"MAYDAY!"- Deadstick over the Rockies! 12 Oct 2023 

"Oh for God sakes I do" was the best part! The absolute relief in that man's voice!

That relief in his voice when he realized how close aspen was , kinda choked me up a bit actually

I get a little choked up listening to him say “This is my shot. I’m going for it.” Glad to hear everything turned out fine for Chris.

Engine failure 4NM from an airport, in the middle of high mountains, that sure is lucky timing 🙂

Flying a single engine plane over the Colorado Rockies is always a chancy proposition, even in the summer and with an operable engine. He was very lucky.

Wow! Aspen isn't a great place to land with a working engine. Great initial call. A very rare example of someone who follows FAA procedure for emergency communications. I bet he was on top of the world when he stepped out of the aircraft... unless he was already working out what it was going to cost to fix.

As a pilot, that gave me chills. Sure glad everything turned out alright. Thanks Juan. Another great video.

We were being vectored for the approach when this happened. We had just overflown the airport and it was completely overcast. In the time he went from our right to left a hole opened up. We shot the approach and missed minutes after he landed. N4EA. This was a miracle for sure.

I know very little about flying but always assumed dead stick meant control stick wouldn't react to inputs. I learn something new from every video. Thanks

You know, we hear so much about airplane crashes that shouldn't have happened. I'm sure this guy may still be looking for his seat cushion because of the pucker factor, but he handled it so well. He did exactly what he needed to do. He flew the airplane, he communicated the issue and he continued to fly the airplane, enough so that he could pull that 'Bob Hoover' style of landing and taxi. He did it perfectly right! Congrats, Chris, job well done!

The relief in his voice when he saw Aspen was tangible! We've flown over this terrain in the past (in a normally aspirated 210). Without that nearby runway, the odds of a happy ending were slim. Well done!

Always good to hear of these successful outcomes and the teamwork involved to get them down safely, wallets can't fix dead people but they can fix dead planes. Well done to everyone involved.

Evening, Commercial pilot from Reno, NV here. Thanks for posting this. The "positive outcome" videos do a great job of showing that not every MAYDAY ends in tragedy. Keep it up, it's good for moralle.

My brother flies A 210T in that area. I took a big gulp of air when I heard 210T dead stick into Aspen. Glad you made it Chris! Well done!

Chris sounded so calm and collected and 100% focused on what needed to be done. Not many Plan B options to choose from!

Aspen, very tricky on a good day. Cool, calm, collected. I would fly with this guy. all the best.

Wow! Having flown fairly extensively in this mountainous area years ago in a partnership owned Rockwell 112TC single engine Turbo Commander, I can fully appreciate the pucker factor this pilot experienced when his engine seized! He was incredibly lucky it occurred exactly where it did within easy gliding altitude/ distance of Aspen, and without weather being a complicating factor. I also strongly concur with his decision to extend the gear earlier rather than later, because with a seized engine, he was limited to the remaining battery power with which to extend the complicated and power draining gear extension process. The terrain along this portion of his route from Boulder to Montrose is probably the most inhospitable to a situation like this in the high Rockies. Lady luck smiled and a competent pilot prevailed against Murphy. Well done!

Great outcome. One thing I learnt from a previous engine failure (Someone else) was that when the engine is ceased, hitting the starter - "just to see" -is a REALLY BAD idea. Especially IFR or if you rely on electrical power as the current draw from the starter when it's stalled is very high and your battery will deplete very quickly. Something I hadn't previously thought of.

When I moved to Colorado I took a mountain flying course. One of lessons taught you to always be looking for a valley where you could set it down. I flew between Aspen and Gunnison once and there were no valleys until past Crested Butte. I vowed never to fly over that are again. Another area like that is the Sawtooths north of Boise. I NEVER flew in or out of Aspen without getting kicked around with gusty winds so he was definitely was blessed with those conditions that day.

