What to do after a forced landing..

cowman

cowman

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Here's another thing I've wondered about for a while and never saw answer to...

Say you're out flying around, having a great day and the engine suddenly quits :yikes: Thankfully there's a nice grassy field you can easily get to and you manage to glide in and execute a perfect landing out in some farmer's field.

So now here you are in BFE with your non-running engine. Now what? Are there on-call aircraft mechanics out there who handle these sorts of things? Do you have to leave it there until you can manage to con one into showing up?

What if something is wrong that can't be fixed there in the field? How the heck to do move an airplane 30 miles up the road to the nearest shop?
 
cowman said:
Here's another thing I've wondered about for a while and never saw answer to...

Say you're out flying around, having a great day and the engine suddenly quits :yikes: Thankfully there's a nice grassy field you can easily get to and you manage to glide in and execute a perfect landing out in some farmer's field.

So now here you are in BFE with your non-running engine. Now what? Are there on-call aircraft mechanics out there who handle these sorts of things? Do you have to leave it there until you can manage to con one into showing up?

What if something is wrong that can't be fixed there in the field? How the heck to do move an airplane 30 miles up the road to the nearest shop?
Click to expand...

If you banged up the plane with stubble from the field it gets crated back to the shop. Usually wings come off relatively quickly call a two company and get a flat bed truck. If it is in AW condition and the mechanic can change a fuel pump or filter in the field and give you a return to service you might be able to fly it out if the field is clean enough or you can move it to a road and get some help closing the road for a half mile.
 
cowman said:
Here's another thing I've wondered about for a while and never saw answer to...

Say you're out flying around, having a great day and the engine suddenly quits :yikes: Thankfully there's a nice grassy field you can easily get to and you manage to glide in and execute a perfect landing out in some farmer's field.

So now here you are in BFE with your non-running engine. Now what? Are there on-call aircraft mechanics out there who handle these sorts of things? Do you have to leave it there until you can manage to con one into showing up?

What if something is wrong that can't be fixed there in the field? How the heck to do move an airplane 30 miles up the road to the nearest shop?
Click to expand...

I will try to find pictures of a T-28 being towed on the freeway to LVK after it landed on a road slightly after takeoff. It can be logistically challenging but you do what ya gotta do.

There was also a video of a 180 or 185 in the bush that experienced an engine failure. They were stranded for a bit, flew another engine in, changed it and flew it out.
 
Heres one lol

T-28off-fieldlanding.jpg
 
cowman said:
Here's another thing I've wondered about for a while and never saw answer to...

Say you're out flying around, having a great day and the engine suddenly quits :yikes: Thankfully there's a nice grassy field you can easily get to and you manage to glide in and execute a perfect landing out in some farmer's field.

So now here you are in BFE with your non-running engine. Now what? Are there on-call aircraft mechanics out there who handle these sorts of things? Do you have to leave it there until you can manage to con one into showing up?

What if something is wrong that can't be fixed there in the field? How the heck to do move an airplane 30 miles up the road to the nearest shop?
Click to expand...

This is the failure of flight training. They teach you emergency procedures in regard to the airplane, but once on the ground, you're on your own.

I recommend $10 in quarters (assuming you can find a pay phone) because not everywhere has cell phone service. Good, comfy shoes for walking to the nearest location to get help. $100 in cash to pay for a ride. Handheld radio so you can call 121.5 or the nearest ATC and report you need help on the ground.
 
Just the other day a throttle cable broke on a local plane. The pilot put it in a field away from the houses with no damage. Mechanic drove out and they flew it out of the field back to home base with the repaired cable fitting.
 
Well, I did make a bad landing and ended up 50 feet off the runway and completely wiped out the landing gear. Within two hours I had it back in the hangar. I took off the wings and hired a 21-ft car hauler which was about 3/4th of a mile from the airport to haul the fuselage and wings. But it was a homebuilt and I knew how to take off the wings.

Most single engine aircraft have wings that come off surprisingly easily, even certified ones.

