CMSU C-172RG makes emergency landing after engine failure

funny I didn't see anything about that until I saw your post. I was just at 9K4 (CMSUs home field) last Sunday, a friend and I were out flying for the day and stopped in there to take a break and go watch the Chiefs game.

I was impressed - that school has quite an operation and quite a nice fleet of aircraft.

Sarah
 
So yeah, here goes....

I was doing some training with a commercial applicant and we had done some chandelles, lazy 8's, and slow flight and we were doing a power-off stall. We set up the stall just like any other...gear down, carb heat on, power to 15 inches, prop forward, flaps down. The stall itself was uneventful. However during the recovery, my student went to apply power and the engine didnt respond. So I tried to recover, but still nothing.

I attempted a quick restart procedure, but we were down to about 1200AGL at this point and had to pick a field rather quickly. The area we were in had very few choices to pick from, most of which were marginal at best, which is odd considering Western Missouri is mostly farmland.

Anyways, I took the controls and started to head for the field I had picked. I let the Unicom know what had happened and several other airplanes from the flight school headed out in that general direction to see what was going on. We landed in the field, which had a pretty good up-slope to it. The landing was rather hard (there were divots in the ground about 3-4 inches deep), but the roll out was normal until we rolled into a ditch or some sort of low spot, which grabbed the nosewheel and sheared it off. We came to rest about 100 feet after that up on the nose. of the airplane.

My student and I got out, walked away and called the airport on my cell phone to let them know where we were.

All in all, it was one heck of a way to start the day (it was my first flight that morning). I spent the rest of the morning doing some paperwork, answering some questions, and talking to the FAA. I went home for a few hours, watched some TV, had a bite to eat, basicly let my nerves settle, then went out and did a quick flight with another student that afternoon. That night, I went down to a bar and drank a beer or 12.

The cause of the engine failure is still being looked into. The whole thing will go down as an incident (NTSB Part 830) because there was no substantial damage to the airplane.

Anyways, thats the story in a nutshell. Looking back, I think I did a pretty decent job. We both walked away and the airplane will be able to be used again (after some repairs).

Chris
 
well, thank goodness you were both ok!! glad to hear that!!

when you say it sheared off the nosewheel - that's the prop portion of the plane right?

also good that you got right back up into the air the same day.. I dunno if i could do that - I have trouble just getting onto a big jet when there's turbulence... hahahha
blush.gif

guess that's why i'm not the pilot in the family, just the one who supports a pilot in the family! haha
grin.gif


so - what happens to the plane? can they fix it or is it considered totalled? do you have to pay for it at all or does the FBO take care of it with insurance?

again - glad to hear everything turned out ok and thanks for coming on to tell your story!!
smile.gif
 
I am pleased to hear all went well!!! It shows the training really does pay off. And definately well done for flying again that day - that really says something about you! It is much easier to get back on a horse after you fall off, then it would be to get back in an aircraft after an engine failure.

Good job again - just do not make a habit of it!!
grin.gif
grin.gif
grin.gif
grin.gif
 
Wow. Great job putting it on the ground safely! And you showed a lot of guts getting back in a plane so quickly after that.
 
Great job! Grace under pressure at it's finest. Hope all of us on this site are as wise and fortunate should we be faced with similar circumstances!
 
Whew--what a story.

I'm curious about your student's perception?

And what did your logbook entry look like?
 
Back
Top