If theres one thing that jumped out at me its the people who rushed towards a burning plane and pulled two fellow humans out, saving their lives. I hope they were recognized for this and given some kind of award. I stand and salute them.
I had a catastrophic engine failure with the port engine in a rental C-310 decades ago, taking off from Monterey (Calif) airport around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. The engine suffered a broken connecting rod and as the shaft rotated, it shoved the broken end right through the side of the crankcase. Made one helluva "BANG" and showered the left inboard engine and wing with black oil. Feathered the prop, declared an emergency, and came back around and landed. Taxied in on one engine & shut down. No biggy, actually, but it sure came as a surprise...!! This was 1976 or 77.
Proficiency. I'm an airline pilot, have multiple jet type ratings and international long haul experience. I lost my job during the pandemic, have not flown anything for 1 year and 9 months and I decided to go to a flight school and do a flight review on a Seneca along with an Instrument proficiency check. Have not flown piston aircrafts for over a decade and boy I tell you I felt like a student pilot, but I did get back my rusted multi-engine piston skills and confidence as an aviator, and that took self aware, humbleness and a bit of effort to get out of my comfort zone and be safe. We pilots need to take upon ourselves to be proficient, do not rely on your previous experience, your skills DO decay!
The first thing I thought was, “Why did he make right turns?” The second was the photo of the throttle quadrant. “No feathered prop?” He’s so lucky he made it as far as he did with a windmilling prop!
I know right!? I'm not even a pilot but learned enough about the difference between having the extra power and 1 good engine if 1 quits on a twin to really take the wind out of any sense of added safety and security when flying a twin!! So many different factors come into play in the various videos I've seen made me realize that 1 more motor doesn't necessarily mean it's a walk in the park with the extra. Sounds more like a struggle for survival flying on the razors edge of what's required to remain flying, and what the plane is actually capable of with little room for error!
As you watch the radar track, there is another plane taking off on 02L just prior to '297's takeoff roll. When 297 reaches the end of 02R, the two aircraft are pretty much alongside each other as 297 call the mayday. It's possible that, knowing he had traffic to his left, turning right was the only option he had.
Looking at the video which is not quite synchronized to the audio, the first gentle turn to the right is almost certainly because the pilot did not maintain good directional control when the engine failed. He needed more left rudder and gentle left bank to go straight, and even more than that to turn left. Then, once the turn to the right had begun, right was the shorter direction to go and so he made a deliberate right turn to the downwind then more right turns trying to line up with final. The bottom line is that the first turn was not by conscious choice, then right became the path to a shorter flight back to the runway. The antidote should have been to go straight ahead at first, get the airplane cleaned up (feathered prop, etc), then take some time to get back. Rushing the return was instinctive but bad.
Good job explaining how this accident happened. I’m a private pilot and owner of a Cessna 172, I will not fly with other pilots with their airplane, it really seems like they panic and lose control but that’s easy to say when I’m sitting in my living room.
It’s a good idea to be careful about who you fly with. I am for sure. Some private pilots are not exactly ahead of the game, that’s not to say I won’t screw up, but I don’t want to be involved in a crash because of someone else’s dumb mistake.
I am 77 years old, replaced my 14 year old lawn tractor, had to practice various different controls , functions and placement on new tractor. Simple but muscles need practice. Love you’re channel.
At the time I trained for my multi, engine out procedures were drilled, drilled drilled. It was automatic. I don’t know if many continue to run that through their minds regularly. In other words they quit thinking about it. Not good. I still think about those procedures all the time and seldom fly multi engine aircraft. One thing that struck me about the audio calls was that the pilot really seemed panicked, especially at the first call. I get sudden surprise and concern, but to make a call such as that, as it turns out, without going through the normal engine out procedures tells you he either wasn’t proficient or doesn’t handle these things well at all. Glad everyone made it, in spite of the pilots shortcomings…whatever the cause of those actually was.
