Engine Failure Cessna 170B, Alaska 

Amazing !!

What a beautiful ending! Good job, sir!

@@No-turbo Thank you. Fly safe!

Great story! With a happy ending! Alaska is a special kind of flying that oftentimes makes aviation a challenge that’s not found in the lower 48. Fair winds!

@@privatepilot4064 Thanks for the comment. Alaska flying is getting easier with better weather reporting and more webcams but it's still a different level. Fly safe my friend.

Steve Brock -- you are the one person I've always wondered about! I tried to contact you after the rescue but couldn't. Were you piloting or spotting? Either way THANK YOU! Were you doing something around Rainy Pass or Farewell Lake? Thank you for leaving your "real job" to search for -- and rescue -- us. Yes, so glad the engine quit near that nice gravel bar and not up in the area where you guys were looking. (The new ELT's are so much better!) Hats off man. Well done!

I mean.. You do realise that it's mandatory for you two meet up and do a video of the two of you reminiscing about that event now. Right? Even if it's just over Skype

@@clivedoe9674 I like it! I'll try. Thanks for the comment, Clive, and fly safe.

The girls had a great time sampling the C ration survival rations and pretending they were serving gourmet food. Meanwhile, their moms weren't having such a great time wondering if they were alive! Safe flying to you.

Barry Arnold One other question was were you not able to use the radio to talk to anyone flying over, or did you not want to run down the battery?

kell490 I had a handheld aircraft radio, which I tried on several frequencies when four different airplanes flew over. No one answered, however. I was especially surprised an Air Force C130 was not, apparently, monitoring 121.5. I used the handheld to talk to the pilot who found us.

Barry Arnold Possibly the handheld just didn't have enough power to work from the ground.

Very possible. It was Sporty's Pilot Shop's cheapest model and the airplanes that overflew us were all quite high -- too high to see the SOS we had marked out with rocks and TP unless they had really been looking. My airplane radio, by the way, wasn't much better! Most guys flew with radios off anyway. Lots of uncontrolled airspace in Alaska.

Thanks, Fred. The girls did great. We actually did wake them on the way down to tighten their belts and have them hold pillows in front of their faces. They didn't say a word all the way down. We were all pretty happy to be on the ground, however.

The Grace of God for sure!

@@mysticpass The skill and demeanour of pilot, I'd say. Well done!

@fukthegoog I'll bet it has to be one of these guys, they loved screwing up anything with wings- I'm anteing up a coupla sacrificial virgins on Osiris though: Resheph Anath Ashtoreth El Nergal Nebo Ninib Melek Ahijah Isis * Ptah Anubis Baal Astarte Hadad Addu Shalem Dagon Sharaab Yau Amon-Re Osiris* Sebek Molech

@@mysticpass hats off to you, sir. You have my utmost respect. I would have been so proud of those children, who are probably in high school by now.

Thanks much, Tom, for the endorsement/compliment. You and I must have had the same instructor! It's also critical to keep practicing engine-out procedures to stay sharp. Countless times when I was flying alone I would pull the throttle, choose my "landing spot" and then see if I could get there without touching the throttle. It was especially fun when flying skis in the winter because I could often go ahead and do a touch-n-go on the frozen lake I selected. When the "real event" happened I knew exactly how big a "circle" I could draw for potential landing sites. BTW, the first thing I did when the engine failed was shut off electrical (because smoke was entering the cabin and I was concerned about fire), second thing was shut off fuel at the firewall (again, to not feed fire). Things got a lot simpler when it became clear we were not on fire but the smoke was just from oil on hot surfaces. I'm with you, Tom -- student pilots should insist on learning and repeatedly practicing engine-out procedures with instructors! Fly safe my friend.

+blancolirio Thank you! Safe flying to you!

You handled that as every pilot would like to, especially with such Precious Precious Cargo.

Mightiflier any landing*

That's true, provided we agree that when you're covered in burning fuel, you run every which way you go.

Wrong, that was a great emergency landing. The plane can be reused.

@@cbr7170 Not true man, not true at all haha

Any emergency landing where you can fly the plane again is an EXCELLENT landing!

