What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

RV-8 forced landing, Wilcox, AZ (March 17, 2017)

azrv6

Well Known Member
RV8-forced-landing.png


Full text:

Plane Forced Landing Update...Willcox
Two people were in the aircraft at the time of this incident.
Pilot and wife passenger are ok, no injuries. Engine failed and was able to land on a dirt road next to a pecan orchard.
The pilot called Albuquerque Center FAA Air Traffic Control Center and told them of the engine failure. They kept talking to him until he was close to the ground then lost radar and radio contact. He landed on Last Outpost Road.
Thank you SAR and all involved in responding to this call!
P.S. Albuquerque (common spelling) corrected in this post thanks to SAR Coordinator David Noland
 
Great Job!

I was providing ATC flight following to this pilot when his emergency happened. He did a great job of communicating his situation and obviously of making an engine out landing safely. I was VERY VERY relieved when I heard he was safely on the ground. Good job!
 
I was providing ATC flight following to this pilot when his emergency happened. He did a great job of communicating his situation and obviously of making an engine out landing safely. I was VERY VERY relieved when I heard he was safely on the ground. Good job!

THIS right here shows how awesome this forum and community is. Thank you for your ATC services. I am sure you did an outstanding job as well.
 
Thanks

THIS right here shows how awesome this forum and community is. Thank you for your ATC services. I am sure you did an outstanding job as well.
Totally agree - thanks Craig, for those many times when you guys helped me and I didn't get a chance or forgot to say "thanks!"
 
Good job to all! I would love to know reason for failure and engine type if anyone knows.
 
Glad turned out OK except for the inconvenience and <probably> a few new grey hairs.

I'm just amazed that he missed all of those pecan trees. ;-)
 
Bill is very active in the western KS EAA 377 chapter. Last I knew he was also building a (scratch build) Bearhawk. I don't know him hardly, personally, but maybe somebody active on the forum that knows him better could shed some light on the failure when that is available. A good guy and glad he got it down safely.
 
GOOD JOB!

Good thing you didn't bump into Jesse Pinkman's motorhome out there in the desert! :eek:
Just kidding, great job, glad all are OK!
 
I was providing ATC flight following to this pilot when his emergency happened. He did a great job of communicating his situation and obviously of making an engine out landing safely. I was VERY VERY relieved when I heard he was safely on the ground. Good job!

Craig, Thanks for the assistance. That was a call I've never wanted to make, but you were a huge help in keeping my adrenaline level down. Your wind direction in the area information was priceless.
 
The Story

Bill, glad you got down safely - any idea what happened yet? Thanks!
 
Craig, Thanks for the assistance. That was a call I've never wanted to make, but you were a huge help in keeping my adrenaline level down. Your wind direction in the area information was priceless.

Great job flying the airplane Bill, and it sure is a fine looking RV-8.
Glad you and your wife are ok.
 
I'm the guy that this thread is about. I've never made an engine out landing in 42 years of flying. However, some days it's better to be lucky than good. Flying from Western Kansas that morning to Tucson for our son's Air Force retirement ceremony (F16 pilot). Refueled in Truth or Consequences and headed west over some very rugged mountain country. We were northwest of Lordsburg NM when I contacted Albuquerque Center (see Craig Brenden's post) for flight following so he could hand me off to Tucson International's approach control. Probably 5-10 minutes later the oil temp started increasing and at the same time oil pressure started decreasing. I talked to Center and advised him of my situation letting him know I was going to get it down as soon as possible. I was looking for an airport close to get to (Wilcox was about 30 miles in front of me) when the oil ran out. Something let loose in the engine, which was obvious with the extreme vibration and I immediately shut off the ignition and pulled the throttle. I pulled the nose up to decrease my airspeed to get the prop to stop windmilling. Never thought I would be thankful to have an engine stop. At that point we're a glider (I do have a glider rating) and I'm looking for a place to put it down. I10 was directly under us and not a good place to go. Just south looked like some vineyards with farm roads. Some had power lines but as I got closer saw one road (I say road but this was merely a farm road between two fields that the farmer had graded) maybe 1/2 mile long with no power lines approximately into the wind. I flew a pattern over the road and lined up with it on a final approach (no go around in a glider). As I touched down I noticed a 4 wheeler in the road maybe a quarter mile in front of me facing the opposite direction obviously unaware an airplane was approaching at 70 kts. I steered over to another adjacent parallel road to get it slowed down and stopped.