Excellent review of this terrible accident involving a light twin Cessna. These airplanes can be incredibly unforgiving, especially when flown by marginally experienced pilots lacking recent flight time. In laying out this accident sequence step by step, there is little doubt you may have potentially saved the lives of more than a few ME pilots. Learning from the mistakes of others is the best teacher.
This video is so much more than an accident recap. It’s a tremendous training aid for those seeking a Multi rating, as well as those who already have one and desire/need proficiency training. I’ll be passing it along to my students and recommending it to future ones. Great job!
Scott is the best! He not only talks about the problem, he identifies what needs to be done to prevent this from happening to you. It won’t happen to me because I’m never going to fly a twin, too much to do when something goes wrong with one engine. You are better off in a single engine aircraft and no engine then you are in a twin with one engine. The record shows You are more likely to survive in the single. Of course there are reasons to have twin engine airplane, I’m not wishing to ban them or anything like that.
This was really good. I owned a 414 for about 10 years and was always anxious about this very thing happening. I understand that in the pilot's situation he probably became so focused on just landing the airplane, he forgot about or didn't think about anything else - I can see why that would happen. I've also been in situations - like you describe - where my leg was literally quivering out of stress in a challenging situation. Your video is an excellent teachable moment in articulating engine out scenarios -- I can imagine if you do nothing else in that situ, that you should feather the dead prop, but hey, been there done that, it's not very easy in the heat of the moment. Excellent video.
Very nice video! C-310R: for take off and landings: fuel selectors both on mains, and auxiliary fuel pumps on low. Note: auxiliary pumps are located inside the main pumps and only feed from the respective main tank. The wing tanks (aux tanks) are gravity fed to the engine pump and not for take off and landing.
Thanks for a great analysis! I had this happen in my Twin Comanche. Left engine failed due to a broken valve stem and subsequent loss of oil. I didn't even consider turning to the left and declined tower's clearance to enter left downwind. I told them 'unable' and that I was entering a wide, right downwind. I kept turns shallow. They cleared all runways for me. I held off on gear extension until final and didn't use flaps. Secured the left engine on final - no time before that and, frankly, I REALLY didn't want to feather the wrong prop! I was alone in the plane and felt extremely busy in the cockpit; I felt I had no time. It all went by in a flash. I can't imagine making turns into a dead engine at low altitude. I couldn't turn to the right (into the good engine) on taxi and had to make 270 degree turns to the left in order to move to the right while taxiing in after landing. I was very proficient in that plane and did a LOT of engine-out training. Proficiency is so critical in twins! As they say, the problem with flying a twin is that the good engine will just get you to the scene of the accident...
The key to survival here seems to be the pilot turning into the dead engine and nor actually completing the "Engine Fail Checklist". My red light was the fact that the a/c flew 6.3 hours in 7 years. If the pilot was the one who flew that low amount of time, then that borders on minimum proficiency (no muscle memory) and with a passenger aboard, potential criminality. It certainly is worth looking at his Flight Reviews during that 6-year period. As Scott has pointed out in all of his videos, there is no substitute for training, especially in the C-310 with a non-standard fuel system. Great job Scott. Always a pleasure to watch and listen to your breakdown of a/c accidents. Please keep up your great work.
I have lost an engine in 340 and 402B. The 340 twice once in flight once on takeoff. The 402 was on takeoff. The 402 barfed The left engine big time just barely feathered it before it froze. The 340, it was a fuel line issue both times. and I was light. But I had effective training and experience. The standardization of both companies helped. Memorize the checklist study the manual. But Scott's right. Control the aircraft. Know the machine. Be proficient. I've had some months off due to my wife's illness and death, and then a car wreck and hospital stay. (Tboned at a stop. I had the right of way.) I wouldn't dream of crawling into an aircraft, even a simple one, without an instructor at least.