Very kind of you if not somewhat overstated, Thomas. I will allow lots of kudos to my mechanic friend for his ingenuity. Mine was just one of dozens of airplanes he patched up in the bush and ferried home for repairs. Quite a guy, and he would never take a dime from me for it. THAT kind are rare! Thanks for taking the time to comment, Thomas. Fly safe!

Very cool, Randy. I just got back to Oregon from 3 weeks in Galena, Alaska. I don't have an airplane here but every time I go back to the bush up there the bug hits bigtime! (I still have a cabin on the Yukon.) After spending nearly 1000 hours in N170JA and then watching it deteriorate on the side of a strip for years (I did keep track of it), it did my heart good to see you landing it again. As you well know airplanes are meant to fly. Keep me updated on your fix-up progress. She's a beautiful, gentle flyer. I hope you have as many great times with her -- and more -- than I did. Best wishes, Randy, and thanks again for the good news!

I can't tell if that's the numbers on the Cessna, the vid is so grainy, but that's a cool story, and great piloting, she held together in this emergency landing and was lucky to have this patch of beach to land on.

@@shable1436 In 1989 that was "good video!" Thanks for the comment. If you look up Randy Crosby, the current owner of N170JA (RU-vid) you'll see more recent pictures of her. Fly safe, Shable.

@@mysticpass yeah 29 years ago, wow, I guess so. The other guys vid, yes I saw it circling the runway, good planes don't die, they just fade away. He is keeping her going and she still is worthy, I'm sure that gives you a nice warm feeling inside. Fly safe as well

These planes never die I guess!

Humble thanks for the comment, Barny. Love the "rubber band is broke" imagery! You must have a great sense of humor. Fly safe.

Thanks for the comment. Fly safe my friend.

@@mysticpassthank you , best wishes 👍

Great comment, gehlen52. You are so right. Every time I look at my four grandchildren (children of my daughter in the back seat) I can't help but think what "could have been." I'm a blessed man. Safe flying to you.

+zzodr You got that right. My only ride on one. Fly safe.

Congratulations on your student pilot training. I hope you are fortunate enough to have a great "basics" instructor like I had years ago. I hope you never have an in-flight emergency either, but if you do, solid training and practice, practice, practice will keep you calm. If you're interested, I told the whole story and showed much more video of the engine failure when I spoke at a church Sportsman's Banquet earlier this year. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Gd5p5BAJdfw.html Congratulations again on your flight lessons. Enjoy yourself and fly safe!

@@mysticpass Thanks for your kind words of encouragement, I definitely plan on getting as much quality training time as possible before I even consider doing my first solo! I'll keep you posted on how things go :) Edit: I just watched the video you linked above with the talk you and your wife gave, it brought a tear to my eye. Keep up the good work, and I never stop being amazed by the aviation community.

Hahaha. That's awesome. 1.7 million views and you're the first to notice! Well done my friend. Fly safe.

優しい言葉をありがとう。 私の家族が救われたことに感謝します。 飛行機に乗っているときは安全を確保してください。

Thanks for the comment, Noah. We woke the girls after the engine quit and had them tighten their seat belts and hold pillows in front of them. Neither girl said a word all the way to the ground. Once on the ground, however, they squealed in delight! Safe flying to you.

That's great, Harry. Sounds like we had the same stick n' rudder instructor sitting beside us. Nothing like practice, practice, practice so when the real thing comes, you just do it. Glad you walked away. Hope that's your last incident. Fly safe.

He was the best. Mine was one of several dozen he rescued from the bush. Fly safe Wanda.

I remember when my dad and another friend/coworker had to drive in a rental cube truck with a turboprop in the back and all the tools they could think of to upstate New York from Milwaukee to change an engine on a Beechcraft 100. They did it in the middle of winter, at an abandoned airport in an empty hanger. They had to go out and buy a torpedo heater cause it was like 10 below zero. My hats off to any aircraft mechanic that can do that kind of work in any conditions like that.

@@pontiacdriver999 We're so soft nowadays, aren't we? Where are my handwarmers?

