The one thing that should never happen....did.....and then time stood still
Posted by Deadoftheblade@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 32 comments
I am making this post partially as a little bit of therapy for myself but also so that anyone else in the world of aviation can benefit from my story. Not more than a couple hours ago I had my skills and experience called upon for the most life threatening situation I had ever faced and would give most pilots goosebumps to think about. I had a partial engine failure, at night, single engine, solo, in mountainous terrain. As I was on my IFR flight plan to salt lake airport for a little bit of enjoyment off of my usual job of teaching flying, I noticed some strange engine readings and I suspected carb ice. I was wrong. Carb heat never seemed to fix the issue and soon after the small indications on the tachometer became much more violent surging to idle power and then to half power every so often and the situation immediately became critical. I notified center of the issue and my intentions to return home. I immediately turned back towards a heading that would get me away from the mountains and towards a suitable airport while trying to maintain a minimum descent rate with my limited power. Switching tanks, mixture control, switching magnetos never seem to help. What did salvage the little power I had was reducing it from full throttle to half throttle and that seemed to let the RPMs come back a little bit which allowed me to limp the aircraft back home. After formally declaring an emergency, salt lake center was extremely helpful in giving me options and clearing the way for me. For all of the instructors who teach these topics, for the student pilots learning them, and for my other fellow aviators, knowing the systems of my aircraft and being able to think outside the box in a critical situation saved my life and fortunately saved the aircraft. No matter how many hours, no matter how much training you have, it will still shake you as it shook me. This is why we train the way we do, we are not training you for a check ride, we're training you to be a safe pilot so that when you face an emergency like I did, you'll be ready.
"Flying is not inherently dangerous, but to an even greater degree than the sea, it is terribly unforgiving of any carelessness, incapacity, or neglect
Pretend_College_8446@reddit
Well done, thanks for the good advice. Just curious, what type of aircraft/engine? Let us know what issue was when you find out!
Purgent@reddit
Idk what kind of airplane you were flying and with what engine, but don’t rule out a stuck/sticky valve.
AeroLog@reddit
Did your training taught you to pull back to half throttle? I haven’t heard of that before - sounds like you just had some good random troubleshooting luck!
Haga@reddit
I was taught to go through throttle and mixture settings. Can’t hurt right?
Flying_4fun@reddit
I was taught by my CFI to try different throttle settings if the initial pass at fuel tanks, carb heat, mixture, primer and magnetos does not restart the engine. His instruction was based on his own partial engine failure on takeoff at 300ft experience. He was able to make the impossible turn over a very busy urban area because half throttle gave him enough engine rpms to return to the runway. I have also seen other pilots resolve critical engine failure situations with partial throttle settings in YouTube videos.
lordspidey@reddit
Not much different than getting the weed whacker started by fingering the throttle just right during startup... fucking two strokes are finnicky beasts.
Flying_4fun@reddit
Never thought of it this way, but it makes a lot of sense.
PiperFM@reddit
When troubleshooting a rough running engine there is not an engine control that should remain untouched. The throttle is probably last on my list, but it’s on it for sure.
If you have altitude, don’t give up. Try everything.
Deadoftheblade@reddit (OP)
No. I never even thought about it before now, I just thought, what is controlling this engine that can be changed? And it seemed to work
livebeta@reddit
wow the unholy multi-fecta of night, IFR, mountains, solo and single engine. thanks for sharing your story
NastyWideOuts@reddit
How far were you from your home airport?
Engine out at night is probably my biggest fear. Add mountains, and it’s simply terrifying. Sure you could try to spot a road/highway that is lit, or get lucky and be in gliding distance of some airport. I fly in Wyoming, and you can go long distances without an airport of any kind around. Not many roads or highways either. In day time I would be able to spot a dirt road at least, but at night it’s incredibly dark all around, and there’s mountains. I’m glad you were able to get the engine somewhat working and make it back safe. Did you have any idea of where you’d land if it quit on you?
Deadoftheblade@reddit (OP)
I was well outside glide range of my home airport, I departed Rexburg, KRXE for salt lake international and the weird indications started just past Idaho falls once I had headed into the mountains so about 30 miles away. I know the area pretty well so I knew that if it fully quit I would be turning towards Idaho falls first, if I was a little further along and it quit then I would have gone for Rigby. If no airport was an option, I would have put it down on highway 20.
NastyWideOuts@reddit
Good stuff man, seems like you had some good route planning to keep you safe if it came to it.
Dave_A480@reddit
You were lean.
Why the mixture didn't fix that, who knows...
But pulling the throttle back resulting in more power = you were running lean.
Deadoftheblade@reddit (OP)
A lean mixture wouldn't explain a surging engine deviating more than a thousand RPM at a time. Pulling back the throttle helped reduce the power loss but it was not a steady power
PasswordIsDongers@reddit
Can you elaborate on what kind of thinking outside the box was required here and how it helped you?
To a layman, what you describe doing to try to fix the situation seems pretty straight-forward (although going through all of it live is a different deal, of course).