People will get sick of hear reading about stories like this? Too bad- We need more people who've survived these emergencies due to good training and taking their time to INGRAIN in their BRAINS, what to do in these situations- I'd much rather get a bit bored reading peoples stories of survival, than read obituaries.
Thank you for sharing. The pilot's memory seemed to play a little bit of a trick on him when he thought he'd feathered the prop but later it was found nothing had been changed on the right engine from the take-off configuration. Understandable he might have been very flustered, but unfortunate result. Glad they survived. Gratitude and kudos to those who pulled them out.
I can certainly relate to your saying how you understood that moment of fear that pilot felt. I had that moment whet I went from clear enough to full IMC as a non instrument rated pilot. I said my mantra - Fear is the Mind -Killer, and I focused on flying my plane. Later, when I was back on the ground, an hour and a half later, I dealt with the fear.
I fly a Mooney so maybe not completely relevant, but I have strict protocol when it comes to fuel. Always enough fuel in either tank to make it to cruising altitude, always on, either right or left tank, never select off. While maybe different than others might do it's important to have a regime you always follow and never deviate from to maximize safety. This video is a good reminder of that.
As I seem to recall Cessna 310/320/340 sires aircraft (including the 310R) was that the aux pumps are in the Main tip tanks so the aux tanks have no fuel boost, and are intended for level cruise only. As such, starting the engines with the fuel selectors set to 'Aux' would seem unlikely if not impossible as no fuel boost would be available for priming. I can't recall ever trying to start or take off in a 310, 320 or 340 with fuel set to 'Aux' but I lost power on both engines turning base to final in a 320 with the fuel selectors set to 'Aux' and only about 5 gals in each tank and instantly realized what happened and was able to restore power in a few seconds. I recall a fatal 310 accident at SLE where a pilot was on an ILS runway 31 and ran out of AUX fuel a bit above DH and crashed into a house. In the 310 you can run just about an hour on Aux tanks, or just long enough to forget about it and travel 200 to 300 miles and run out near the ground. A high-time 310 driver recommended I switch to AUX tanks about 10 mins apart, but that complicated things. Once, I forgot to switch one tank back to 'Main' 10 mins after the first, and the right engine out of fuel on downwind.
Scott....I Pray You Know How Much We Admire You, Pay Attention To Your Experience And Wisdom ! Bless You and Thank You for Your Dedication to Our Safety !
Awesome analysis. Very sobering to think of what training and practice is needed to keep proficiency up. I just had my biannual and could see the deficiencies that have crept in, even though I’ve had regular training over the last two years. I’m definitely gonna be taking up an instructor regularly. Even if I think I know it all, which I don’t, because I think we’re always learning.
Great video! It's so easy to think that you've read and studied enough to know what to do in an emergency, but without that muscle memory, you may not actually do what you've studied when the shock of an emergency comes.
Every twin trainee in the U.S. has heard that turns must be into the operating engine. In this case, it sounded as though the pilot was in condition black, breakdown in metal and physical performance. His actions reinforce this presumption. It could be that he got stuck on the issue of which engine was out and therefore fell into a mental breakdown. It’s seems in this situation he would have been better off not committing to any turn before identifying the failed engine, something that is best done in straight ahead flight. It’s not hard to have compassion for the idea of getting back to the airport immediately, but too many people who jump right to that action, miss the steps required to simply stay aloft. Glad no one died.
He probably would not have been nearly as stressed-out, if he had been by himself. But, the fact that he had a passenger who's life literally depended on what he did/didn't do in that situation, probably exponentially raised his stress-level. I KNOW that would be the case, if I had been the pilot!
I'm a twin trainee in the US and I've never been told I can only turn into the operating engine. Even the the multiengine chapter in the FAA Airplane Flying Handbook says you do not have to turn into the operating engine. Of course, there are conditions, such as having enough airspeed and using a moderate bank angle.
