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#1
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Emergency
It was the 3rd leg of an Angel Flight and I wasn't even supposed to be
flying it. I'd already flown the second leg from Natchez, MS to Monroeville, AL, but the 3rd leg pilot had mysteriously failed to show--no call, no nothin'. It was late, I was tired and I was mad. I had two pax aboard. We were in the clouds and in the dark in a Cutlass RG approaching Macon, GA (MCN). The outside temperature was 13 C and moisture was streaming back on the windshield. The throttle was fully open, the RPM was set for 2500 and the mixture was leaned to 10.5 gph. The autopilot was holding course and altitude. I was studying the ILS approach plate when I noticed the AP's "up" trim warning light illuminate. A quick scan of the instruments showed the IAS at 100 and falling; normally it would indicate 125 at that altitude. I had detected no change in the engine sound. I immediately hit the AP disable switch to prevent its stalling the airplane. This was right and wrong, as I now had to do all the flying while troubleshooting the problem. What I should have done was disable the altitude hold and allow the AP to continue keeping us on course and wings level. Any attempt to lift the nose resulted in a sickening drop in airspeed. The situation was now officially scary: we were going down on a dark, rainy night over central Georgia. I shoved the prop and mixture full forward, confirmed the throttle was wide open and the primer was in. No improvement. There was no unusual vibration. The engine still sounded good and was still making 2500 rpm, but the prop was probably in flat pitch to do it. I tried the electric fuel pump: no joy. I glanced at the JPI engine analyzer and saw that all four cylinders showed roughly even EGTs. All this took much less than a minute; maybe only 30 seconds. Finally, I pulled the carb heat. Within a few seconds I felt a surge of power and we began to climb. I don't know for sure what a death row inmate feels like when the governor calls at the last minute, but I'm guessing it feels something like that. My heart was pounding in my chest and I was so stoked on adrenalin my hands were shaking. The front seat passenger was looking at me wide-eyed--he didn't know what was happening, but he had figured out *something* wasn't right. I had wandered 40 deg. off course and Atlanta Approach was repeating a frequency change instruction. In a few moments I had us back on course and altitude but I was still somewhat rattled and blew the readback on Atlanta's initial approach instructions. Got that sorted out and made an uneventful ILS approach to runway 5 at MCN. Not a totally satisfying performance. I ended up doing the right thing and we lived; that's the good news. The bad news is that allowed myself to rush things. A moment's thought would have prevented the autopilot mistake. A calmer, more orderly flow through the engine controls would have led me to the carb heat sooner and saved a few unnecessary extra seconds of high anxiety. Next time I have an emergency (please: NO next time!) I'll try to take it a little slower. I'm still surprised that the carb iced up at full throttle. Conditions were in the bad area of the carb ice chart, but my engine has never seemed prone to the problem. In 650+ hours I've only detected carb ice once before, and that was after a long taxi on a cool, rainy day. -- Dan C172RG at BFM |
#2
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Emergency
On 03/27/06 16:21, Dan Luke wrote:
[ great story snipped ] I just wanted to thank you for sharing your experience and thoughts with the rest of us. I've often wondered how I will perform in an actual event, given the practiced versions are so 'uneventful'. My hope is that I'll stay calm and go through the 'checklists', but only time will tell. Thanks again. -- Mark Hansen, PP-ASEL, Instrument Airplane Cal Aggie Flying Farmers Sacramento, CA |
#3
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Emergency
On Mon, 27 Mar 2006 16:51:29 -0800, Mark Hansen wrote:
