Cirrus down under chute in NC, right next to house. No injuries.

N801BH said:
Yup...

The good engine will take you to the scene of the crash....And you will beat the first responders too...:sad::sad:
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Not always... I have lost one in a heavily loaded, poor performance twin and landed safely. Contrary to popular belief, twins can sometimes fly on one engine.
 
Kritchlow said:
Not always... I have lost one in a heavily loaded twin and landed safely. Contrary to popular belief, twins can sometimes fly on one engine.
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If one has altitude on his side and uses the proper procedures it's possible, emphasis on altitude.
 
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mscard88 said:
If one has altitude on his side and uses the proper procedures it possible.
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I was at two thousand feet, straight & level. There was an airport (ISP) within 10 miles, but that was irrelevant. I lost zero altitude until I wanted to descend.
It was a hot summer day heavily loaded, but reasonably low density altitude.
 
mscard88 said:
If one has altitude on his side and uses the proper procedures it's possible, emphasis on altitude.
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Wrong emphasis.

The correct emphasis is knowing what your single engine service ceiling is for the conditions and your weight and not putting yourself in a position where the terrain is higher than your available performance.
 
Rick Wallace said:
I am not a cirrus guy, I love my da40. But what do you do when you lose an engine( the only engine) in IMC at 5000' with 300' ceilings? In my case, I die. If I had a cirrus, I would probably live. Most Cirrus owners I know are damn good pilots.
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Exactly!
 
N801BH said:
Yup...

The good engine will take you to the scene of the crash....And you will beat the first responders too...:sad::sad:
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That's crap and you do the activity no service by repeating this incorrect "maxim" in a forum that is read by people who don't get the "humor".
 
JasonM said:
Some of you Cirrus haters are ridiculous. Seems to me this guy did exactly what he should have done, which resulted in him and his wife moving on to spend more time with family, friends and each other. Unfortunately most airplanes don't have the same option and if that was you in a non-parachute equiped airplane, I am sure you would have just flown below the approach minimums and pulled off that perfect landing while gliding in engine out on the ILS. (oh, thats right. Nevermind. That could never be you. You are way too good to get into a bad situation ever.) :rolleyes:
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I am not a cirrus hater by any stretch. Besides the costs involved, I think the chute is a wonderful safety feature. I know you can't read the pilot's mind, but I wonder if he would have found a way to get fuel sooner if he didn't have the chute as a plan B. I often wonder if people "push their luck" knowing they have a possible out with the chute.
 
JasonM said:
I am just going to say that in this situation he got himself into, pulling the chute was the likely best option for "Him and his passenger" and thankfully he had another option to which minimized the risk to lives on the ground and in the airplane.
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No, the best option for "him and his passenger" was a fuel stop with an hour's reserve still in the tank. How many airports with fuel did Bozo fly over before trying to land at a busy Class D with minimum fuel on board?

If you aren't proficient flying an approach in actual IMC, then don't go out flying when the sky isn't clear and the ceilings aren't high. Oh, that's right, your Cirrus has a chute, go ahead and take off anyway. Idiot!
 
Hank S said:
No, the best option for "him and his passenger" was a fuel stop with an hour's reserve still in the tank. How many airports with fuel did Bozo fly over before trying to land at a busy Class D with minimum fuel on board?

If you aren't proficient flying an approach in actual IMC, then don't go out flying when the sky isn't clear and the ceilings aren't high. Oh, that's right, your Cirrus has a chute, go ahead and take off anyway. Idiot!
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That's where we part opinions... I think the same thing would have happened if they were in a Cessna. The only difference is they would have been pulled out of a wrecked airplane and loaded into a hearse.
 