I imprinted on aviation early as my dad became a private pilot and bought a 182 Skylane while I was in middle school. We took a trip to Salem, Oregon from Phoenix Field, Fair Oaks. On the way back just over the mountains the engine sputtered and stopped. My sis and I in the backseat looked at each other eyes wide. Dad fiddled with knobs and got the engine going again telling mom in the passenger seat "turned it to the other tank and it started right up. I've got enough altitude to glide to Fair Oaks, let's see how she goes." Mom asked, "do you know what's wrong?" Dad said, " not really, but something is up with the fuel tank gauges." My mom said, "Land it, Phil". It took quite a while to come down from that altitude and land (I believe it was Marysville), and Dad was grumpy about it. It had never dawned on me until today, that my dad's (currently 93 years old) WILLINGNESS to accept the risk that he would be able to overcome any issue that arose midair was a sign that he was not a safe pilot. Once on the ground, he discovered that the fuel jockey had not replaced the cap on one of the tanks back in Salem. The fuel had escaped over time, but the fuel liner had buckled up against the float and was reading full for that tank. Dad thought it odd but continued to use that tank because of the full reading until it had completely run dry. The engine started back up after he switched to the other tank. Within 5 years, dad needed cash for a down payment on a commercial building and it was bye-bye Skylane. Even though I hated to see her go, I have a new understanding that it was probably for the best.

Chris stayed cool and did everything right. Fly the plane, Mayday, used ATC as his copilot and cruised right in. Where the engine packed it in was lucky and he made the best of it. Good job, Chris and ATC.

One thing that was drilled into my private pilot training was engine out landings. It was something that happened to my instructor early in his training so he had me do more than 3 of my first 40 hours doing patterns where he would randomly pull the engine to idle and I'd have to dead-stick it. Sometimes he'd do that where he knew there was a little GA airport nearby but I'd have to look for it. Thank God I was in Ohio and not in the mountains!

It always gives me a warm fussy feeling to hear professional pilotage, especially "Mayday mayday mayday" instead of "we have an emergency".

Text book case of keeping your wits about you and concentrating on the business at hand to get on the ground in one piece and still alive. Masterful piece of flying. That is extremely challenging terrain to fly in with a fully functional airplane. Not exactly forgiving when you're dead stick with one shot at the runway. Not very many flat spots out there to set it down if you can't find an airport. I fly out in that area all the time as I have a summer home in Telluride and fly into Telluride Regional & will also land at Montrose when the weather doesn't allow a landing at Telluride. I fly my Cessna Conquest II from Florida to Telluride and back 9 or 10 times a year and always say my prayers that I don't have an emergency over those mountains. He was incredibly fortunate to be so close to Aspen when his engine grenaded. Well done! And great explanation & coverage, Juan. Look forward to you interviewing him on the channel.

I think the reply of 8,000' runway relaxed him somewhat! Very lucky man and how this all happened at the location it did is almost a miracle.

Happy tears to hear this man made it out ok. Definitely choked up hearing him say MAYDAY x3... I always tear up hearing these tragic stories but this time around this pilot was able to make it home. Ty lord🙏🏼❤

Juan, he is blessed with the fact that the worst thing that happened was he had to write a check for a new engine. Nice to see a happy ending

Beautiful job!! And to get it onto 33 with all the terrain down there, even better. I’ve been in and out of Aspen more than 1,000 times in Dornier 328 turbo props, Learjets and Challengers. That airport is no joke. Beautifully done!!

Nice job getting her down safely! I've personally experienced a engine out during a checkride. Trim for best glide, head on a swivel looking for suitable landing spot, gentle (very gentle) turn to line up, then attempted to and successfully re-started the engine. Yeah. Passed that checkride with flying colors!

so much relief in his voice when he learned where the airport was.

In the case of an engine failure you do.not. "have to get down as soon as possible", you want to stay up as long as possible in order to prepare for landing. You are coming down, that's a mathematical certainty; the more you hurry down the less time you have to configure, prepare yourself, adjust your ground track, etc... As a DPE, I commonly observe ASEL commercial applicants blending the steep spiral and engine failure maneuvers. The first task is to locate a safe place to land that's as close as possible - obvious here, get at best glide speed - minimizes descent rate and maximizes time aloft, and go through your flow and emergency checklist - all apparently done properly in this case. Awesome job by this pilot under scary circumstances.

