Catalina stranded Loch Ness 18 Oct 2020

[OvertHawk]

Just seen this:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-54590948

Not much detail - Apparently engine problems when trying to take off. Towed to safety by Lifeboat. All on board (4) safe - aircraft secure.

[Pilot DAR]

Yes, landing on the water brings extra complications, particularly when something does not go as planned. Pilots take fro granted that nearly all runways have some access to ground transportation and help. Happily Loch Ness has road access, landing on water with no road access complicates it even more. Starters and charged batteries were two of more common the things I have had to fly into remote lakes over the years.

[GeeRam]

Just seen this:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-54590948

Not much detail - Apparently engine problems when trying to take off. Towed to safety by Lifeboat. All on board (4) safe - aircraft secure.

The Catalina Society posted this early this morning.

Miss Pick Up has spent the past week carrying out filming, first for a US TV series at RAF Halton then on Loch Ness for a UK series. It has been a rewarding and successful experience and both TV companies have been delighted with the results. Unfortunately, after our last landing on Loch Ness yesterday afternoon, the starboard engine would not start and a failed starter motor was diagnosed. After assessing options, the Catalina was towed by an RNLI boat to a relatively sheltered bay on the Loch where she is now moored. Sadly, before the RNLI rescue, another substantial rib-type boat impacted the Catalina’s rear hull and smashed the blister transparency. A plan is now in place and our engineer Garry Short will travel to Scotland and replace the faulty starter and patch up the blister sufficient for a short ferry flight to Inverness airport where a further action plan will be put in place prior to a return to our base at Duxford.

[megan]

The approved method of "hand" starting a Cat was for a rope to be wound around both props in the required direction so the good engine could crank the failed engine. Probably only a wartime measure.

[Octane]

I'd like to see that!

[megan]

It was something I picked up somewhere. The pilot notes (British I, IB II, IV versions) actually say there was a handle at the flight engineers station which could be used to wind up the inertia starter accessed at the top of the engine nacelle, The starter could then be meshed manually by accessing a control on the port side of the nacelle under the hinged oil tank cowling. Perhaps not all versions had inertia type starters.

[stevef]

Inertia starters on the Pratt & Whitney R1830s had pretty much disappeared by the mid-80s and replaced by direct-drive units. I don't know if anyone still uses them. The handcrank-start was guaranteed to get a good sweat going when you were winding the flywheel up. Must have been a right laugh doing it on a choppy sea.

[N707ZS]

How don't you see a Catalina in a lake whilst piloting a boat, just wondered how the rib-type boat came to collide. Know wonder they cannot find the monster.

[OvertHawk]

How don't you see a Catalina in a lake whilst piloting a boat, just wondered how the rib-type boat came to collide. Know wonder they cannot find the monster.

At a guess I'd say it was someone other than a trained lifeboat crew trying to "help".

[David Thompson]

It looks like 'Miss Pick Up' needs some help to get her home ? Story and plea for help here ; https://www.gofundme.com/f/misspickup?utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all .

[Maoraigh1]

If she's moored in Urquhart Bay, to a boat mooring, and stuck for a while, it might be an idea to tow her to Loch Dochfour, which is more sheltered.
( And connected by a wide passage to Loch Ness.)
They've been lucky with the light winds at this time of year

[treadigraph]

https://youtu.be/LVVMekVihNI

[Kiltrash]

Better be quick before Nessie thinks it's a fly on the surface

[David Thompson]

She's back on dry land , news from the Catalina Society ;

Hot news from Loch Ness - Miss Pick Up is on dry land! The lift operation has been successfully carried out - a massive well done to our crew and all those involved, especially the team from Stoddart Crane Hire. This was the first part for us to have Miss Pick Up airworthy again... We are very grateful for your kind words and support via the gofundme campaign. Here is the link :
https://www.gofundme.com/f/misspickup?fbclid=IwAR1ypNOjbEIQatTmmhExDm0pciiPR5rOk3dXTPpI-afuYj6y (https://www.gofundme.com/f/misspickup?fbclid=IwAR2MoXrtM7j4M7iq-B52xG94MXVnTXQ1LU_GXCZr5-OlZG7U1juvUwxGUaE)…
and

https://www.facebook.com/TheCatalinaSociety/ .

[biscuit74]

A friend who lives near where the Catalina has come ashore went to see the machine this afternoon. She tells me the plan now is to do a complete engine replacement. Ouch! Expensive exercise...

Well worth contributing to help.

( I see the full article explains the reason for the engine change)

[Pilot DAR]

It was very wise that they chose a lake with shoreline access for their water work. I have had to fly parts in and out to remote lakes where a pilot went mechanical on the water. It's wise to assure that your infrastructure for repair is appropriate to the type, and location for operation. The fact that a plane can be landed remotely, does not always equal it being a good idea....

[biscuit74]

It was very wise that they chose a lake with shoreline access for their water work. I have had to fly parts in and out to remote lakes where a pilot went mechanical on the water. It's wise to assure that your infrastructure for repair is appropriate to the type, and location for operation. The fact that a plane can be landed remotely, does not always equal it being a good idea....


Good point Pilot DAR. Luckily, Drumnadrochit, though remote, is on the shores of Loch Ness and there is good road access down that side of the loch. Also a fairly well resourced airpor ta few miles away at Dalcross.

[Pilot DAR]

I saw the photo of the PBY being lifted out, that's reassuring! I got thinking about the trebuchet at Urquhart Castle, but it looks like they wisely used a crane;)

[Green Flash]

She flies! I can confirm that the Cat has just flown over Inverness enroute Dalcross. I understand it will be further checked over there before heading home.

[mabmac]

Flew majestically over my house at 14:50 this afternoon. Wonderful sight; so good to see it in the air again.

[Maoraigh1]

https://www.northern-scot.co.uk/news/pictures-monster-seaplane-rises-again-from-loch-ness-220055/

[cats_five]

Fears 'monster' Loch Ness waves would sink WW2 seaplane - BBC News (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-55797418)

[DaveReidUK]

Documentary about the repair (in Gaelic with English subtitles): Teicheadh bho Loch Nis/Escape from Loch Ness (https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000rrbp/teicheadh-bho-loch-nisescape-from-loch-ness)

[First_Principal]

That documentary looks interesting DaveReidUK , however - rather annoyingly - I can't see it.

Despite my understanding that the BBC was a public broadcaster, that it was interested in promoting the UK, and me being in a Commonwealth country, I've just discovered the Beeb chooses to block any IP addresses not registered as being physically in the UK....

Grumble grumble, I only hope the links/content from here, that I posted on another thread, don't prove to be so unfriendly.

FWIW here's a link to 'our' Catalina: NZ Catalina Preservation Society (http://nzcatalina.org.nz/)

Another link detailing what, unfortunately, happened to the first one: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19940115-1 - not as lucky as yours!

UPDATE: As of mid-2023 both the original website and video I linked no longer resolve properly.

Here's an new link for the society: https://www.nzcatalina.org/ which shows that the aircraft is now for sale, and I have changed the original 'tube link to another that describes what happened to N5404J on its journey from the US to NZ.