Ugly evening to ditch
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Ugly evening to ditch
C170 down somewhere between Victoria and Port Angeles. Winds from the east 20G30 and overcast 4-5000 ish. No idea if IFR or VFR.https://www.surreynowleader.com/news/ca ... -victoria/
Re: Ugly evening to ditch
“He said, ‘I’m going down behind a boat pulling a barge,’ and then, nothing else.”
What are the odds he's on the barge?
Hoping for the best....
What are the odds he's on the barge?
Hoping for the best....
Re: Ugly evening to ditch
Hoping for the best as well.
Straight line from Ketchikan to Port Angeles airports is about 530nm. I don't know how this particular 170 was equipped, but that would be an ambitious leg on standard tanks.
Straight line from Ketchikan to Port Angeles airports is about 530nm. I don't know how this particular 170 was equipped, but that would be an ambitious leg on standard tanks.
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challenger_nami
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Re: Ugly evening to ditch
- Rescue crews continue to search the waters northeast of Port Angeles for a downed Cessna 170, similar to the one pictured here. (Photo courtesy of USCGPacificNW/Twitter)
- 88245A6C-9DCD-44F6-A449-A73D15E802CB.jpeg (712.56 KiB) Viewed 4001 times
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I hope to be proven wrong. But Unfortunately sounds more like a recovery mission than Rescue :
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/mynorthwest ... geles/amp/
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Last edited by challenger_nami on Wed Jan 27, 2021 4:38 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Challener’s Rules of Engagement:
Challenger shall not engage those who lack common sense, Intelligence OR those who bring forward id*otic assertions
Challenger shall not engage those who lack common sense, Intelligence OR those who bring forward id*otic assertions
Re: Ugly evening to ditch
That's a file photo, not the aircraft in question.
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RatherBeFlying
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Re: Ugly evening to ditch
Really sad.
If you route over the Gulf and San Juan Islands, it's pretty easy to maintain gliding distance to land plus there's the odd airport and landing strip.
If you route over the Gulf and San Juan Islands, it's pretty easy to maintain gliding distance to land plus there's the odd airport and landing strip.
Re: Ugly evening to ditch
Going around the San Juan islands and down Whidbey would add at least 30 nm to an already long flight. If the aircraft was coming down Vancouver Island the distance between the land South of Metchosin and KCLM is only 11 NM. 5000' at the worst point might be enough depending on the size of the tires but then you would be very high for a landing at KCLM so it would be tempting to descend earlier and end up beyond gliding distance from land.
Edit: I see the weather was 4000' - 5000' overcast so going the long way might have been the only way of maintaining gliding distance to land.
Edit: I see the weather was 4000' - 5000' overcast so going the long way might have been the only way of maintaining gliding distance to land.
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matt foley
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Re: Ugly evening to ditch
Having absolutely no info and not second guessing anyones decisions. But does not the routing sound like someone trying to avoid a stop in Canada and the associated covid protocol hassle? I've long felt that I'd rather face the long arm of the law/chief pilot in person than have people at my funeral admire me for sticking to the rules. Poor bastard at any rate.
MF
MF
Re: Ugly evening to ditch
If he was legal then a fuel stop in Canada wouldn't be that much of a hassle. Unfortunately, this sounds like someone who wasn't prepared for the journey.matt foley wrote: ↑Thu Jan 28, 2021 1:12 am Having absolutely no info and not second guessing anyones decisions. But does not the routing sound like someone trying to avoid a stop in Canada and the associated covid protocol hassle? I've long felt that I'd rather face the long arm of the law/chief pilot in person than have people at my funeral admire me for sticking to the rules. Poor bastard at any rate.
MF
Ya, it makes no sense to try and stretch that much out of an airplane. Sure, under perfect conditions with a tail wind you could technically make it.
This guy almost made it.
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challenger_nami
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Re: Ugly evening to ditch
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US Coast Guard suspended the search.
Press release can be found here: https://content.govdelivery.com/account ... ns/2bd71b9
press release reads:
“SEATTLE — The U.S. Coast Guard and partner agencies suspended search efforts at 4 p.m. Wednesday for a missing pilot in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
The man took off mid-day Tuesday in his Cessna 170A from Ketchikan, Alaska, with the intended destination of Port Angeles.
