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A Passengers Worst Nightmare

Bryan Wood

Bryan Wood

Well Known Member
A friend emailed me this link that has the audio and radar track for an inflight emergency where the pilot died a few minutes after take off. This thing is 38 minutes long but well worth listening to. There were many thoughts that went thru my mind while listening, but the main one was that I need to get after my wife to take the controls a bit more. Maybe hearing an event such as this unfold will help others out there to convince their partner to learn how to fly a bit and how to land, or convince the partners of the need. Certainly our next few flights together will be spent teaching the autopilot to Sher so she can relax while she has a breakdown.
 
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He handled it well

I agree - the wife will have to get trained. Autopilot usage and panel identification is an absolute must. Great video.
 
Absolutely engrossing!

Hat's off to everyone involved. Controllers and passenger/pilot did a great job.

I'm going have to get my spouse up-to-speed, too! ;)
 
everyone should learn to fly

Another example of the utility of being a pilot. I just can't imagine how this would have turned out had the guy not been a pilot.

I wonder if the ATC folks are trained for this type of event - they sure handled it well. I am also curious if they didn't brief a go around deliberately.
 
Louise Hose said:
Hat's off to everyone involved. Controllers and passenger/pilot did a great job.
Click to expand...

On approach you can hear a couple of controllers in the background relaying info to King Air drivers to come up with into for this guy. They all acted very cool under fire.
 
Interesting evolution

Initially panic, like he's flying a Saturn 5 or something. Gradually figures out that he flying an airplane that basically works the same as the ones he's been flying and his questions focus on the differences. Eventually he settles in and starts acting like a pilot - taking control of the situation.

This guy is a single engine low time pilot. He knows how to fly and he knows the lingo. I don't think this is at all related to the problem of a non-pilot spouse taking the controls. Unless there is previous training of some sort, that is going to be like your first lessen. Except, instead of a reassuring instructor in the right seat, there will be a dead or incapacitated loved one in the left seat. That is going to be terrifying all the way to the ground.

Without prior training, the outcome is probably not going to be good.
 
Getting the non-flying spouse involved

Years ago, when I was taking my (now ex-)wife flying, I sat her down and we went through her checklist. She carried it with her on all flights.

1) Pilot clear of controls. Wrap seatbelt around neck if needed to keep clear of controls.
2) Keep the plane level and clear of clouds
3) Speed setting listed below
(All listed speeds in plain english...as opposed to plane english;))
4) 7700 on the transponder (She was also shown how to ident, if needed)
5) 121.5 on the radio. Key the mike "Mayday, mayday, mayday! This is (look for the plate on the instrument panel). The pilot is dead and I am a non-pilot and I need help to land"
6) You are the pilot. Demand whatever you need. (They can't take your license away...remember that)

We sat in the plane and went through the entire scenario (master off) with her setting frequencies and keying the microphone. We went over throttle and mixture, flaps and brakes. She (and I) always felt safer with her flying with "Her Checklist".

Had we stayed together, my intention was to at least get her to solo for a better chance for her to come out of an emergency, unscathed.

My 2?, FWIW
 
Wow

The first(and last) call made by the pilot was chilling to hear his voice trail off to a whisper. It was a great job on the part of the passenger turned King Air pilot!
 
Visit the NTSB site

Don Jones said:
The first(and last) call made by the pilot was chilling to hear his voice trail off to a whisper. It was a great job on the part of the passenger turned King Air pilot!
Click to expand...

and look for 4/12/2009. Apparently the pilot was the owner of the airplane, according to the transcript and he had his wife and two daughters aboard! No wonder that he had a rather big load of responsibility. He had to be praying since he told the controller in his Southern drawl that, "Me 'n the Lord is flying this thang!"

Yep, the relief for him was overwhelming, as I could imagine. In most airplanes with retracts, there's almost always a pitch trim change with gear extension/retraction as well as flaps up/down trim changes. He must've used the trim button since he'd found it. Amazing guy.

