Emergency landing ............ Field or Motorway ?
 

Scenario :. .. .Engine failure and you can't restart it.. .. .Would you :. .. .a) Go for a rough landing in a wet/soft field (risking damage to yourself and aircraft). .. .b) Go for the nice straight,wide piece of tarmac...... the motorway ( but only if it's quiet i know !!! not the M25 at rush hour !!). .And have a normal (ish) power off landing with no injuries to you, people on the ground or any damage to the aircraft.. .. .And has anyone heard of this happening anywhere ?. .. .I was day dreaming on the motorway today and this just came into my head !!

I doubt that there would ever be a motorway in the UK quiet enough to land an aircraft. Never mind all the bridges. All you need would be to execute a good landing only to be crushed by the dozing driver of a 40 tonner <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="biggrin.gif" />

Hey Capt.:. .. .That is an easy one.. .. .The pilot in command will always choose the safest option in any emergency.. .. .If you can safely land on the motorway, highway or road that is what you should do.. .. .Even if the local authorities fine you ( Highly unlikely ) it will be far cheaper than injuring yourself or a passenger as well as cheaper than fixing a busted up airplane.. .. ....................... . <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="biggrin.gif" /> The hardest thing about flying is knowing when to say no. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="biggrin.gif" />

Articles on Avweb indicate that it's not altogether uncommon for pilots in the US to land on roads in emergencies, and one recently managed to land perfectly on top of a huge truck which was going his way (took him a while to figure out why his ASI still showed 50 knots after he'd completed a smooth dead-sticker, whilst the truckie wondered why his rig suddenly felt so draggy and gutless), but finding a stretch of straight road without traffic in most parts of the UK would, as noted above, be a pretty tall order.

In the US I'm told the issue is not whether to land on the road, but which way!! Land with the traffic, or against it. The quantity of trafic of some of the built up areas and the ability to fly low over them never ceases to amaze me.. .. .PS

Hey Captain! I thought that I was the only one to wonder about this one..... .. .The motorway looks like the better option until you factor in all of the bloody bridges that get in the way. I considered the bridges only after flying around the QE2 birdge at Dartford, happily informing my instructor that I'd managed to squeeze a B747 under the toll bridge on Microsoft Flight Sim! It didn't look quite so easy in real life in a Katana.. .. .Having already been in a position to really have to consider a forced landing I'd probably go for the M25 although I'd try and stretch it out to the M23 which looks like a better bet around the Redhill area. The fields are just too wet at the moment IMO.

Personally I would go for the field without question, unless there were some very unusal circumstances.. .Just thing of all those cars, lampposts, bridges, etc...

Hey Sennadog. .. .Glad i'm not the only whose had this thought !!. .. .Don't know what it's like down south but up north the motorways aren't too bad for traffic, especially on a Sunday morning.. .. .As for bridges, you could definately land a small aircraft in between them with plenty of room to spare.. . . .I just think if you could get your aircraft in safely without flying under any bridges or landing on any traffic then i'd prefer to do that other than risk it on an uneven, boggy field.. .. .Fair comments on traffic & bridges but there not there all the time !!!. .. .There ready made runways waiting to be used in an emergency.. .. . <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="biggrin.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="biggrin.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="biggrin.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="biggrin.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="biggrin.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="biggrin.gif" />. . . . <small>[ 18 March 2002, 22:15: Message edited by: Captain.K ]</small>

In a field every time in UK - exactly what kinda field depends on the season.. .. .Remember: sheep move, cows don't.. .. .Happy flying

Have to agree with Cusco. It would be suicide to attempt to land on the M25 at any time during the day. And, would you want to risk hitting a bridge at night? Then there's the issues of putting other's lives at risk by causing a massive tailbacks and accidents.. .. .OK, the aircarft may get bent up in a boggy field and so may you but that's your problem.. .. .In the USA the volume of traffic and long straight roads make it feasible.. .. .Cheers

I would go for a field every time, there are far too many obstructions on roads, lamposts being the prime concern, let alone overhead cables etc.. .Its different in the states, there being many empty "bare" roads to land in. .. .When you have a forced landing the the overall aim is to get onto the ground as safely as possible, preferably with as little injury to yourself as possible. If you can do that and leave a servicable or repairable aircraft then so much the better. I feel that a field provides a better opportunity for this aim.. .. .The only time I would advise using a road is at night... as you really cant see whats in a field at night... better the devil you know I guess.. .. .Thoughts appreciated

