"Bob Gardner" wrote in message

Ten miles out over the ocean in a 150? Life jackets on board? Could you
have
glided to the beach?

Maybe, but I think the Astoria instrument approach vectors you several miles
off the coast as well. Should jackets be something to include in the
equipment for such a flight?

(I've got a stack of 'em and they don't weigh much, so might as well if I'm
headed that direction, but I've never flown off the coast so far that I
couldn't glide to the beach anyway.)

In any case, life jackets in the Pacific in these parts keep you alive just
long enough for hypothermia to kill you, but it sounds like Steven was on
the ball enough that the Coast Guard would have known where to find him had
he ditched.

-c