Bonanza makes forced landing at Beagle Bay

[Lasiorhinus]

Heard on the radio of a Bonanza enroute from Cape Leveque to Broome had engine "difficulties" and landed at Beagle Bay.

Hope all was well... didn't hear how the landing went, but if they made it to the airstrip, should have been a painless landing.

[Sector3]

ABC Kimberley (http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2008/10/09/2386978.htm?site=kimberley)


90 seconds to live.
That was the thought that ran through Broome hobby pilot Edward Skender's mind as he experienced engine failure on a flight back from Cape Leveque to Broome yesterday afternoon.
"We were driven to the airport for a take off at 5pm, because we intended to arrive in Broome for sunset. Considering that the whole trip was about 1200 kilometres, to have this problem with the aircraft with 100 kilometres to go was quite amazing."
Edward continued, "The engine was making more noise than it should have been and one of the temperature gauges was showing a high reading. That was the first indication that something was not right.
You do a series of checks, and then things went from bad to worse. Everything I tried seemed to make the situation worse. Things were happening quickly, and nothing improved the matter. I tried not to let my passengers know that we were in trouble, but they knew we were.
We had about 90 seconds to live at that stage, had we not been able to land in a suitable area."
Fortunately, Skender was able to identify a temporary air strip near Beagle Bay.
"We were losing about 1000 a thousand feet a minute, and we were at 1500 ft. Below me there were trees and scrubs, not friendly places to come in at 160km an hour. There was a clearing and then an extension, and it was actually a disused air strip."
Relief is an understatement for how Skender felt on touch down.
"It's hard to describe the feeling. My passengers were being very good. All they would have seen out the back is the trees disappear and then this almight thump as the wheels touched. They just erupted into applause, and I was getting my back pounded by them. "We're alive, we're alive!" It was just incredible."
Skender and his passengers then spent a night in the bush before gaining assistance.
"I don't think they'll ever forget it! There were wild donkeys making noises all night, they sounded like crocodiles having sex! I didn't have a weapon, so I got ten flares just in case. We were well provisioned; we had smoked salmon for dinner. But we had no alcohol! A bottle of whiskey or brandy would have been nice. The sandflies and mozzies were shocking. It was a horror night in that regard."
"We saw a vehicle and some help arrive at around 9am. People from the pearl farm had spoken to the police at Dampier Peninsula. They came down in a 4WD and really looked after us, and even drove us back to Broome. I really can't say enough about how well they treated us."
Skender hopes to fly back to the air strip to retrieve his plane in the next few days.
It's the second time his Beech 36 has had trouble.
"In the Kalbarri area we had a loss of fuel pressure which caused a temperature rise in the engine, but nothing like today. We replaced the fuel pump, and I made a trip to Broome without incident and the aircraft has been fine since then. For this to happen was totally unexpected."
I asked Skender if he would hesitate before getting back in the plane.
"Not at all. You've got to be pragmatic. I love flying, and I wouldn't at all think that this is a bad omen. It's good for me. You find out what you're made of. In this case, I feel quite good about what I did and how I did, and if anything I'm a better pilot as a result of the experience."

[PLovett]

I'm a better pilot as a result of the experience.


Ah.... the proof of my favourite adage in aviation:

Experience is what you have just after you needed it.

Good job on the part of the pilot though.:ok:

[Critical Reynolds No]

Considering that the whole trip was about 1200 kilometres, to have this problem with the aircraft with 100 kilometres to go was quite amazing."

Is it really 1200km from Cape L:DV to Broome?:ok:

[Karl Bamforth]

Wow wild donkeys that is scary. :E

I once said to an old and bold pilot that an engine failure must come as a shock when it happens.

He replied "No not at all, I am always expecting the damn things to fail, and am pleasantly suprised when they stay running fo the whole flight."

He was a Mosquito pilot at the grand old age of 21 in WW2.

[A37575]

He was a Mosquito pilot at the grand old age of 21 in WW2.

It always amused me to know that wartime pilots flying IMC, being shot at, experts on flying without an AH because in those days AH's and DG's toppled and became useless over 55 degrees angle of bank, landing in fog from the early beam approaches, winning decorations for amazing feats of bravery and sheer flying skill, in command of four engine heavy bombers at age 21 and often with less than 500 hours in their log books - could nowadays never qualify for a VFR charter job flying a 210 because they didn't have the minimum hours to be hired.

Many years ago, I applied for a job with an MU2 charter company in Melbourne. I was knocked back without a decent interview and the reason given was it was policy not to hire former RAAF pilots or out of work airline pilots because these types could not handle single pilot IFR and in any case would expect too much in terms of aircraft serviceability.

Informed that this applicant had 15,000 flying hours, including single pilot IFR on Mustangs and Vampire jets as well as single pilot IFR on four engine bombers the answer was to the effect of "STIFF - PISS OFF...

[the wizard of auz]

so he still had an engine, but was descending at 1000fpm? uuhuh.
90 seconds to live?......Hmmm.
was going to land at 160KPH?...... uuhuh
Flares to ward of the wild donkeys?....mmmm.
and to top it all off, the fool cried on tele while explaining how he saved the day.
Buggered if I would fly with him......... just to much action for my tastes. :ooh::rolleyes:

[Ex FSO GRIFFO]

Give him the Area QNH and P155 him off...............:}:}

Aha....The Goode Olde Dayes..........