I've often wondered how I will perform in an actual event, given the practiced versions are so 'uneventful'. My hope is that I'll stay calm and go through the 'checklists', but only time will tell. To be quite honest Mark, when it comes to an emergency, and referring to a checklist, having myself been through a partial engine failure (exhaust valve bit the dust) that check list really becomes a moot point when the failure is not your standard failure as in Dan's case. The best thing to do is commit the essential trouble shooting tips to memory, as when it comes to the real deal, aviate will become your primary focus of attention (in my case, establish 78 knot glide speed) and then start trouble shooting by doing what you remember on the list. For me it was check mags, change tanks, fuel pump, carb heat mixture and once I got past that with no improvement, then navigated and communicated my emergency. My only thing I didn't do, which the list would have reminded me to do was open the cabin door. All through this, I still heard my instructor say "Fly the plane". By doing that, actually kept me focused and calm during the actual emergency. Now, keep in mind, I was the sole occupant, had I had a passenger, I would have enlisted their help in reading to me a laminated emergency checklist I created. You can see what I posted at http://groups.google.com/group/rec.a...6bdfa0c25cc49d and the excellent feedback and suggestions I received. Allen |
#4
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Emergency
On 03/27/06 17:30, A Lieberman wrote:
On Mon, 27 Mar 2006 16:51:29 -0800, Mark Hansen wrote: I've often wondered how I will perform in an actual event, given the practiced versions are so 'uneventful'. My hope is that I'll stay calm and go through the 'checklists', but only time will tell. To be quite honest Mark, when it comes to an emergency, and referring to a checklist, having myself been through a partial engine failure (exhaust valve bit the dust) that check list really becomes a moot point when the failure is not your standard failure as in Dan's case. Yes, Allen. I put checklists in quotes in my attempt to mean what ever is the appropriate thing to do in that situation. The best thing to do is commit the essential trouble shooting tips to memory, as when it comes to the real deal, aviate will become your primary focus of attention (in my case, establish 78 knot glide speed) and then start trouble shooting by doing what you remember on the list. For me it was check mags, change tanks, fuel pump, carb heat mixture and once I got past that with no improvement, then navigated and communicated my emergency. My only thing I didn't do, which the list would have reminded me to do was open the cabin door. All through this, I still heard my instructor say "Fly the plane". By doing that, actually kept me focused and calm during the actual emergency. Now, keep in mind, I was the sole occupant, had I had a passenger, I would have enlisted their help in reading to me a laminated emergency checklist I created. You can see what I posted at http://groups.google.com/group/rec.a...6bdfa0c25cc49d and the excellent feedback and suggestions I received. Allen -- Mark Hansen, PP-ASEL, Instrument Airplane Cal Aggie Flying Farmers Sacramento, CA |
#5
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Emergency
Dan Luke wrote:
I'm still surprised that the carb iced up at full throttle. Conditions were in the bad area of the carb ice chart, but my engine has never seemed prone to the problem. In 650+ hours I've only detected carb ice once before, and that was after a long taxi on a cool, rainy day. Thanks, Dan, for posting your experience. I have to admit that I never gave the individual AP modes during an emergency much thought until reading your post. Very happy to read of your successful outcome. -- Peter |
#6
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Emergency
I have long been convinced that becoming a truly proficient and competent
pilot is the result of the sum of a series of 'mini-emergencies' (not to minimize yours - sounds like a REAL emergency). What I mean is that over years of flying we all face small crises and we learn how to deal with them. And each time we do, we become better crisis managers. A little ice this time, a little low-fuel situation the next, two-out-of-three green on the landing gear, strange sparks from the engine in-flight, and switching to the wrong tanks at night. All recoverable, and all with lots of boring, 'normal' flights in between. But each time, the ability to stay calm, aviate, analyze, and correct makes for a better pilot, better able to handle the 'next one'. As others have said, thanks for sharing your story. Glad things turned out well. You criticize yourself for what you did wrong - how about all the things you did right? "Dan Luke" wrote in message ... It was the 3rd leg of an Angel Flight and I wasn't even supposed to be flying it. I'd already flown the second leg from Natchez, MS to Monroeville, AL, but the 3rd leg pilot had mysteriously failed to show--no call, no nothin'. It was late, I was tired and I was mad. I had two pax aboard. We were in the clouds and in the dark in a Cutlass RG approaching Macon, GA (MCN). The outside temperature was 13 C and moisture was streaming back on the windshield. The throttle was fully open, the RPM was set for 2500 and the