C177 down Whidbey Island (W10)

[DavidWhite]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ki...land/281-beadc670-0ed4-4eb9-9456-20bc0939ba85

I had just switched over to Seattle Approach when I heard him declare with an engine failure in IMC. It sounded like he was doing a good job working the problem but you could hear the worry in his voice. Approach at one point asked him if his carb heat was on and he said yes, and that he was going to try for Everett. He was *so* close to pavement it really is gut-wrenching.

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N34633

RIP

 

[PeterNSteinmetz]

Aircraft registry not returning results.

FlightAware shows 50 kts, 65 mph, at 400 ft. If true, high and slow without power. Best glide in that plane likely close to 80 mph.

 

[PeterNSteinmetz]

Flightaware only knows ground speed. Airspeed could be very different (better or worse) so you really can't draw any conclusions from just flightaware.

True, though appears wind was calm around that time. https://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mesowest/getobext.php?wfo=sew&sid=KBFI&num=72&raw=0

Also of note, temp = 45 deg F, dew point 35 deg F.

 

[PeterNSteinmetz]

I know enough about you to know 'I probably shouldn't have said that' isn't in your vocabulary so yep, you're right and no point in anyone arguing any different. I concede. Congrats.

I thought you made a good point. Who knew until checking what the winds were? Cheers.

 

[PeterNSteinmetz]

A bit more on this crash, from Frederick Lundahl at Cardinal Flyers Organization Community (members only):

"My flying student was just putting away our a/c and witnessed the accident happen 100 yds from where he was standing. We had been with this aircraft in Bellingham 30-40 minutes earlier. We flew VFR direct back to W-10 our home base while Josh and Carl filed IFR back to Boeing Field in their club Cardinal. We learned later that they reported engine trouble and declared an emergency. A witness on the ground further north heard loud backfiring and saw the a/c descending. W-10 is hard to find at the best of times and they approached the north-south runway from the west where the airfield is invisible until you are over it. By the time my student saw the aircraft pass over at low level, the prop was unfeathered and stopped. Seeing the airstrip perhaps for the first time, they made one 180 degree turn to come back over the field and then attempted one last 90 degree turn to line up with the runway. It was this last steep turn at very low level that caused the fatal stall. Sadly they passed over plenty of possible emergency landing sites along the way. We suspect they may have hit “nearest” on their GPS which would give them a track to the middle of W-10 and which, with everything else happening, focused them on seeking out a difficult to find airport they were unfamiliar with, rather than choosing an off airport option."

and

"Was Good VFR below the overcast layer except for that pesky mist developing right over our hard-to-spot airport. Sad they passed up so many off airport emergency landing sites in their determination to reach W-10. Maybe they were victims of their navigator’s “nearest” button.
Pretty clear that the engine problem was not icing but maybe internal bearing or crankshaft failure. The prop was totally stopped and didn’t even move with the impact. Pulled out of the ground by NTSB, the blade that didn’t break off at impact was completely undamaged. And there was no visible damage to the cylinders or rocker arm covers. The wreckage is now down in Auburn for the investigation."

 

[PeterNSteinmetz]

@NoshurViverse Firstly, thanks for digging up and transcribing the recordings. It is a real pity that he did not continue to land off airport. My understanding is that there were quite a few decent fields to land in along his course of flight.

Early in my training I read Rick Durden's article "Judgement and Survival 501" with its section on Precautionary Landings and the story he tells there. I imagine ATP likely does not do much with precautionary landings. Some training in a glider definitely makes you less afraid of landing either without power or off the airport.