I'm writing this long winded story to let you know a couple of things. First, this incident didn't happen because this is and amateur built aircraft. It took me 8 years to build, 1st flight was July 1, 2006. The RV8 has over 700 hours on it. The engine is a Lycoming IO360 that was a rebuilt 0 time engine when I installed during the build. Second, it reinforces some of the cross country principles we all learn. 1) Altitude is your friend, esp in rough country. 2) Always be looking for a suitable landing place, esp in rough country. 3)Keep up your flying skills (study & practice engine out landings - that doesn't mean shutting down the engine, but merely pulling the throttle to idle) 4) It doesn't hurt to get some glider training (besides it's great fun). Thanks to the Cochise County sheriff and SAR people who showed up and assisted us.

Next project is to pull off the wings, load everything on a trailer and get it home to assess the solution to getting back in the air.
 
Last edited:
I'm the guy that this thread is about. I've never made an engine out landing in 42 years of flying. However, some days it's better to be lucky than good. Flying from Western Kansas that morning to Tucson for our son's Air Force retirement ceremony (F16 pilot). Refueled in Truth or Consequences and headed west over some very rugged mountain country. We were northwest of Lordsburg NM when I contacted Albuquerque Center (see Craig Brenden's post) for flight following so he could hand me of to Tucson International's approach control. Probably 5-10 minutes later the oil temp started increasing and at the same time oil pressure started decreasing. I talked to Center and advised him of my situation letting him know I was going to get it down as soon as possible. I was looking for a airport close to get to (Wilcox was about 30 miles in front of me) when the oil ran out. Something let loose in the engine, which was obvious with the extreme vibration, and I immediately shut off the ignition and pulled the throttle. I pulled the nose up to decrease my airspeed to get the prop to stop windmilling. Never thought I would be thankful to have an engine stop. At that point we're a glider (I do have a glider rating) and I'm looking for a place to put it down. I10 was directly under us and not a good place to go. Just south looked like some vineyards with farm roads. Some had power lines which but as I got closer saw one road (I say road but this was merely a farm road between two field that the farmer had graded) maybe 1/2 mile long with no power lines approximately into the wind. I flew a pattern over the road and lined up with it on a final approach (no go around in a glider). As I touched down I noticed a 4 wheeler in the road maybe a quarter mile in front of me facing the opposite direction obviously unaware an airplane was approaching at 70 kts. I steered over to another adjacent parallel road to get it slowed down and stopped.

I'm writing this long winded story to let you know a couple of things. First, this incident didn't happen because this was and amateur built aircraft. It took me 8 years to build, 1st flight was July 1, 2006. The RV8 has over 700 hours on it. The engine is a Lycoming IO360 that was a rebuilt 0 time engine when I installed during the build. Second, it reinforces some of the cross country principles we all learn. 1) Altitude is you friend, esp in rough country. 2) Always be looking for a suitable landing place, esp in rough country. 3)Keep up you flying skills (study & practice engine out landings) 4) It doesn't hurt to get some glider training (besides it great fun). Thanks to the Cochise County sheriff and SAR people who showed up and assisted us.

Next project is to pull off the wings, load everything on a trailer and get it home to assess the solution to getting back in the air.

thanks for sharing, glad you are safe and great ideas for us newbies etc..
 
Good to hear, Bill, and glad you found a safe landing spot. Hope all goes well in transporting home and hope to catch you out west sometime.
 
Good choice

I10 was directly under us and not a good place to go.
Was that due to heavy traffic? I've often thought that if I ever tried to land dead stick on an Interstate, I would probably make a nice landing and then promptly smash into the back of a Semi or get run over by some teenage girl texting her boyfriend. I think you made a good choice.
 
Landing on a road

Was that due to heavy traffic? I've often thought that if I ever tried to land dead stick on an Interstate, I would probably make a nice landing and then promptly smash into the back of a Semi or get run over by some teenage girl texting her boyfriend. I think you made a good choice.

I've been a passenger with a few pilots who said their first choice would always be a road. I'm not so sure myself. I think each emergency requires picking the best landing site available which may or may not be a road.

I remember very well the loss of an instructor and an owner/pilot here in North Alabama about 30 years ago. They had engine problems and were forced to make an emergency landing. The instructor took over, picked a road, and when they were just about 20 feet off the ground on "final" the instructor realized the driver of a car on the highway didn't see them. It was apparent to the witnesses that he tried to turn and land in a field, and they crashed.

I may land on a highway but I will consider other choices, too.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for sharing Bill good job. Can only imagine the adrenaline level. I routinely practice dead stick landings at my airport but I am not ready for off airport without power.
 