O.K. Guys and gals:. .. .Please go back and read my first post.. .. .Some of you are not seeing the forest for the trees so to speak. There are more roads on earth than the M25, in fact the M25 really isn't a road it is more like a parking lot.. .. .Note that I said a road is preferable if it looks safe to use and many roads will fit this criteria. Roads are just like runways with the odd obstruction such as wires, the hardest to see and poles, light standards, overpasses etc. These things can be avoided in most cases. Fields on the other hand are very tricky to judge from the air and in a great many instances the airplane gets damaged when landing in fields.. .. .Ask any crop duster how many roads they land on and there will be the the answer as to their suitability. . .. .Anyhow having spent many years in the cropdusting business I personally prefer roads.. .. .Fly safe and enjoy:. .. ..................... . <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="biggrin.gif" /> The hardest thing about flying is knowing when to say no. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="biggrin.gif" />

In the US I would consider a road seriously, since many outside urban areas are wide enough and unencumbered by fences etc: Agree with Cat Driver in this respect.. .. .In the UK, it's more difficult to find a suitable road as ours tend to be too busy, narrow or obstructed by fences, lighting etc.. .. .So it would be the field in the UK for me, with the gentlest touch down I could manage.. .. .Not the ideal choice at the moment, but if you can't take a joke...... <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="smile.gif" /> . .. .Mind you, I'd have a quick scan around to see if there was a disused RAF base in gliding distance.

May ask where you attempt your landing in a single at night under such circumstances? A road is probably the best option. Good discussion for the bar after committing aviation!

Another problem landing on a motorway is that a multi-car pile up results, with possible multiple deaths and injuries. Maybe only a small risk, but I have no doubt that if it did happen the pilot would be prosecuted.. .. .The CAA would present a very simple case - there were lots of suitable fields around which you'd been trained to land in. In most parts of the UK they'd be able to find at least a few within gliding distance. These may have ripped the landing gear off, but that's much better than the carnage that was caused. If there weren't any suitable landing places then this was a built-up area and you should have been flying at a height from which you could glide clear. Indeed they may even define the motorway as a built up area.. .. .The pile-up may not even directly be your fault, but that's not the way the press will paint it. It would be quite hard to present a strong defence, except for a forced landing at night.. .. .Pessimistic maybe, but I think I'd rather write the plane off in a boggy field and let the insurance company pay so long as I though my passengers and I were going to walk away.

Next time you're driving home carefully look at where you might be able to land an aircraft - I have (yes I've had this daft thought as well!). On my 18 mile drive there are three sections of road - all dual carriageway which total maybe just over a mile.. .. .Scarcely good odds I would say. And of course that ignores the characters drifting along in the right hand lane at 70 plus, who would forget where the centre pedal was if they saw anything unexpected!. .. .Even boggy rough fields are perfectly usable in comparison. I get the impression that many of the posters don't operate off grass much - hence the desire to try and use something firm - even if it is littered with obstructions.. .. .Even better of course, chose a field with a significant upslope - you can literally just park the aircraft - the ground roll is tiny!. .. .Happy landings - on grass!

P. Pilcher has a good point - at night I'd go for a big road and land in the direction of the traffic. . .. .During the daytime, a field is the best bet (unless there are disused RAF fields nearby - in some parts of the country you are virtually always within gliding range of one!. .. .cheers!. .foggy.

Anyone ever flown out of Brackett (La Verne) in LA?. .. .Departing 26L or R an engine out in a single at low altitude means a ditching in a resevoir.... lovely!

P Pilcher. .. .I don't fly singles at night as I find the risk factor too high. Call me a wimp, but there you go......

If there was a road with no, I repeat, no traffic on it I would probably go for the road as long as it was daylight and I could check for wires, poles, centreline barriers or traffic signs. . .. .If there was any traffic at all I'd go for the field. Imagine driving along fat, dumb and happy and a 1/2 ton Cessna/Piper comes whizzing over your head! Not a clever thing to do. As to landing on a road at night, no chance. If it's dark how can you tell it is straight (how good is your landing light), if it's lit then you WILL hit a lamp pole cos there are virtually no roads in the UK (except motorways) which will be wide enough to land on and avoid the poles. Ripping a wing off will cause a lot more damage to an aircraft than tearing off the undercarriage and possibly damaging the vertical tail if she goes over slowly.. .. .All in all, in the UK, I think it's easier to check out a suitable field for obstructions than a road cos they are generally less cluttered than a road re signs etc. .. .If you are really this concerned about landing on fields maybe a visit to some short grass strips will build your confidence in handling a forced landing in the country.. .. .An exception to this could be Northern Ireland cos most of the fields there seem to be short and surrounded by dry stone dykes (walls not women <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="biggrin.gif" /> ). Not suitable for forced landings. I'd rather ditch in a lake than try for most of the fields in the North.