Sure glad I DIDN'T roll the trucks

Captain

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Ive been listening to this advise since I was a student pilot. People going on and on about NOT declaring an emergency for this or that. Pilots (many) can be very reluctant to declare...for jaw dropping issues too. There's a thread now about not declaring for a lost AI in the soup. I even posted a thread where I was scolded for calling an "aborted" takeoff for an engine failure. And someone here even agreed I should have been scolded!

So, could anyone please share the negative consequences for declaring an emergency? Tell us all about the fee or fine you had to pay. The Letters of investigation, suspensions, or cert revocations you've received as a result. Has a fire truck run over a pax? Did ATC give you 'tone' or yell at you? Did your CFI call you up later and laugh?

Did your insurance go up? Wife stop making you breakfast? Does you dog no longer play with you? Really...ANY negative effects as a result of declaring an emergency is what I'm looking for. I can't think of any.

I suppose pax MAY be unsettled by seeing the trucks. But by the time they see the trucks you're on the ground and safe...or you're not safe and are happy to see the trucks. I honestly can't think of a single reason NOT to declare, but am eagerly awaiting a few good reasons to soldier on in silence in a busted plane.
 
I've declared an emergency a few times and had one "declared for me" in a couple of others.

Most of the time, NOTHING happens. In one case when I told the control tower I was coming back to land, they rolled the ANG fire brigade on me. The sum total of paperwork was giving them my name and phone number. Never heard anything further.

In the case of my actual engine failure (which ended up back at the airport) again, the police and fire were called for me. I helped a Virginia state trouper fill out his Commonwealth of Virginia Aviation Accident form (he knew nothing about aviation so I had to do most of it). The FAA was uninterested other than why the airport was notam'd closed (they had to remove my aircraft from the runway) and nothing came from it (it didn't even show up in their interim accident database). I did get a nice letter from the EAA thanking me for not killing any Young Eagles.

Other than the hit to my wallet of getting the engine replaced, there were no insurance or other consequences.
 
Had a right main stuck up on the Velocity couple years ago. When it went up I heard a noise so I tried to put it down. No green light. Did a low approach at SAV and twr confirmed that the right main was stuck up. Oddly enough this was suppose to be a cross country to Velocity in Sebastion to get the condition inspection done anyway so I elected to continue on my flight. As soon as I checked in with SAV app I declared. Shortly after handoff to ZJX center they asked if I wanted emergency vehicles standing by. I thought for a second on that one. Since I would be landing with one wheel up I though I better have someone there to help me move the aircraft off the runway. Somewhere over the SSI area I tried using some positive G as I put the gear switch down. Well the gear broke free and when it did it snapped the cable that brings it up and down. I still had no green light and now no way of bringing it up so I flew the rest at 115 KIAS (painful) with the gear down. I did a low app at Space Coast and twr confirmed that my gear appeared to be down. I made my approach at Sebastion with some gusting winds but somehow pulled off the smoothest landing I've ever had. I pulled into Velocity headquarters when EMS personnel where there to meet me. All of them were in good spirits and no one expressed any anger because they came out for an uneventful landing.

Later that day an FAA inspector attempted to make contact with me but my phone was off. He called two days later and simply wanted to know what happened. We had a quick 10 minute conversation on what happened. It would have been even quicker if it wasn't for the fact we both flew H-60s in the military so we talked a little shop. At the end of the conversation he said he'd write this up as an occurrence and not an incident. It ultimately ended up be listed as an incident but I didn't care.

I've always found it odd the reluctance of some pilots to declare because of some sort of future repercussions. If you declare and ATC gives priority, sure you might hear from them wanting a report. If you declare because of a FAR violation and you want a "get out of jail free" card, it's not going to work. If you declare during IFR and change your destination, yeah the FAA will probably investigate. If you declare for honest reasons then you should have no problems.

When I did ATC we used to have Hornets declare on a weekly basis. Mostly SE, emergency fuel or flight control (computer) failures. It's a non event. You put a red E on the strip, the sup logs it and the tapes are marked for a possible investigation that almost never happens.

So I declared with no adverse action taken on my license, no increase in insurance, no paperwork, and I didn't have to pay the county for rolling the crash trucks. The way I look at it, if something goes wrong in your aircraft which now makes it un airworthy for that particular mode of flight, then declare. That goes for medical problems as well. If you try and keep a secret, the lack of assistance from ATC or EMS could result in a more dire situation.
 
