MAYDAY in the Everglades

I'm extremely impressed with the response I've gotten to this post. I know
as a given fact that I will not get hurt in a general aviation aircraft that
I'm flying during daylight hours. It's just a fact that comes with a great
respect for the unexpected (I have a healthy fear of what I don't know). I'm
a pre-flight nut case. I sump the fuel always, even after a 10 minute stop
without re-fueling. The plane has an almost zero time status (now at 125
hours since major OH). I'd had an oil change a couple of days earlier and
wondered if my mechanic had nicked the fuel line, or in some odd manner made
a change to the fuel system, but that didn't and still doesn't make sense.

Regarding my flight plan- I have been tossed out of Miami's Bravo airspace
about as often as girls turned me down when I was a teenager. Not being shy,
that's a lot. The only choice is over the ocean below 3,000, over MIA's
airspace at 7,000 or the swamp to the west. I take the swamp because it's
quiet (except for a few minutes when the big jets are turning final while
West of MIA). At all times I check to make certain I have enough altitude
(except when climbing out, of course), to make solid ground. This time I
knew I could make the interstate, but would truly choose this as a last
resort. The NTSB would get involved, and I'd have to get the plane trucked
out of the everglades. To save my wife and I, I would do this in a
heartbeat. My preference, of course, would be to put down at an airfield,
which I did.

Someone asked me what I'd do differently, and my wife and I have discussed
this several times since Friday. The answer comes up every time - Nothing. I
did and would still do exactly as before, but probably swap the first thing
= full rich to first thing = carb heat. Other than that, no other change. I
didn't touch the mags for concern I'd kill the engine. A dead mag will rob
you of power, but it won't cause a rough sputter. I've been trained to make
as little change to a failing engine as possible. Even an aiplane that's
lost it's oil will continue to fly a lot longer if you don't touch the
throttle or mixture. It's when you make a change that an opportunity to
seize occurs. I did, however, push and poke everything else (or what litter
there is to push in a C152).

My wife who's not a pilot, but spends a lot of time in the right seat
telling me where to go, concluded carb ice. She did this when we first
touched down at Dade-Collier airport. My mechanic on the phone explained
that a bad cylinder wouldn't fix itself, but water in the tanks would
eventually blow through the system. The mechanic I met on the ramp also said
bad fuel. My buddy and CFI back in Lantana (I called everyone), said bad
gas. My wife insisted carb ice.

So whadayall' say. Should I give my pilots license to Lynda or what?

Marty