The E Word

In article et,
Michelle P wrote:

I am not how I would have handled this say 1500 or so hours ago.
Experience has built my confidence. I am a lot more comfortable on the
flight deck and abnormal things do not upset me as much as they used too.
Michelle

Longworth wrote:

Michelle,
Well done. I wish that I could be as calm and competent as you were
in handling emergency situations. Glad to hear of the good outcome.

Hai Longworth




Michelle,

You dine good!

You followed the aviator's three primary rules:
1. Aviate (Fly the damn airplane!)
2. Navigate.
3. Communicate.

#2 and #3 are no good if you aren't flying the airplane.
#3 doesn't do a lot of good if you don't know where you are.

Thanks,
Fly or die.... That is the way I look at it.
It is hard to get lost when you have to know where you are at all times.
Washington Dc ADIZ/FRZ airspace is always changing. It reinforced my
belief that you always need to know where the closest airport is and
which direction. This was easy since we had just passed it and we were
still talking to the tower controller.
Michelle

Orval Fairbairn wrote:



You dine good!

You followed the aviator's three primary rules:
1. Aviate (Fly the damn airplane!)
2. Navigate.
3. Communicate.

#2 and #3 are no good if you aren't flying the airplane.
#3 doesn't do a lot of good if you don't know where you are.

I am not how I would have handled this say 1500 or so hours ago. Experience
has built my confidence. I am a lot more comfortable on the flight deck and
abnormal things do not upset me as much as they used too.

I know I'm late to the show here, but great job, Michelle!

A rough engine is a scary thing. It's only happened once to me, and I still
had five (of six) cylinders pulling strong, but it sure seemed to take
forever to get on the ground. At the same time, I had to keep reminding
myself not to *rush* things, cuz that's when we make mistakes.

Glad it worked out well.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

You never know how you will act in an emergency. In 1973 I lost an
engine and came to a successful landing, except it was off airport.


-------------
Regards, Ross
C-172F 180HP
KSWI


Longworth wrote:
Michelle,
Well done. I wish that I could be as calm and competent as you were
in handling emergency situations. Glad to hear of the good outcome.

Hai Longworth

Had the engine not continued enough power to keep us airborne, we would
have made the evening news. I talked to my observer when we went out and
flew the afternoon run. We were both looking at 95S at Lorton, Va as a
quite likely landing site. The Fairfax County parkway was option as
well. The old Fort Belvior proving grounds was an option as well. It had
grown up significantly in the last few years. The airplane would not
have been flyable if we had landed there. I would much rather hit trees
rolling out than Cars. Trees are predicable. They do not move
un-expectedly and I can try to point the fuselage between two of them
and take the hit in the wings.

Michelle

Ross Richardson wrote:

You never know how you will act in an emergency. In 1973 I lost an
engine and came to a successful landing, except it was off airport.


-------------
Regards, Ross
C-172F 180HP
KSWI


Longworth wrote:

Michelle,
Well done. I wish that I could be as calm and competent as you were
in handling emergency situations. Glad to hear of the good outcome.

Hai Longworth

Michelle P wrote:
rolling out than Cars. Trees are predicable. They do not move
un-expectedly and I can try to point the fuselage between two of them
and take the hit in the wings.

I did that once (though it was kinda unplanned); I would
not recommend it (might be ok if already on the ground and
slowing down, not when airborne)

--Sylvain

Michelle -
Thanks for the write up. Great job. I'm usually shaken
up when I make a normal landing (just kidding). I can't imagine
what I'd be like during something like this.
BTW, did they clear you for runway 05 or just runway 5.
(or whatever it was)? Just kidding.

Gerald


Michelle P wrote:
I used the E-word today. At 08:30 EDT this morning over the Springfield
Mixing bowl just south of Washington DC, I declared and emergency.

We had just finished our Potomac River crossing south of National
airport and headed south to Woodbridge and back to Springfield, VA.
Northbound I was just turning the corner to pick up the beltway and head
for Tyson's Corners and the engine instantly started running rough, very
rough. I thought we were going to loose it all together at 1000 feet AGL
over a densely populated area.

I immediately turned south again towards the last airport we had passed
and called the tower. "Davison tower, Fetter Three is coming in". Fetter
Three what is the nature of your trouble? "Engine running rough", How
many souls (I hate that question but the need to know to know how many
Ambulances to roll), "2." How much fuel? "40 gallons". Are you declaring
and emergency? "Yes" ,Would you like Fire rescue? "Yes". I have pushed
the button. I tried the Carb heat no results. Mixture full in, and I
used our excess airspeed to climb. This added about 200 feet to our
altitude. Oil pressure was reading ok as was oil Temp. I tried different
power settings no luck. Here we were at 70 KIAS "full" power and holding
altitude. I called on the Company air to air to report I was going down.
Our other Fixed wing immediately turned towards our position. I was not
sure how long this would last so both my observer and I were looking for
a place to land short of the field. I am usually looking for places to
land as we are cruising around the beltway. Never hurts. Interstate 95S
was lightly loaded and was a real possibility. We also had a couple of
"large" fields on our way. The engine held and we were cleared to land,
wind calm.
As we rolled out we we met by the entire fire crew. Since the event was
sudden I had no Idea how bad the damage was and weather we would have a
fire upon landing. It turns out we were not leaking any oil or fuel.

