Aircraft Lands on Highway

Scandinavian13

Scandinavian13

New Member
I saw this on the local news the other night, as the Hokie Flying Club is based here at the university's airport. I've been seeing lots of crash stories of people not making it, so I figured I'd balance it with a story of simple idiocy that ended up being survivable.

Fuel starvation.

I always thought most of the guys in that club weren't all there. Unfortunately, it's the only place to get a plane at the moment.

Here's the article:
http://www.swvatoday.com/comments/man_lands_plane_on_i_81/news/2161/
 
The first sergeant said the gas tanks appeared to be pretty dry, noting that fuel capacity is a common problem with Cessnas and other small planes.
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That is a great line I will have to use one day!
 
Looks like someone is in need of a review of the ‘time in the tanks’ FAA pamphlet. Nice job on the walk away emergency landing though.
 
Since this was his first solo cross country, shouldn't the instructor have looked over his flight plan? That should have clearly showed he would not have the 30 mins extra fuel required for the trip.

Thankfully he landed safely and nobody was hurt. Hopefully he learned to always dip the tanks and double check the numbers.
 
Matt13C said:
Thankfully he landed safely and nobody was hurt. Hopefully he learned to always dip the tanks and double check the numbers.
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I don't even look at the fuel gauge in the plane on my pre-flight. Dipstick and then see how the numbers inside then match up.
 
JDMcFly said:
I don't even look at the fuel gauge in the plane on my pre-flight. Dipstick and then see how the numbers inside then match up.
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The planes I've flown have 2 positions on the gauges: Full & Empty. The needles just go from one end to the other, no middle ground.
 
pilatus028 said:
The planes I've flown have 2 positions on the gauges: Full & Empty. The needles just go from one end to the other, no middle ground.
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HA HA true. Ours are semi accurate when they are over 1/2 full but I never rely on them. Even if my instructor tells me he just filled the tanks I still dip both of them on pre-flight.

It is surprising to watch some people when they pre-flight. Some people do little to nothing at all.
 
My CFI told me right in the beginning, "You can't believe a damn thing the fuel gauges say, ever. Unless they say 'empty.'"

I laughed aloud at the line about throwing the fuel cap away. Which caused the five college females sitting across the gate from me to give me a strange look.

Then again, most women give me that look, so it's probably just a coincidence.
 
SoCalAprch said:
AFAIK per the FAA all the indicators need to do is read empty accurately.
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Please don't continue to spread that dumb myth.

Read the regs:

The FAA states under FAR Part 91.205 [Powered civil aircraft with standard category U.S. airworthiness certificates: Instrument and equipment requirements] that the aircraft must have a “(9) Fuel gauge indicating the quantity of fuel in each tank.”

The myth came from another regulation that states that the fuel gauge must be calibrated to read zero when the tanks are empty. That's not the same thing as them only needing "to be accurate when you're empty."


Why the hell would the FAA even put something like that in? What the heck is the point of having a fuel gauge that only tells you when it's too late?


The same people who came up with and spread this garbage either didn't have common sense, or refused to use it.
 
P&H said:
Please don't continue to spread that dumb myth.

Read the regs:

The FAA states under FAR Part 91.205 [Powered civil aircraft with standard category U.S. airworthiness certificates: Instrument and equipment requirements] that the aircraft must have a “(9) Fuel gauge indicating the quantity of fuel in each tank.”

The myth came from another regulation that states that the fuel gauge must be calibrated to read zero when the tanks are empty. That's not the same thing as them only needing "to be accurate when you're empty."


Why the hell would the FAA even put something like that in? What the heck is the point of having a fuel gauge that only tells you when it's too late?


The same people who came up with and spread this garbage either didn't have common sense, or refused to use it.
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I KNEWWW it wasnt my fault.
 
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