Hank S said:
No, the best option for "him and his passenger" was a fuel stop with an hour's reserve still in the tank.
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He had 14 or 17 gal when this went down. That is an hour of fuel. I don't think fuel was the big problem here. I think this guy was overloaded and stressed about flying with low'ish fuel and on top of that not very proficient in his IFR skills, then having to deal with being turned away from his approach due to his own mistakes. I don't think this guy was in the mindset or capable of safely dealing with everything he was doing at the time. You can look at his flightaware history and see there is very minimal recent IFR flight records. Right or wrong, the chute was an option and he was able to use it.
 
JasonM said:
Some of you Cirrus haters are ridiculous. Seems to me this guy did exactly what he should have done, which resulted in him and his wife moving on to spend more time with family, friends and each other. Unfortunately most airplanes don't have the same option and if that was you in a non-parachute equiped airplane, I am sure you would have just flown below the approach minimums and pulled off that perfect landing while gliding in engine out on the ILS. (oh, thats right. Nevermind. That could never be you. You are way too good to get into a bad situation ever.) :rolleyes:
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This really isn't about Cirrus hate. This dude ran his airplane out of gas on an IFR flight. This is pilot issue pure and simple.

Personally, if I was that low on fuel (in any airplane BRS or no), I would have landed it on a runway below mins before I'd run it out of gas and pop the chute in IMC. I would much rather answer questions from the FAA on why I exercised my authority as PIC in an emergency than why I ran an airplane out of gas in flight and had to use the chute.

The BRS is a useful safety feature. It should never be a crutch for bad pilots.
 
JasonM said:
He had 14 or 17 gal when this went down. That is an hour of fuel. I don't think fuel was the big problem here. I think this guy was overloaded and stressed about flying with low'ish fuel and on top of that not very proficient in his IFR skills, then having to deal with being turned away from his approach due to his own mistakes. I don't think this guy was in the mindset or capable of safely dealing with everything he was doing at the time. You can look at his flightaware history and see there is very minimal recent IFR flight records. Right or wrong, the chute was an option and he was able to use it.
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So, are you saying this guy popped the chute with fuel still onboard and the engine running???
 
Everskyward said:
Posting this because I just realized it is this accident he is writing about.

http://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/01/real-time-drama-in-the-skies-cont/423420/
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Great article. And it is hard to fault the logic, the fact is that teaching these pilots to pull the chute is saving lives. That is the bottom line. Some here can claim they are bad pilots, but it is better to be an alive "bad" pilot rather than a dead "good" pilot who tried to land but failed with an engine out. Lots of examples of that.
 
bikert said:
That is the bottom line. Some here can claim they are bad pilots, but it is better to be an alive "bad" pilot rather than a dead "good" pilot who tried to land but failed with an engine out. Lots of examples of that.
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I have no disagreement with that and do not wish death on anyone.....well, any fellow pilots at least.

I do, however, take issue with the idea of celebrating a screw up.
 
N801BH said:
Yup...

The good engine will take you to the scene of the crash....And you will beat the first responders too...:sad::sad:
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I hate that saying. If you load it and fly it properly, that's simply not true.
 
Fearless Tower said:
I have no disagreement with that and do not wish death on anyone.....well, any fellow pilots at least.

I do, however, take issue with the idea of celebrating a screw up.
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I don't think anyone here is celebrating a fuel screw up... It's more like lucky he had the chute to save himself from his own stupidity.
 
N801BH said:
Agreed....


But,, If you fly a Cirrus properly... You NEVER need to pull the chute either...:no:
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BS. Engine failure low IFR could lead to a pull. Also structural failure.
 
Kritchlow said:
I don't think anyone here is celebrating a fuel screw up... It's more like lucky he had the chute to save himself from his own stupidity.
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Of course they aren't....but I am referring to those that wish to overlook the events that led to the need to use the chute so they can celebrate the chute.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Of course they aren't....but I am referring to those that wish to overlook the events that led to the need to use the chute so they can celebrate the chute.
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Yup... I agree it should not be overlooked as a serious issue simply because the chute saved the day.
 
Really dumb pilot who needs a 709 ride
 
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