You (almost calmly) got the plane down safely in under 2 minutes, got everyone out safely, and saved the plane. While doing a low altitude fly-over of a major metropolitan area with smoke in the cockpit, with no injuries to anyone in the plane or on the ground, and the only damage to the plane was fixed in under an hour. Damn good flying.
Good job to that pilot. I had a electrical fire when I first started flying and had to emergency land at Boca Raton. Smoke in the cockpit, all the lights started flashing in the cockpit, radio communications stopped working, ended up being a fire behind Comm 1. I had to cut the battery power and land at night without talking to ATC and no electrical power to the airplane. Glad I remembered my light gun signals from the tower. What I learned from it was to buy a bigger flashlight.
I want to fly warbirds and always have, but I cant go military because I have to be corrected to 20/20, and I worry that will prevent me from getting the Warbird exposure I want. Also, people tell me in crazy because stuff like this is more likely...
Awesome video. Pause the text screens to read - great stuff. The biggest take away for me is the end note: "No original thought was needed" because the thorough pre flight briefings had covered all the options. good stuff.
That was freaking scary, wasn't it? Even though the actual problem turned out to be (relatively) benign, the symptoms were insanely scary. The enumeration of "lessons learned" is pure *****
***** don't worry i only take chance i know will kill me, and no one else, even in a car. AND EVEN THEN I'M STILL ALIVE FROM THE ONES I SHOULD BE DEAD From.. at this point i'm more annoyed.
***** Amen to that, I was a biker and driver for years before becoming a pilot, and flying had a profound effect on the way I approach driving and riding. I found myself asking "What if..." a lot more and part of my mind is constantly planning for dealing with potential threats as they arise. It might sound slightly boy scout like (yes, I was..) but if, as the poster says, no original thought is required, the time saved can mean the difference between life and death. I definitely feel riding made me a better driver and pilot, and flying made me a better rider and driver.
Thru the TBM grapevine, I learned early of this incident, and wondered how a hydraulic leak might be construed as"fire". The helmet-cam video shows this concisely. It also shows proper decision making and excellent pilot skills - great job! Yet another "I learned about flying from that" lesson which will always stay with me. Very glad everything turned out ok.
I've watched this so many times, but it never gets old - the knowledge presented here is priceless, especially crewing a TBM. People ask me what to expect or what to look for, and I use this as an example of simply saying "anything" - or in ground training, learning "everything" that you can about these things. I'm sure you had quite a mess to clean up, but you made warbirds that much safer with the video so thanks! I think I've talked to most of you all about this in person at the air shows at this point. It's still cool to see Doris Mae out the window on the run in! It's kinda funny - not that pin-holes can be detected, but every time I check that line I think of this flight/video!
Excellent job reacting to the emergency. Reminds me of a NATOPS Safety briefing we received (circa mid 1980's). A T-2 Buckeye jet trainer on a level flight cross country leg. Student Pilot front seat, Instructor Pilot in back. Instructor Pilot in back seat was bored, and started to fiddle with the emergency gear under his seat. Accidentally inflated his one man life raft. Raft began to inflate and pushed on stick, causing the Student Pilot to feel the forward pressure on his flight control and estimated there was a "hydraulic failure". Instructor Pilot, using his survival knife stabbed the raft, causing it to deflate. Unfortunately survival rafts contain talcum powder inside them for storage purposes, and this talcum powder blew as a cloud into the cockpit. Student Pilot, on oxygen, saw what he perceived to be "white smoke", and estimated there was now a FIRE in connection to the "hydraulic failure". The Student Pilot, relying on his emergency procedures pulls the "E Handles" to cut fuel and dump fire retardant into both of the engines. As the Instructor Pilot finally got his errant survival raft under control he looked up to see both engines shutting down and warning lights across his panel illuminating. At some point, one of the Pilot initiated Command Eject and within seconds both Pilots hit the silk. At some point after the Buckeye was a smoking crater in the countryside and the Pilots were limping to the nearest farmhouse, they figured out the sequence of events that caused them to needlessly throw away a $41 Million primary jet trainer. NATOPS determined the primary cause of the accident to be "Lack of Communication in Aircrew". One of my favorite Navy Stories.
That is just weird. In India, the instructor pilot wud end up grounded for may be a year or so till his court of enquiry is completed and his career wud b irretrievably ruined for doing something that stupid.
