Well, I have to say, the writing skills of Ryan Lunde are excellent. The way he wrote the story that is currently posted on the BCP homepage put the stick of the Husky in my hands, with my feet on the rudder pedals. I started reading and could not stop until the end.

I, like many others who have ever landed off airport can relate to everything that is stated in the story leading up to the crash. I think that this could have easily been me, or any one of us. It is a sobering reminder that just one pass over what looks like a landable area is not ever enough. There are so many things that need to be considered before setting down on an unimproved or off airport strip. I still have so much to learn.

Ryan, thank you for sharing your experience. Very well done, and glad you are here to share with us.

Zane, thanks for making this more than just another forum.

https://www.backcountrypilot.org/features/category/live-to-tell/impact-an-account-of-an-airplane-crash

X2 what Evan said, excellent write up. Thanks for sharing your story Ryan!

Skalywag wrote:X2 what Evan said, excellent write up. Thanks for sharing your story Ryan!

3x

Thanks Ryan! Impact is a very well written article and I really appreciate you sharing what was obviously a stressful time in your life(understatement).

There is some incredible content on this site and I am truly impressed as the quality of the content seems to be continually improving.

Thanks for your efforts Zane and thanks for contributing Ryan.

Joe

Excellent article, wonderfully written and so important for all of us to read. I feel as if I could have been there with him.

It is said you won't remember the places where you have landed as much as the places where you've crashed. Whereas I appreciate and also enjoy the call of the wild, there is a risk/benefit calculation to be performed on every flight. Unless the plane is on fire or the prop is stopped, sometimes the 5 minute flight to a safe landing is worth it.

Mountain Doctor wrote:.... Whereas I appreciate and also enjoy the call of the wild, there is a risk/benefit calculation to be performed on every flight......

Risk vs benefit or risk vs reward .....how many people have bent an airplane landing somewhere "just because"? And looking back, was it worth it?

I won't comment on the risk benefit ratio thing, as it's so individualistic....worth it for some, not for others. I felt like I was along for the ride when reading the write up, very well done!

BUT, I will say I love my landing gear, bungees for sure but additionally an airshock to control the rebound and help mitigate the bounces back in the air described. Kinda hard to brake when the tires aren't on the ground. Too bad the cert process is so cumbersome as it could be an easy mod for the Husky and any other bungee geared bird. There are additional ways to lessen any bouncing of course, but a shock dampening the bungee rebound is sure nice to have. I mean how many cars do you see with springs but no shock absorbers?? The cert planes are a little behind the experimental planes in this regard, or so it seems.

Great writeup

A very sobering read for sure.

I think most people who are doing off-airport landings will have at least a close call at some stage. I definitely think there's enough reward to justify the risks.

Ahh yes, that sound of the prop chopping the dirt like when you run aground with your lawnmower.

Like being inside a salad-shooter, is how one friend describes his descent through the birches. A 3-blade Mac at 2700 RPM makes perfect lengths of stove wood, BTW.

Very important and well-written article. Kudos to the author.

I guess I'm the exception......what are the lessons we can learn from this event? This article is well written, but it comes across to me as kind of a "Woe is me" article. How about a little more of a message that we can all use to learn from this unfortunate event?

Or, am I too dense to read between the lines?

Who was paying the bills on this flight? If if was one of the federal agencies, they all require helmets for low level survey work. Why weren't you wearing personal protective gear? That may well be a function of the vendor you were working for, but helmets would have probably prevented those head injuries.

Shoulder harnesses??? Were they cinched up? Obviously not, but why not?

Sorry, there are a lot of accidents out there. Using up a perfectly good airplane for no good reason begs that at the very least we all learn a little from the event.

Call me a grump if you prefer, I'm wearing my Nomex.

MTV

mtv wrote:I guess I'm the exception......
MTV

You're the second person to comment to this effect, and to a certain extent I agree. But I think we should be grateful anytime someone survives such an event and can provide us with some account and some insight.

Perhaps the author does come across a little too introspective-- it is to be expected because any crash bears with it (I imagine) as much emotional baggage as a lesson learned in pilot judgement.

I think the obvious oversights or eagerness or shortcomings of the pilot are spelled out in the account. If those things are not obvious to anyone out there, please ask and someone will expound upon it given what we were told in the story.