"Suspending search efforts is always an extremely tough decision," said Capt. Nathan Coulter, Chief of Search and Rescue for the U.S. Coast Guard's 13th District. "This was an extensive search involving close coordination between numerous federal, state and local agencies. A huge thanks to the many women and men from the Canadian Coast Guard, Royal Canadian Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and good Samaritans who assisted in planning and carrying out this search effort. As is often the case, these boat, helicopter, and airplane crews answered the call instinctively and without delay to come to the aid of another. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the pilot involved."
On Tuesday night shortly before 5 p.m., a mayday call from the man was relayed to Coast Guard units in Seattle. Sector Puget Sound command center immediately started search and rescue efforts after the report.
Before the single-engine airplane went down, the pilot described land formations he could see and ships that were in the area. The Coast Guard built a search area based upon that information. Most of the area covered consisted of the waters north and northwest of Port Angeles, up to the international boundary line.
Rescue crews completed 22 different search patterns and covered 1,170 square miles over the 23 hours of searching.
Crews and assets that assisted in the search:
Coast Guard Cutter Adelie and crew, an 87-foot patrol boat;
Coast Guard Cutter Terrapin and crew, an 87-foot patrol boat;
Station Port Angeles 45-foot Response Boat-Medium and crew;
Air Station Port Angeles MH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter crew;
HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter crew from U.S. Naval Air Station Whidbey Island;
Canadian Coast Guard cutter Sir Wilfred Laurier and crew;
Royal Canadian Air Force CC-115 Buffalo and crew;
Royal Canadian Air Force CH-149 Cormorant and crew;
Good Samaritan vessel crews.“
May he Rest In Peace.
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US Coast Guard suspended the search.
Press release can be found here: https://content.govdelivery.com/account ... ns/2bd71b9
press release reads:
“SEATTLE — The U.S. Coast Guard and partner agencies suspended search efforts at 4 p.m. Wednesday for a missing pilot in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
The man took off mid-day Tuesday in his Cessna 170A from Ketchikan, Alaska, with the intended destination of Port Angeles.
"Suspending search efforts is always an extremely tough decision," said Capt. Nathan Coulter, Chief of Search and Rescue for the U.S. Coast Guard's 13th District. "This was an extensive search involving close coordination between numerous federal, state and local agencies. A huge thanks to the many women and men from the Canadian Coast Guard, Royal Canadian Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and good Samaritans who assisted in planning and carrying out this search effort. As is often the case, these boat, helicopter, and airplane crews answered the call instinctively and without delay to come to the aid of another. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of the pilot involved."
On Tuesday night shortly before 5 p.m., a mayday call from the man was relayed to Coast Guard units in Seattle. Sector Puget Sound command center immediately started search and rescue efforts after the report.
Before the single-engine airplane went down, the pilot described land formations he could see and ships that were in the area. The Coast Guard built a search area based upon that information. Most of the area covered consisted of the waters north and northwest of Port Angeles, up to the international boundary line.
Rescue crews completed 22 different search patterns and covered 1,170 square miles over the 23 hours of searching.
Crews and assets that assisted in the search:
Coast Guard Cutter Adelie and crew, an 87-foot patrol boat;
Coast Guard Cutter Terrapin and crew, an 87-foot patrol boat;
Station Port Angeles 45-foot Response Boat-Medium and crew;
Air Station Port Angeles MH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter crew;
HH-60 Blackhawk helicopter crew from U.S. Naval Air Station Whidbey Island;
Canadian Coast Guard cutter Sir Wilfred Laurier and crew;
Royal Canadian Air Force CC-115 Buffalo and crew;
Royal Canadian Air Force CH-149 Cormorant and crew;
Good Samaritan vessel crews.“
May he Rest In Peace.
.
Challener’s Rules of Engagement:
Challenger shall not engage those who lack common sense, Intelligence OR those who bring forward id*otic assertions
Challenger shall not engage those who lack common sense, Intelligence OR those who bring forward id*otic assertions
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RatherBeFlying
- