‘BRY THE DUNKER GUY’
Dried off to fly another Day
A few years ago one of our members and his wife were involved in a traumatic incident which had potential to be very serious but luckily ended reasonably well. He would like to share with you the events of a day which is deeply engrained in his memory to possibly help other pilots from falling into the same trap. The moral of this story being learn from others misfortunes and mistakes to avoid repeating what ruined the day and turned their beloved aircraft into an insurance claim resting in a shallow lake.
It was a typical VFR morning on July 20th 2004 at 10:21 when the single engine Piper Archer with two occupants onboard departed Oshawa Ontario enroute to Wawa.
Although the departure with full fuel tanks went as planned, only 10 minutes out it was discovered an important item was left behind in their car requiring a 180 degree turn followed by cleared to land at 10:40.
Once their car was relocked and prop whirling a second departure took place at 10:56 where the flight continued as planned on the left fuel tank with out refuelling due to the limited amount of gas which would have been required to top it right up.
One hour into the trip over Wiarton the fuel selector was then switched to the right tank as per normal procedures keeping burn and balance in check for a planned 2 hours with this selection.
An hour later the gauge was indicating lower than it should have, but the closest airport being Sault Ste.Marie was IFR thus the decision made to proceed onto destination.
Now instead of enjoying the flight a nervous watch of fuel gauges begins and questions of their accuracy and fuel leaks become paramount.
Continuing on for another 25 minutes cautiously monitoring the situation gauges proved to be accurate, as once it indicated empty and ran dry turning the smooth sound of a normal engine to an immediate stop after only 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Instinctively the fuel selector was switched back over to the original left tank which should have roughly 45 minutes of invaluable liquid remaining and the engine returned to life.
Realising there was limited fuel available for this flight with 1 hour twenty minutes burned off earlier and no options for landing at this point they continued knowing it would be close if at all possible to reach destination safely.
A call went out to Wawa with position and altitude being 12 nm out and then again at 6 nm when the engine once again became silent at 1800 feet above ground level.
Now certain of the impeding forced landing a May Day call went out and best glide angle plus emergency training went into action.
The best option at first appeared to be a clearing in the woods until on final up close and personal revealed a recent logging site which was littered with hazardous stumps and debris just waiting to cause major damage to the aircraft plus all involved.
On the other side of the clearing was Leroy Lake which all of a sudden appeared to be much more inviting given the options.
Now on short final and out of altitude the aircraft was held nose high until stalling onto the water stopping violently as the wheels caught the smooth surface forcing the nose down which turned out well given the scenario.
The cabin immediately filled with water thus the burning desire to unbelt and depart the sinking craft finds them standing on a wing in shallow water only a short distance from shore.
Knowing they were still isolated and unfamiliar with the area although only miles from civilization it was decided to stay on that wing of the sunken craft until help arrived in the form of Search and Rescue which took about an hour and a half.
The passenger was airlifted to hospital for possible whiplash and lacerations to her elbow while the pilot suffered only minor cuts plus black eye and sprained thumb which could have been significantly worse had they not been wearing shoulder harnesses.
Post accident investigation revealed 2 hours fuel burn on the left tank and 1 hour 30 minutes from the right tank with no explanation for the low 3.5 hour total available fuel due to leaking from tanks caps or possibly cross feeding.
It was presumed the 20 minute burn and twice departure at high power settings after take off was responsible for the inadequate fuel situation or possibly not being 100% filled up prior to the days events.
Either way what could have been done differently to avoid the fuel problem which caused this accident?
When even 50 litres is needed to refill always top up when ever any trip is planned where the fuels contents are even remotely close for required distance as there is only one time you have too much fuel and that when you are on fire.
What actions to plan for if you find yourself in this predicament:
-Wear shoulder harness to reduce head injuries to avoid being unconscious and sinking.
-Commit your best glide angle speed and emergency procedures to memory.
-Have with in reach or wear a manual inflation life vest.
-Practice the brace position which includes teaching your passengers.
-Familiarize yourself occasionally with your eyes closed as to door and exit locations.
-Carry extra equipment on long trips to remote regions such as bug spray in summer or all weather cloths for winter.
Bryan Webster is an 11.000 hour pilot owns and operates Aviation Egress Systems based at Victoria BC teaching aircraft in water emergencies and flies a De Havilland Beaver on floats commercially in his spare time.
If you have a story worth telling to keep our members safe or would like to book in for Egress Training contact:
Bry The Dunker Guy
250-704-6401
Tags: , aircraft ditching, aircraft training, aviation egress, ditch training, ditching, dunking, Egress, egress training