This is why we train (kind of long)

Well, tonight will go in my book as something that I will never
forget. Tonight I learned a valuable lesson and was able to live to
tell about it. As a lurker here for many years, I have come to enjoy
reading about people's experiences and try to learn from their
mistakes. So tonight I am posting my experience in hopes that someone
else can learn from me.

Today started out as just any ordinary day with a cross county flight
that was going to take about 4 hours there, drop someone off and then
come back home. I was in a Seneca II turbo and the weather was
looking mostly VFR with the occasional MVFR called for my route, but
was clearing. My flight to my destination was uneventful. It was the
return flight and about 9 minutes out from my final destination when
things went wrong.

It was around 2200 and I was on with center with flight following and
I turned to the ATIS to get weather for my destination. They were
advising of Snow and ceilings at 2500. But how could that be, this
stuff was not forcasted, I'm about 30miles out, flying at around 4500
agl and I have the city in site, but not the airport. I asked center
if my destination was IFR and they advised that they were not. The
center then handed me off to approach. I proceed to descend in
anticipation of lower clouds then BAM, the city went away. I was not
IMC at the moment but I could not see anything in front of me.

I thought to myself, no big deal, I will call for local IFR and shoot
the ILS in. I have shot this approach many times.... Well at least in
an aircraft with 2 nav radios and a GS. I have about 50ish hours in
this Seneca (mostly x-county time) and we had just gotten the MX20 and
CNX80 system put in about 3 weeks ago. I really haven't gotten use to
shooting approaches with this system yet but here we go. Approach
gave me vectors and altitude changes. Now I'm in IMC. There's a
little vertigo coming into play now (don't know what that was all
about) so on came the autopilot and let my head clear. Now I'm flying
straight and level and on course. I knew I had about 15 or so miles
to go before they would start turning me in to the ILS so now I'm
pulling up the approach plate on the mx20. I have the paper one in my
lap but I was going to use every tool to my advantage. It pulled up,
now I can see exactly where I am on the approach. Now for the final
vectors, I've got the ILS tuned into the nav portion on the CNX80, I'm
getting what appears to be the proper reading on the HSI. But the ILS
needle isn't moving. Next I hear from approach that I have blown thru
the localizer and that they were going to turn me back around for
resequencing. No big deal.

I looked at my configuration on my systems to try and figure out why I
never got the localizer. The frequency was correct, I confirmed it
with approach and they advised it was working correctly. Then I saw
that I did not push the CDI button. I hit it and it came alive. Now
just as they are turning me back for final vectors, I look down and
see that my right fuel gauge is showing 0 but my left is still around
20. I then intercepted the localizer and turned inbound. It was at
that time the right engine dies. I reached down and hit the cross
feed but nothing.

Now here I am, in IMC, flying a plane with avionics that I have very
little experience with, with my best friend (which this is the first
time he has ever flown with me) and now with one engine dead. With
all of this, you can say I got a little distracted and started getting
off course. I had already switched to tower freq by now, so I
declared priority due to fuel. The left was still showing almost 20
but we all know how fuel gauges are accurate. An American Airlines
had just landed in front of me and he advised that he broke out at
around 1500 agl and that it was +10 vis underneath. I was able to get
back on the ILS and intercept the GS. I then started my decent
leaving my gear and flaps up (I had plenty of power on one engine to
maintain blue line, but did not want to take a chance) Just as I was
about to secure the right engine, it started rumbling to life. I
don't know if it was the descent that shifted the fuel or fuel was
finally making it thru the cross feed, I was about 1500 agl and broke
thru the clouds. There was the runway. The most beautiful site I have
ever seen. Flaps came out; Gear came down, and I landed. I was
drenched with sweat and it was 12 degrees and snowing but I didn't
care. I opened my little window and let that cold air in... It felt
good. I was alive.

Now it has been about 3 hours since I landed and I can not sleep a
wink. I keep thinking to myself how foolish I was believing that I
could go IMC using equipment that I was not all that familiar with.
Another thing that I can kick myself in the butt for was to not paying
more attention to my fuel situation. There are low fuel lights on the
annunciator panel but they never came on. The bulbs work fine, I did
test them.