Wow - I hope the student pilot didn't suffer any negative effects on his piloting career. Sounds like he reacted exactly as he was trained to. Damned instructed needs to suffer though.
@@Vkj007 Well india isnt a world superpower so your punishments are irrelevant. Shit happens, you don't end a highly trained pilots career for one mistake. Hence why the USA is the #1 superpower
@@Vkj007 Your country also cannot even mantain any standard of sanitary food and water, the fuck makes you think the military standards matter? Deal with you citizens bathing in their own shit water then your air force might matter
@@nmnmnm35 Ur manners show ur upbringing. Secondly..whose president is going to attend a public event for Indian PM soon..Urs.. Moreover, I had commented only on what SOPs are followed in most places. Dont come here and flaunt ur resonant empty skull.
Thank you for taking the time to share this with us all. I've often told folks who are afraid of flying to listen to cockpit voice recorders or read the transcripts to appreciate how well-trained and disciplined the folks are who safely get them from one airport to another. Well done and thank you, again!
I'm so glad that it was only a fluid leak and not a fire. The pilot did an awesome job getting the Aircraft down quickly and safely, and putting the safety of the other occupants ahead of his own. You sir are a hero! Your actions honored those who served in that great conflict. Thank you so much for sharing and may your continued travels be much much less eventful!
Look at it this way, you are still here to learn from your mistakes and that what matters, and so will a lot of other pilots learn from this and the fact you let us all see them may save someones life. So thank you.
This is how you do a video! One playthrough with just the raw video, then again with subtitles and blocks of info that can be paused and read. Excellent job.
The handling of the emergency was spot on with the info you had at the time. However, your ability and willingness to acknowledge all of your mistakes and accept the responsibility of such actions is what makes this a truly GREAT educational video. Thanks
A good job getting that plane down and to remain calm. I also paused the text bits in the video to read them properly and I must say that's a great story and how true about those who sacrificed their lives for us. Thumb's up to all you pilot's who still fly these old birds to keep the memory's going
We great airmanship and decision making. Although you make some excellent recommendations upon Monday morning quarterbacking, the execution of the contengency plan was very well done. No injuries and no aircraft damage! Well done!
Thanks for this. My great uncle flew TBF/TBM from Bunker Hill and Essex with torpedo squadron 4 in the Pacific during WWII. Seeing this helps bring his stories alive in a way. My greatest dream is taking a flight in an Avenger someday. Good work. I'm very glad you and your crew had a good outcome and, as a good pilot should, lessons were learned. Thanks for capturing and sharing this "teaching moment".
I'm sitting here applauding your excellent performance, and you're picking out everything you failed to do perfectly. With an attitude like that, it's no surprise you did so well. Satisfaction is for slackers. Great video!
God bless you sir, and and a heartfelt "Thank You For Your Service!" And I repeat that for all of the brave folks who have served their nation in its many times of need. God bless you all!
I was standing in the park at the end of the runway at Reagan Airport when this happened. I recognized immediately what was going on and was thankful that this had a happy ending. Although it must have been disheartening to the pilot, he certainly must be proud of how he handled the emergency........ AWESOME JOB !!!!!
I saw you fly away from the formation that day and thought something was amiss but didn't hear of anything until seeing this. Glad to hear all ended well. Thanks for taking part in a great flying event.
While I am not a pilot I really appreciate and respect your AAR. You break down of lessons learned is what any professional would/should take away from adverse conditions. Any danger you walk away from is a learning exercise my SGTs used to say.
Your formation flying skills were my first clue that you are a skilled pilot. Your rapid response to the smoke, instantaneous decision making, and incredibly smooth landing are above and beyond. An outstanding video, and a high bar for all those that see it and fly.
flight schools should have the students watch your video, It really shows exactly how scary smoke, or vapor in the cockpit can be. More importantly, it shows how to be prepared for a emergency and how important that is to get on the ground alive and well. Outstanding job captain, and great message at the end; I couldn't agree with you more, god bless America and the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice defending our freedoms will never be forgotten!
Terrific video showing some safe and solid decision making by the pilot. My first concern was his lack of flying gloves, as he later mentioned on his debrief. Well done!
Amazing video, thanks for sharing and thanks for your service! What a privilege to be able to participate in flights like this, honoring the men and women of that amazing generation.