Regards,
 
I must say that I was a little surprised at just how little help those on the ground were able to give him. It seems to me that the King Air is a pretty common machine and that the controllers would have been able to find someone that could have talked him through every little detail of that cockpit just by closing their eyes. Hand that guy the radio and stop the relay. I bet the controllers were thinking the same thing :). "where is a King Air driver when you need one." :) No doubt that he did a fantastic job with the situation he was dealt.
 
course

Most spouses seem to have this concern. Out of that i came up with a course for our flying club we called the comfortable co-pilot course, and did it all in 4 hours on a saturday with lunch etc free for all friends and aviation people. Some info from the aopo pinch hitter course, some from other sources and we had a packed room and excellent feedback. Well worth others putting on at their flying clubs...a comfortable copilot is a big help and much more relaxed. I can certainly understand the panic that would set in quickly...
 
scard said:
I must say that I was a little surprised at just how little help those on the ground were able to give him. It seems to me that the King Air is a pretty common machine and that the controllers would have been able to find someone that could have talked him through every little detail of that cockpit just by closing their eyes. Hand that guy the radio and stop the relay. I bet the controllers were thinking the same thing :). "where is a King Air driver when you need one." :) No doubt that he did a fantastic job with the situation he was dealt.
Click to expand...

Actually, If I recall the reports on this correctly Scott, they had an experienced King Air 200 pilot on the other end of the phone line all the time he was with approach - that's where the info was coming from. When you consider that the whole thing happened in just 38 minutes, I think it's a bit unrealistic to expect they'd have the perfect person on hand in time for the way the events unfolded. I am used to getting a question from a crew, asking the right person for their input, and then feeding that back to a crew - it takes a little time, but having correct info a little delayed is better than bad info sent quickly (been there, done that as well!).

I expect that if the rookie pilot on board didn't have any flying experience at all, they would have had to spend more time in the air before trying to land him - but he seemed to be handling it pretty well, and they fed him what he needed when he needed it - not necessarily when he wanted it. I was impressed with the professionalism of the team effort - on the ground, and in the air. Made me want to load up the King Air in Flight Sim and fly along as I listened!
 
PIC time?

So, a bit off the topic, but I was curious whether he could count this 38 minutes as PIC time in his logbook, even though he obviously wasn't certified to fly that airplane?

greg
 
Greg Arehart said:
So, a bit off the topic, but I was curious whether he could count this 38 minutes as PIC time in his logbook, even though he obviously wasn't certified to fly that airplane?

greg
Click to expand...

I'll comment. My household has been quite immersed in FAA taining for about the last 10 months. I say YES, the time can be logged from the moment that he declared an emergency. That was the first thing he did (good pilot). All rules and requirements are suspended at that point. He was PIC (period). I would log it and laugh at the person or agency that wanted to challenge it. He and his family survived! The rest is gravy and entertainment.
 
Could be a liability issue..

scard said:
....... Hand that guy the radio and stop the relay. I bet the controllers were thinking the same thing :). "where is a King Air driver when you need one." :) No doubt that he did a fantastic job with the situation he was dealt.
Click to expand...

.....to "hand the mike to a King Air driver", Scott.

Their SOP may not allow that either, rather relaying messages as Paul mentioned.