Bill, I have an 18' bumper pull trailer in Elkhart if it helps.

Thanks, I have Crotts Aircraft in Dodge City lined up with a trailer and truck. It'll be nice to have an experienced guy go with me. Mike Webber did the paint job 11 years ago. Great mechanic.
 
Was that due to heavy traffic? I've often thought that if I ever tried to land dead stick on an Interstate, I would probably make a nice landing and then promptly smash into the back of a Semi or get run over by some teenage girl texting her boyfriend. I think you made a good choice.

I10 has heavy traffic with lots of trucks. I considered it for about 5 seconds. Thought I would have better luck elsewhere. As it turned out I was right. Would have been extremely hazardous to land on that interstate.
 
I've been a passenger with a few pilots who said their first choice would always be a road. I'm not so sure myself. I think each emergency requires picking the best landing site available which may or may not be a road.

I remember very well the loss of an instructor and an owner/pilot here in North Alabama about 30 years ago. They had engine problems and were forced to make an emergency landing. The instructor took over, picked a road, and when they were just about 20 feet off the ground on "final" the instructor realized the driver of a car on the highway didn't see them. It was apparent to the witnesses that he tried to turn and land in a field, and they crashed.

I may land on a highway but I will consider other choices, too.

Depends on the road. In most of the country I fly over there are country roads with very little traffic. The major things to consider are power lines, wind direction and lay of the road (straight, curvy, hilly). Doesn't have to be paved. I figure most drivers would freak out if they saw a plane headed for the road they were on.
 
Bill,

Very well done, kudos to you for keeping your witts about you! You also make some great points about practice as well as having a plan before the fan stops spinning. I'll throw out a quick book recommendation for those that might be interested: "Engine Out Survival Tactics" by Nate Jaros. Nate is an experienced instructor pilot and friend of mine from Air Force days. If you haven't given a lot of thought to how you'd handle an engine failure in flight, his book would be a great place to start!

Mark
 
With regard to recovering the airplane, have you checked your policy.
When I wrecked the 7 in engine out landing, AVEMCO arranged everything and paid for it.
 
With regard to recovering the airplane, have you checked your policy.
When I wrecked the 7 in engine out landing, AVEMCO arranged everything and paid for it.

I checked the policy. Since the airplane wasn't damaged the policy says they will pay a reasonable amount to transport the plane to the nearest airport. Covers their tail since I live 875 miles away but the nearest airport is 20 miles from the plane.
 
I checked the policy. Since the airplane wasn't damaged the policy says they will pay a reasonable amount to transport the plane to the nearest airport. Covers their tail since I live 875 miles away but the nearest airport is 20 miles from the plane.

Tough break, mine was wrecked so they did it all.
 
I'm the guy that this thread is about. Flying from Western Kansas that morning to Tucson for our son's Air Force retirement ceremony (F16 pilot).

Bill,

Awesome job getting her (wife) and plane down safely.

I hope you two were able to see your son. I can imagine his surprise.

Congratulations on both accounts, your sons retirement and for making a remarkable off airport landing and walking away with your airplane intact.
 
I checked the policy. Since the airplane wasn't damaged the policy says they will pay a reasonable amount to transport the plane to the nearest airport. Covers their tail since I live 875 miles away but the nearest airport is 20 miles from the plane.

Bill, do you need any help or have you made arrangments? I am about 1.45 away in Tucson.
 
Hello Bill,

Great job in emergency management. Glad you and yours are OK.

Just curious. Is the engine a 200 hp IO-360?
 
Congrats on your safe landing and your son's Air Force retirement!

My son is also a Viper pilot.

bob
 
Great story and even better ending! Great job staying calm and focused!..... I shut the engine down on my 7 a few weeks ago for the first time over a 10,000' runway airport (no one in the vicinity) and glided for 2 minutes to test my best glide speed! It took me 2 years to work up the nerve to do this but I'm glad I did. I wanted to know what it feels like. Actually it was no different than Idle and the rate of decent was very close to idle. I did not stop the prop. The engine fired right back up when I shoved the mixture in. I still had 4,000' so there was no pressure.
 
Won't know anything until we get the plane back and look at the engine.

Bill, it was a good effort to get the plane down in one piece. RVs don't have a good record in off-strip forced landings. The outcome may have been different if you had a nose wheel.

After the event did you take a look under the cowl to see if there were any obvious signs of a source of oil loss (i.e. oil hose unsecured). I must admit my sense of curiosity would have driven me to immediately whip off the cowl and have a look.