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After a total elec failure in IMC, I found myself acting under the PIC's authority to deviate based on emergency provisions, so I decided I should probably declare. Since I couldn't talk to anybody but myself, I made note of the time, said it out loud and continued to look for Tulsa Riverside.
 
I'm with FlyingRon...I have used the E word on a couple of occasions and never even got a "call this number" directive.

Bob Gardner
 
I've witnessed a couple of emergencies, and no harm done.

I remember taking off in a 172 and at about 50' or so one of the cowling screws vibrated loose. It was captured, but right on top and easily in my sight line. Tower had already approved my direction of departure. I told tower i was going to land instead.

I'll always remember how his tone changed over the radio when he heard that. I won't hesitate to ask for whatever assistance i need. The only paperwork I've seen is the release form that the fire crews want you to sign before they leave.
 
Just remembered a story that relates...

I was flying up around Philly and some regional jet was on the freq with an obvious problem. At no time would they allow the "E" word to be uttered. They were asking with strain in their voice for lower and ATC was unable. They complained the cabin was rising and please can we get lower and ATC said they will have to wait. They came on with an alarm in the background and again asked pretty please for lower. An ATC sup came on and declared an emergency for them and cleared them straight to 9,000.

Now, I submit, if you are so afraid to declare an emergency as these two ding songs were that you're willing to let the masks drop and force ATC to declare an emergency for you then maybe you have a problem.

Btw, I'm not suggesting that just because ATC declares for you you're a ding dong. I know it happens for non-events. But clearly, these two were out of their depths. The last transmission from them was clearly with a mask on.

Picture that...you're flying a 121 flight with paying pax at 22,000 with a mask on holding altitude because ATC doesn't have 5 mile separation with a plane below you somewhere. Amazing what goes on out there...
 
I declared over Daytona Beach Intl...oil pressure indication...

ATC rocked...cleared the space in 20 seconds...rolled trucks...gae the run of the airspace...

I landed with full power...taxied to Shelt Air...with trucks right behind me and on the taxiways...shut down and was asked two questions by the Fire Team lead...name adrees phone number...and what happened...

End of story...

I landed in PDK one Sunday evening late and had a left main flat...shut down RWY20 for an hour...FAA called on Tuesday...gave statement...

End of Story...

Declaring is no big deal...Ron's post really sums it all up...
 
Declaring is not an invitation to invasion by the goon squad. But I believe that pilot discretion plays a part as well. My last "incident" was on the GPS 14 into KSTS. For a reason yet to be determined the front seal decided to retire and left me with an oil covered windscreen. I still had good oil pressure, it was steady, oil temp remained stationary at the lower end of the green since I was on approach power, and I was already number #1 on approach. I chose not to declare since it would have just interrupted the canasta game at the firehouse and made the tower put their coffee down. Had any of the engine parameters changed, or even begun to trend high, I would have declared, just to get the equipment headed my way. YMMV.
 
Threefingeredjack said:
Declaring is not an invitation to invasion by the goon squad. But I believe that pilot discretion plays a part as well. My last "incident" was on the GPS 14 into KSTS. For a reason yet to be determined the front seal decided to retire and left me with an oil covered windscreen. I still had good oil pressure, it was steady, oil temp remained stationary at the lower end of the green since I was on approach power, and I was already number #1 on approach. I chose not to declare since it would have just interrupted the canasta game at the firehouse and made the tower put their coffee down. Had any of the engine parameters changed, or even begun to trend high, I would have declared, just to get the equipment headed my way. YMMV.
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My choice, hopefully, would have been to declare, and then continue on to land. However, I probably would have done exactly the same thing done here.

If I have fluids suddenly leaking, why not interrupt the game? I'd probably be on the ground and off the active by the time they scrambled but what if a fire broke out? Why not eliminate any possibility of being asked to go around? Just declare, land, and answer any questions on the ground as I confirm the front seal just went south.

Of course, the moment one declares, questions are asked while in the air. Liberal use of "standby" and declarative statements recommended I suppose.
 
Bill Watson said:
My choice, hopefully, would have been to declare, and then continue on to land. However, I probably would have done exactly the same thing done here.

If I have fluids suddenly leaking, why not interrupt the game? I'd probably be on the ground and off the active by the time they scrambled but what if a fire broke out? Why not eliminate any possibility of being asked to go around? Just declare, land, and answer any questions on the ground as I confirm the front seal just went south.

Of course, the moment one declares, questions are asked while in the air. Liberal use of "standby" and declarative statements recommended I suppose.
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"Unable" With an explanation.
 
