http://m.ksl.com/index/story/sid/33472763

The owner sure is anxious to deflect any fault and place blame elsewhere, isn't he?

It seems like those forced landings I know of on golf courses haven't ended well. Yet it's probably the most inviting and logical option, especially in densely populated areas. And I know at least one guy on here lands on his buddy's golf course to deer hunt. So what makes them go awry? Any words of wisdom from any of you that have landed on golf courses? Obviously miss the bunkers, trees, people, water hazards, and expect uneven surfaces. If I were to venture a guess, a lack of off airport/pavement experience doesn't help. I ask only because heaven knows I've eyed golf courses as my option when I've been over concrete jungles. Anyway, thought maybe a good subject to discuss.

In this case it sounds like they were low, probably didn't have a lot of time, and it was such a nice day I'm sure the golf course was busy. Glad they walked away and no one on the ground was hurt.

well...let's see,
already In a crisis situation, low altitude, last or least worst option. an average par 4 hole is about 400 - 425 yards, that's 1200 + feet.
D'OH! don't forget to factor in the probable trees. people in the way. oh, you missed noticing that 525 yard par 5 behind that other tree line. Only one shot, ACE!
Hell, how'd you do on that last BFR when the instructor, pulled the power and all you had to do was make it to the that big assed runway, field, etc ? hit it right on the mark? who out there among us is out there practicing these things, ready to put it into a spot we'd think twice about, without the stress/ limitations of an actual emergency?(even though we sure should be)
Anybody ever read Bach's short story, "let's not practice today" ?

I wasn't being critical or judgmental. Just curious if anyone had some hands on experience that might help if, heaven forbid, we should find ourselves in the same situation.

dstr59 wrote: Hell, how'd you do on that last BFR when the instructor, pulled the power and all you had to do was make it to the that big assed runway, field, etc ? hit it right on the mark?

This is exactly why when I give Flight Reviews that I let them do one picking their own touchdown spot out away from the airport. And then one where I pick it (someplace short and hemmed in), stressing that your only option may be a small meadow in the mountains, etc.

dstr59 wrote:who out there among us is out there practicing these things, ready to put it into a spot we'd think twice about, without the stress/ limitations of an actual emergency?(even though we sure should be)

You're right. We should be. In general, I think pilots don't tend to think about spot landings except for a Flight Review. However, I think the percentage of those that do think of it is higher among a group like this just due to the type of flying we do.

He landed in the practice area, not on the course itself. The nose of the plane ended up in the practice bunker. At best this type of area on the golf course isn't but a couple of hundred feet in size. Driving range itself, also in the practice area of a course, in rarely more then 300 yards long, sometimes much shorter (like Tucson National that we just played, it was 225 yards long).

Yeah, the written article said it was on the putting/chipping green, after clipping the trees. The bunker seen is the one around the chipping green, which is separated from the driving range by a row of trees.

The airplane's owner sure had his head in a sand trap! For him to eliminate the possibility of a mechanical failure without knowing the facts is just CYA. Yeah, it could be pilot error, or it could just as likely be an engine failure, perhaps carb ice or worse. The investigation is more likely to turn up the reasons than the shoot-from-the-hip self-serving statements of the owner.

On the issue of being able to do a spot landing under extreme pressure, I understand that. My engine failure 11 years ago worked out very well, not because I did such a great job, but because the good Lord was watching over me--and provided me with a pretty wide open field and the clear recollection of all those mock engine-out exercises that my first instructor forced onto me against my repetitive protests--"Someday you'll thank me, Cary."

Personally, although golf courses provide some clear distances, I'd choose something else if it were available. Under the best of conditions (straight fairway w/o doglegs, no hillocks or sand traps on the fairway, standard +/- 100' width), you're still dealing with a very short "runway" of often less than 600'. Yeah, most of us can get down and stopped in that distance, when we have the time to plan the entire approach. But when the engine craps out and our options are limited, most of us won't be the super-sticks that we are normally.

Cary

It looks, to me, like he made a very good forced landing. I expect it would have been just that, a landing, except for hitting the sand trap. 75% of emergency landings touch down beyond the middle of the chosen landing zone. He obviously did much better than that or the airplane would have been damaged more. Catching a wing somehow, I think uneven bunker, did the most damage. Or he may have hit a tree on the way in. Very good job. Having done many, I can say.

I laughed when I read the owner's comments. Makes me hope it was mechanical failure...

I forgot to say, Grassstrippilot is right to have his students practice the difficult situations as well as the easy. Also, low as well as high. Stopping at 1500' AGL gives the student little confidence that he can get into the beginning of the landing zone.

While we crucify the owner, bear in mind that newspaper folks are notorious for misquoting and embellishing with no regard for the subject being interviewed or what statement was actually trying to be conveyed.

This is true. I was involved only in a handful of things that made the local news. 100% misrepresented, partially or totally, what happened.

gbflyer wrote:While we crucify the owner, bear in mind that newspaper folks are notorious for misquoting and embellishing with no regard for the subject being interviewed or what statement was actually trying to be conveyed.

In this case though, the owner is on tape. Definitely understand the desire to CYA for the business, but I thought his scrambling was a bit on the humorous side and that his comments weren't very tactful...even if it is the truth.

Good point. I didn't watch the vid. See there how things get started. [emoji6]

I don't think I'd use that flight school for a BFR...going in to full-out freak-out mode, insisting it was the pilot, insisting it wasn't the plane. If it was fuel, the NTSB knows the answer already. If not, they'll know pretty soon and issue the facts.

They walked away (more or less). Good for them.