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u/localcasestudy 25d ago
Aviate, navigate, communicate. Mans is a legend!!!
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u/that_dutch_dude 25d ago
dude might want to add "check fuel" to that list.
video is around for a while, he ran out of fuel.
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u/VanillaGorilla59 25d ago
Really?!?! That’s on preflight check where I come from…
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u/EggOkNow 25d ago
My buddy works as aircraft mechanic. Some guy, back to back summers had to go down in orchards because he didnt check the fuel...
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u/bigolchimneypipe 24d ago
That's something I do every time in every car I ever drive so i cant even imagine forgetting to do that in an airplane.
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u/tectoniclakes 24d ago
The issue isn’t forgetting it as such. In most of these light aircraft, the fuel gauges do not work or are not reliable. You have to use a “dip stick” on both the fuel tanks to get the actual fuel. A step that some pilots simply skip
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u/hornyadele 25d ago
If this isn’t the ‘calm under pressure’ dictionary example, I don’t know what is
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u/Turtles47 25d ago
Except it was his own doing that he didn’t check his fuel levels before he took off. Engine didn’t actually fail.
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u/Closed_Aperture 25d ago
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u/RealUlli 25d ago
Any landing that you walk away from is a good landing.
Any landing that leaves the aircraft in a usable condition is an excellent landing.
A forced landing where the aircraft is usable after repairing the damage that was there before the landing is legendary!
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u/bATo76 25d ago
That was probably scary as hell. I'm glad he had those fields nearby.
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u/blueballsforforeskin 25d ago
I suppose it’s not by chance. The training may mandate flying in open areas lest something goes wrong
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u/styckx 25d ago
He didn't calculate the fuel correctly and ran out of fuel.
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u/Daphne_Brown 25d ago edited 25d ago
Are you being serious?
Sputtering does seem like that’s possible. And there’s be zero chance of a restart once it’s dead.
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u/styckx 25d ago
Yes this has been around a while. Even somewhere (not on Reddit) the pilot admitting and talking about it
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u/Surrogard 25d ago
What happens in that case? How does the plane get back to an airfield? Do you just drive by with some cans of fuel and start from the field or does it have to be transported somehow?
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u/Francissaucisson 25d ago
I'm guessing you just get a special truck/trailer to the field to move it back to the airfield
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u/aberroco 25d ago
If it's possible and safe, then refuel and take off, otherwise - get a truck, remove wings and load it onto a truck. In this case, I'd assume it might be safe. Need to maneuver a bit to get to the longest straight line for taking off (also, need to have some spare distance for possible cancellation), but it seems there should be enough space for that.
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u/Vibriobactin 25d ago
Was a VFR pilot in my youth.
I loved night flights, but gd I can’t imagine ditching at night. Granted, that was pre-GPS, but the thought of landing into a black void terrified me.
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u/tisler72 25d ago
If I remember this correctly it was due to a preflight check being neglected by the student, so they are the architect of this own emergency but they handled it well
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u/GeneralCommand4459 25d ago
Isn’t this part of training? You have to experience an engine shut off and restart?
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u/HeyImGilly 25d ago
Yes, but that’s assuming the engine will restart. That didn’t happen here.
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u/Sparta_Rotterdam1888 25d ago
This pilot is the one that can say:
Literally did everything well: communicate, spotting, landing.
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u/thedroidstheyfound 25d ago
Did he try turning it off and on again that normally worksop my lawnmower
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u/Wooden-Two4668 25d ago
Properly trained and in charge of that machine. Nice. Well done & I’d be happy to fly with him.
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u/DubbaUCaban 25d ago
Bravo! Great about your wits and made a successful landing. Training by fire as they say! Well done!
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u/broadenandbuild 25d ago
How common are these engine failures? There are way too many videos of these.
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u/TaimanovMx 25d ago
I see he had a good amount of time to land, is this the case with bigger planes, if the engine is dead they start falling or they plane like the one in this video ?
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u/daronjay 25d ago
"You passed the final test, here's your licence"
(Flight Instructor who used to teach drums in Whiplash)
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u/old_skul 24d ago
Hate to say it, but....that's par for the course. Unless you're over a densely populated area, there's always a field of some sort to put a small plane down in. Not to say it wasn't exciting, but pilots are trained for exactly this (although I have to say this pilot didn't follow any type of troubleshooting procedure, at least not in this edited video).
When getting even your private pilot's license, it's part of the training to have your instructor "pull your engine" at any point during any training flight, and then expect you to follow procedure to bring the aircraft into a safe configuration to make a safe landing off-airport. This usually means setting up the aircraft for maximum no-power glide time, picking an appropriate landing area, troubleshooting the engine issues, and approaching for a safe landing. When getting my PPL I did this dozens of times and could do it in my sleep at this point.
This pilot did the real deal and lived to post his video for everyone to armchair quarterback. Good job pilot.
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u/Ok-Ship812 23d ago
Impressive he brought it down calmly.
I got a Private License about 30 years ago and got lost on one of the unsupervised solos. It was bad decision making on my part, the weather had come in and I could not get home due to clouds on the route I had planned. I should have put down at one of the several unsupervised fields that were close to me but I had a date with this stunning mexican girl that night and didnt want to miss it.
I ended up crossing the San Diego / Mexican border a few times without realising it before I was able to get back to Montgomery field. My instructor was less than thrilled.
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u/Willingness_Mammoth 25d ago edited 25d ago
What's a squawk code
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u/ventuspilot 25d ago
Most planes have a device called a "transponder". Said device sends out the position of the plane as well as a 4 digit number that the pilot enters into the transponder.
The controller's radar screen shows the positions of all planes and this 4 digit number next to it. The 4 digit number is called a "squawk code".
Usually the controller tells the pilot which squawk to use. And there are some special squawk codes, e.g. 7700 means "emergency" which is what the pilot intended to do. 7500 means "plane was hijacked".
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u/Mr_Madrass 25d ago
I have no idea either so let’s break down the word together. I know walk but sq is harder. It could be something with squirrels or square. So either squirrels walk or square walk.
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u/aberroco 25d ago edited 25d ago
Well, I'd say he failed a bit. AFAIK, aviate, navigate, communicate - in that order. He did aviated fine, but he prioritized communication over navigation. He had better landing spots to choose from, instead of entering Squawk code, and the spot he chose was extremely dangerous in terms of landing distance and unstabilized approach. Luckily, it ended well, but it he'd have flared a bit longer he'd crash into trees.
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u/wazzapgta 25d ago
He didn't fail not even a bit. Dude has no injury and plane is intact. What if he did everything "by the book" and then fucked up the landing or went to hard down....
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u/intrigue_investor 25d ago
At the risk of undermining his efforts
I would say 80% of the population with 0 flying experience could land a light aircraft in the worst case scenario
The margin for error offered is significant
And yes I say that as a licence holder
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u/dwntwn_dine_ent_dist 25d ago
I think the majority of inexperienced people would not recognize the importance of airspeed, and would stall while managing other factors.
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u/abirizky 25d ago
Out of curiosity how do you think that would go? I have no flying experience but I do know how airplanes work in general. I'm just trying to understand why you think that really
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u/tikojonas 25d ago
Insane that this actually happened. During my lessons they would power down the engines on purpose to show it will not fall to the ground but it will float wherever you’re able to go. He executed it perfect when he needed to.