We pushed the airplane off the runway, they have no tow bars for Small
GA airplanes. It was parked with the other fixed wing aircraft on the
field. THe airfield manager came out and greeted us. Offered us the use
of the DV (Distinguished Visitors) lounge. I called my boss and
Maintenance. They were on their way. Our other plane landed about 10
minutes behind me. While I was Cleaning out the plane, My observer
climbed in our other plane and went back to home base.
While I was waiting for my Boss and the Mechanic to arrived I sat in the
DV lounge watching Satellite TV and filling out the mound of paper work
from an un-authorized landing. Being made Authorized.

I stayed with the plane in hopes we could fix it and fly it out today.
The plane turned out to be broken harder than I thought. I originally
thought the Mags (Dual Drive) had slipped a gear since the entire engine
was running badly. It became very obvious when we removed the cowling
that we had a problem with the #3 cylinder. The intake push rod was
bent. This seemed strange until we removed the rocker cover. The stud
for the exhaust valve had come loose in the head and the rocker was
cocked to one side. THe push rod was not even contacting the rocker arm.
This trapped the high pressure combustion results in the cylinder. When
the intake valve tried to open it couldn't. Too much pressure. The push
rod bent. Not only did we have a dead cylinder, we had the rest of the
engine pushing against a full Combustion charge that could not escape.
The mechanic and I removed the offending cylinder and return to home
base. I and my morning observer went out and flew the afternoon Survey run.
Everything went smoothly and it usually does.

The airplane looks like it will be there until Monday when some of the
parts under the cowling were broken by the shaking.

Michelle (Two engine failures in 15 years and counting)

Gerald,
I was shaking after I got out of the plane. Once the adrenaline stopped
running. I seriously felt like a nap. They have a very comfortable lounge.

They cleared me to land. I do not think any mentioned a runway number.
If they did, I did not hear it. I was landing on the closest runway.
I asked about getting a copy of the tower recording. I am going to
contact the manager on monday to see if that is possible.

Michelle

Gerald Sylvester wrote:

Michelle -
Thanks for the write up. Great job. I'm usually shaken
up when I make a normal landing (just kidding). I can't imagine
what I'd be like during something like this.
BTW, did they clear you for runway 05 or just runway 5.
(or whatever it was)? Just kidding.

Gerald


Michelle P wrote:

Glad to hear everything worked out OK. What year/type AC?


"Michelle P" wrote in message
nk.net...
I used the E-word today. At 08:30 EDT this morning over the Springfield
Mixing bowl just south of Washington DC, I declared and emergency.

We had just finished our Potomac River crossing south of National airport
and headed south to Woodbridge and back to Springfield, VA. Northbound I
was just turning the corner to pick up the beltway and head for Tyson's
Corners and the engine instantly started running rough, very rough. I
thought we were going to loose it all together at 1000 feet AGL over a
densely populated area.

I immediately turned south again towards the last airport we had passed
and called the tower. "Davison tower, Fetter Three is coming in". Fetter
Three what is the nature of your trouble? "Engine running rough", How many
souls (I hate that question but the need to know to know how many
Ambulances to roll), "2." How much fuel? "40 gallons". Are you declaring
and emergency? "Yes" ,Would you like Fire rescue? "Yes". I have pushed the
button. I tried the Carb heat no results. Mixture full in, and I used our
excess airspeed to climb. This added about 200 feet to our altitude. Oil
pressure was reading ok as was oil Temp. I tried different power settings
no luck. Here we were at 70 KIAS "full" power and holding altitude. I
called on the Company air to air to report I was going down. Our other
Fixed wing immediately turned towards our position. I was not sure how
long this would last so both my observer and I were looking for a place to
land short of the field. I am usually looking for places to land as we are
cruising around the beltway. Never hurts. Interstate 95S was lightly
loaded and was a real possibility. We also had a couple of "large" fields
on our way. The engine held and we were cleared to land, wind calm.
As we rolled out we we met by the entire fire crew. Since the event was
sudden I had no Idea how bad the damage was and weather we would have a
fire upon landing. It turns out we were not leaking any oil or fuel.

We pushed the airplane off the runway, they have no tow bars for Small GA
airplanes. It was parked with the other fixed wing aircraft on the field.
THe airfield manager came out and greeted us. Offered us the use of the DV
(Distinguished Visitors) lounge. I called my boss and Maintenance. They
were on their way. Our other plane landed about 10 minutes behind me.
While I was Cleaning out the plane, My observer climbed in our other plane
and went back to home base.
While I was waiting for my Boss and the Mechanic to arrived I sat in the
DV lounge watching Satellite TV and filling out the mound of paper work
from an un-authorized landing. Being made Authorized.

I stayed with the plane in hopes we could fix it and fly it out today. The
plane turned out to be broken harder than I thought. I originally thought
the Mags (Dual Drive) had slipped a gear since the entire engine was
running badly. It became very obvious when we removed the cowling that we
had a problem with the #3 cylinder. The intake push rod was bent. This
seemed strange until we removed the rocker cover. The stud for the exhaust
valve had come loose in the head and the rocker was cocked to one side.
THe push rod was not even contacting the rocker arm. This trapped the high
pressure combustion results in the cylinder. When the intake valve tried
to open it couldn't. Too much pressure. The push rod bent. Not only did we
have a dead cylinder, we had the rest of the engine pushing against a full
Combustion charge that could not escape.
The mechanic and I removed the offending cylinder and return to home base.
I and my morning observer went out and flew the afternoon Survey run.
Everything went smoothly and it usually does.

The airplane looks like it will be there until Monday when some of the
parts under the cowling were broken by the shaking.

Michelle (Two engine failures in 15 years and counting)

1970s C172N

Mike wrote:

Glad to hear everything worked out OK. What year/type AC?