But without the proper training, I might have allowed all these things
to just come to a boil. There were some moments of panic ( especially
when that right fan quit) but I was able to use the basic training of
dealing with engine outs and flying on a single engine that I was able
to regain my composer and continue to fly the ILS on one engine.
Without having that, they would probably be looking for the wreckage
now.

Thanks for reading my long winded story but this was kind of therapy
for me. I think that I can now go and get some sleep.


Scott

* SD sdatverizondot.net@:
Well, tonight will go in my book as something that I will never
forget. [...]
I was about 1500 agl and broke
thru the clouds. There was the runway. The most beautiful site I have
ever seen. [...]
But without the proper training, I might have allowed all these things
to just come to a boil.

Well done on coming through in one piece. Scary stuff, and lots of food
for thought. Thanks for posting this!


Ross

--
Ross Younger (if N fails, try N+1)

On Mon, 05 Jan 2004 02:09:17 -0700, SD sdatverizondot.net@ wrote in
Message-Id: :

Well, tonight will go in my book as something that I will never
forget. Tonight I learned a valuable lesson and was able to live to
tell about it.

[Candid story of engine failure during unplanned instrument approach
due to fuel exhaustion snipped]

Thank you for sharing your experience. The only thing I might
question is the absence of the mention of a GUMPS check; that may have
prevented your engine out, but it sounds like the engine stopped
before you had reached the point where you would normally have run
GUMPS.

The final flight (VFR in an Aerostar) of a former Viet Nam F-4 pilot
friend occurred while turning to final at KVNY when he apparently lost
control while turning into the dead engine (story below). I'm happy
to hear your engine out occurred on final so that you didn't need to
make any turns.


================================================== ===========
Northridge Lawyer Handled Air-Crash Cases Dead Pilot Known as
Skilled, Careful Flier
Los Angeles, Calif.; Mar 8, 1985
PATRICIA WARD BIEDERMAN

Abstract:
[Lewis M. Brody] was an experienced, safety-conscious pilot who had
survived being shot down while an Air Force flier in Vietnam,
according to Jeffrey Matz, Brody's partner in the Encino law firm of
Matz, Brody & Albert.

In the past five years, Brody had handled 12 cases involving airplane
crashes, Matz said. He said the firm on Thursday retained such a
specialist who will study Brody's crash with an eye toward a lawsuit.

Matz said the Aerostar in which Brody died was owned by the law firm.
Brody flew it several times a week, always taking along the battered
khaki flight bag he had carried in Vietnam. Like his colleagues, he
referred to the plane, in aviators' jargon, by its registration
number-Triple Seven Papa Lima (777PL).


Full Text:

The pilot killed Wednesday night when his light plane crashed into a
San Fernando Valley residence was identified Thursday as Lewis M.
Brody of Northridge, a lawyer whose specialties included air-crash
litigation.

Brody, 41, died when his Piper Aerostar crashed into a residence at
9545 Ruffner Ave. in Sepulveda.

Ken Ashton, 38, the only occupant of the house, was watching
television in the living room. He escaped from the burning building
with minor injuries by diving through a blown-out window. No one else
was hurt. The house was reduced to rubble.

Brody went down at 6:58 p.m. as he was attempting to take his disabled
plane into Van Nuys Airport, Audrey Schutte, head of the National
Transportation Safety Board team investigating the crash, said
Thursday. The cause of the crash will probably not be known for
several weeks, she said.

On Thursday, Schutte supervised the removal of the wrecked plane from
the charred site. About two dozen spectators stood on the street and
sidewalk. A neighbor said Ashton had stood silently among the
onlookers for a while.

Called Safety-Conscious

Brody was an experienced, safety-conscious pilot who had survived
being shot down while an Air Force flier in Vietnam, according to
Jeffrey Matz, Brody's partner in the Encino law firm of Matz, Brody &
Albert.

