From the AOPA newsletter:

http://flash.aopa.org/asf/pilotstories/ ... c_sect=sap

I found the movie clips slow to load. You may want to pause them to let them buffer for a minute.

"I instinctively turned the plane around."

Isn't that what gets most people killed in this same scenario? It seems like he may have had a little more altitude to work with in this case though.

Let me be the first to second guess:

1 Should have bought a 182 (or even a Maule)

2 Being more serious, would a left hand turn to land on the other runway have been better. I had an instructor that would ask, where do you go in an engine out.

No bent metal so he did really good. I have no Mooney time but I bet it is tougher to dead stick than a high wing Cessna.

Tim

qmdv wrote:I have no Mooney time but I bet it is tougher to dead stick than a high wing Cessna.

I'd agree, but I wonder if the outcome would have been the same with more fuel, more bags, more pax, warmer temps. I tell myself I've conditioned myself enough so that i won't turn back, and I'm not afraid to bend the plane to save my hide.

This gentleman, good outcome aside, seemed to show more interest in not damaging the engine further rather than make a decision that would provide the highest probability of survival. Perhaps he would have chosen differently had the conditions been as I described above?

I'd agree, but I wonder if the outcome would have been the same with more fuel, more bags, more pax, warmer temps. I tell myself I've conditioned myself enough so that i won't turn back, and I'm not afraid to bend the plane to save my hide.

Ditto - I think this could have ended poorly had he not had optimal conditions...enough altitude, light load, favorable wind and temp, and an engine that didn't give it all up in an instant. He kept the presence of mind to lower his gear, but not his flaps. I also thought it was interesting that you could hear his breathing change - I might have stopped breathing.

Bad thing about this video is it creates a parental "do as I say, not as I do" kind of challenge to all those that think they are superior aviators, (basically, almost all of us). I hope it doesn't have the effect of convincing people to give it try, afterall, he pulled it off in a Mooney glider.

I couldn't get the video to load, but I think of the countless NTSB reports of stalls into the ground after turns back to the airport. A 170 was destroyed this summer just off the departure end of Lake Hood strip after witnesses observed a cowl hatch flapping open just after takeoff and the pilot making an abrupt turn.

Of course, if the manuever is successful, we seldom hear about it

This is why on my preflight checklist after RUNUP I have a reminder to prepare myself mentally for take off emergencies.

Simple. Issue solved.

He was like he said;"dam lucky!" I would not have tried the turn but I agree a left turn seems the better choice. But he had Rd 232 and the turnpike right in front of him. There were some big open areas but with the snow in a Mooney I would have chose one of the roads. I have a couple of hours in a Mooney and they do use some runway besides being low wing. This is an excellent reminder to know your options before take off. At my home base you can tell the pilots who have thought it out versus the ones who have not. There is no place to land with a Right cross departure or straight ahead on rwy 28 but with a left 270 overhead there are as you take the left cross in the turn. We had an engine out not long ago and the pilot took the 270 overhead departure. The engine quit as he was taking the left cross and he put it down on the railroad tracks. He ran to the back door and the plane burst into flames. He walked away with a minor injury to his leg that he got hauling ass out of the airplane.

My mantra to myself is: If your plane fails, take it out on the plane, not your passengers or yourself. Treat the airframe as a crumple-zone if need be.
As much as I love my plane, it's just a hunk of metal that can be repaired, rebuilt or re-bought. People can't be.

TexasNick wrote:Simple. Issue solved.

In my life, it always seems like when I think something is simple or solved, I get bitch-slapped.

1SeventyZ wrote:

TexasNick wrote:Simple. Issue solved.

In my life, it always seems like when I think something is simple or solved, I get bitch-slapped.

Me Too!

Okay time for a Mooney man prospective! I would much rather be in a Mooney with an engine out than many other singles. We have a great glide ratio with our big slick wing. And with the gear up you have less drag, if you pull the prop control out or stop the prop you can get an even better glide ratio than with it spinning. I used to fly a C-182Q around alot and boy, I pull the power on that thing and you start to drop like a rock. A Mooney you have to often try and slow down!

Regardless of what type of aircraft its great that he landed safely, even cleared the runway!!

The "Toddler Overboard!" story is pretty good also. Made me wonder if anyone on BCP has had Dogs, kids, etc. fall out.

Had Ex #2 chuck a 32 pound punkin out of the C180 one time for a hit the beer bottles on the runway contest. In retrospect, I shoulda shoved her out too...

Gump

piperpainter wrote:Okay time for a Mooney man prospective! I would much rather be in a Mooney with an engine out than many other singles. We have a great glide ratio with our big slick wing. And with the gear up you have less drag, if you pull the prop control out or stop the prop you can get an even better glide ratio than with it spinning.

I've owned an 87 Mooney 201 since 1991, and I concur. I'll add, though, that a well known Mooney expert was seriously hurt when an engine failed shortly after takeoff. When the engine went quiet a few hundred feet off the ground, the pilot immediately dropped the gear (mistake #1), then got too slow in the 180 degree turn, and stalled.

If your decide to play the get back to the runway game, you gotta know what you are doing! If it's back to the runway you just left, and there's a crosswind, you'll want to make your turn into the wind, and get that puppy cranked over. Wait 'till you have the runway made before putting the gear down - - which on a manual gear Mooney is almost instant, and on an electric gear is just a few seconds longer.

he managed to pull it off barely...! locally, i usually have TPA by the end of the runway, a lot of help should the big lycoming take a dump...in his case i'd have landed it straight on, with that much snow, probably gear up, prop flat...

Just was finally able to get the presentation to load.

That is almost exactly what happened to me in 2006. Cylinder suffered a circumferential break. Engine ran very poorly for a few seconds then the vibration cracked open the intake manifold and poof there went my fuel air mixture. Difference being instead of happening on takeoff it happened when I pulled power in the landing pattern.

IMO, cylinders that look like that, belong to the "run 'em hard" group. these air-cooled boxers are good motors, not great. lots of heat,vibration,and poor mixture settings cause these kinds of things...

i agree with Bumper, if you choose to turn back, make sure you have in your head which way the wind is coming from. i know before i launch, if there is an engine failure, what altitude i can make the field. anything lower, land ahead, keep flying the airplane!!!

An interesting discussion about the infamous turn around after engine failure on takeoff.

So, how many of you think this much about an engine failure when you're poking around at low level? What are the odds of an engine failure there, as compared to the very short takeoff period?

Just a thought.

Richard, I went to the Lycoming Piston Engine Service School, a great program. I asked them there why Lycoming does not recycle cylinders. Their response was issues precisely as you pictured. Old, junk cylinders that have been "overhauled" a half dozen times, and have thousands of hours of who knows what sort of treatment. Basically, they said that metal is going to get brittle, and work harden. They don't recommend re-using cylinders, ever. I think that's a little extreme, but I've vowed never to use third run cylinders. I'll try to get a second run out of them, but not a third.

MTV

mtv wrote:An interesting discussion about the infamous turn around after engine failure on takeoff.

So, how many of you think this much about an engine failure when you're poking around at low level? What are the odds of an engine failure there, as compared to the very short takeoff period?

Just a thought.

MTV

MTV,
Seeing that stats show that most engine failures happen during takeoff, I'd say that the odds are different?