Future
Posted by airplaneking69@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 12 comments
Hi everyone, thank you for taking the time to read this! I’m 18, a CFI/CFII/MEI with about 900 hours, mostly dual given, and no checkride failures. Recently I experienced an engine failure at night while solo. I was able to land safely with no injuries to anyone and no damage to property, although the airplane was totaled because I had to avoid a vehicle.
I know the final impact depends largely on the cause, which is still under investigation, but I was curious how something like this is generally viewed in aviation. I’m hoping the fact that the situation was handled safely and professionally ultimately reflects positively on my judgment and training. Again, thank you!
(Posted on FB too, so if you see this. HI!!)
RAG_Aviation@reddit
In the long run this is probably going to matter a lot less than you think unless the investigation comes back showing poor judgment, negligence, or something preventable you should’ve caught.
A night engine failure with a successful off airport landing and no injuries honestly reads a lot differently than a runway excursion from bad decision making or somebody doing something reckless. Aviation people tend to look pretty heavily at outcome + decision making under pressure. Keeping yourself alive, not hurting anyone, and getting the airplane on the ground during an actual emergency says something.
At 18 with CFI/CFII/MEI and 900 hours you’re already ahead of where most people are at your age. If anything, the bigger risk is letting this mentally wreck your confidence going forward.
I’d just be very careful about how you talk about it publicly while it’s under investigation. Keep it factual, professional, and avoid trying to self-analyze the probable cause online before the facts are out. Recruiters/interviewers later are probably going to care way more about whether you were honest, calm, and learned from it than the mere existence of the incident itself.
Gabriel_Owners@reddit
If the root cause cannot be traced back to you, I'd hire you (once you grow up).
One-Possibility-2351@reddit
Been there, done that. Not a fun experience. If the cause was beyond your control, then you should be fine. However, you will need the final report from the FAA as soon as possible to officially exonerate yourself. You will obviously be asked about this event during any future airline/flying job interview. Be prepared to lay it all out in a story format. I never had any issues with this during my airline interview experience. In fact, it can be a good thing so long as you can explain how you stayed calm, followed procedures and used good judgement. Good luck!
Shuttle_Tydirium1319@reddit
Dude it’s awesome that you are all the way through MEI at 18! Congrats on that, congrats on living and no one getting hurt.
KJ3040@reddit
First of all: good job not dying in a situation that kills a lot of people. A nighttime engine failure in a single is a serious emergency, and the fact nobody was hurt matters.
Generally, accidents are disclosed on the same portion of airline applications as other potential indicators of operational or professional risk: training failures, certificate actions, removals from flight status, disciplinary history, etc. You are going to have to check that box now.
I’m not saying that means automatic rejection. It very likely does not, especially if this ultimately proves to be a bonafide mechanical failure and the record reflects sound judgment and aircraft control under difficult circumstances. But it is reasonable to expect your application will receive additional scrutiny and require explanation. That may affect the smoothness and timeliness of applications.
Realistically, you will be expected to discuss this at every major juncture throughout your career. Context matters immensely. This may ultimately reflect positively on your abilities.
MyPilotInterview@reddit
This is spot on. I have had a number of clients get hired at legacies with accidents, some pilot error and some not. I do see networking being more important, whether that’s at conferences, chief pilot meet and greets, etc. Then remember the question the interviewer is really asking is, do I trust this guy to fly my family.
At 900 hours I would try and get a job right seat, in a PDP program or similar. The hardest move is the next step after an accident. It’ll be much easier for a regional to hire you seeing that you have career progression since the accident.
Just my experience….
Recent-Day3062@reddit
Sometimes in Reddit someone gives sound and simple advice from wisdom, something Google and AI can’t provide this was one of those nuggets.
SSMDive@reddit
If it was a mechanical failure you could not have predicted - It could actually help you. If you ran it out of gas, it could hurt you.
It could help you because when asked about it you can bring up the "Crank broke in half and I found myself at night without an engine. I looked for the most suitable landing spot and set up for a landing. In the rollout I found I was going to hit an innocent vehicle and I turned to avoid them. The aircraft was destroyed, but everyone survived and the only damage was the aircraft." In this case you were handed a bad situation and you handled it as best you could with a focus on saving lives.
If it was something you did like run it out of fuel either total fuel exhaustion or just running a tank dry, then it gets more difficult. You are going to have to explain why you made the bad choice to take off without enough fuel, which calls into question your decision making and preflight abilities. Or you are going to have to explain you poor performance where you had bad planning and ran a tank dry and didn't change to the tank that had fuel in it.
So the reason for the failure is going to decide how it impacts how the interviewer looks at you.
Mundane-Reality-7770@reddit
A CFI local to me was flying a students plane home after dropping the student off at his daughters college. The cfi had the same model airplane as the student.
He ran the plane out of fuel at night and landed on a road, bit clipped a street sign and totaled the airplane.
A couple years later he's an airline pilot.
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=15781182&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Pilot%20ROC-Rel.pdf
CrazyNumber6@reddit
I have been out of aviation for like five years now, but if the engine failure was truly not your fault and you successfully came out of that with no injuries I would think that would be amazing for your career. You have been through an actual emergency and survived. At such a young age no less.
x4457@reddit
As long as you didn’t do something to cause the engine failure, this is a non-factor for you in the long run.
rFlyingTower@reddit
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
Hi everyone, thank you for taking the time to read this! I’m 18, a CFI/CFII/MEI with about 900 hours, mostly dual given, and no checkride failures. Recently I experienced an engine failure at night while solo. I was able to land safely with no injuries to anyone and no damage to property, although the airplane was totaled because I had to avoid a vehicle.
I know the final impact depends largely on the cause, which is still under investigation, but I was curious how something like this is generally viewed in aviation. I’m hoping the fact that the situation was handled safely and professionally ultimately reflects positively on my judgment and training. Again, thank you!
(Posted on FB too, so if you see this. HI!!)
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