Engine failure during take-off worst case scenario because of shock effect and being time critical. Takes a moment to change thought processes, so really emphasises the need to have and practice these drills by rote; light twins like this make it even more critical to get it right. My experience of an engine failure in a C310R was far more leisurely when cruising at 9,000’ an oil filter mounting bolt washer failed and all the oil spurted out. I had the luxury of rehearsing shut down drill while watching until the oil pressure flickered whereupon I cut the engine and feathered it. Below MTOW but easily maintained height for another 45 minutes. Knowing the drills is vital.
Excellent! I was an Air Traffic Controller in the Marine Corps. I witnessed my share of Military and GA accidents during my tour of duty at MCAS Yuma, 1972 - 1975. I was also a passenger onboard the Base Gooney Bird DC3 when it declared a mayday and reentered the pattern to successfully land and discover that the oil cap on the right wing had either come loose or was never secured prior to flight…we took off again and made it to our destination of MCAS El Toro, Calif. a few days later, I caught the return flight. I remember it like it was yesterday…52 years ago…
Great analysis of the accident! I really liked how you hit on the mantra of the single engine drill. I try to repeat the mantra (with physically touching controls as I work through the drill) close to or just before take off so I am mentally prepared and have good muscle memory. It is unfortunate that this pilot probably did not remember to repeat the mantra. However, we do know for a fact that he did the absolute minimum things correct which was to pitch the aircraft down, most likely roll into the good engine and not put the gear down when advised by ATC. Just doing the above, he prevented the roll over stall which is the most common type of a light twin crashes with engine out near the ground. Not identifying, verifying and feathering the dead engine is what eventually lead to the loss of speed and altitude. He might have even made it had he just remembered to raise the flaps which is also part of the mantra. I am glad they survived and kept the nose down somewhere near enough to VMC. BTW, I have flown my 310N with simulated critical engine out (left engine to idle no prop feathering) and turned to the left. It can be done but just as you said it must be done with precision.
I understand the controller's reflexive statement that the gear was up on the downwind, and applaud the pilot's statement that he wanted to wait before putting it down. Ultimately though, it's clear the pilot should have left the gear up until the very end or maybe even landed gear up, and controllers would do well to NOT advise pilots of light twins in these situations to put their gear down. Counterintuitive as it might seem to a controller, putting the gear down in this kind of situation can kill people, while landing gear up just makes some scraping noises.
I understand your comment, however we can't assume every controller to be aware of the correct procedure for every aircraft (not all controllers are pilots for that matter), that's the pilot's job (which he did correctly regarding the gear at this point). I'd also like to point out that the controller merely informed the pilot that "your gear appears to be up", the controller did not instruct him to lower the gear. Personally I think the most valuable lesson to be drawn from this interaction is that it's the pilot's responsibility to evaluate if a suggestion or instruction from ATC can be safely followed after taking into consideration all circumstances in the cockpit.
Also, not every airplane is the same, some are ancient... might be a good idea for pilots to get a clear idea of how long it takes their airplane to deploy the landing gear. Ten seconds to touchdown is no good if it takes fifteen to deploy.
I had my multi training in a 310F and learned, after missing a heartbeat, the 310 has major adverse yaw at slow speeds or approach (I was over the rocks and surf at Kalaupapa 50 years ago) and rudder authority is extremely important even with 2 engines running. Not feathering that engine was a major reason in this crash and should have been able to gain and maintain approach speed. The 310 can be a wicked beast if mishandled and a dream if prepared.
Another wonderful analysis, Scott: thanks very much for what you do! The radar track indicates that the pilot tried to fly a full pattern, continuing on the downwind beyond abeam the numbers before turning base. If he had turned base well before the numbers, he probably could have made it back to the runway. Even if he had run out of runway upon landing and gone off the end, that likely would have had a more successful result than that which ultimately happened. PS: haven't read all the comments, so apologies if I'm repeating what others have observed.