Great to hear a happy ending to this story. Flying at 16,000 feet gives a lot of altitude to work with, but only if you are past the mountains. He had incredible luck with the timing of failure.

nice to hear good news for a change!

Paper! IFR chart on the seat! I want to meet this pilot.

Appreciate the Bob Hoover reference, having seen his routine in the Shrike at Reno many years ago. Very glad he made it safely!

I smiled through the whole thing. We once lost a top cylinder on a round engine at about 8,000 AGL. It windmilled and that piston going up and down was mesmerizing to watch. No airport, just a 1 month old plowed field. Turned out OK. Oil everywhere.

I flew over the rockies at 10,500' regularly from Calgary to Invermere and often to Vancouver all the while keeping an eye out for potential landing spots. I recall being nervous practicing power-out orbits over a field with dead stick landings in a Skylane. I was just as nervous watching this video that combined both situations. Whew!

Aspen Dead Stick..! Outstanding job Pilot Chris. 😮

Great airmanship, awesome outcome 👏 Thanks Juan for the happy ending video 😊

So thankful that Chris was able to make this landing. Very emotional after all the bad news lately.

Hagerman pass is one of the least forgiving passes in the Colorado Rockies… he’s very lucky, as there are nearly no options to land.

With that much altitude, he did some wide "S" turns and kept the airport no more than a 90 degree turn. Pilot did a fantastic job!

You hear the anxiety in his voice but he doesn’t let it overwhelm him. Very healthy response

Nice job, I flew a 78 Turbo 210 for about eight years. Great to hear a happy ending.

“oh for god’s sakes I do”…, (not a pilot), but that statement alone brought tears to my 60yrs young eyes…. Awesome outcome..! Great report Juan, look forward to the interview video. Thank you sir.

Nice job Chris. What a horrible situation and you nailed it. EDIT: Would love to know a follow up of what happened to that engine!

Juan, Thanks for reporting this near miss for Chris in his T-210. How ironic that he was on his way to Montrose to visit Western Skyways. A great job by the controller to get Chris the help that he desperately needed in this emergency, another professional helping GA pilots in distress, Bravo! Juan really appreciated the young Mr. Leck put on a great Hangar 107 safety seminar featuring yourself and Mike Patey. I have never seen Mike that distressed as he was while talking about the loss of his 4 close aviation friends, very sad for Mike and his community in Spanish Forks!

Nice work Captain! I should think that it would be no surprise to see ZERO on the oil pressure gauge since the engine had seized. I have always encouraged my students to practice real live "COORDINATED" S-turns on final to get rid of the excess altitude if it's necessary.

this driver got tremendous aeronautical skills ❤, saludos

What a tremendous job by this man. He had an angel on board this day!

I had a catastrophic engine failure over the North Atlantic leaving Santa Maria Azores. I too also did a dead stick landing and had I been another five minutes out I would have been in the drink. The Cessna 172 I was flying a ferry flight to Germany.

Great job. I fly a 210T and can't imagine how he must have felt when that engine. It's not like a 210 is known for glide performance.

Wonderful Job! Always a good idea to be mindful of your en-route alternates (location, runway direction/length and weather) when flying over such challenging terrain!

Should get a lotto ticket on the strength of that. Beautiful flying and airmanship well done that man.

That one guy on the radio for 20 seconds felt like an eternity. I would have been so pissed if that was me with dead engine and this guy is just lolly gagging around!

So many of these tapes are listening to those who didn’t make it. I’m so happy to hear one that is an absolute win between ATC and aviator. Single pilot resource management is a real challenge when things go outside the norm and he knew how to ask questions and delegate outside the cockpit.