Regards,
 
Familiarization began yesterday

Yesterday we began the process of getting Sherri familiar with the panel and how it all interacts. We started by having her sit in the left seat so that she could see everything clearly and started with the radios and audio panel. After learning how to select the radio that she will use to transmit and receive on we covered inputing the desired frequency. She was shown how to use the nearest button on the GPS 496 to quickly get the frequency of the nearest airport or ATC. This took just a few minutes for her to have an understanding and we should have done it long ago. We then went over the airspeed indicator and the markings. We talked about how most of the information that the King Air pilot was seeking could be found here with the exception of the final approach speed. She already knew that however so we were covered. She exercised the throttle and saw how the throttle lock worked. She then ran the flaps up and down acknowledging the white arc on the airpspeed indicator without being prompted. We talked about the elevator and how it worked. Then the trim tab was added and we went over how and why it is there. She operated the electric trim and saw the movement of the tab as well as to see the result on the indicator in the plane. She got to see how neutral trim showed on the guage with the needle in the center. Then on to the autopilot. We went over how to put the thing into course and engage it and how to put the alt hold on. Showing that this is basically flying the bug, she can set it with a toggle switch until the plane is going the direction she wants giving her time to find a frequency, input to the gps, and to talk on the radio without worrying about flying the plane. Then we talked about the track mode and how the autopilot will intercept and fly to the waypoint or airport that she programs into the GPS. It was remarkable how quickly she picked this up from having been in the plane for so many hours now. We then went on to the fuel selecter. After being the gas police in flight for 5 years now it was a surprise to me that she didn't know which way the selector needed to point in order to keep the fuel flowing. I showed her how the selector is a 4 position valve with fuel lines only connected to two of these. Although clearly labeled, there was the potential for a fuel starvation issue prior to explaning this to her.

Sensing overload even though she was fully engaged and clearly understanding we went out for a demonstration of everything that we had covered. For the first time ever she keyed the mike and called ground control. "Reid Hillview ground, RV 994W, row uniform, taxi to self serve fuel." This came out of her mouth as if she had been talking on the radio all her life. With a clearance to taxi off we went. She didn't much care for the ground handling of a free castoring nosewheel. This will take some time.

After doubling the value of my plane at the gas pump off we went for a short ride. Her nerves were running on high and she stated that her mouth had no moisture in it. A stick of doublemint from the map box helped this and I leveled off and trimmed. With power set nice and easy she flew us around a bit. We went over the trim and how the plane flys itself if properly trimmed and I even showed how it will return the plane to level if disrupted and will stabilize back on speed. After getting a feel for how the plane should feel I trimmed it out very slightly being careful not to scare her and turned the plane over to her. She understood the importance of getting the neutral feeling back and was able to get the plane set up. Don't be fooled, she wasn't thinking pleasant thoughts towards me after handing over an out of trim airplane to her. After she appeared to be settling down she engaged the autopilot in the course mode and engaged the alt. hold. She then was able to steer the plane with the toggle switch just as we had talked about. She retrieved frequencies from the GPS even though she knew them for our home airport and inputed them to the radio. She then put KRHV into the GPS and set the autopilot to track. A gentle teardrop turn began and we intercepted the course back to our home field. It was impressive how quickly she picked this up and how much she actually knew already.

We have some more to go over, but she was about cooked. On our next flight we will be showing her how to set the autopilot to decend at a rate of her choosing and to catch us at an altitude of her choosing. We did talk about how to fly final as I brought us in. The idea of controlling airspeed with pitch and decent with throttle intrigued her. I showed her how the plane was trimmed to the final approach speed and I let go of the stick to show that it would fly itself down final if set up correctly with very few corrections needed. I changed the throttle settings to show the decent rate changing. She got the concept and in upcoming flights hopefully she will begin to set us up and even fly the approach.

So the first demonstration went well. She is already a systems manager, or operator if you will, and could get herself to an airport if she needed to. As we refresh on future flights and as she accepts a more active role this will only get better. So the first effort was an overwhelming success.

(The disclaimer: Obviously this was not a flight lesson, and I am not a CFI. This is merely laying the ground work on how our airplane ticks so that my wife is more comfortable and safer while flying with me. Should she decide to get her license she will be sitting next to the proper person.)
 
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Re: Familiarization began yesterday

Bryan,
Nice write up!
I emailed it to my wife and told her we really need to go over these things.
She hasn't wanted to do a whole lot in the past.

I'll keep trying.

Thanks,
Mark
 
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