I was standing at the base of the Washington Monument, and while scary, seeing the full belly of that TBM when he pealed off for 19 at DCA was truly the best part of the flyover. On my way to D.C., I rolled past the Culpeper Airport to see, much to my amazement, more of my favorite aircraft in one place than I have ever before witnessed. i am TRULY GRATEFUL for each and every person that made the flyover possible. It was a great day, and a glorious reason to take a Friday off work.
I was flying with my confident-above-his-abilities father in law from Falcon Field in Mesa, AZ to Rocky Point, Mexico in an STOL Mahl, the most difficult airplane I ever flew and the airframe I was taught to fly, in; when an oil leak filled the wind shield and we clearly had to return to Falcon or seize and crash. My expert senior flying companion flipped out screaming about some SOB that did this or that check, paying little attention to our situation. Seeing this gave me flashbacks, great job
I was there at the 17th St side of the WWII Memorial and saw the aircraft break toward Virginia, I thought it was part of a Missing Man Formation. Great job putting it down safely and glad it was a relatively minor malfunction.
Very well handled, the possibility of an inflight fire scares the crap out of me. When you got to lesson 6 I found myself thinking "just bail", but the thought process at that point (once the initial crisis was over), had probably moved on to shock. Very well dealt with.
Thank you. Having just attended a WWII air show only a week after Bill Gordon was lost in P47 Jackys Revenge it was sobering and welcome to watch and read your cool professionalism.
great job getting her on the ground safe. great emergency procedures. glad to see the crew and plane are safe. hope to to see you guys in Geneseo again this year at the airshow cant say thanks enough for you guys who fly them and Jerry yagen who owns them. keep em flying!
Great video and lessons learned. I have found several more videos showing the departure from formation from the ground and another from the crew in one of the formation planes. This is just great stuff.
Excellent handling of the aircraft under pressure. That said, I was most-struck by the video of the aftermath. I had no idea just how much space there was inside of an Avenger!
You made the right choice for the circumstances. Had it been an actual fire, the outcome may have been very very different. Bravo Zulu for thinking fast, ensuring your crew was safe, and getting that turkey on the ground as fast as you did.
Great video, thanks for posting that, it tells you more about what happened than anything else could have. Note the tone of the pilot. All business until he’s rolling on the active slowly enough for the passengers to get out. And once the urgency gets into his voice, it’s only focused on the passengers. I don’t know Josh Wilson, but that’s exactly the type of jock you want flying a plane like that.
Great job by all involved especially the pilot Josh Wilson, tower controller and God for the altitude and aircraft positioning relative to airport. All worked together to save a grand old aircraft that kept us from bowing to an Emperor! Over & Back - Wild Bill Callahan - Amazon.
Thank You for what you do. I love these aircraft and love to see them flying. It's a hard job on you guys to keep them operational. In a situation like this you did just what you had to. Thanks
Thanks for posting this, I was wondering what happened to you after made the landing. Those old birds are a national treasure and I'm glad it was an easy fix. Stay safe up there and thanks for giving everyone the chance to see flying history.
Better safe than sorry. I wasn't there, but I watched the live feed and saw you guys veer off. I figured there was a problem of some sort. Glad to see it wasn't serious!
I was on the ground watching this event and very distinctly remember seeing an Avenger trailing white smoke pull away from the formation. Glad he got to the ground safe.
Wow. That was impressive. Nice work under pressure, GreasySideUp. You made us all proud in the way you handled the crisis, the way you managed and cared for your passengers, and your amazing candor in critiquing your own performance that day. I'd say you were a little hard on yourself. But nonetheless, I learned valuable lessons from your comments. Thank you!
Very good video, with a number of lessons shared. Serves as a good reminder for fellow pilots. I think one lesson more should have been added: Stop as far to the left or right on the runway as possible, to allow for other aircrafts with emergencies.
Excellent video, very impressed you did not use this to be a show off, more impressed you thanked all involved, most impressed that you used it to find ways to improve in the future.
Wonderful video and narrative Sir. I've always been curious how your emergency turned out or for that matter what the emergency was. Sharing your experience and the lessons learned is a meaningful part of what you men do. We all really appreciate, and extremely envious, of what you and all the other Warbirds pilots do to keep history alive. Also, thanks so much for giving credit to the men who flew these planes into harm way.