@@pontiacdriver999 I always think of mechanics working on the eastern front in ww2. I cannot imagine...

Thanks for the comment. Yes, the girls were fantastic. Neither said a peep all the way to the ground. There were some delighted squeals once we got out of the airplane however! Safe flying to you.

masso172 Thanks. Me too! Fly safe.

Pretty much! Thanks for the comment. Fly safe.

Thanks @RavenMobile. Fly safe.

Thanks for the comment. Yes, he was an amazing guy. Mine was just one of dozens of bent airplanes he rescued from the bush. Not only that but he was a great friend. I miss him. Fly safe.

Thanks for the comment, The Schiznit. We were most fortunate! Fly safe.

Mechanic's name was Kenny Hughes. A really good man -- RIP. Fly safe Hugocraft. Thanks for the comment.

Thanks for the comment, ThomasGrillo. Yes, you are so right. If the engine failure had happened a few minutes later, we would have been in a narrow rock gorge (read no survivors). Fly safe.

+Steve Hammond Yikes. Crow yuk on the windshield doesn't sound good. Good for you for getting it down. I had to land on lakes (skis) a few times that way when my windshield iced up -- but lakes offer a lot more margin for error! When the engine quit I was 120 miles from the nearest flight service station and below the peaks of the Alaska range so I didn't bother with the radio. My priority was shutting off electrical so we didn't catch fire. I had a poor old Escort 110 radio (replaced afterward) at the time. While we were on the ground I tried "mayday" calls using a handheld radio when four airplanes flew high over us. Each time I called on standard FSS frequencies, along with 121.5 (where my ELT was blasting) but no one responded. I was especially surprised a C-130 military airplane didn't hear our distress calls. Alaska is so vast that most VFR pilots don't even monitor radios when they're out of range of a FSS. I was guilty of that, too.

+Barry Arnold You're a very lucky man.

+Steve Hammond--You are one of the few that practice Forward Slips in USA lately..Many USA pilots could have wrecked the Mooney due they cant Forward Slip well..They cant do Forward Slips well and could have landed on a ditch next to the big runway..Too many Clods with Pilot Licenses is the root of USA GA LOC problem..

+MJDarbyUSA You are right. I figure every day I have to live after that Mystic Pass landing is an "extra day" -- and I'm very grateful. Fly safe.

Thanks, Alan. We were really fortunate the engine failure happened when it did. A couple minutes later we would have been inside Mystic Pass, where there is just a rock gorge all the way to the floor. Fly safe!

@@mysticpass yes sir, never done any flying in Alaska, I've always wanted to but just never have had the opportunity, flew with a friend in British Columbia few yrs back, i live in North Carolina, mostly east coast flying, but once again, thank god you and your family made it out safe, and again great job sir stay safe. 👍

Thanks for the nice comment, Corey. Yes, the "girls" are now 41 -- with 8 kids of their own between them! Fly safe.

Thanks, Markie. As the bush pilot friend who flew in a replacement engine said, "I'd say you made a nice emergency landing but you are not that good. You had Help! I have no doubt he was right!" Fly safe.

Thanks, DZL. I couldn't have had better passengers for the "adventure!" Fly safe.

Thanks for the comment, Steve. You are right. One engine failure is enough for a lifetime! Fly safe my friend.

GVad The Pilot Couldn't agree more on the value of the CAP. The CAP pilot who found us was Ken Eggleston, of Bethel, AK. I wrote him a thank you note and his wife framed it -- of all the searches he'd done, I was the only one to thank him. Kind of sad! Fly safe.

GVad The Pilot Was in CAP as a cadet for 5 years, really is a great organization!

+Barry Arnold I am so happy your video had a happy ending that had to be very stressful with your two young daughters on board nice flying or more of a nice landing your landing gear mist be very sturdy were you just very lucky you had a decent landing place or was it more like the weather that helped you land like that I'm not a pilot but I've had a few lessons and I realize that minimal power is needed to land that wouldn't have been the case if the wind shear was up or wouldn't it have mattered?I'm really happy all your family were rescued so soon God bless :-)

+bigbadlove A 15 knot tailwind definitely helped us get to our landing spot -- and it reduced our ground speed for landing.