[P51D]

Well done Ed - you and your pax walked away which is the main thing. There's always know-alls like the Wizard of Oz who I would put into the F#@*wit category and a true Dick Craneum....

[the wizard of auz]

Fair enough mate. :ok: I guess if I flew an aerostar I could be a hero too. :E
Like I said, it would have been far to exciting for my tastes. I prefer to land slower, stay up longer if I still have partial power, or at least descend at a lesser rate and then avoid the media, especially if I was too emotional to talk about it without bursting into tears.
Just because your engine makes a noise really doesn't mean your going to die......... and donkeys won't kill ya.
Good job on him getting his pax down safely, but strewth, making comments like he made in the interview is a little over the top.
Never mind. I guess you would have coasted to Broome and nominated yourself for a bravery award. :rolleyes:

[multi_engined]

Well done to the pilot, keeping his cool and having a good outcome.

[P51D]

That's much better Wiz. Coast to Broome and be a hero? Good to have a few dramatics and Ed may well have been thinking of "never let the facts get in the road of a good story" must say, the wild donkeys were a bit of a worry, would've sounded better if a couple of Bengal tigers were in the area!! Let's leave it there mate.

[the wizard of auz]

I must admit I did get a cackle out of the "donkeys sounded like crocodiles mating" remark. :} you could scare the hell outta some backpackers with all sorts of good stories with them sound effects going on in the background. ;)
They believe everything in Australia will eat ya.

[FRQ Charlie Bravo]

"donkeys sounded like crocodiles mating"
C'mon on now, where are we Utah? No need to tidy it up, we can all read that he said crocodiles having sex!

FRQ CB

[the wizard of auz]

Actually, I was quoting what he said on the tele interview. :ok:

[sms777]

I think he meant to say : " Crocodiles having sex with donkeys " :E

Anyways, well done :ok:

[ForkTailedDrKiller]

"Having sex" is an activity perculiar to humans and some species of apes, ie chimpanzees, especially bonobos - that are known to copulate when the female is not fertile, presumably for pleasure!

Most animal species "mate" or "copulate"!

Dr :8

Oh dear! I think I had best go sit quietly in the corner now!

[sms777]

Thanks for the correction Doc :ok:
I like the word "copulate". It sounds more appropriate in this story.

Still thumbs up for our pilot for keeping his passengers and himself cheat the ninety seconds deadline ;)

PS: Doc, since you are the seasond Bonza driver, any comments on what might have happened?

[ForkTailedDrKiller]

any comments on what might have happened?

I have no idea, and speculating in here will likely get my head ripped off - but I look forward to reading the report in due course!

"The engine was making more noise than it should have been and one of the temperature gauges was showing a high reading"

???

Dr :8

[Capt Wally]

wowowoow when I saw the subject heading I quickly dove in to see if the :8Dr was okay, in the Dr's case it would be fancy knowing exactly where yr gunna crash right to the inch (with how many GPS's Dr?) when nobody can help ya anyway 'till the next day:P-)
:ok:to the pilot for being brave to be in a SE in the first place, job well done !:E
90 secs from 1500' hey?, hmmmm glide ratio like a house brick:-)

CW

[ForkTailedDrKiller]

in the Dr's case it would be fancy knowing exactly where yr gunna crash right to the inch (with how many GPS's Dr?) when nobody can help ya anyway 'till the next day

Wally, Forkair SOPs now require 4 x GPS as minimum equipment in the FTDK - G430W in the panel, G496 on the yoke and a dinky little new Garmin USB GPS the size of a 50c piece plugged into tablet - plus a GPS in the GME MT410G Accusat PLB!. Forkair SOPs also mandate the carriage of a survival kit that includes tropical bug spray, sunscreen, high energy food, lots of water etc. Having parked the Bo under the conditions described I would be faced with a tough descision. Do I ring up on the sat phone and try to get a pick-up that afternoon - or do I roll out the swag beside a big bonfire for a pleasant night under the stars!

Dr :8

PS: I don't expect the wild donkeys would trouble me - the word is probably out about what I do to their more domesticated cousins!:E

[Peter Fanelli]

What? No GPS in the survival kit?

:E

[ForkTailedDrKiller]

Geez PF, thanks for reminding me - I forgot one! See the now amended previous post!

Dr :8

[Capt Wally]

Shhhhez Dr 'ForkAir' SOP's would be about what, 4 pages long?

