Rule303

Better than 19:1 is a very impressive L/D and is approaching sailplane specs. It this a correct value?

 

It is the book value, that frankly I always thought was overstated. I was actually doing better than that with gear down and 10 flaps.

Now I am a believer.

Firstly - I am glad you are OK.  Would have been scary as hell.  That said, personally, bugger the traffic you can't see.  That's their problem - they had power, you didn't.  But I guess, like you said, lesson learnt!

 

Can I ask if sideslipping had any affect on getting her sinking??

 

Anyways... like I said man... Thank goodness you are Ok - of sorts.

 

Thanks, surprisingly not scary, it’s amazing how those emergency drills and practice just kicks in.  If I ever have another 1 in a million turboprop events, I certainly won’t be shy in telling traffic to GTFO.

Side slipping worked great to get me from 9000 to 1600 or so in one orbit. If we had committed to 36 we could have dumped height easily. It is unnatural to cross control with no engine though, just felt wrong.

I’ll take OK - of sorts over the alternative any day, the key was my passenger was fine. That was what I was most concerned about.

Before the speculation runs too rampant as it has elsewhere... (Please avoid judgement also, the pilot and passenger were airlifted to Canberra Hospital, the last thing they need right now is negative thoughts).

 

The facts are:

The flight was from Bankstown to Cambridge (Hobart) cruising at FL160. Approx 20nm past Moruya the engine failed, they were losing 1000fpm. The aircraft was pressurised, it was a P210N model. The aircraft had a turboprop, not piston motor. From this height they were able to make it back to Moruya, but had about 2 minutes at most near the airport to assess the situation/airfield and make their decision (which in the heat of the moment would go very quickly, and keep in mind a normal circuit does take around 6 minutes). They chose to attempt an approach onto 04, however were too high and too close so quickly switched to a circuit onto 18, unfortunately they weren't able to make the final turn and instead of attempting a low level steep turn they chose to put it down straight ahead into the overshoot scrub. The wind throughout the day was gusting to around 40kts and it was hot (so people were at the beach).

 

Moruya can be a tricky airfield, it does have its characteristics that can catch people off guard, an example being unexpected sink near the river, and when it's windy it can be a challenge due to the terrain & mechanical turbulence.

 

Given the amount of practice forced landings I've done at Moruya, I think the pilot has done a good job under pressure and whatever decisions they thought were right has ultimately saved their lives (and that's all that matters, aircraft can be replaced), although they probably will be spending Christmas in Canberra Hospital. Hoping they have a speedy recovery.

 

As the PIC, you are spot on.

The ADS-B data cuts out a bit early, and is showing lower altitudes than the logs recovered from onboard, but is directionally accurate.

We had an unrecoverable engine failure at FL160, that the ATSB, NTSB and Rolls Royce are still trying to determine the cause of.

ATC immediately responded to the Mayday call, and vectored us to Moruya, and notified an EMS helicopter. We arrived over the field at around 9000ft for the first orbit and set up for 34. On final for 36, heard a R44 on the CTAF who said they were on 18 and the winds favored 18. 

We did not have the R44 in sight at 1300ft, so made the call to try for 18, and try and see the traffic. The Silver Eagle with feathered prop glides at better than 19:1, so the instant decision was to abandon 36 try for 18 rather than land without traffic in sight and with a tailwind, and no reverse available.

We lost 400 ft crossing the river, and we’re at marginal height on downwind for 18, when we turned base then final we had higher than expected gusts and at 200ft, decided as slow as possible and short was best for the people on board, as opposed to trying to up flaps and maybe get closer to 18 but have a higher ground speed.

As it turned out, my passenger walked away, and I had some broken legs and superficial stuff. 

Lessons learned: 

I had well over 200 hours in that aircraft, but how hard she was to loose altitude with a feathered prop, even with everything down and hanging was a surprise. 

Second would be if you are a Mayday and you hear but can’t see conflicting traffic, get on the radio and tell them to get the hell out of your way.

In the end, I wouldn’t trade the result, excellent assistance from ATC, NSW Ambulance, the Australian Army, and a gun team of doctors at Canberra hospital who helped put humbly dumpty together again.