+bigbadlove Very pleased for you. Jjust goes to show when we fly we should be prepared for eventualities ELT and flares and a couple of blankets as a minimum

Thanks Gary. We were fortunate to have a nice gravel bar within reach. A couple minutes later we would have been in a rock gorge - no survivors. Fly safe.

Thanks, Nick. You are right. We were fortunate to have a great place to put down. My "little girl" is now 41 years old with four kids of her own! Fly safe my friend.

hermand Good for your instructor for having you practice engine out procedures. Don't stop practicing after you get your license. I practiced constantly (when I was flying alone). You need to be able to accurately "feel" that circle of possible landing spots based on how high you are and the winds. Practice enough and the real thing isn't much different -- except there's no "climb away." Good luck to you and fly safe.

You're not far off! The girls had a great time pretending they were Julia Child as they heated MRE survival rations over the fire. Great sports! Fly safe.

Yes, you are right. Those mountains are some of the most spectacular in the Alaska Range. I enjoyed going through there in good weather just to take in the geology. Thanks for the kind comments. Fly safe.

Thanks. Yes, I remember that first "engine out" practice, too. It was in an old T-craft that sounded like it was barely running at an idle. In the 170 I practiced simulated engine out procedures many times when I was flying between Alaskan villages. Just like your instructor taught you, I'd pick a "landing spot" and then see if I could get there. In the winter, I'd go ahead do a touch n' go on frozen lakes. Ski flying in the north is a blast. Fly safe MissouriGunner KC.

Thanks for the comment, Kentucky Bluegrass. We woke the girls to tighten their seat belts and have them hold pillows in front of their faces. Neither of them said a peep all the way to the ground. Fly safe.

@@mysticpass That in itself is amazing. In '89 I would've been 12y/o myself. I can tell you with absolute certainty that I would've belted out a scream or two😂 Glad you guys were able to make a safe landing and fly another day. God Bless 🙏

Thank you, Jordan. Fly safe!

Adit Morey Thank you, Mr. Morey. I had a great old-time stick 'n rudder instructor and I learned in old T-crafts and Aeronicas. Nothing like getting the fundamentals down! Safe flying to you.

Barry Arnold that's true Mr Arnold. In flying airplanes , fundamentals are essential. I fly a dhc-2 , but only in FlightGear flight simulator. I do know some tips in flying planes, but I can't exactly and properly implement them due to physical constraints as a result of a health condition. I try as much as I can to land it properly , but find a Cessna much easier.

+Barry Arnold--too bad they are so many Mild Maneuvering CFI's now in USA..They have created a crop of Mild Maneuvering Pilots doing LOC all over houses, cars, trees, and over flat fields where most trained before the 1980's could have land easily..

Yes, I considered myself fortunate to have a outstanding 80-year-old stick 'n rudder instructor who believed that things like spin recovery and emergency procedures were essential elements of flight training.

Although I never actually had to use short landing techniques or emergency land, my instructor was a total nut on short landings. Every landing during his instruction had to be the shortest possible. I really became quite irritated with it. I like long, smooth finals, easy, soft landings. He was always insisting, even with mile long runways, land as short as you can. Practice it. Because one day, you might really need it. It's funny how such flamboyant instructors influence your flying style. I quit my silly long approaches and soon caught a little of his "Air Craft Carrier Deck Fever"- within reason- I never liked too much low and slow. Seemed a good way to drill real estate. But, I can see here how it actually could pay off some day. I retired from flying in 1998.

Thanks for the comment Orlando. If the engine failure had happened even a couple minutes later we would have been in a narrow rock gorge where there was no place to land. We were "fortunate" it happened where it did. Fly safe.

​@@mysticpass As a private pilot I pray I don't have to deal with this, but if I have to I have my training and this video to lean on, Luck might have played a role, But "luck is only where opportunity meets preparation". Had you not been prepared, no amount of luck could help you guys, calm collective and well executed . This is quite instructive for me. Thank you!