My wife and I own and operate a C310R. Very early on in my training to fly the 310, it was stressed to me, and is also stated in the POH, that in the Pre Starting Engines check list that the fuel selectors be placed to select the Main (tip) tanks. In addition to moving the levers, which are on the aircraft centerline, on the floor, you have to feel for the selector to go into the Detente. The actual valves for the fuel flow are out in the wing, and are connected to the cabin selector switches by cables, hence the need to feel the detente. That might have contributed to the right engine quitting, as you stated. I really enjoy your videos, even if they are usually regarding single engine aircraft. Good learning material. Thanks!
Another great video that hopefully will be viewed by all light twin pilots, especially those with low yearly hours. You mentioned DC-3s. I was a mechanic of D-18's and 3s (47s) back in the mid 70's at Willow Run Ypsilanti, Mi. I would always volunteer to go with the pilots on any test runs after any repairs or alterations we did on the planes. One time we put a zero time refurbed 1830 starboard side and some other stuff and I was the ck ride mechanic for a DC-3 for the first time. There were 3 pilots that went for some unknown reason and one was the chief pilot who sat behind the pilot's seat. I sat behind the co-pilot at the observation window so I could watch the starboard engine. I didn't have any headset and all I could barely hear was the loud speaker to hear the radio conversation. When they were doing the run up and preflight, they were taking about golf. Same thing during roll out and rotation whenever they could get a few words in. Then at 500 feet, they started talking about the oil temp on the starboard engine and a few seconds later the pilot said to shut it down and feather the prop. So I watched that going on. I didn't notice anything much out of the normal. We keep climbing to about 1500 agl and they never stopped talking about golf as they turned slightly into the DEAD engine. The tower kept asking them what they needed and from what I could hear, they said nothing. The tower wanted to foam the runway and the pilot said no. So we came around in right traffic and everything seemed normal to me. Keep in mind the plane had full full except had no cargo. I felt very laid back about the whole thing but was disappointed I was not going to have a nice long flight. Pilot did a perfect landing and during the entire event, even after we got picked up by a ground crew, these guys were still talking about golf. So from that time on up until now, watching your video, I always thought pilots turned into the dead engine. I did however think that could be tricky, but only being a single engine pilot, it didn't concern me much.
Used to love that braked, rocking power-up at SNA in a 757 from seat 1A. Followed by a seeming rocket launch. Followed by the sudden silent weightlessness gliding quietly over Newport Bleach lol. (another terrific video btw!)
Scott: I’m an SNA based pilot, CFI, CFII, MEI, recent owner of a T310R at SNA and know the accident airplane and one of its owners well. Something that appears inaccurate in the findings is your note regarding the engine time of 6 hours in a 7 year period. This airplane was owned in a partnership of 3 individuals and was flown far more regularly than that. This does not give any indication as to the recency of experience or currency of the accident pilot as I do not know him or his flying habits. I do know however that one of the partners flew the airplane very regularly. As a T310R owner I can say this pilot was very lucky to be flying light and to have VG’s on that airplane. I believe if he had handled this same situation with any additional weight or without vortex generators he would have VMC rolled much earlier in the accident sequence. The condition of the right fuel selector really has me scratching my head as to whether he switched the right selector following the engine failure, or commenced takeoff in that mix matched condition.
I got the numbers from the logbooks that were included in the Docket. I thought that was unusual, but if the airplane had flown more, the logs were fudged. You make the call.
It said he used 15 flap for T/O . Is that in the POH ? If so --why ? No short/soft field or obstacles , and we aren’t told he raised them --just the gear . If he flew the pattern that way the extra drag sure didn’t help , and could have made the difference for that last turn and landing .
Only mantra I add is nose to horizon. protect whatever airspeed I have to use the smack to my advantage, however minimal, it may give me a few seconds to regain energy to at least stay airborne. Thanks for the refresher Scott. I have a twin so it is great to get some knowledge transfer from an airline pilot.Hit me up if you want some Aztec time. Great channel my friend.