If there was a lot of oil loss you might have been very lucky there was no in-flight FWF fire. As you said, sometimes it's more important to be lucky than good.
 
Bill,

Very well done, kudos to you for keeping your witts about you! You also make some great points about practice as well as having a plan before the fan stops spinning. I'll throw out a quick book recommendation for those that might be interested: "Engine Out Survival Tactics" by Nate Jaros. Nate is an experienced instructor pilot and friend of mine from Air Force days. If you haven't given a lot of thought to how you'd handle an engine failure in flight, his book would be a great place to start!

Mark

Nate is also a friend of my son, Erik (Burn). They flew together as flight instructors at Laughlin AFB. Erik also mentioned the book he wrote so I'll have to find a copy to read.
 
Great story and even better ending! Great job staying calm and focused!..... I shut the engine down on my 7 a few weeks ago for the first time over a 10,000' runway airport (no one in the vicinity) and glided for 2 minutes to test my best glide speed! It took me 2 years to work up the nerve to do this but I'm glad I did. I wanted to know what it feels like. Actually it was no different than Idle and the rate of decent was very close to idle. I did not stop the prop. The engine fired right back up when I shoved the mixture in. I still had 4,000' so there was no pressure.

Mike,

Great exercise to get a feel for how to handle it. However, don't know if I would shut the engine down. You can get the same result with the throttle pulled to idle.

Bill
 
Bill, do you need any help or have you made arrangments? I am about 1.45 away in Tucson.

Thanks for the offer. I headed for AZ Wednesday morning (12 hr. drive). We got there in time to get a lot of the prep tear down done before dark. Then went back out early Thursday to finish removing the wings and loading everything on a trailer which took about 2 hrs. We were headed back to KS by 8:00 AZ time. Made it back home same day.
 
Another viewpoint on this...

Great story and even better ending! Great job staying calm and focused!..... I shut the engine down on my 7 a few weeks ago for the first time over a 10,000' runway airport (no one in the vicinity) and glided for 2 minutes to test my best glide speed! It took me 2 years to work up the nerve to do this but I'm glad I did. I wanted to know what it feels like. Actually it was no different than Idle and the rate of decent was very close to idle. I did not stop the prop. The engine fired right back up when I shoved the mixture in. I still had 4,000' so there was no pressure.

I have been thinking about this post a bit today, and (because the internet and what's put out there lasts forever) I would like to post an alternative viewpoint to this kind of flight testing.

Generally, I'm against shutting down an engine for "test" reasons if not needed, especially if it's the only one installed on the aircraft. For whatever reason, if you do so and it fails to restart, you've just turned your "simulated" emergency into the real deal...and you did it to yourself, to boot.

An old flying buddy tells me when ideas like this occur to me to think "How will what I did sound, from the FAA investigation backwards."

While it might appear that the risks might be low due to proximity to the airport, runway length, etc., it's the unplanned, can't happen "stuff" that somehow occurs that can suddenly take you someplace you never thought you'd end up. If the engine doesn't restart, stress levels will go up (a lot) and the calm, logical computing device your brain was up till this point will likely go into abacus mode and probably be somewhere in airspace 5 disbelieving minutes behind your current location.

And for what? A datapoint, that, all things being equal was probably already possessed (either from this website or flight test at idle) and was close enough to being "real life" useful to negate any gain vs the risk taken.

If really wanting to fly and learn what it's like to land without a motor is what's desired, my suggestion is that the safest avenue would be to reach out to a glider club with an older, early generation glider like a SGS 2-33 or something similar.

Schedule several flights with their biggest, fattest instructor and put as much ballast weight in as the gross weight allows. Go out on a hot day, take a 3000' (or more) tow over the airport, release, and fully deploy the spoilers and leave them out till landing (or until the IP says otherwise.) Spiral down, set up your high and low key and see how well you do spotting the landing. Safe, great fun, and you help the local glider club stay solvent.

While I'm not sure the 2-33 will quite have matching glide performance as an engine-out RV, I'm betting it will be a reasonable enough simulation (the 2-33 is a pretty doggy glider) to be close. The head game you'll play trading off altitude, pattern location and landing spot will keep your Mark I/Mod 0 CPU plenty busy enough not to notice the difference is what I'll bet. Do it 2 or 3 times in a day, and you'll be done and ready for a beer.

It will boost your confidence in your being able to plan and execute a successful off-field landing if it became necessary, and at much less risk to yourself, the aircraft you've worked so hard to complete and the family that wants you to come home after playing with your pride and joy.

Off my soapbox.
 
Back
Top