@@orlandospencer Very kind of you, Orlando. The best thing I did was I constantly practice engine-out procedures when I was flying alone. Just like in pilot training, I'd pull the throttle back to idle and choose my "landing spot." I got to know the airplane as a "glider" really well so I could fairly consistently set up an approach and make my selected spot. When the engine failed it was just like I had practiced. The big difference, of course, was I knew I had only one shot and three lives beside my own were on the line. When the engine first failed smoke came into the cabin. I immediately shut off electrical and the fuel at the firewall. My go-to spot if we caught fire was directly below us. It was a tiny, rough area that would have destroyed the airplane and probably would have killed us all but if you're on fire you have to get down. When I realized we weren't on fire, I picked a spot about half a mile away. That spot would have wrecked the airplane but I figured some of us might live. We had a nice tailwind so when I got to that spot I still had 1500 feet of altitude. That's when I picked the nice gravel bar about 3/4 of a mile farther away. You'll notice that I did an S turn on final and slipped it in to get stopped before the ravine that is about 50 feet in front of the airplane. I hope you never do an actual emergency but I have a feeling with your kind of careful preparation you'll do just fine.

@@mysticpass Thank you much for the blow-by-blow operation of how you trained and subsequently handled this emergency. Thank you so very much. I am adding all you have said here to me flying knowledge.

@@mysticpass I always wonder in those kinds of situations how one knows how to time that very last turn before the landing. What made you decide that you had to make another turn at 2:26 instead of taking your chance?

Thank for the comment free roamer. The girls were fantastic. Once we were on the ground it turned into a camping adventure for them. Safe flying to you.

Thanks for the comment Muso. We were very fortunate! Fly safe.

@@mysticpassHi, thanks for the kind words,ld say good decision making too on your part, my friend, that counts for a lot, may all of your landings be happy ones. BTW how did you get the C170 out of there in the end?

@@musoseven8218 Yes, we changed engines in the wilderness and flew the airplane out about a week later.

Hi Barry, great work! I love C170s and C180s. An aero-engine change in the wilds? In the UK some would struggle to do that in a heated hanger Lol! Well done my friend, well done! I watched a documentary with a downed PC12 and it got airlifted off of the ice, if I recall, by a Kaman K-Max? At $7million they were keen to get it back before the weather got to it.

Thank you Moogy. The lovely little girls are both in their 30's now -- with beautiful little children of their own! Thanks so much for the comment. Fly safe!

Thanks, Hal, for the very thoughtful comment. I am grateful for my old WWII era "stick n' rudder" instructor. No heads up displays (no radios) in his old Taylorcraft and Aeronca. Just get to know your airplane. We were fortunate in so many ways. If the failure had happened even a couple minutes later we would have been in a steep rock gorge. No survivors there. As my A&P friend who swapped engines on the gravel bar said, "Barry, you're not this good a pilot. You had Help." I agree. Fly safe my friend.

Thanks Wayne. Safe flying to you.

Thank you, Tom. Merry Christmas! Fly safe.

@@mysticpass I'm just an avid aviation buff, I can't fly yet. My four life goals so far have been become a Marine, become a cop, earn my pilot's license, and move to Alaska. So far I got two down, hopefully in about 18 months or so I can start my lessons, then it'll be off to Alaska. In any case, merry christmas to you as well!

@@nonyabeeznuss304 Your goals all sound great, Tom. When you get pilot training, find an old "stick 'n rudder" instructor who will take you up in a tail dragger and teach you spins and engine-out procedures until you dream of them. There's a lot of fantastic tail-dragger (and ski) flying in Alaska's back country. Thanks for serving our country! Fly safe!

@@mysticpass The local instructor down here is a crop duster during farming season who offers lessons in his old J-3 cub in the off season. I see him in his Pawnee doing acrobatics that would make a WW2 fighter pilot envious when he's out dusting, I reckon if he can fly that good he can probably teach a thing or two about stalls and deadstick landings.

@@nonyabeeznuss304 Perfect! Excellent choice! Even if you never use the emergency situation skills you learn, just knowing you have them in your pocket will make flying that much more fun.

Thanks @maxasaurus3008. I practiced engine-out proceedures countless times when I was flying alone, so I knew well what the airplane would do gliding. No surprises. The only difference, as you say, was the others on board. The girls were awesome! Not a peep all the way to the ground. Both girls married and now have 7 great kids between them.

Thanks for the comment. You are right. We could have flown all day and not found a better "unimproved strip" on which to put down! Just a couple minutes later we would have been in a rock-faced gorge. Would have been no survivors there. Fly safe!

My first concern was fire because when the engine overheated, smoke was coming into the cabin. I shut off the electrical master switch and the engine fuel supply while I looked for a spot to put down if we caught fire. The spot I chose was directly below us. It was a tiny island in the river and I'm not sure any of us would have survived putting down there but if you're on fire you have to get out of the air. After the engine quit and it was clear we were not on fire I trimmed the airplane to glide at 60 MPH. It was like I could hear my old flight instructor saying, "Fly the airplane first!!" One thing that helped was I constantly practiced engine-out procedures when I was flying alone. From altitude, I'd pull the throttle to idle, pick out a potential landing spot and then see if I could get there without touching the throttle (until just above the trees). When the engine quit my first thought was "this is the real thing. I've got only one shot." I looked for a better spot to land since we weren't on fire. About a half mile away was a bigger stretch of beach so I headed there. We might have survived if we had landed there but that spot would have destroyed the airplane. When I got there I still had 1200 feet of altitude. I looked south and saw the nice big bar where we ended up landing. I thought if we could get there, not only would we all survive but I might even be able to save the airplane. I set up an approach for that third landing spot. When I made the final turn to the gravel bar we were actually still too high (we had a nice tailwind). That's why in the video you see me doing a big "S-turn" on final approach. I wanted to lose altitude but I didn't want to pull on flaps until I knew I could make the landing spot. On short final I pulled on full flaps and put the airplane in a "slip" (opposite aileron and rudder controls) to lose altitude quickly. I wanted to land as slowly as possible and stop very fast because about 400 feet down the gravel bar I could see a ditch I had not seen earlier. If we hit that ditch we would have nosed over. You can see the ditch on the video. We stopped about 100 feet short of it. The airplane had a HORTON STOL (short take off and landing) kit installed. That not only made it a very gentle glider but it let us touch down at just 40-45 MPH instead of 55 or 60 MPH. I always carried lots of survival gear, including sleeping bags, an ax, a bear gun, and plenty of C-ration food. In the winter I also carried snowshoes. I hope these details help -- and I hope you never have to choose an emergency landing spot! Fly safe Aditya Negi!

Thanks, Mr,Buttery. The 170 is a very gentle and responsive glider. I practiced "engine out" procedures all the time when I was flying alone so the airplane wasn't hard to fly when the real emergency happened. Still, I'd rather not do it again. Fly safe!

@@mysticpass Almost all my 1500+ hours has been in gliders and I can tell you it's a lot easier to land a sailplane (even off-airport) than to deadstick a light aeroplane like that beautiful 170B. Nicely done! it looks like you also made sure you had reserve altitude in hand before the engine started acting up and were aware of the terrain around you and where there would be the best chance for a successful off-airport landing which in my opinion shows great airmanship.

Thanks. Yes to all that. Fly safe!

Thanks, Peter. I learned that the old ELT's fairly frequently miscalculated position by several miles. There just weren't enough satellites but it was much better than nothing. The FAA told me that the old system was a joint Russian-American venture and it was a Russian satellite that first picked up our signal. When the chopper came in to pick us up the pilot said he was relieved. Where they were searching 5 miles away in a high glaciered area they expected to find wreckage and bodies. Fly safe.

@@mysticpass Cheers Barry. I guess the latest ELT's and the number of Satellites up there now would give the location down to within 10 metres.

Thank you @usmc6157. As you well know training and lots of practice makes all the difference in an emergency. I constantly practiced engine out procedures when I was flying alone so I knew very well how the airplane would perform and how far I could glide from any altitude. At the same time, we were fortunate to have a "good spot" within reach. Thanks for your service to our country, and fly safe my friend.