I called mechanical problems and that I needed to turn around and land on the cross runway. I had partial power and made it pretty none event. Tower declared the emergency and sent the trucks. I just took the plane to the shop.

WHEN FLYING I DON'T REALLY THINK ABOUT FURTHER PAPERWORK I WOULD HAVE TO DO LATER ON THE GROUND. I ONLY THINK ABOUT FLYING THE PLANE.
 
Bill Watson said:
Why not eliminate any possibility of being asked to go around?
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Threefingeredjack said:
"Unable" With an explanation.
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That doesn't work if there's a conflict with an aircraft he cleared a plane to take off, or cleared to land, because he didn't know you had problems.

That's the biggest thing. If the controller knows you have trouble, he'll do things differently to ensure nothing unexpected happens with other traffic.
 
I haven't declared an emergency, but when I could get gear up, I told tower I was returning to the field and he went ahead and rolled the trucks. All I had to do was provide name and number for their report.

Turned out they had a review meeting the next day and I was a great excuse to roll the trucks. The supervisor gave me a short list of things that the Emergency service and ATC had messed up. Sounded like he appreciated the practice.
 
PilotAlan said:
That doesn't work if there's a conflict with an aircraft he cleared a plane to take off, or cleared to land, because he didn't know you had problems.

That's the biggest thing. If the controller knows you have trouble, he'll do things differently to ensure nothing unexpected happens with other traffic.
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That assumes you have absolutely no situational awareness. If that is how you fly, fine, but I knew the traffic situation. As I stated I was number #1 to land, in fact I was the only plane on the approach,the field was hard IFR, (800 and 1mi.), so there would be no VFR arrivals,and obviously departing traffic is sequenced between arrivals. The situation was controlled, and monitored based on my experience. YMMV.
 
Threefingeredjack said:
That assumes you have absolutely no situational awareness. If that is how you fly, fine, but I knew the traffic situation. As I stated I was number #1 to land, in fact I was the only plane on the approach,the field was hard IFR, (800 and 1mi.), so there would be no VFR arrivals,and obviously departing traffic is sequenced between arrivals. The situation was controlled, and monitored based on my experience. YMMV.
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Its good to have the mental picture. But there are things we don't know. In your example maybe there was a plane on ground freq cleared to cross the runway and now his engine quits and you're told to go around. Had you declared the tower would have told ground to hold the plane.

Maybe that exact scenario doesn't apply but you get the idea. Short final its not too hard to key the mic and declare. Long final too. There is no negative.
 
I don't think the E word was ever mentioned. Just as I reached pattern altitude I lost power, MP and RPM rolling back, no response to throttle movement.

I had planned to leave the area, but I started a turn towards the downwind (towards the airport) and called tower that I was returning. As a glider pilot I was evaluating the glide around the pattern and decided against that just as tower asked the magic question. "what's the problem?"

"No power", I answered and tower immediately cleared me for "any runway". I knew another airplane had been cleared to depart behind me and the three of us (two planes and tower) confirmed we all saw each other. The departing traffic stayed low to allow me to cross over the top to the parallel runway.

I landed and had enough power to taxi clear. Tower called the FBO and asked that I call them when able. Called the tower, he took my personal data for his report, glad I was on the ground safely, we chatted about the glide and my sailplane experience.

Never heard anything more about it. Not even a call from FSDO. No trucks on the field to roll out.
 
Captain said:
Its good to have the mental picture. But there are things we don't know. In your example maybe there was a plane on ground freq cleared to cross the runway and now his engine quits and you're told to go around. Had you declared the tower would have told ground to hold the plane.

Maybe that exact scenario doesn't apply but you get the idea. Short final its not too hard to key the mic and declare. Long final too. There is no negative.
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Valid points, but my SOP on approach to any airport is to have Approach up on the primary and tower at a lower volume monitored on the secondary. When passed to the tower it moves up and ground takes second chair. I always know what is happening on the ground from the time I am passed to the tower. This procedure stems from an event at Arcata when we were acting as comms relay for a SAREX. The helos were operating under a 1000ft ceiling and we were at 10k relaying to 13th Dist RCC. At the conclusion we all headed back for a debrief, the choppers under and us shooting the approach. We broke out to find a county pick up truck running the runway for a debris check. He was on Unicom and we were with approach. Ever since that I have upped my game with situational awareness.

One point that might need refreshing is that both pressure and temp indicated normal, and while visibility was zero straight ahead the entire extreme left side was clear and I was flying the approach in a slip to re-direct the relative wind to the opposite side of the windscreen. To me it was still normal ops, with reduced vis straight ahead.
 
