up a system to lift it with a helicopter and take it to an airport, which they ultimately did successfully.   I recall him saying there were a lot of opportunities to damage the aircraft, so he took charge of the lift rigging and got it done without damage.

And that was the entire airplane with engine, etc., at high DA, so it is certainly possible.

[A64Pilot]

35 minutes ago, Yetti said:

just winch it up on the back of a roll back wrecker and put it at an angle.   Some wide load signs and off you go.

That’s exactly how we recovered an SR-22 that had a fuel pump fail. That was South Ga though and the local cops were fine with it because it took up the whole road and then some.

It was only a couple of miles to the Sylvester Airport.

In the Army we recovered aircraft with a Chinook pretty frequently, last one I did was in Bosnia, main Xmsn chip light and he put it in what turned out to be a mine field, so we slung it out as opposed to working on it there.

Biggest deal with helicopter recovery is to have a small rouge chute on the tail and if it’s an airplane spoilers on the wings.

Helicopter recovery’s are pretty common in Alaska

[PeteMc]

17 hours ago, 201Mooniac said:

In that case they didn't really worry about damaging the aircraft with the helicopter lift but I'm not sure how carefully they could do it for a plane like this that is in otherwise perfect condition.

It should be that hard for an experience lift team.  The insurance companies probably have contacts for this.  

Not having any real knowledge on this process, it still doesn't seem that hard.  With no engine I'm assuming the the plane is tail heavy, but it really doesn't matter.  You figure out if it is nose or tail heavy and add as much wight to the tail to insure the plane is balanced or slightly tail heavy.  Then you put a strap under each wing and one back by the tail and lift away.  Who knows, if there's enough scuffing he'd even get a new paint job out of the insurance co.  Or at least a good detailing at a paint shop.

 

[Fly Boomer]

1 hour ago, PeteMc said:

put a strap under each wing

Where on the wing?

[Yetti]

1 hour ago, PeteMc said:

It should be that hard for an experience lift team.  The insurance companies probably have contacts for this.  

Not having any real knowledge on this process, it still doesn't seem that hard.  With no engine I'm assuming the the plane is tail heavy, but it really doesn't matter.  You figure out if it is nose or tail heavy and add as much wight to the tail to insure the plane is balanced or slightly tail heavy.  Then you put a strap under each wing and one back by the tail and lift away.  Who knows, if there's enough scuffing he'd even get a new paint job out of the insurance co.  Or at least a good detailing at a paint shop.

 

It's not a boat.   There really is no way to sling one without doing damage.   I would build a platform for the wheels, then attach to that.

[Ron McBride]

It could be slung using the motor mounts, remove the tail and use the huck bolts,  remove ailerons and use the hinge points.  Without the engine and prop, you are probably lifting 1100 - 1200 pounds.

Ron