When flying into KASE in a Cessna T-206, I would fly over Independence Pass (VFR) at 16,500, and pull the power back (not to idle) and glide down into the Roaring Fork Valley to a landing on runway 15 without touching the power. I realize that is a lot different than "engine out" but it was still a good practice session. I had a stuck throttle in a Cessna 182 back in the late 70"s and that is something to teach flight students, also. Really glad this engine out worked to the benefit of the owner; other than paying for a new engine.

for us glider pilots every landing is a dead stick landing ;-) but when i fly motorplanes i can't get that "where can i put it down if i can't continue" out of my head

Nothing makes my day more than hearing a successful emergency landing like this. Great job by the pilot and controller!

Reminds me of my step-Dad's experience back in the late-70's in his 1961 Cessna 210A (with wing struts) when he had an engine crankshaft break on a low-time 2nd engine enroute from Eastern Oregon to So Cal. He was over northern Nevada at the time with slightly friendlier terrain. The engine did not seize, but he had to land immediately. Found a nearly abandon air strip, made a good landing. Family met up with him, drove home, loaded up his re-built original engine, drove back out and installed it himself (not quite like Charles Bronson's movie) with son's help, flew it home. Being a diesel mechanic with a passion for flying, just another fun adventure for him. I definitely miss him. He often flew this airplane all over the country to repair broken trucks for the trucking company he worked for. Kind of a fitting return of favor that his pickup truck was used to drive out to fix the airplane this time around.

Obligatory glider pilot in the comments, inviting all of you to come fly gliders with us. :-) Its fun, and it just might save your life someday!

Note to self : in case of engine failure in the mountains do it near an airport! (By the way Juan, the scruffy “Top Gun” look 1:14 suits you well!👍🏼)

Great job, in multiple aspects- particularly getting the GEAR down early, being he had “ runway assured” with ample altitude. The gear down early ( ALTITUDE PERMITTING) provides a better site picture of his descent path to the runway/ intending landing point, and gauging his landing point . Cool head, good job. Kudos to ATC as well.

Fuel remaining in minutes is a required question in emergencies for what should be obvious reasons, but the important part that is often missed is “fuel remaining in pounds”… gives the fire department an idea of what they need might be up against.

Its always great to see an Excellent outcome in a situation like this.

Nice to have successful emergency outcomes. Another reason to fly during the day and VFR over the Rockies single engine

Fantastically well handled. The relief in the pilots voice when he see’s the airport is palpable.

Have flown many hours in a turbo 210. Great bird, especially ability to fly high over very inhospitable terrain like Chris had. Whew. Great result. Thanks Juan for another educational and interesting episode.

With the engine seized can’t feather the prop. Awesome job

I could feel the relief in his voice when he got Aspen in sight. His engine picked a perfect spot to quit! Sucks he had to drop a load of cash for a new engine, but hopefully his new engine will give him many more years of safe flying!

Great report as always Juan. Couple of minor corrections. That first scenic photograph is when he's right over the top of Aspen. You can see the ski area ahead (Highlands I think) and the big peaks with the tilted stratigraphy are the Maroon Bells. Winds were at 050 at 5 so an 80 degree crosswind for Rwy 33 - albeit a minor crosswind.

Great to see one of these engine failure videos with a happy ending - perfectly and calmly executed too! I don't worry about engine failure much anymore since changing from flying planes to cruising sailboats. In fact there is nothing better than the sound of the engine stopping shortly after departure (that and having a bathroom onboard).

Great Airmanship Chris! Thanks Juan for your informed commentary.

How lucky can you get being right next to Aspen after passing the high terrain. Job well done.A great finish.

Great emergency response and outcome. I used to always fly direct from point A to point B until I had a fuel tank transfer problem and had to coast deadstick the last 3 miles to the airport (made it in without damage). Now I plan a route with lots of opportunities for off airport landings and where someon can find me after going down.

Great job! Very lucky. Sounds like he might not have been continually thinking about where he could go if the engine quit. Now he gets to test fly a new engine out of Aspen. Oh boy..