A friend had a cylinder in a Cessna 150 go bad within gliding distance of the airport at Death Valley. He landed, found a knowledgeable pilot to look at the engine and diagnose the problem. He found a phone (cell service didn't work), and called a mechanic. The pilot had landed on Saturday. On Sunday, the mechanic flew in on his day off with a replacement cylinder. By Sunday afternoon the work was done. The mechanic only charged his usual rate plus parts and a couple hours for the airplane rental it took to get him there.

For off-airport landings, my CFI pointed out that it is wise to try to land by a farmhouse so you'll have someone notice that the plane went down and give you help should you need it.
 
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Depends on the situation. You could fly it out, you could tow it out or you could truck it out. This is the reason that insurance is higher on taildraggers and seaplanes - not because they are an accident waiting to happen but because an accident is more likely to happen in a place where none of those three options listed above are possible and the incident can occur not because of an emergency but because the operator chose to land on a remote gravel bar or lake where no roads exist. The recovery costs go way up when you need a helicopter or complete disassembly and 100 treks on a snow machine.
 
If you're in that position, you did just fine.
 
Skylane81E said:
You hire someone to take it apart
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Most of the time around here the plane is repaired in the field, towed to a road and allowed to take off. I've dismantled them and flew them out. If you have permission from the sheriff's off ice you can land and take off on the road. Here, you'll need to "hire" the deputy ( pay his salary) for the time it takes to complete the take off and landing,
 
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Geico266 said:
Most of the time around here the plane is repaired in the field, towed to a road and allowed to take off. I've dismantled them and flew them out. If you have permission from the sheriff's off ice you can land and take off on the road. Here, you'll need to "hire" the deputy ( pay his salary) for the time it takes to complete the take off and landing,
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Relaying worst case :wink2:
 
One's where I've been involved one way or the other...

Navion crank failure, landed in a field. Turns out there was a private strip at a sod farm a few miles down the road. Towed the Navion down the road (lesson learned - a two lane country road is a real bad place to try to land) to the sod farm, the A&P pulled the engine, installed the replacement and it was flown out.

Tripacer engine failure over Alaskan swamp land. We were overhead and able to direct a helicopter in to pick up the people. I don't know if the aircraft was ever recovered or not.

Out of gas on a student cross country ("I asked them to fill it."). I got a phone call from the old man - have any gas cans? He collected enough cans to gas up the airplane and fly it out of the onion field.

Cessna 150 on I-75 southbound during rush hour. Saw the traffic stopped so I didn't get on the freeway. If I had known, I probably would have gone that way just to see. There aren't may places to put it down in the area - the pilot was trying for a field near an antenna farm but didn't make it. He merged with southbound traffic and set it down. The airplane ended up on the back of a flatbed and was taken to DTW. Dunno why the engine failed.
 
dcmoser said:
Hmmmm... I must not be 'over the hill' yet, cause that's what I was thinkin'...
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We must be both older than most. No one remembers the farmer's daughter's jokes? :dunno:

Landing an airplane in the farmer's pasture is just ripe for dirty jokes. :rofl:
 
Expenses related to these off field landings - are they covered by insurance?
 
Do everything you can to make sure the FAA doesnt find out.
 
I've got to admit that after teaching students how to react to an emergency landing, the only thing I've told them about after the dust clears is to use the "duct tape rule". Find a roll of duct tape, tear off about 6-8 inches, apply to mouth. Don't talk to the press, don't volunteer any information, maybe call loved ones to tell them you're OK....

You've got me thinking about the other things that should be done to preserve what's left of the plane and plan on how to make it airworthy again. Thanks
 
taters said:
Do everything you can to make sure the FAA doesnt find out.
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Dream on. 30 seconds after my "good" landing on a field that didn't at the time have anything going on -- three people came running to the plane.

Five minutes later two cop cars pulled beside the plane.

Shortly later the local reporter and photographer. About the same time the airport director and the president of the airport board.

The next day the FAA called me. The photographer had already sent them the photos of the plane.
 
