Was reading an article in the new AOPA Pilot about when to declare an emergency. The author (Chip Wright) cited an example when a controller wouldn't give him clearance to make a left turn to avoid an emormous developing column of CB. Right turn would mean overwater several miles out. He threatened to declare an emergency and got the vectors he wanted around the storm from the uncooperative controller, stating that it qualified as an "urgent" situation as there was no way he was going to penetrate that storm.

Anyone ever done anything similar, or had a more "distressful" cause for declaring?

You know Zane, I read that article too, and why he didn't want to go a few miles off shore In a twin engine jet is beyond me. It's not like you could put it down on a beach if both engines took a nap anyway. (I know about the Citation in AK) There are a lot of articles in that magazine I find annoying. It's like you're supposed to be afraid all the time. With the exception of Barry Schiff, they just strike me as book smart, flying dumb. That's too harsh, inexperienced is more like it.
As for emergencies, I've declared maybe five or six times. Most were in beat up DC-6's, with blown jugs, or runaway props, or gear that was not where it should be. They aren't as bad as they sound, I never thought I was in real trouble. ATC has always been professional, calm, and acommodating.
When I hear stories like the one in the magazine, I just get the feeling were not hearing the whole story.

I've declared an emergency a couple of times - for stuff like electrical smoke in the cockpit and smoke in the cabin. The electrical fire/burning smell in the cockpit really gets your adrenaline going - more so than an engine failure (turbine powered multi-engine airplane). The smoke in the cabin was a precautionary deal more than anything else - we suspected oil blow-by in the bleed air system that supplies the pneumatic pressurization/air conditioning (PAC) units (we were correct) - but had no indications of any kind in the flight deck. Better to have fire trucks standing by for no reason than not have them and really wish you did.

As for the aforementioned AOPA article? I would rather not throw stones, cuz I wasn't there. But Speedbump is right... I doubt we're getting the whole picture.

M

A number of years ago I almost declared an emergency.

I was on left downwind for 30 at San Carlos, CA in a Piper Colt. As I turned base I noticed a sudden substantial (and unusual) wing drop when doing any turn. Since I was so close to final, I didn't really see that declaring an emergency would make much difference. Instead - I shot straight for the runway and told the tower I'd be making an immedate short field landing (no one else in the pattern). They asked what was up, but I couldn't really answer at the time. I would have said the E word if necessary or I had the time.

Once on the runway, I told them I felt something funny with the control system and they said, no problem - welcome back to earth.

I taxied to the tiedown and then started poking around. Eventually found it: The front side of the left (right? can't remember) fuel tank fairing could be pulled away from the wing - the fairing screwed into a wooden cross piece and the wood was old. The fuel cap held the fairing on then and had the effect of creating a spoiler on that one wing.

At that point the plane was grounded until the wings could be recovered and inspected.

I'm a retired military test pilot, fly some ag planes now and again now and of course my Maule and my brother's C-210, no BIG iron. I guess now that I think about it I have three times, all AH-64 helicopters, one GG rotor went bang, engine failure, was over before I had enough sense to be afraid. One engine low side, engine checked out and went to idle at a hover, that one scared me because it was at night, I was armed and in indian country at the time and didn't want to be a guest of the locals, got this one on tape by the way. One stuck tail rotor pedal, self induced out of stupidity by missing a loose panel on pre-flight.
In the ARMY we had an award that was called the broken wing award, seemed like only instructor pilots got it, not test pilots. It was awarded for someone using their superior piloting skills to land a broken aircraft. We test pilots used to call it the failed pre-flight badge as most of the problems seemed to exist prior to flight. I am more proud of my 3000 hour safety pin that attests to no accidents or incidents than I would be of a broken wing.
Stay away from some one that seems to have had a lot of emergencies, in my experience, most are self induced from a lack of good judgement or at least a lack of SA "situational awareness".

I've declined to declare an emergency when ATC asked
me if I wanted to do so. Does that count?

I had a throttle cable break on me on approach to Boeing
Field.

Fortunately, the carb throttle lever/arm stayed where it was (at
cruise power) so all I had to do was pull the mixture back to idle /
cut-off when I was sure I could make the 10,500 foot runway <grins>.

Had the power went to idle instead of remaining at cruise, I could
have been pretty easily talked into declaring an emergency.

When I was in A&P school in Fargo, ND, one of the CAP instructors declared an emergency because his "electronic flaps" quit on the 172!!!! The runway there is only like 9500' long or some ridiculous thing???? Ohwell...gave us all something to laugh about for a while!!!
JH

hardtailjohn wrote:When I was in A&P school in Fargo, ND, one of the CAP instructors declared an emergency because his "electronic flaps" quit on the 172!!!! The runway there is only like 9500' long or some ridiculous thing???? Ohwell...gave us all something to laugh about for a while!!!
JH

Hahahahaha!! Maybe he was one of those guys that thinks you drop full flaps and point it.

Question: What if it was a split flap situation with electric flaps and they stuck? I think that's a mayday, major control compromise.

I remember reading a while back about a guy who totalled his RV doing an emergency landing , due to a "total electrical failure" in day VFR conditions. Unless it had dual electronic ignitions with only one electrical system, I just couldn't fathom the emergency, unless the (electric) trim or flaps were configured as to not allow some semblance of normal flight.
This is one reason why I like manual flaps & trim-- if the electrics die, just fly the airplane. NORDO, no problemo.

Eric

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Question: What if it was a split flap situation with electric flaps and they stuck? I think that's a mayday, major control compromise.[/quote]

Just ask twin comanche drivers...they can tell you about that... seen that a time or two... the only hope is go back with the flaps on, and full power, and pray that ya don't have an engine hiccup.
JH

zero.one.victor wrote:I remember reading a while back about a guy who totalled his RV doing an emergency landing , due to a "total electrical failure" in day VFR conditions. Unless it had dual electronic ignitions with only one electrical system, I just couldn't fathom the emergency, unless the (electric) trim or flaps were configured as to not allow some semblance of normal flight.
This is one reason why I like manual flaps & trim-- if the electrics die, just fly the airplane. NORDO, no problemo.

Yah - I remember this one. The RV crowed was also puzzled. An RV lands fine without flaps (stall speed almost identical - the flaps are mostly for drag and boy can they make drag).

The thing that was even more puzzling was that even asymetric flap deployment on an RV is reported as a virtual non issue (if either linkage fails that flap just ends up in trail and the ailerons have enough oomph to counter things out until you can raise the other flap).