Deadoftheblade@reddit (OP)
Because when thinking about an engine failure, no checklist I've ever seen at least in my aircraft, ever even mentions the throttle other than full or completely cutting it off after securing the engine to prevent a fire. Because the idea of reducing throttle and gaining power makes no sense
Derp_Animal@reddit
Glad you made it. Sounds like a good story for your grand kids.
What was wrong with the engine in the end?
Deadoftheblade@reddit (OP)
I only landed about an hour ago so I guess we'll find out, I'm not sure.
TheJohnRocker@reddit
Glad you made it. Thank you for the write up, well done.
Deadoftheblade@reddit (OP)
No problem, anything to help my fellow pilots. And while I can't verify it, I'm betting it's going to be a carburetor issue
syntheticFLOPS@reddit
Scary shit. Magnetos or carb/fuel injection maybe?
Working on an emergency landing site database too. Will be useful once it's built out.
Geolandav.com Geolandblog.wordpress.com
SilvanestitheErudite@reddit
Yeah, sounds like a fuel delivery issue.
Deadoftheblade@reddit (OP)
Honestly, I'm betting it's going to be the carburetor.
ArmadilloNo7637@reddit
Well done, your comment about thinking out of the box is true. A thorough knowledge about your aircraft and all its systems can be so valuable, most especially if there is no non-normal checklist for the symptoms you described. What was the fault once you had it all checked out.
Deadoftheblade@reddit (OP)
I just landed a few hours ago and tied it down, I might find out in the morning but I don't know yet, it literally just happened.
Western-Sky88@reddit
Hats off to you my man! Great job!
Also, this will make fantastic interview material!
I had something very similar happen, but luckily I was already well within gliding range of Knoxville. Took me a while to pull the seat cushion out of my ass!
Deadoftheblade@reddit (OP)
DUDE SERIOUSLY! I fell out of the plane and slumped myself over the horizontal stabilizer for a good 10 straight minutes before I could catch my breath
CoE1976@reddit
Well done my friend. And you're right about knowing systems and keeping your head. Sounds like you should be really proud of how you handled this.
Deadoftheblade@reddit (OP)
Thank you
rFlyingTower@reddit
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
I am making this post partially as a little bit of therapy for myself but also so that anyone else in the world of aviation can benefit from my story. Not more than a couple hours ago I had my skills and experience called upon for the most life threatening situation I had ever faced and would give most pilots goosebumps to think about. I had a partial engine failure, at night, single engine, solo, in mountainous terrain. As I was on my IFR flight plan to salt lake airport for a little bit of enjoyment off of my usual job of teaching flying, I noticed some strange engine readings and I suspected carb ice. I was wrong. Carb heat never seemed to fix the issue and soon after the small indications on the tachometer became much more violent surging to idle power and then to half power every so often and the situation immediately became critical. I notified center of the issue and my intentions to return home. I immediately turned back towards a heading that would get me away from the mountains and towards a suitable airport while trying to maintain a minimum descent rate with my limited power. Switching tanks, mixture control, switching magnetos never seem to help. What did salvage the little power I had was reducing it from full throttle to half throttle and that seemed to let the RPMs come back a little bit which allowed me to limp the aircraft back home. After formally declaring an emergency, salt lake center was extremely helpful in giving me options and clearing the way for me. For all of the instructors who teach these topics, for the student pilots learning them, and for my other fellow aviators, knowing the systems of my aircraft and being able to think outside the box in a critical situation saved my life and fortunately saved the aircraft. No matter how many hours, no matter how much training you have, it will still shake you as it shook me. This is why we train the way we do, we are not training you for a check ride, we're training you to be a safe pilot so that when you face an emergency like I did, you'll be ready.
"Flying is not inherently dangerous, but to an even greater degree than the sea, it is terribly unforgiving of any carelessness, incapacity, or neglect
Please downvote this comment until it collapses.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. If you have any questions, please contact the mods of this subreddit.
AutoModerator@reddit
Hi, I'm a bot and it looks like you're asking a question about medical issues: therapy.
Medicals can be confusing and even scary, we get it. Unfortunately, the medical process is very complex with many variables. It's too complex, in fact, for any of us to be able to offer you any specific help or advice.
We strongly suggest you discuss your concerns with a qualified aviation medical examiner before you actually submit to an official examination, as a hiccup in your medical process can close doors for you in the future. Your local AME may be able to provide a consultation. Other places that may provide aeromedical advice include: AOPA, EAA, the Mayo Clinic, and Aviation Medicine Advisory Service.
For reference, here is a link to the FAA's Synopsis of Medical Standards and for more in-depth information here is a link to the FAA's Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners.
Also, feel free to browse our collection of past medical write-ups and questions in our FAQ.
Finally, we suggest you read the instructions on the medical application very closely. Do not volunteer information that isn't asked for, but also do not lie. Some people may urge you to omit pertinent information, or even outright lie, on your medical application in order to avoid added hassle and expense in obtaining a medical certificate. Know that making false statements on your medical application is a federal crime and that people have been successfully prosecuted for it. But for heaven's sake, don't tell the FAA any more than you absolutely have to.
If you're not in the United States, the above advice is still generally correct. Just substitute the FAA with your local aviation authority.
Good luck!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.