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[.Blueskies.]

Engine failure sends plane merging into I-96 traffic
No one injured in rush-hour landing in Delta Twp.

http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061006/NEWS01/610060338

[Bob Chilcoat]

I thought Jason Blair was the guy who faked all his stories at the NY Times.
Must be a different guy. This one obviously knew his stuff. Good job.

--
Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)


".Blueskies." > wrote in message
...
> Engine failure sends plane merging into I-96 traffic
> No one injured in rush-hour landing in Delta Twp.
>
> http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061006/NEWS01/610060338
>
>
>

[[email protected]]

..Blueskies. wrote:
> Engine failure sends plane merging into I-96 traffic
> No one injured in rush-hour landing in Delta Twp.
>
> http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061006/NEWS01/610060338

Two comments:

1. The newpaper article (not the most reliable source, I realize) said
he had 1500' of altitude and was 3 miles from the airport. If that was
statute miles, he'd need a 10 or 11:1 glide ratio to make it. If it was
nm, he'd need about 12:1. I don't know the Cherokee's glide ratio, but
most simlar planes are in the 10-15 range, so he might have made it.
Given the "might" and not knowing winds, obstructions, etc. I'm not
saying the pilot did the wrong thing. Just that pilots should keep
their glide ratio (and speed at which it occurs) in mind for such
situations, and realize that even a power plane isn't a horrendous
glider. From 5000' agl, you can go quite a distance, and I suspect it
is much farther than most pilots would think. Incidents like this are
good reminders that altitude is our friend and that, perhaps, we should
climb to higher than normal altitude as insurance.

2. I wonder whether the pilot killed the engine just before touching
down. Given a similar freeway landing a few years back at Concord, CA,
in which the prop sevred the leg of a girl in a van on the freeway, it
would seem like a wise idea. The engine isn't doing any good at that
point anyway and a spinning prop is very dangerous to the auto traffic.

Glad this one ended well.

Martin

[[email protected]]

The Cherokee 180 glides only slightly better than a brick when you lose
the engine. At best you can realize maybe 1 statue mile gliding
distance for each 1000 feet AGL, so at 1500 AGL you can make a dead
stick landing to a field about 1.5 miles away. Maybe a little longer if
you've got a tailwind of course, and if you don't have to make any
turns. Once you start making turns, the Cherokee is so draggy that
it'll lose quite a bit of altitude in the turns.

[Jim Macklin]

In a typical airplane, you can only see the ground over the
nose that is 1 mile per 1,000 AGL. Loose an engine, better
long down at a 45 degree angle and select the best you can
see where you are, rather than planning a x-c to an airport
on the horizon.



> wrote in message
ps.com...
| The Cherokee 180 glides only slightly better than a brick
when you lose
| the engine. At best you can realize maybe 1 statue mile
gliding
| distance for each 1000 feet AGL, so at 1500 AGL you can
make a dead
| stick landing to a field about 1.5 miles away. Maybe a
little longer if
| you've got a tailwind of course, and if you don't have to
make any
| turns. Once you start making turns, the Cherokee is so
draggy that
| it'll lose quite a bit of altitude in the turns.
|

[Matt Whiting]

Jim Macklin wrote:
> In a typical airplane, you can only see the ground over the
> nose that is 1 mile per 1,000 AGL. Loose an engine, better
> long down at a 45 degree angle and select the best you can
> see where you are, rather than planning a x-c to an airport
> on the horizon.

Except that using a 45 degree cone rules out a lot of good landing spots
since even 1,000/mile is much shallower than 45 degrees. Ideally, you
see a spot that close, but if not, I'd keep looking a little farther out.

Matt