mixture was leaned to 10.5 gph. The autopilot was holding course and altitude. I was studying the ILS approach plate when I noticed the AP's "up" trim warning light illuminate. A quick scan of the instruments showed the IAS at 100 and falling; normally it would indicate 125 at that altitude. I had detected no change in the engine sound. I immediately hit the AP disable switch to prevent its stalling the airplane. This was right and wrong, as I now had to do all the flying while troubleshooting the problem. What I should have done was disable the altitude hold and allow the AP to continue keeping us on course and wings level. Any attempt to lift the nose resulted in a sickening drop in airspeed. The situation was now officially scary: we were going down on a dark, rainy night over central Georgia. I shoved the prop and mixture full forward, confirmed the throttle was wide open and the primer was in. No improvement. There was no unusual vibration. The engine still sounded good and was still making 2500 rpm, but the prop was probably in flat pitch to do it. I tried the electric fuel pump: no joy. I glanced at the JPI engine analyzer and saw that all four cylinders showed roughly even EGTs. All this took much less than a minute; maybe only 30 seconds. Finally, I pulled the carb heat. Within a few seconds I felt a surge of power and we began to climb. I don't know for sure what a death row inmate feels like when the governor calls at the last minute, but I'm guessing it feels something like that. My heart was pounding in my chest and I was so stoked on adrenalin my hands were shaking. The front seat passenger was looking at me wide-eyed--he didn't know what was happening, but he had figured out *something* wasn't right. I had wandered 40 deg. off course and Atlanta Approach was repeating a frequency change instruction. In a few moments I had us back on course and altitude but I was still somewhat rattled and blew the readback on Atlanta's initial approach instructions. Got that sorted out and made an uneventful ILS approach to runway 5 at MCN. Not a totally satisfying performance. I ended up doing the right thing and we lived; that's the good news. The bad news is that allowed myself to rush things. A moment's thought would have prevented the autopilot mistake. A calmer, more orderly flow through the engine controls would have led me to the carb heat sooner and saved a few unnecessary extra seconds of high anxiety. Next time I have an emergency (please: NO next time!) I'll try to take it a little slower. I'm still surprised that the carb iced up at full throttle. Conditions were in the bad area of the carb ice chart, but my engine has never seemed prone to the problem. In 650+ hours I've only detected carb ice once before, and that was after a long taxi on a cool, rainy day. -- Dan C172RG at BFM |
#7
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Emergency
Glad you found the problem in time. Did your manifold pressure drop?
Otherwise, those of you with constant speed props have to be more sensitive to carb icing as you don't get any other clues except maybe a falling EGT. Personally I've found manifold pressure and EGT to be an excellent cross check on engine performance even though I'm flying a fixed pitch A/C. |
#8
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Emergency
Glad you found the problem in time. Did your manifold pressure drop?
That was my first question, too. Dan? -- Jay Honeck Iowa City, IA Pathfinder N56993 www.AlexisParkInn.com "Your Aviation Destination" |
#9
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Emergency
"Jay Honeck" wrote: Glad you found the problem in time. Did your manifold pressure drop? That was my first question, too. Dan? I must have looked, but what I remember is being mystified at why I couldn't hold altitude when the engine seemed fine. Perhaps I mis-read the gauge. I was doing several things at once and rushing everything. It was all over so quickly I didn't have much time to really examine the data! -- Dan C172RG at BFM |
#10
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Emergency
"pgbnh" wrote I have long been convinced that becoming a truly proficient and competent pilot is the result of the sum of a series of 'mini-emergencies' (not to minimize yours - sounds like a REAL emergency). What I mean is that over years of flying we all face small crises and we learn how to deal with them. And each time we do, we become better crisis managers. I have to disagree, on that one. A proficient pilot never puts himself in a situation like that, in the first place, ideally. Dealing with them is all spin control. (not the kind where you go round and round) -- Jim in NC |
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