I discovered your channel just yesterday. This is the third report I've watched and find it absolutely fascinating getting the insight of an experienced pilot. Have subscribed and rang the bell 👍
What he should’ve done is go STRAIGHT AHEAD instead of turning. Maintain directional control, clean up, accelerate, climb, then level off before attempting any turns. Being out over water with all that room and climbing slowly is better than drag inducing turns while hanging a few knots above Vmc. However, since he panicked and rushed it, he literally flew the airplane out of control.
I guess that's why I will stick with my LSA with a chute. 310 these days is above my pay grade. Hey if you want to see a graveyard full of DC3's including the World's oldest come down here to Shell Creek in Punta Gorda just outside the Class D at KPGD. It's like Dallas Moffet
watching Stevo videos it always awes me the amount of information that is exchanged just to get to the runway. granted, i do not want anyone flying overhead that is not topnotch, yet there seems to be many opportunities for distraction. i am not a pilot, thank you for your videos.
He was freaked out in his first mayday call. And let the situation take over, instead of the pilot taking charge. Less than one hour a year, it may have really been no hours. He is lucky to be alive and should not have even owned the plane if all he did was get it annual inspected which could have accounted for almost all the engine hours. 6-7 annual inspections sure could account for the entire amount.
RU-vid presented this channel to me just now, watched this vid, and subbed. Great stuff! I'm a big proponent of home computer sims, with the right kind of software and accessory setup, for certain proficiency tasks. The key to performing in those situations is to drill that stuff until you've had enough, and drill some more, and a home sim can provide the visuals and much of the physical actions to fully internalize procedures with far more repetition than you could ever achieve with real aircraft, or real simulators for that matter. I had a job where I was seconded as an FO to a flight ops department that operated CRJs, got type rated, and would fly in support part time. So it was only flying a few legs once a month or so. To stay sharp, I got a CRJ200 sim for FSX for my computer and it had enough features in its virtual cockpit, with decent visuals, to be able to do V1 cuts and approaches etc. I could go into recurrent having done, really, hundreds of V1 cuts on my computer at home over the previous months, so when the instructor executed one in the sim, the actions just flowed effortlessly and my mind was free to fly the plane and think ahead. I would've really struggled in recurrent without it.
It's easy to become complecent from bad habits. Sadly I have to say; in many situations like that, some pilots don't bring with them inside the cabin, a safety mindset, which is literally translated in a very friendly book called check list, check list, check list. It's there for a reason. Flight safe folks!
Scott this video was very impressive and a comprehensive review of the accident!!! Thank God they survived!!! You addressed any conflicts between the Pilots memory of what he did to complete the checklist, and what the evidence shows the pilot actually did do. All your information is very helpful, not only for licensed pilots but for people like myself who's been an aviation geek all my 60 plus years but haven't got a license yet. Super video Scott!!! And it was done very constructively and with all due respect to the survivors. Having that 2nd engine really does not equate to having double the capabilities of having a single and that was a huge eye opener for me! It really took the wind out of my mental security blanket or sails learning if I'm a passenger on a twin engine plane I have double the safety margin and double the capabilities of a single! Real eye opener!!!
not even 7h on the engines in more than 7 years...... You are asking for engine troubles regardless of your proficiency - and then taking a PAX? Thanks for a great video. I am glad everybody survived and lived to tell
His panicked voice on the initial radio call indicates to me he was totally unprepared for the situation or totally out of practice. My advice when doing pre takeoff checks is to say out loud to yourself the drill or procedure you are going to carry out in the event of an engine failure. In the gliding world, talk through is common practice in the event of a Winch or tow plane failure low down. Basic stuff but it works
Drill it into me Captain... train to fly & fly as you train. Love the channel. I just found it & will keep watching for training purposes. I am a previous vehicle collision reconstructionist & I love your completeness for critical details, your brevity, and your overall analysis. Great Job.