Threefingeredjack said:
Valid points, but my SOP on approach to any airport is to have Approach up on the primary and tower at a lower volume monitored on the secondary. When passed to the tower it moves up and ground takes second chair. I always know what is happening on the ground from the time I am passed to the tower. This procedure stems from an event at Arcata when we were acting as comms relay for a SAREX. The helos were operating under a 1000ft ceiling and we were at 10k relaying to 13th Dist RCC. At the conclusion we all headed back for a debrief, the choppers under and us shooting the approach. We broke out to find a county pick up truck running the runway for a debris check. He was on Unicom and we were with approach. Ever since that I have upped my game with situational awareness.

One point that might need refreshing is that both pressure and temp indicated normal, and while visibility was zero straight ahead the entire extreme left side was clear and I was flying the approach in a slip to re-direct the relative wind to the opposite side of the windscreen. To me it was still normal ops, with reduced vis straight ahead.
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You fly an approach IMC while monitoring two radios? I don't know whether to be impressed or terrified!

Still, the point remains...there could be something not in your pipeline that could ruin your day that would have been removed if only you declared and emergency.

By declaring you put everyone one the same sheet of music and eliminate surprises for everyone. Information is important in aviation and if your plan as a pilot differs from the guy controlling the airspace or airfield then problems may arise. Communicating intentions is vital. I'll leave it at that.

Oh, and stop listening to two freqs! There is no reason to do that and it's information overload. I want to share the skies with pilots who have excess capacity in their brains...not guys listening to superfluous garbage on comm 2. [/rant]
 
The only reason I have yet to declare?

My emergency took place at an empty 3W2 and there was no one to declare to.

I suppose I could have declared when my tach died in IMC with my CFI but we(I) just elected to RTB
 
If its at a commercial service airport (a "Part 139" airport in FAAA speak), ARFF equipment and crew is required to be available at a moment's notice. Declaring an emergency and rolling the trucks is good practice for the crew and requires nothing more than a few gallons of diesel that would would otherwise be burned doing a drill.

Otherwise, all they get to do is wait around for another captain to retire so they can set up a water cannon fountain on his last taxi in to the gate.
 
Captain said:
You fly an approach IMC while monitoring two radios? I don't know whether to be impressed or terrified!

Still, the point remains...there could be something not in your pipeline that could ruin your day that would have been removed if only you declared and emergency.

By declaring you put everyone one the same sheet of music and eliminate surprises for everyone. Information is important in aviation and if your plan as a pilot differs from the guy controlling the airspace or airfield then problems may arise. Communicating intentions is vital. I'll leave it at that.

Oh, and stop listening to two freqs! There is no reason to do that and it's information overload. I want to share the skies with pilots who have excess capacity in their brains...not guys listening to superfluous garbage on comm 2. [/rant]
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He's former CG so us military types are used to that stuff. :) Monitoring and transmitting on multiple freqs is the norm. Typical setup we used:

VHF-air to air
UHF-ATC
FM1-ABN,CAN,fires net or any other combat net
FM2-flight internal
SATCOM / HF- flight ops

Sometimes total chaos but you get used to dissecting what matters and what doesn't. As Threefinger said it provides greater SA.
 
Captain said:
Oh, and stop listening to two freqs! There is no reason to do that and it's information overload. I want to share the skies with pilots who have excess capacity in their brains...not guys listening to superfluous garbage on comm 2. [/rant]
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:D :dunno: Just two is a breeze after many years of holding a hover over a little fishing boat by verbal command from the hoist operator, having Ch16 in one ear and RCC in the other. You keep the primary set louder than the secondary, and after a while it becomes second nature. No overload at all.
 
Velocity173 said:
He's former CG so us military types are used to that stuff. :) Monitoring and transmitting on multiple freqs is the norm. Typical setup we used:

VHF-air to air
UHF-ATC
FM1-ABN,CAN,fires net or any other combat net
FM2-flight internal
SATCOM / HF- flight ops

Sometimes total chaos but you get used to dissecting what matters and what doesn't. As Threefinger said it provides greater SA.
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As a guy who stood watch in CIC with 1 comm in my left ear and two in my right with an overhead speaker to monitor I guess I can accept that answer!

; )
 
I declared an Emergency 15 minutes into an IFR flight leaving DFW's Class B for San Angelo in a Mooney to pick up an Angel Flight passenger when my carbon monoxide panel detector card went from orange to black in a span of three minutes.