Thanks for all your timely videos, Juan. Congrats to Chris on the safe landing. Really enjoyed your Aviation Safety video. I'm proud to be a member of your Patreon crew! 🫡

As impressive as the 205 dead stick landing into Hillsboro Oregon last year, great job captain

I was flying over the Rockies in my Cessna 172. I was in a long cruise climb when my engine stopped. Tried everything. Eventually switched to just one tank and the engine restarted. Reported it and shortly a placard was issued: "Use a single tank above 5000 ft." to avoid vapor lock.

Lucky pilot. I had an engine that would not produce power above an idle and made an emergency landing at McMinnvile, OR. It was during the solar eclipse and we were VFR on top. I was able to circle through a small break in the overcast to land. Know the drill well, and lucked out that day.

Very lucky with the location, as you say Juan and it's the first time I've heard a US pilot use Mayday instead of that execrable phrase "declaring an emergency". He did very well.

This one got to me. A few miles either side of Aspen and this would’ve been much different. Miraculous. Great job all!

The "Just like Bob Hoover" comment got a big chuckle from me. I was lucky enough to see Bob perform at Oshkosh and Sun and Fun many years ago.

Been into Aspen many times with a jet, wow that was sure some story. I’m glad he made it.

I suspect Chris now has a sudden desire to get (or return) to multiengine. GREAT JOB, CHRIS !

Glad to have a positive outcome! Aviating at its best!

I did a dead stick landing many years ago coming over the Swiss alps going into Samedan..Similar setup. I did a full side slip to get rid of altitude that time. Was a Cessna 150.

I spent a lot of time in mapping aircraft. And was onboard an ‘off field’ landing. (Airframe lost, no injuries). I hear this and my heart is pounding. Omg. When he heard airport 4 mi, good weather, it was a whole different ballgame.

This is a real reminder of what we are truly facing as we are reviewing our flight plans, going through our preflight, and the sometimes boring stretches of a leg to always have a true gauge of situational awareness and know where we would go if something likes this happened. The Lord was truly with him that day for sure!

So glad to hear about a happy ending! Congratulations on your award, Juan!

Awesome job. I used to fly Medevac out of grand junction in a Pilatus. Was VERY aware of how bad the situation would be with an engine failure. I actually feel more comfortable flying Medevac in alaska now in a king air 350, at least if you don’t fly into a mountain you have a spare engine 😂

i learned to fly in the front range area back in the mid 1960`s and did my share of flying up and down the foot hills west of bouder,in single engine cessna`s,and let me tell I promised God that i would never fly into some of those areas again they were death traps ,with nothing to land into but trees and rocks!! Great video Juan, looking forward too your chat with this luck pilot!!!

Great landing for once! Talented pilot! I hope you or Dan get to talk to him!

As a Colorado resident and friend of several owners of single engine piston powered aircraft, losing power over the big bumps is the nightmare scenario everyone talks about. I'm glad this one went as smoothly as it did!

With almost billions of videoclips on RU-vid, yours are the ones that I enjoy most by now.

Nice flying and glad he’s okay!!

'fuel remaining?" "at the current rate of consumption infinite. (I'll show myself out).. But a good no kablamo story, will be interested in the chat with him.

Hahaha, amazing. Very lucky to have the engine quit exactly there :D Good job, Chris! Loved the bit where he was like "Oh yeah duh, there's an airport right here!" Must've been a big relief.

I have flown between the Front Range (Rocky Mtn. Regional and Centennial) and many airports in SW Colorado in a Turbo 310 and a 414 - I don't go direct because those birds don't have enough performance after an engine failure to stay above all of the rocks, and in the case of the 310, oxygen is a hassle. You can get there following the drainage and have a lot more options. I never did it at night in the 310, and only once, from Rifle to Centennial at night in the 414 - Max continuous power circling over the lights in the valley with the landing lights on until the altimeter wound up to 15,000, then turned on course...I was so worried the windshield was going to fill with a view of trees and rocks that I never did it again. The turbos got hot enough to look like we had lightbulbs inside the cowl.

Thanks Juan, always love your reports and to have one without loss of life is great. 🇦🇺👍