I am a cfi, ii, and mei and I've done an awful lot of multi engine training, and you are right on. I took my first ME training in an Aztec, and I've never worked so hard, and always came back with a sore leg. I did the ME training later, in a Baron. I have been very lucky to have had two ME instructors that were outstanding . I ended up later flying twins for several years, and followed the rules and practice. When I went to an Airline I had to work very hard, but I got through. So, I think that most people get their ME rating and never have another lesson. It takes practice on a regular basis. Also, going to a Sim School for a few days of more training can make a huge difference. That was a good ground school that you did was really excellent. It seems to me that the guy who crashed had no idea what he was doing all the way through the emergency. And, the dead engine acts like a great big plate pushing the dead engine creates drag, and lots of it. Good lesson, thanks.
Words to live and die by...not just flying but in today's unstable world: 'Develope a set of proficiency exercises that you can practice when you 'fly' to stay current'...
I love these videos Scott. The insight they provide and the frank nature of your explanations make it quite clear what the underlying causes are and where the first hole in the cheese was. Much appreciated
Kick the ball - power up - gear up - flaps up - dead foot dead engine throttle check confirm - feather that engine - bank to working leg - close engine cowl and prioritise speed at all times (particularly when still on a longer than required runway) Speed baby speed !.
Seeing the fireball, it's amazing anyone got out! Much respect to the people who ran toward that inferno. It seems like having an extra engine is an obvious choice, but it appears to need a host of extra skills, study and practice to go from a single to a twin.
Mr. Perdue,, You had a single engine go around on a DC3? Worst time ever. High drag, low speed. An ignorant FAA inspector on my multi checkout in Miami cut the right engine on me as i was raising the flaps and gear after a single engine approach. He called for a go around. I put power on both engines, At about 50 agl he cut the right engine again and said, no, on single engine now.. Piper Apache 150 hp high time engines. No climb with engine outs even with half tanks. I went down to ground effect while flaps and gear went up and telling the dummy "Sir, this airplane cannot climb on one with gear down or at hot temperature. He said, "Yes it should. I hold it on ground effect for a few thousand feet telling him, no sir, it wont, While he insisted" it should climb now" keep it like that". I was keeping it over the centerline with the 5 degrees to the good engine at full power, but.. it didnt climb. Almost at end of runway, he finally saw it and put power again, on the right. Too low at end. My friend in hangar came to see and though i really lost the right for real. FAA inspector apologized. He thought this was a PA23 Aztec. Didnt know much about the many PA23's. Almost killed us. A Burrocrat pretending they know all they need to know. I passed the CPL multi that way. By almost crashing at end of runway.
I can FEEL you there. I would have pulled the left and landed on the remaining runway. There are no single engine go arounds. It would be helpful if you named the inspector. I had a friend who was failed on a check ride due to a controller error, with an FAA guy on board. (protecting a fellow burrocrat) She said, "I want a copy of the tape", and the guy begged her to just let it go, come back tomorrow for your ticket.
Excellent review and analysis Sir.Thank you. Indeed proficiency AND recency are both saviours in piloting airplanes.These two factors have never been as relevant as during these covid restrictive times. I have in the past flown almost all the C320 series from B-R variants.I currently (but vbarely recently) fly private jets and we fly sparingly and plane is stored inappropriately and so every flight we do seems like a Russian roulette and the owner of the plane is against conservative measures like doing thorough checks and engine tests on the ground. Even if jets are simpler to fly then props they are still aircraft and exposed to the same risks which must be mitigated. Great lesson about what you think you did versus what you actually did due to startle effect and being out of practice with muscle memory repetitions. A plane you have flown for years after a long absence will feel uncomfortably unfamiliar and intimidating, not to mention the ATC and Airport environment especially if a complex busy airport with a fast paced dynamics of communication and swift clearances. When feeling any level of discomfort and if you can not slow down, better turn those magnetos off and open that escape hatch and go save yourself man!