Don't start drinking until after you have talked to the authorities.
 
upstateny said:
I've got to admit that after teaching students how to react to an emergency landing, the only thing I've told them about after the dust clears is to use the "duct tape rule". Find a roll of duct tape, tear off about 6-8 inches, apply to mouth. Don't talk to the press, don't volunteer any information, maybe call loved ones to tell them you're OK....

You've got me thinking about the other things that should be done to preserve what's left of the plane and plan on how to make it airworthy again. Thanks
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Why??
 
MultiMediaWill said:
Why??
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Easy. The "media" has a way of distorting fact in order to attempt to make the story "more valuable". Make any comments and have your comments distorted could lead to future problems with insurance carriers or lawyers sniffing around for a lawsuit.

While I attended the FAA Academy I took a course at the Transportation Safety Institute on Aircraft Accident Investigation. They brought in a couple of media experts to do a mock news story on an accident scenario we were working. At the end of the day they edited tapes and brought them in to show us and it was quite alarming to see the tactics used by the media and how it distorted the truth.
 
Tony_Scarpelli said:
If you banged up the plane with stubble from the field it gets crated back to the shop. Usually wings come off relatively quickly call a two company and get a flat bed truck. If it is in AW condition and the mechanic can change a fuel pump or filter in the field and give you a return to service you might be able to fly it out if the field is clean enough or you can move it to a road and get some help closing the road for a half mile.
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+1

Pull the wings, transport to nearest airport, reattach wing, repair failure (intake gasket in my case), return home ... worked for me. Make sure you check for wheat flakes in the pitot tube - I almost missed that :^).

My favorite farmer in the whole wide world pointed out that he damaged more wheat driving the truck out to check on me than I did landing.

That said, this is a good question that I wasn't prepared for when I had my off field event. I called the tower at my home airport and asked them what I should do next. They asked me, "Theoretically?". I said yes. They asked, "Theoretically, was any private or public property damaged, including the plane?" I said, "Theoretically, no.". They said, "Then don't call anyone, get the plane out of the field and you have nothing to worry about."
 
Foxhole said:
Were you thinking child support? :dunno:
:rofl:
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If I have to fly in mechanic to take down wings, tow truck, if the property owner says he wants $1000 for landing on his property, etc.....

Can this be an insurance claim?
 
N521MA said:
Expenses related to these off field landings - are they covered by insurance?
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Depends on the policy. Generally cheap to have on there, ask your broker. Mine covers the costs to remove and get it to the right shop. Like roadside assistance only for planes. Farmhouse-side assistance?
 
Mooney Lance Flynn had to wait for the local cops to find someone to let him out. ATC knew where he landed.
 
Mike5250 said:
And if you're over water pick the cruise ship, not freight boat with shipping containers.
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You might want the freight boad instead of, say a Carnival Cruise.

just sayin'
 
Bob Noel said:
You might want the freight boad instead of, say a Carnival Cruise.

just sayin'
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that is if you want to use the rest rooms or avoid the flu.

Seriously the most responsive would likely be a small craft 50' pleasure cruiser as they are more maneuverable.
 
Mike5250 said:
And if you're over water pick the cruise ship, not freight boat with shipping containers.
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Actually, I'd rather take my chances with a cargo crew's boat skills over a cruise ship crew. I've dealt with both and came away without much faith in the competency of the cruise crew I encountered. But that was a single point sample. Cargo crews seem to have their stuff wrapped a little tighter.
 
Threefingeredjack said:
Actually, I'd rather take my chances with a cargo crew's boat skills over a cruise ship crew. I've dealt with both and came away without much faith in the competency of the cruise crew I encountered. But that was a single point sample. Cargo crews seem to have their stuff wrapped a little tighter.
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Lots more eyeballs on the cruise ship, better chance of being spotted. They're all probably drunk though, but if they manage to fish you out, its party time.
 
mikea said:
Mooney Lance Flynn had to wait for the local cops to find someone to let him out. ATC knew where he landed.
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True. I called 911 cause I didn't know exactly where I was. It was a paved airstrip, but no sign of civilization that I could see. 911 called the cops, got both one state and one local. They got the owner to open the gates for them. (And the cops called the Feds).
 
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