In my opinion the overarching lesson is one of humility-- for overestimation of skill, for overlooking consequence, for accepting risk on behalf of others. Then owning up to it as a mistake. I can't help but think I might wallow in guilt had I inflicted pain and suffering on a trusting passenger, and given an opportunity for catharsis among my understanding brethren? I'd take it. There's no absolution but there is an opportunity to enlighten and start a conversation that might get others thinking.

Above all, I think it's important to pay respect to someone willing to share such an experience with us in hopes that others will too. It's ok to point out what should or should not have been done, but delicately so as to not discourage others from doing the same.

I second what MTV said about helmet, shoulder strap (fixed or effective inertia reel,) and Nomex. Also we need to become proficient using power/pitch to touch down slow and soft at the airport before trying off field work. There will be problems enough without extra speed and bouncing.

Good writing style and good lesson. I have made equally bad mistakes resulting in crashes.

Zane,

I agree with you for the most part. I can only imagine that using up a perfectly good airplane and putting yourself and worse, your passengers at risk is a pretty awful burden to bear. I still feel terrible for having parked a beautiful airplane on a mountain side when the crankshaft broke.

And, I have respect for anyone who is willing to expose themselves to all us Monday morning quarterbacks on the internet, by writing about such an incident.

But, my point is simply this: Is this article a catharsis for the pilot, or is it intended to help others avoid a similar event? If it's a catharsis, fine, label it as such and move on. That is what this appears to be to me.....and that's fine.

It would be much more helpful to those of us who venture off the paved surface, however, to learn from this event. Surely the author has given a great deal of thought to what went wrong and what might have been done different. He does say a couple times that an airport was only five minutes away, and that's a great learning lesson right there.

I'm only suggesting that he might expand on the retrospective. You never know when someone might have an "Aha moment", and avoid a potential repeat of this accident on their own nickel.

So, good for the author for a well written article. But, I'd like to hear more from him on what went wrong, what could have helped, etc, etc.

For what it's worth.

MTV

Fantastic article Ryan: I have had 4 close calls that could have ended badly. I am now flying much less cocky. I am not as good as I once thought I was. Like Ryan said don't fall prey to "whimsey or external pressure." I am guilty of this.

I must do better or the same fate awaits me. Since I have been on BCP (2006) we have had probably 20 members and friends of members killed. Both high and low time pilots. Not a pleasant thought. Many more have crashed and survived.

Be safe my friends...Rob

mtv wrote:I guess I'm the exception......what are the lessons we can learn from this event? This article is well written, but it comes across to me as kind of a "Woe is me" article. How about a little more of a message that we can all use to learn from this unfortunate event?

For me, the lessons are clearly there upon first reading, I thought they came through strongly enough without listing them explicitly. But I take your point about that Mike, the real gold is the lessons learned.

Although there are obviously more lessons, I reflected upon the following (and yes it's basically reinforcing good off-airport technique):

1. Decide on your decision point and go-around options before attempting any off airport landing

2. Always, always ease yourself into an unknown landing site. More than one fly-by and at least one full drag of the strip if possible, with weight on the wheels

3. Unexplored one-way airstrips are dangerous things and need lots of respect

4. Consider the risks and your options before attempting to land a new spot

I think this is a great reminder for me, personally. I will certainly behave differently having read this article.

Great article.
Me personally, I'll look it over from a few hundred feet, then go lower and slow, slightly off to one side, then drag it a few times and then land. But that's just how I do it

Lot's of passes eyeballing things, also getting a feel for any tailwind/headwind, not being a hurry, some places I've made 20 or 30 passes thinking it over. It's hugely satisfying when it all goes as planned, and always a learning experience when it doesn't. I don't think anyone contests the fact that a pilot who does a lot of off airport flying stands a heck of a better chance if the fan ever stops. Think of it as safety training, that can be dangerous.

High pucker factor there. I've done lots of remote grass strips, but they were all designated airfields with a responsible party to call so I could get an update on conditions before flying in. I've been in and out of 1,000' strips with power lines on one end, but the surface was smooth, flat, dry grass. My Maule is a stout airplane, but it is not the lightest bird around, particularly if I have enough fuel aboard to get back from someplace remote. It also only has a 180 Hp. steed under the cowl. The plane is undoubtedly more capable than I am, but the only way to know its real capability is to slowly expand my landing zone horizons. Articles like this make me pull my toes back from the cold waters of off-field landing. I'll get there, but my approach may remain asymptotic for now. I don't know if I should thank you, or curse you for your impact on my learning curve. I suspect a little of both...