Asked for lower (to get into VMC) and vectors direct to Parker County (KWEA) and was on the ground with the doors open and a nauseous co-pilot a few minutes later.

As requested by ATC before we switched to CTAF, we called into FSS and reported safely on the ground, and that's all we ever heard of it. Only repercussions was to the Club's checkbook for a new exhaust system. Passenger quickly felt better, but went to the local walk in clinic just to be safe.
 
Threefingeredjack said:
That assumes you have absolutely no situational awareness. If that is how you fly, fine, but I knew the traffic situation.
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Whatever. You're assuming you have all relevant knowledge. I'm assuming that I don't.

I'm willing to bet my assumption is correct more often than yours. And your assumption only has to wrong once.
 
Two problems in the last bunch of years:

We got a low oil pressure light just as we were turning crosswind to downwind. Told departure that we were indicating low oil pressure and that we were returning. They switched us to tower. In the time between them switching us and actually calling, I elected to shut down the engine and went through the emergency checklist. We were about mid-field downwind when I called tower and told them we were single engine. They asked if we needed assistance. I checked with my FO and we agreed that the trucks didn't need to roll. At this time, everything was stable and the power on the other engine was pulled back. It was now just another landing. The only bad part was the none of our people saw us land and park with the left engine feathered.

The reason we declined the "assistance" was that by the time the crash crew got their boots on, we would have already been on the ground (we were turning base when the question got asked) and by the time they go the engines started we would have been in the chocks.

Second was an indicator problem with the landing gear. We were pretty certain that the gear was actually down and locked. We visually looked at it and it certainly looked in the correct position, but we just weren't sure about the locked part. That area was obscured. We went around and told tower about the problem. When they asked this time about declaring, we said yes. We circled for about 30 minutes or so while they got the push in and out since we planned on shutting down on the runway. We landed eventfully. The crash crew came out as soon as the props stopped to make sure there were no other issues, then our maintenance crew came out and towed us to the hangar. As it turns out, the sensor was simply out of tolerance.

The reason we declared this time was that there was still the unknown possibility the gear may collapse after landing. That and the fact that we essentially shut the runway down for about 5-10 minutes.
 
PilotAlan said:
Whatever. You're assuming you have all relevant knowledge. I'm assuming that I don't.

I'm willing to bet my assumption is correct more often than yours. And your assumption only has to wrong once.
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Again, you have to consider that mechanically the plane was stable with good power and steady oil pressure and temp. The only issue was an obscured windscreen which i was controlling by fly the remainder of the approach in a slip. I don't consider that an emergency. I was monitoring both tower and ground after the hand off and was ready to yell help if anything changed. But go ahead, based on your superior experience and skill, to second guess me all you want.
 
This statement:
Threefingeredjack said:
Again, you have to consider that mechanically the plane was stable with good power and steady oil pressure and temp. The only issue was an obscured windscreen which i was controlling by fly the remainder of the approach in a slip. I don't consider that an emergency. I was monitoring both tower and ground after the hand off and was ready to yell help if anything changed.
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Does not equal these statements:
Threefingeredjack said:
For a reason yet to be determined the front seal decided to retire and left me with an oil covered windscreen. I still had good oil pressure, it was steady, oil temp remained stationary at the lower end of the green since I was on approach power, and I was already number #1 on approach. I chose not to declare since it would have just interrupted the canasta game at the firehouse and made the tower put their coffee down. Had any of the engine parameters changed, or even begun to trend high, I would have declared, just to get the equipment headed my way. YMMV.
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Threefingeredjack said:
As I stated I was number #1 to land, in fact I was the only plane on the approach,the field was hard IFR, (800 and 1mi.), so there would be no VFR arrivals,and obviously departing traffic is sequenced between arrivals. The situation was controlled, and monitored based on my experience. YMMV.
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But go ahead, based on your superior experience and skill, to second guess me all you want.
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I'm not the one claiming superior knowledge and SA and flaming someone who asks if that's correct.
I'm just saying you're assuming you know everything you need to know, and I'm saying that you only have to wrong once.
That assumes you have absolutely no situational awareness. If that is how you fly, fine, but I knew the traffic situation.
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TangoWhiskey said:
I declared an Emergency 15 minutes into an IFR flight leaving DFW's Class B for San Angelo in a Mooney to pick up an Angel Flight passenger when my carbon monoxide panel detector card went from orange to black in a span of three minutes.

Asked for lower (to get into VMC) and vectors direct to Parker County (KWEA) and was on the ground with the doors open and a nauseous co-pilot a few minutes later.