Thanks for the comment, Adam. Yes, the old bush pilot mechanic was quite the guy. Mine was only one of dozens of airplanes he patched together and got out of the bush. Fly safe.

Yes, my daughter had a great subject when the teacher asked them to write what they did over the summer! Fly safe.

Yes, and I had a Horton STOL kit installed that let me touch down with full flaps at just over 40 MPH. Not much stopping distance required as you say. Interesting so many people are afraid to fly in single engine airplanes when the survival rate (over twins) in emergency landings/crashes is not even close. Fly safe!

:) Thanks. Fly safe.

Thank you. I am grateful for some outstanding training and lots and lots of emergency procedure practice before this event. Safe flying.

Great question, Antiochia and Taurum. The engine had about 1100 hours since the last rebuild. It had been running great. We never did learn why the ring broke. Fly safe.

Right on. Thanks for the comment. Fly safe.

You’re

You got that right, Mountain Man Dale. When you're in trouble, there is nothing like friends -- real friends. Fly safe!

Thanks for the comment, Rod. I'm grateful to have gotten my early flight instruction from an old "seat of your pants" WWII pilot, who emphasized keeping your head in emergency situations and practice, practice practice! We were fortunate to walk away. Fly safe!

Thanks, Rich. An incident like that certainly puts everything in perspective. Fly safe!

Thanks for the comment Clay. Kodiak is a beautiful place (on nice days). Thanks for your service with the Coast Guard. You guys work in some of the worst weather on earth! Fly safe.

Thanks David! Fly safe and have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Thanks Wayne. Fly safe!

You should hear Randy tell the story. He says when the engine quit I panicked. He had to knock me out, wrestle the control yoke away from me, and then land the airplane himself. No kidding. He's a great friend to this day (not to mention a great author). Thanks for the comment, Tim. Blessings on you. Merry Christmas. Fly safe.

Thanks for the comment John. The video is 5 years old and the event took place nearly 32 years ago! Yes, the airplane got a new ELT and Nav/Com after the emergency landing! Fly safe.

Right on. Very nice to know they'll come looking. Elmendorf Search and Rescue was also very professional and warm talking to my wife and updating her on the search. Very grateful to Ken Eggleston, CAP pilot volunteer, who found us.

Great landing, and great job keeping everyone calm

@@cpy Thanks!

Thanks Mike. When the prop stopped I remember thinking okay, I've only got one chance to do this right. Very thankful I regularly did simulated engine-out approaches to land so I had a good feel for the airplane and what it would do without power. Fly safe.

Thanks Bobby. I was flying a lot, knew the airplane well, and had practiced engine out procedures countless times. Still, trust me, my heart was beating hard! A friend, who is a pilot and mechanic flew in another engine and swapped engines right there on the gravel bar. Fly safe!

It's nice to learn from someone's success for a change. Thanks for posting this great story. You guys made it look like pulling over to change a tire. Great job.

@@bendeleted9155 It's Alaska. That was pulling over to change a tire.

+Wayne Lacey Thank you, Wayne. You are absolutely right on practice. I practiced engine-out procedures a lot when I was flying alone. I'd pull the throttle and see if I could make it to a chosen spot before adding throttle. It was a great way to relieve boredom on long flights across Alaska. I got good at estimating how far my 170 could "glide." Little did I know how important that practice would be one day! Speaking of STOL -- this airplane had a Horton STOL kit on it that made it very gentle at low airspeeds. Fly safe!

Thanks charlieb303. The video is dated for sure (ha! my passenger was using a state of the art camera at the time). I have always been amazed at how the girls handled everything. Neither said a peep all the way down. They squealed after they climbed out on the ground, however! Fly safe.

Thanks charlieb303. Very kind of you. Fly safe my friend.

Thank you for the comment. Fly safe my friend.

Totally with you there. CAP volunteers are tops. The brown Cessna 206 that found us was a BEAUTIFUL sight (piloted by a super CAP left-seater). Fly safe.

@@mysticpass Yeah, I was in CAP just a year ago... thinking about rejoining....