In the past five years, Brody had handled 12 cases involving airplane
crashes, Matz said. He said the firm on Thursday retained such a
specialist who will study Brody's crash with an eye toward a lawsuit.

Matz said the Aerostar in which Brody died was owned by the law firm.
Brody flew it several times a week, always taking along the battered
khaki flight bag he had carried in Vietnam. Like his colleagues, he
referred to the plane, in aviators' jargon, by its registration
number-Triple Seven Papa Lima (777PL).

"Flying was his first love," Matz said. "He used to tell me if he
couldn't fly as part of his law practice he wouldn't practice law.
He'd be a professional flier instead."

Brody lived with his wife, Bonnie; a daughter, Lauren, 5, and a son,
Jason, 3.

Matz said Brody was flying back from Costa Mesa when the accident
occurred.

"He was covering a deposition in Orange County," Matz said. "He flew
down there in the middle of the day and started back about 6:15.

"He called our office just before leaving the airport, and he called
his wife to say he was on his way. It's about a 16-minute flight."

The NSTB's Schutte was asked for specifics of Brody's last flight.
"Some of these things I could never know unless I was in the cockpit
with him," she said. "And, thank God, I wasn't."

Matz tried to reconstruct the flight, based on his knowledge of the
route and a police officer's report of witnesses' accounts.

"He was flying from John Wayne Airport back to Van Nuys, where we kept
the plane," Matz said. "When he got over the Encino
Reservoir-according to witnesses, there were about 15 witnesses-he
called `Mayday' and said he was losing power in his right engine.

"The tower flew him around to the north end of the airport. As he was
making the U-turn to land, he had to bank the plane, and about that
time the right engine caught on fire. In order to get in faster, he
pushed the left engine to the firewall. That means pushing the
accelerator all the way to the floor. When he did that, the plane
stalled, and it just went straight into a house.

"He used to tell me, if you're going to lose an engine, you don't want
to do it on final approach because you're very close to the ground,
and you don't have much time or room to make a correction.

"He must have had 900 hours in on that plane. He's flown in bad
weather. He's flown in icing conditions. Everybody who had contact
with him in the aviation business always praised him for his
competence."

Engineering, Law Degrees

Brody had a degree in mechanical engineering from California State
University, Northridge, and a law degree from the University of San
Fernando. The affable redhead took an engineer's pleasure in keeping
the Aerostar in top-flight condition, Matz said.

"He was meticulous about that plane," Matz said. "He personally
supervised all the maintenance. He took pride in knowing how each and
every item on that airplane worked. Being an engineer, he was capable
of understanding all the devices on that plane. And he always did an
extremely thorough pre-flight check."

Matz said Brody's family members were frequent passengers on the
plane, as were his law partners.

"In fact, I was supposed to be on Wednesday's flight," he said. "I was
sick with the flu."

[Illustration]
PHOTO: Federal investigator Audrey Schutte at site of plane crash that
destroyed Sepulveda home and killed pilot.

"SD" sdatverizondot.net@ wrote in message
...
Well, tonight will go in my book as something that I will never
forget. Tonight I learned a valuable lesson and was able to live to
tell about it.
................................................. ..........................
....................

Excellent story, good job of staying with the living!!

Ya did good when the brown stuff hit the fan , Scott... One attaboy...

Now, let's discuss your fuel... You never, never, never, N E V E R, go below
one hour of fuel in the tanks - period...
(I have thrown this exact tantrum on here before, so it's not your fault
I am fortunate that my current twin carries 6 hours of fuel, but the longest
leg I have ever flown is 4:40 - mid Michigan to Chattanoga against a
ferocious headwind... I have also landed just a bit over 20 minutes short
of my destination (another airplane) because I had hit bingo fuel - meaning
60 minutes left... The pilot/passsenger I had with me was incredulous... He
was more than that, he spent the entire time I was getting fuel telling me
what an idiot I was because he NEEDED to get back to the airport to meet his
wife for supper... He was never invited to go flying with me again, and he
later had a fuel incident that caused him to give up flying...