Great video of a great job. Thanks, for flying it and then for posting it. FYI I was streaming LiveATC as I watched from the West Front of the Capitol, had noticed the TBM break off before hearing the calls - suspect the stream was a bit slower than reality. Very interesting to see the in-cockpit perspective, extremely valuable as a fellow pilot to get the lessons learned and see the process of introspection to convert experience to future good judgement. THANKS!
Well done! Interestingly I can relate to the last shots of the interior of the rear compartment. I was on the restoration team of our (New Zealand) Air Force Museum's TBF-1 Avenger which was brought back to taxi status. One day during an engine run the hydraulic accumulator seals blew and this was the mess we ended up with as well!
I was one of the 1st responders and the flight crew did a good job getting it safely on the ground, subsequently off the rwy w/o causing undue flight delays here at DCA &, they were gracious towards all who responded to assist . . .
BRAVO ZULU boys! Well done on getting a beautiful old lady down on the deck. Glad for you guys and her that it wasn'tt that bad and you happened to be flying past Reagan ?National. Well Donr Fellas!
Thank you so much for sharing this video and hope this becomes a lesson for all of us vintage aircraft pilots. Outstanding job and maybe you were beating yourself up a little to much, you did a great job and FLEW THE AIRPLANE instead of loosing it in an emergency. NICE JOB!
How many times did this occur during WWII? God bless all those who were pilots and served our country and had to face these incredible challenges. This video made it so real to me.
Great Job. From "yell" of "are we on fire" the pilot did not hesitate to begin an emergency landing. The pilot was in gangsta mode getting the plane ready for an impromptu landing. Buy this guy a beer.
Good call Greasy, and thank you very much for posting with your thoughts and reflections. I think all pilots can benefit from your video, and enjoy the event too! I do agree a Noxme suit would be cheap protection in the very unlikely event of fire, but at the very least use gloves at all times, as your hands are most likely to get burned. Thanks again for sharing!
You are right, of course, Ollie, and it is really a shame about your son's injuries. They might not have been entirely avoided, but it would have been a help! Best wishes Walt
Great job. I watched the plane roll out on final with the distinct knowledge that something was wrong. He executed a great emergency landing and got down safely. Training and planning will trump almost any problem.
Great Video ... I initially thought it was a condensation of some sort but of course that didn't fit ... then hearing fire, I was really concerned .... Bravo and fly safe.
Spot on with Hyd Fluid, I had a line break on the 5k system on the V-22 and it looked like heavy smoke. You could tell by the scent that it was Hyd Fluid. Bravo Zulu overall!
I was in the crowd on the Mall, with streaming audio from DCA tower on my phone, I heard you declare an emergency and go land. Glad everyone was ok and the aircraft will fly again!
As a pilot who has executed an emergency landing in NYC, lesson 10 is the biggie. When I had my engine blow a jug, I turned immediately, because I had picked my emergency landing site for that section of the route months earlier. All you gotta do at that point is execute. This was well done.
2:01 I'm somewhere down in those ball fields! It's neat to see the rest of what happened compared to what I could see from the ground. Glad you and the plane were perfectly fine with just a scare!
Great video and perfect execution on the landing. From looking at the video, yes that's a fire, Thankfully it wasn't and the craft was saved along with crew.
Agreed on all points, especially the fire suits. Also, it never hurts to pack helmets as well. Most fighter pilots wear them these days. Also, you might want to install some discreet mirrors to look directly back into the rear seating. They don't have to mounted on the canopy, just some fish eye type mirrors on a pillar that can look into the back, without losing sight of your front.
Sully would have been impressed (of US Airways Flight 1549... The January 2009 "Miracle on the Hudson" forced landing of an A320 jet on the Hudson River). The pilot made the proper decisions to safely land the plane... and being within eyesight of Reagan National Airport was a major plus on that day..!! Great job and thanks for wearing the helmet cam.
Awesome job making an immediate decision to land and getting down safely. Even cooler is that you guys could have just patted yourselves on the back and said great landing and gone home, but instead you obviously debriefed what you did in this situation and learned how to do it even better if there is a next time.
As a layperson with only a few hours flight time I think your evaluation was well done but you may have been overly critical of yourself. You reacted, got the plane on the ground, and everyone was ok. Well done.
