Amazing save in a Grumman AA-1C

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Hengelo

Line Up and Wait
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Hengelo
Gonna have to visit reddit for the details

https://www.reddit.com/r/flying/comments/1d4jwna/nearly_died_today_significant_inflight_emergency

nearly-died-today-significant-in-flight-emergency-v0-kk7cahk10o3d1.jpeg
 
Wow! What a story! That’s some real airmanship.

Good reminder to do a post MX flight over the airport. It’s one of those things I know but have been guilty at times of not doing
 
Wow, what a crazy experience. Improving your safety with an AD almost killed you. What an irony in regulations. So frustrating.
Good luck with restoring the plane and your psyche.
 
I haven't read the story yet, but I can tell you you're supposed to pour the oil *into* the engine, not *near* the engine.
 
Jim_R said:
I haven't read the story yet, but I can tell you you're supposed to pour the oil *into* the engine, not *near* the engine.
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Yeah, you should read the story. I wonder how long that motor really would have kept on going with no oil. Interesting. He did a good job for a low time PPL.
 
TipTanks said:
He did a good job for a low time PPL.
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Damn fine job:

"ATC vectored me to final as I had no visibility outward and no ability to identify the field. After turning on a two mile final with the airport directly ahead, I could see none of it"
 
WOW. Amazing job of airmanship; pilot kept his cool and got the job done.

Hope we learn more about what happened. My Musketeer is subject to the same AD. That crankshaft plug makes a very tight seal and is difficult to remove. You pretty much have to install a new one, since you'll destroy the old one during removal. I wonder whether the A&P failed to install the plug, or tried to reuse the old one, or installed it improperly.

I'm sure the pilot will have a loooooong talk with that mechanic...
 
Half Fast said:
I'm sure the pilot will have a loooooong talk with that mechanic...
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This one seems cut and dried- but there's always a minuscule possibility it's a huge coinkidink and not related.
If I popped the cowling and that plug was missing or hanging by the wire, there would have been no talking with the A&P.
I'd be in jail for assault, or worse.

Good on the OP for keeping a cool head, good ADM and fortunately having enough hours in the plane to have the "feel" for airspeed and attitude. Nice job!
I'm surprised you didn't open the cowling right away. I wouldn't let that ass-clown mechanic anywhere near it until I'd checked it out and photographed/documented condition. If it's the obvious, get a good lawyer on contingency and shut that shop down before they can do this again. Unforgivable.
 
Looks like the pilot maintained his cool and brought the incident to a successful ending.Good job.
 
Skyrys62 said:
But can he log it as instrument time? :D


@Jim K had that same paint job for a little while.
Not a fun day.
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Yeah. Not my funnest day in GA, but the airplane is still usable, and the only casualty was my wallet. It takes about 200 hours for the oil to finish seeping out of every seam.IMG_20220208_132954930_HDR.jpgIMG_20220208_132855716_HDR.jpg


TipTanks said:
I wonder how long that motor really would have kept on going with no oil.
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Probably longer than you'd think. Mine ran 10 minutes with no oil pressure, and had no internal damage.
TipTanks said:
He did a good job for a low time PPL
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Agreed!
Lindberg said:
Landed standing up?
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Yeah that caught my attention too. Seems a little crazy to me. I'd much rather have the oil on the windscreen than in my eyes, and also MUCH rather be belted into my seat. I was able to make out the shape of the runway enough to get over it, and used the view out the side window to judge my flare. He was successful though, so all's well that ends well.
 
Very good!! Now back the the shop, after action report?
I’m just out of annual this weekend. I’ll start with a careful preflight. I think tomorrow I’ll just taxi to the fuel pump.
 
If the crankshaft plug came out...wow.
This is what one looks like, it is defiantly a one time use.
IMG_67681.jpg
 
sourdough44 said:
Very good!! Now back the the shop, after action report?
I’m just out of annual this weekend. I’ll start with a careful preflight. I think tomorrow I’ll just taxi to the fuel pump.
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Take your time. Do a post taxi inspection once reaching the pump. Be sure to remove the interior and all inspection plates, plus the cowling. Once you're sure all is good, then you can reassemble everything and top off your tanks. Then taxi back to the hangar and do another inspection. Even if no signs of an oil leak are showing, at this point you should probably remove your prop and inspect the crankshaft cap. If all looks good, tomorrow you can do a high-speed taxi before inspecting again.

Keep inspecting until you're SURE everything is okay. You should be ready to fly by Tue or Wed, or at least by next weekend, and absolutely not later than July or August.

Can't be too careful, y'know....
 
Departed from KLUK.... some lucky stuff right there.

Brilliant job... we ever meet the first beer is on me
 
Gary Ward said:
If the crankshaft plug came out...wow.
This is what one looks like, it is defiantly a one time use.
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This^
If the prior plug was reusable after removal then it wasn't installed correctly in the first place. Pretty unlikely.

Nauga,
repeat offender
 
Saw the same thing happen on a 172P that belonged to Falcon Aviation in Yankton SD, 25ish years ago. Their company mechanic drove out with a new plug and a case of oil...

At least the airplane was only 30 miles from it's home base.
 
nauga said:
This^
If the prior plug was reusable after removal then it wasn't installed correctly in the first place. Pretty unlikely.

Nauga,
repeat offender
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Talked with my mechanic today and that is what happened, he knows the party's involved . The mechanic put sealer on the old plug and put it back in.
 
Gary Ward said:
Talked with my mechanic today and that is what happened, he knows the party's envolved. The mechanic put sealer on the old plug and put it back in.
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Wow. Just wow. When we pulled mine, the old plug was completely battered by the time we got it out. Can't imagine how he could reuse the thing.
 
Great job. I think that's called a "MIF", a maintenance induced failure.
 
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