As requested by ATC before we switched to CTAF, we called into FSS and reported safely on the ground, and that's all we ever heard of it. Only repercussions was to the Club's checkbook for a new exhaust system. Passenger quickly felt better, but went to the local walk in clinic just to be safe.
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Pulling the big read knob to get lean of peak will reduce the level of CO in the exhaust significantly - but don't pull enough to run rough because CO can go back up.

Peak is about where it is labled closed loop mode target A/F range.

Colored-Lambda-Chart1.jpg
 
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Good grief, how we can complicate the simplest of questions.

Here's my answer: If you are in doubt about your aircraft's airworthiness, your own ability to continue the flight, a passenger's health, or anything else that could result in harm to anyone in your aircraft, in aircraft around you, or on the ground, then it's time to declare.

You're really going to worry about the cost of rolling a fire truck when lives could be at stake?

Seriously?

Sheesh.

-Rich
 
RJM62 said:
Good grief, how we can complicate the simplest of questions.

Here's my answer: If you are in doubt about your aircraft's airworthiness, your own ability to continue the flight, a passenger's health, or anything else that could result in harm to anyone in your aircraft, in aircraft around you, or on the ground, then it's time to declare.

You're really going to worry about the cost of rolling a fire truck when lives could be at stake?
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Sitting here in my easy chair, I totally agree with this answer but it's not necessarily a simple question.

I know that in the air, confidence in my own competence and proficiency will tell me that I've got everything under control, all reasonable contingencies have been evaluated, and that I can handle this, no problem. I'll call that confident voice in my head, my 18yo voice.

Time has taught me that I can't always see around corners clearly, gremlins are real, and that my competence and proficiency can always use improvement. I call that more seasoned and reasoned voice, my 18yo voice 40 years later.

Flying with the confidence of an 18yo and the wisdom of a 50-some is the challenge and my goal.
 
I nearly declared once.

New PP returning from a solo local flight. I turned on the landing light upon getting near the airport which went POP and I smelled smoke. I thought I had an electrical fire and my adrenaline went through the roof.

I called Unicom to relay the situation. There were a lot of airplanes in the pattern and I was unsure of my ability to get it down 1st time around the pattern (I used to require a 'practice run').

As much as I wanted to say "Emergency", actually screaming in my head was "EVERYBODY GET THE HELL OUT OF MY WAY!"

However I enjoyed the challenge of self-discipline and continually monitored the situation. I still wanted to get on the ground ASAP, but I felt that the radio would be more of a distraction to an adrenaline filled few moments.

No paperwork, but I did get a phonecall a few days later telling me more about how Cessna switches fail. Somehow they trap the smoke in there from the factory and when they get old, the smoke escapes.:D
 
Anyone know if anything happened to the pilot at JFK who was inbound for 22L requested 31R, then declared when he didn't get it immediately, then made a left 270 and landed 31R while they cleared planes all around him?

He was not a popular fellow for a while there.
 
coma24 said:
Anyone know if anything happened to the pilot at JFK who was inbound for 22L requested 31R, then declared when he didn't get it immediately, then made a left 270 and landed 31R while they cleared planes all around him?

He was not a popular fellow for a while there.
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Ew.

That does remind me of someone who had declared a low fuel emergency around Chicago, I think, because he had to divert, but I may not be remembering that quite correctly. Anyway, the controllers wouldn't let him have the approach and runway he wanted. He finally did what they wanted him to do and made it, but still...blegh. I'm sure that recording is on Youtube somewhere, but I'm not going to go looking for it now.
 
I know a guy who declared in day VFR within 10nm of the (controlled) airport for a lost alternator. I don't think he really had any reason to regret it right up until the teasing began. :rofl:
 
matthammer said:
I know a guy who declared in day VFR within 10nm of the (controlled) airport for a lost alternator. I don't think he really had any reason to regret it right up until the teasing began. :rofl:
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7600 might be an emergency;)....except he can't squawk it without electrical.
 
matthammer said:
I know a guy who declared in day VFR within 10nm of the (controlled) airport for a lost alternator. I don't think he really had any reason to regret it right up until the teasing began. :rofl:
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I lost one last winter and wished I could've declared. Night flight. Alternator didn't fail in the normal manner, it separated front to back freezing the pulley to the belt and I got a pretty decent amount of smoke in the cockpit. Didn't know the cause at the time. Was 5 miles from home drome and landed uneventfully without electrical. My battery got fried immediately when the alternator came apart.
 
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