GreenDayPilot
Well-Known Member
Ok, so first of all, it has been years since I've been on here... hopefully JC is just as awesome and informative as it used to be since I last logged on.
Sorry for the long post...
I've had a number of emergencies, but 2 were pretty serious engine failures in single-engine airplanes. The most recent one was 6 years ago (Feb 2012) as I was leaving Vegas (HND) for Long Beach (LGB) in a Columbia 400 (i.e., Cessna 400TT), which is about a 1.1 hour flight. This was at night, over pretty treacherous terrain. My route planning was pretty crappy, as I had "get-there-itis," so I was pretty much going direct right after clearing bravo airspace.
Only about 8 minutes after takeoff, and after clearing bravo airspace, I picked up flight following. Immediately after, the engine suddenly quit entirely. It came back on twice, but only for 20-30 seconds at a time. Thankfully for me, this all happened just as I was passing an uncontrolled airport (0L7). In the end, I managed to glide it down, with no power, to a safe landing. ATC made sure the fire department was there, waiting for me. There was no crash, so when I spoke the fire department, they asked if I needed anything. Well, I didn't really need anything, but I did ask for the paramedics to read my blood pressure... it was about 190/90.
We got a mechanic out there the following day.
I should note that we had gotten some maintenance work done a couple days prior to replace the tachometer sensor. This included removing several engine components. Additionally, this airplane has two turbo chargers that connect via one single manifold into the engine.... It was determined that the previous mechanic did not properly secure that manifold, using the incorrect type of sealant. So, once I got up in the air (about 4,500 AGL), this manifold snapped off. This then made the airplane "normalized," instead of turbocharged. Naturally, all of my training told me to give it more fuel... little to my knowledge at the time, I was aggravating the situation. The engine was asking for 16 gallons per hour, and I was giving it more than 40gph (what's usually needed).
The FAA left a little note on the airplane, asking for a report. I gave them a detailed report and asked if I could possibly contact the controller or send him a thank you basket. After all, I was asking a lot of the controller, and he was an all-star in helping me out at the time. Unfortunately, the FAA inspector advised me that because they are government employees, I wouldn't be able to give them any gift,.... so, if you're out there, or if anyone knows this all-star, please thank him for me! I'm not sure how I would've handled it without him.
At the time I was able to get about 60% of the audio from liveatc.net. The audio starts at the point where I was picking up flight following, then I immediately declare emergency (no audio for this). Most of the transmissions occur after the 1:30 mark.
http://f.cl.ly/items/3a2i303i2X2X3p0s1J2k/KLAS-App--Feb-25-2012-0430Z.mp3
Two questions for controllers:
1) Is it a fact that I cannot send a thank you gift to a controller?
2) Does ATC (specially TRACON) keep certain tapes of such events? If so, what are the chances of a civilian getting a hold of those?
Sorry for the long post...
I've had a number of emergencies, but 2 were pretty serious engine failures in single-engine airplanes. The most recent one was 6 years ago (Feb 2012) as I was leaving Vegas (HND) for Long Beach (LGB) in a Columbia 400 (i.e., Cessna 400TT), which is about a 1.1 hour flight. This was at night, over pretty treacherous terrain. My route planning was pretty crappy, as I had "get-there-itis," so I was pretty much going direct right after clearing bravo airspace.
Only about 8 minutes after takeoff, and after clearing bravo airspace, I picked up flight following. Immediately after, the engine suddenly quit entirely. It came back on twice, but only for 20-30 seconds at a time. Thankfully for me, this all happened just as I was passing an uncontrolled airport (0L7). In the end, I managed to glide it down, with no power, to a safe landing. ATC made sure the fire department was there, waiting for me. There was no crash, so when I spoke the fire department, they asked if I needed anything. Well, I didn't really need anything, but I did ask for the paramedics to read my blood pressure... it was about 190/90.
We got a mechanic out there the following day.
I should note that we had gotten some maintenance work done a couple days prior to replace the tachometer sensor. This included removing several engine components. Additionally, this airplane has two turbo chargers that connect via one single manifold into the engine.... It was determined that the previous mechanic did not properly secure that manifold, using the incorrect type of sealant. So, once I got up in the air (about 4,500 AGL), this manifold snapped off. This then made the airplane "normalized," instead of turbocharged. Naturally, all of my training told me to give it more fuel... little to my knowledge at the time, I was aggravating the situation. The engine was asking for 16 gallons per hour, and I was giving it more than 40gph (what's usually needed).
The FAA left a little note on the airplane, asking for a report. I gave them a detailed report and asked if I could possibly contact the controller or send him a thank you basket. After all, I was asking a lot of the controller, and he was an all-star in helping me out at the time. Unfortunately, the FAA inspector advised me that because they are government employees, I wouldn't be able to give them any gift,.... so, if you're out there, or if anyone knows this all-star, please thank him for me! I'm not sure how I would've handled it without him.
At the time I was able to get about 60% of the audio from liveatc.net. The audio starts at the point where I was picking up flight following, then I immediately declare emergency (no audio for this). Most of the transmissions occur after the 1:30 mark.
http://f.cl.ly/items/3a2i303i2X2X3p0s1J2k/KLAS-App--Feb-25-2012-0430Z.mp3
Two questions for controllers:
1) Is it a fact that I cannot send a thank you gift to a controller?
2) Does ATC (specially TRACON) keep certain tapes of such events? If so, what are the chances of a civilian getting a hold of those?