You can turn into a dead engine if you are careful with your airspeed. I'd hate to see pilots automatically dismiss this technique based largely on old WW2 training-isms.
You can, but it is more difficult. So they say, avoid it. Which is not right. Also most WW2 airplanes had lots more torque to VMC roll you faster. This guy crashed due in panic got too close to the runway, then did a steep turn, i bet with Panic Pull too, and stalled it on base to final. Panic Pull i bet too. His 95 knots on base was not that low for the weight, but if you do a base to final Panic Pull due overshooting it, Down you go dummy.
@@emergencylowmaneuvering7350 Then they should be teaching turns in both directions during training for the multi engine rating. I think a few minutes turning each way would get most people over the fear concering this topic.
@@rob737700 Most important, you have to trim to straight level flight BEFORE turning into the dead engine. Trim, then turn. Out of trim it its quite confusing and harder. But the panicky pilot will just turn, and make pilot errors all over.. And die.. I did 2 full feathered landings when multi CFI.
@@emergencylowmaneuvering7350 Been there/done that a couple of times myself. Back in the day when commuter airlines had turboprops it took some effort to get new hires to "unlearn" this concept of not turning into a dead engine.
It's tough when you're flying 100 hours a year to stay proficient. NOT JUDGING!!! This guy/owner flew 7 hours in 7 years if I heard correctly. As they say anyone can fly (and look good) a multi until something goes wrong. It might makes sense to not fly twins in this situation unless you're prepared for the 50% increased probability of a problem and train incredibly well for it to turn out right. Great report! I flew a 310 RT for 16 years after my airline rated 30k+ hot dad made it look easy since bought new in 1977 and gave it to me with zero times props and engines. I was always amazed at the problems that I experienced were due to my 100hr per year non-proficiency that were otherwise avoidable. Bad fuel in Mexico, headwinds leading to low fuel in Mexico, unexplained auto pilot-radio-lights failure and of course the inevitable cylinder or case problem leading to low power. I was lucky. I've always wondered if aTBM series would have been a better choice.
I agree with your analysis 100%, but there is one point I don’t recall hearing you mention. This pilot was calling mayday way too early. He should not have worried about communicating until he had the airplane configured for sustained flight. The panic in his voice was clear. This was a pilot that lacked proficiency and possibly skill and did almost everything wrong. He communicated before he aviated and he aviated extremely poorly. The only thing this pilot had going for him was luck and brave people on the ground to get him out of the airplane.
These posts are excellent, thank you Scott. A real reminder that keeping on top of your game is life saving. I find if I dont fly in a week there is a downgrading of my skills (not saying that level is high!).
Scott, I see why he may have turned right. There was a A plane squawking VFR taking off from the left runway. When he called Mayday, the other aircraft was close to his left. The traffic pattern for the right runway was a right pattern. Had he turned left without climbing much, what were the chances of a midair? I have had a right engine failure on takeoff but it wasn’t at an airport with parallel runways. The day before flying a twin, I would sit in the cockpit and manually practice the engine out procedures every time. I would read through the POH and emergency checklist. I would do takeoff performance calculations on both the departure airport and the departure from the airport I was flying to. I didn’t get to fly twins much so my prep time was usually three times my flight time or more.
The Traffic pattern is indeed a right one for 20R... doesn't mean that is the best choice. He was an emergency, therefore everyone else needs to get out his way.
@@FlyWirescottperdue I know. That is what should happen. Just from the illustration in the video it looked like he had traffic off his left wing at the time he called mayday. I would have a hard time turning into another airplane hoping the other guy got out of my way. If you were the plane taking off on the right runway and you heard mayday on the radio, what would you do to give him room? First, you wouldn’t know who called the mayday, then you might not know the twin might need to turn towards you. I have called Mayday twice in my career. One was high and 18 miles out. The other was the engine out on takeoff. In both instances the tower had time to stop other people from entering the runway environment.
