Engine fails, pilot lands in field

juxtapilot

Snowflake
This to me is amazing...

So a 17 year old pilot landed one of my schools aircraft in the middle of a field. I guess the engine quite short of the airport. Kudos to this kid for getting on the ground safely... He's a Japanese contract student who just got his PPL I guess.

http://www.katu.com/news/33307014.html

081025_emergency_landing.jpg


HILLSBORO, Ore. - A 17-year-old student pilot escaped injury Saturday after making an emergency landing in a field at the Jackson Bottom Wetlands, authorities said.
The pilot, Tsuyoshi Matsu####a of Tokyo, Japan, is in Oregon receiving flight training from Hillsboro Aviation, according to Sgt. Bob Ray, a spokesman for the Washington County Sheriff's Office.
On Saturday, Matsu####a took off from the Hillsboro Airport in a 1978 Cessna 152 with the intent of flying solo to Corvallis, Ray said.
When the plane reached the 4,500 foot level, Matsu####a noticed the engine losing power, and he reported the problem to airport officials at about 12:20 p.m., Ray said.
Matsu####a decided to head back to the airport but quickly realized he was not going to make it. Instead he found the open field, located south of Hillsboro near the 600 block of Southwest Wood Street, and safely landed, Ray said.
The plane came to rest upright but at the bottom of an embankment. The aircraft did not suffer any damage and Matsu####a was not hurt, Ray said.
"The pilot did a great job," Ray said.
He said the teen had a pilot's license, and the plane belonged to Hillsboro Aviation.
The Federal Aviation Administration was expected to investigate the incident, as is routine in such emergency landing incidents.
 
This makes for a great story later in his career, good on him!:) btw in the article it shows his full name lol
 
well after having their ENTIRE fleet of 75 aircraft grounded for nearly a month because of maintenance discrepancies this isn't really much of a surprise.
 
well after having their ENTIRE fleet of 75 aircraft grounded for nearly a month because of maintenance discrepancies this isn't really much of a surprise.

Lets be fair here, a couple of faded (but still there) signatures on airworthiness certificates, 6 ply tires instead of the 4 ply most cessnas were certificated with, and outside maintenance failing to properly drug test....not exactly things that make airplanes fall from the sky...
 
Lets be fair here, a couple of faded (but still there) signatures on airworthiness certificates, 6 ply tires instead of the 4 ply most cessnas were certificated with, and outside maintenance failing to properly drug test....not exactly things that make airplanes fall from the sky...

:yeahthat: HAI has good maintinence. The planes are safe. I have no issues taking my friends on joy rides in their aircraft.

well after having their ENTIRE fleet of 75 aircraft grounded for nearly a month because of maintenance discrepancies this isn't really much of a surprise.

Come on man, don't be that guy.

MTplt, you know I'm not a huge fan of HAI, but to be fair, there was probably nothing MTX could have done to prevent this. I'm just happy this didn't happen at night.
 
Yeah, wait at least until the information comes out.

Aren't the vast, vast majority of Piston Single engine failures due to fuel starvation?
 
Yeah, wait at least until the information comes out.

Aren't the vast, vast majority of Piston Single engine failures due to fuel starvation?

Probably is fuel related, maybe a mixture cable or something. You would think there would be more than 10 minutes of fuel in the airplane, even if he didn't check it.

Anyways, I knew a guy that was in the Navy and told me about a student pilot in a T-34, on his second flight. The student had a birdstrike through the windshield and it knocked him out cold and he slumped on the stick. The instructor, in the back, couldn't overpower him, and parachuted out. Apparently the student came to, realized what was going on, and made it back without incident.
 
Yeah, wait at least until the information comes out.

Aren't the vast, vast majority of Piston Single engine failures due to fuel starvation?

Meh, I'm doubtful it was fuel starvation... I'm sure that aircraft was topped off before the flight. My money's on Carb Ice...
 
If it was no big deal then why was the Director of Maintenance and 2 other mechanics fired?

Max voluntarily grounded the fleet instead of having the FAA do it. Someone obviously had something to hide.
 
If it was no big deal then why was the Director of Maintenance and 2 other mechanics fired?

Max voluntarily grounded the fleet instead of having the FAA do it. Someone obviously had something to hide.

Don't get me wrong, it was a HUGE deal. It cost the company a fortune, and as instructors we lost perhaps 8-10 percent of our annual income, and we are still recovering and feeling the effects of new maintenance personnel and policies. We still have numerous aircraft not back from conformity inspections. My point was most of the "maintenance discrepancies" were due to improper paperwork and records, rather than lack of/poor maintenance. So back to my original point, yes there were problems with signatures and records, and yes that is what grounded the fleet, but not what causes emergency landings and engine trouble.
 
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