The final point I make here is that fuel is measured by your watch, NOT by
the fuel gauges... All the gauges are is a cross check against the watch...
The watch rules! Keep flying and play by my rules and you will never
have another story to tell us like that...

Denny
"SD" sdatverizondot.net@ wrote in message
...
Well, tonight will go in my book as something that I will never
forget.

Good stuff. Congrats on getting thru it. Thanks for sharing and exposing
yourself to some flak.

Hope you sleep soundly.

"Dennis O'Connor" wrote in message
...
The final point I make here is that fuel is measured by your watch, NOT by
the fuel gauges... All the gauges are is a cross check against the
watch...
The watch rules!

Rather than letting either kind of measurement rule, I always assume my fuel
is the LESSER of the time-calculated amount and the gauge-indicated amount.

"Gary Drescher" wrote in message
news:sxfKb.750122$Tr4.2074796@attbi_s03

against the watch... The watch rules!

Rather than letting either kind of measurement rule, I always assume
my fuel is the LESSER of the time-calculated amount and the
gauge-indicated amount.

Good point. One should consider the possibility of a fuel leak.

--
John T
http://tknowlogy.com/tknoFlyer
http://www.pocketgear.com/products_s...veloperid=4415
__________

"John T" wrote in message ws.com...
"Gary Drescher" wrote in message
news:sxfKb.750122$Tr4.2074796@attbi_s03

against the watch... The watch rules!

Rather than letting either kind of measurement rule, I always assume
my fuel is the LESSER of the time-calculated amount and the
gauge-indicated amount.

Good point. One should consider the possibility of a fuel leak.

Or some problem with the carb, or the fact you forgot to lean, or whatever.
The accident reports are full of stories of people who went through fuel faster
than normal and "the fuel gauges were erratic, so I ignored them" (That was the
literal text from the crash report for a 172 now on sale on eBay...see another
thread).

We picked our plane up from annual one year. Margy had done the owner assist
along with the IA and another mechanic. They buttoned her up and I took the
non-IA A&P who was a student pilot at the time on the test flight. We flew around
for a few minutes, landed, and opened her up and saw no leaks or other signs of
abnormality.

The next morning Margy and I departed for Oshkosh. Margy was flying and
was busy trying to negotiate a class B clearance with Dulles. After about 15 mins
I notice the fuel gauge was now down to nearly a half tank. Now it's real easy
to misfuel a Navion (but it's not a mistake that I've made since shortly after I
bought the plane) and I point this out to Margy and I say I'll keep my eye
on it. Sure enough it's trending downward. We're halfway between two
airports and I can see Margy trying to decide. Leesburg I say and she informs
ATC (who had just given us our class B transition) we're diverting.

She lands and shuts down. I go off to hunt for a mechanic, by the time I return with
one, Margy has removed the lower cowling. (The mechanic asks how I get her
to do that, and I pointed out she had just finished doing the annual, I get to only
do the heavy stuff...pulling the prop etc...). Margy hops into the cockpit and
hits the boost pump and sure enough a stream of fuel emits from the engine driven
pump. The fitting is only finger tight, we apply a wrench to it and all is well.

I figure for the 20 minutes of flying, we were burning 60GPH. Fortunately we
were carrying 100 gallons at the time. As hot as it is in August in DC, the fuel
that had leaked had just pretty much vaporized by the time we shutdown and
opened her up.

"SD" sdatverizondot.net@ wrote in message
...
Well, tonight will go in my book as something that I will never
forget. Tonight I learned a valuable lesson and was able to live to
tell about it. As a lurker here for many years, I have come to enjoy
reading about people's experiences and try to learn from their
mistakes. So tonight I am posting my experience in hopes that someone
else can learn from me.


Thanks, one of the things I have learnt is to never fly a plane whose
avionics you are not proficient with. There was a time when the primary
radio was on the Garmin 430 and I had a tough time with the squelch etc.
Spent half an hour on the ground before I could get it the way I wanted. GPS
equipment appears to be the worst in terms of distraction.