Engine out Interstate or Field

Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
On the other hand, I helped move a Navion down a nice quiet country two lane road from a not so hot so field to a private strip. Good thing the pilot elected to put it into the field and not on the road. Lots of signs, mailboxes, poles, thises and thatses to zig and zag around.
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The examiner chewed me out when I did my commercial...every time he pulled the engine, I headed for one of the nice, straight gravel roads in Iowa. I think the biggest problem for him was actually that he couldn’t determine that I would be able to adjust to make a target touchdown spot if the landing area was less than 3 miles long. ;)
 
Great lesson on corn! I’ve done a few corn fields in gliders... starts with ‘knee high by the 4th of July’ which works roughly around the Mason Dixon line. Adjust for latitude then land there if before, say mid-July, avoid later.

Survival should be primary but frankly since it was part of glider racing, damage free landings were paramount. Landing out moved you down the score sheet, damage could send you home.

A major ‘road versus field’ factor is the hassle involved. Land on a highway and you’ve ‘crashed’. Land in a field and it’s just another day. BTW, medians are rarely level and usually involve some contouring for drainage, not good except for end of roll-out.

Many fields (and even pastures) have ‘roads’ across them for equipment access, sometimes raised roads. A field with a road may be best option of all but you have to center the gear on it. Amazing what you can do when you have to do it.

In most parts of the country, overhead wires generally follow field edges and discontinuities. But in places like hilly Vermont, the fields wind around with the creeks but the wires are strung straight and rendered almost invisible.

Yes, gliders are much easier to handle in off-field situations.


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I've been thinking about this one a lot lately too, as I fly from a field in a pretty dense urban area, but with a 10-lane interstate right off the end of the main runway. The main thing that scares me about attempting to put it down on the highway is the bridges that occur every mile or so. Traffic would be an issue, but if your glide path takes you into, or just short of an overpass, that would be a real problem.
 
midwestpa24 said:
Here in Iowa we actually teach to go for corn versus soybeans. The bean plant is very stout and viney, and will snag your gear potentially sending you over. Corn makes for a nice cushion.
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All we have is dirt and sand dunes here (well and mountains) ... I have no idea what a soy bean field would look like from the air ... guess I should google that:confused:


Let'sgoflying! said:
In my area of I-10 and I-20, there are long stretches of very lightly traveled service roads, (this is a one or two lane road paralleling the interstate; one-way or two-way sometimes on both sides) - might be a better idea than the busy interstate itself. (more obstacles however)
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From El Paso to Pecos is a 3-4 lane wide caliche (dirt) road that is really smooth, it continues after that, but there is a highway from Pecos to San Angelo that rarely has a single car on it. East of San Angelo is a similar highway that runs almost to Llano.

Edit: that same caliche gas line road runs all the way into AZ
 
Had a problem last summer and didn't even think of the interstate. Plenty of fields to the east. I25 is bumper to bumper 80 mph. Turn toward a field but then the engine restarted and I made the field.
 
Power lines make me nervous and they tend to run near roads. They can be found in plenty of fields too, but the poles tend to be easier to notice. The ideal choice is to combine both. Land on a dirt road that runs through a farm field. No traffic to contend with, lots of options to adjust your plan if necessary right up until touchdown.
 
simtech said:
Never understand why people to try save the plane.
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I think we will all begin our assessment looking for the best option. The more likely the plane goes undamaged, the more likely we survive.
I would not choose a busy road over a field full of corn, but if the road didn't look too busy I'd definitely opt for that, thinking a good landing would give the plane, thus the souls on board, best chance.
But yeah, if it just comes down to survivability vs saving a plane, that's a duh decision.
Especially in that beat up ass rental ;)

To your point, I'm not going to pass up a sure-thing field, to 'maybe' make that road over there and try to save the plane.

At night...I'm always looking for roads. If I don't see any, I may ditch in water if I could find some, but not sure that's better than tree tops. Those pure black holes are scary.

Hope I never find out!
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Corn. (Hoping some farmers will come along with corrections.)

Landing on a corn field in early May, if it was not wet or otherwise too soft might be possible.

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Mature corn (mid-summer) with 8' stalks and 1/3lb ears is going to beat up the plane but you'll probably live.

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Drying corn; ie fall is very hard and still several feet tall.

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Corn stubble after harvest; not as clean or flat a field as you might think from the air.

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Biggest concern is flipping I'd think - and for the first and last 2 cases, that depends a lot on the tilling practices; how irregular the ground is.
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I would most definitely land in a corn field after harvest. As long as you land with the rows it's not a problem. Those stalks just bend over when they're that short.
 
The problem with making the decision here and now before being confronted with the situation is - what if you’re wrong?
 
Silvaire said:
The problem with making the decision here and now before being confronted with the situation is - what if you’re wrong?
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Then this happens:
IMG_20170915_164642277.jpg

It looked like a good place from 1000', but you never know for sure...
 
Dana said:
It looked like a good place from 1000'
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If you weren't flying so high, you wouldn't have had to make a choice about where to put it. :)
But that does look like the best spot in the picture.

I'm trying to figure out how the airplane ended up somewhat on the gear with a damaged upper wing and rudder. Cartwheel? Must have been an interesting ride.
 
Skyrys62 said:
At night...I'm always looking for roads. If I don't see any, I may ditch in water if I could find some, but not sure that's better than tree tops. Those pure black holes are scary.
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It’s amazing what you can actually see at night if you give your eyes a chance to adjust. With half a moon, its almost as good as daylight.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
If you weren't flying so high, you wouldn't have had to make a choice about where to put it. :)
But that does look like the best spot in the picture.

I'm trying to figure out how the airplane ended up somewhat on the gear with a damaged upper wing and rudder. Cartwheel? Must have been an interesting ride.
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It must have cartwheeled, but I wasn't aware of it as it happened, things happen really fast. All I remember is touching down in normal flare, oh sh__, nosing over, next thing I knew it was standing on its nose and settling back into the position in the photo and I was scrambling to get out as fast as possible in case it really was on fire (it wasn't). With a 4 point harness, my only injuries were from the pricker bushes on the edge of the field walking out.

P.S. The very repairable project (seriously) is for sale cheap...
 
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