Page 1:.......always fight to the end that SE is safer than twins:E
Page 2:.......Always have spare batts for every GPS, shares in Eveready would be helpful:E
Page 3:.......Remember to have 2X med check-ups every calender year, we ain't gettin' any younger here Dr:E
Page 4:.......Regular glide testing will be performed to make sure you can squeeeeeze every mile out of the Fork Tail Dr killer just in case the mulitiple GPS's don't work because somebody simply turned off the switch!:E

Dr what did you/we do pre GPS's? in my case I just bluffed 'em & prayed a lot (still do) but in yr case you would have had 4X WAC charts for every corner of the globe
4X pencils
4X whiz wheels
4X rulers
And 4Xtimes the nav skills way back then, we are now so reliant on GPS's that avaition is now just a system managers job:bored:


CW

[ForkTailedDrKiller]

Page 1:.......always fight to the end that SE is safer than twinshttp://static.pprune.org/images/smilies/evil.gif
I have never actually said that, although it is fun to spar with you. I would however argue that, operated appropriately, a SE is not significantly less safe than an equivalent light twin. The stats are on my side!
Page 2:.......Always have spare batts for every GPS, shares in Eveready would be helpfulhttp://static.pprune.org/images/smilies/evil.gif
The only GPS in the FTDK that has other than battery back up is the PLB! I do however carry a few spare batteries for the ANR headset.
Page 3:.......Remember to have 2X med check-ups every calender year, we ain't gettin' any younger here Drhttp://static.pprune.org/images/smilies/evil.gif
I do that anyway
Page 4:.......Regular glide testing will be performed to make sure you can squeeeeeze every mile out of the Fork Tail Dr killer
Seems kinda dumb to spend a lot of time flying the one aeroplane and not know everything about it!
just in case the mulitiple GPS's don't work because somebody simply turned off the switch!http://static.pprune.org/images/smilies/evil.gif
Is that a realistic senario?
Dr what did you/we do pre GPS's?
Flew around with a WAC chart, a protractor, ruler, biro and whiz wheel, or an ERC and an ADF, often a VOR, sometimes a DME, and occassionally an ILS!

Obviously I like technology - its fun to play with! However, I can find my way around most of Qld just by looking out the window! Been doing it since 1974.

Dr :8

[blueloo]

As an aside: FTDK Is the Garmin 495 the same as the 496 minus the americas maps etc? Or is it a hardware difference due to XM Wx uplink or whatever they call it ....

I think I read somewhere before you did a software job on your 496, but that was before a 495 was released.

[ForkTailedDrKiller]

blueloo, yes the 495 is the go for Oz. I think Garmin got the idea from me! I had extensive email correspondence with their support people on how to Ozzify a 496. The 495 is the same hardware and software as the 496 - only the databases are different.

They probably should pay me royalties!

Dr :8

[Capt Wally]

:ok:ahhhh come on Dr yr no fun, too many serious answers there buddy:)

............"Seems kinda dumb to spend a lot of time flying the one aeroplane and not know everything about it"

Re the above few would know everything about their plane:-)

Technology is good Dr, enhances safety but it has taken a lot of the raw fun out of flying.

Out of curiosity Dr have you flown the Bo without touching the control column just using trim, power, rudder & flap only to perhaps late final? Now that would be knowing yr craft far beyond what's expected of any pilot. During my CPL training days I had an older instructor that insisted that I be able to fly a circuit to within a very close distance from the rwy with only trim, power, rudder & flap only, was fun but I doubt I would need that level of skill between frights:)


CW

[Jabawocky]

Wally..... you should know better.

it flies from rotate, gear up, a/p on, to the Garmin coupled ILS and DSE Autoland :E.

If it were not for taxiing the bloke would get DVT :}

J:ok:

[Capt Wally]

hey 'jaba' I know I ought to know better but I've seen a piccy of the Dr standing in front of the Bo, DVT is the last of his worries:E




CW

[Mr Milk]

Why do most threads on here turn into wank-a-thons by the usual suspects?

Can we please try to keep threads to the intended topic and not about how many panel,yoke,wing, and head mounted penis pulling devices each beechcraft flying knob has!

[Hasselhof]

Why do most threads on here turn into wank-a-thons by the usual suspects?

Agreed :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

[Capt Wally]

oh god the anti-fun police are out in force. :ugh:

Why do such threads end up like this? It ain't rocket science fellas there's little else been added in this particular thread of any use other than to have a laugh. Out of about 2 doz posts around 4 or so where directly related to the original post re the downing of a Bonanza. That goes to show that providing no one was hurt what else can ya write about it?

Look no doubt the Mods will be recruiting you guys for future anti fun police but in the mean time let the thread die a natural death will ya & move on yourselves, no ones making you read it:sad:



CW

[Mr Milk]

Hey wal- i'm far from the fun police.

There are also about a million posts in all other forums about the FTCS (no not a typo) and his bonanza. Its not personal i just know alot of people get sick of it.

[Much Ado]

Hasslehof/milk et al.

There are 3 mods on D&G and we all have different views on what constitutes light reading entertainment. Some agree with you some don't.

It is useful to remember that Pprune exists because of it's members...all of them. No one forces you to read every thread and if there are posters that get up your nose demonstrate some adult self control and don't read their posts.

For mine I believe there are only a few rules. No abuse, no defaming/libeling and a minimum of thread drifting. By 'a minimum' I mean deliberate thread diversions such as Capt Wally has been guilty of on a number of occasions.:suspect:

There will always be some thread creep...sometimes its good, interesting and fun...sometimes its like this one.:ugh: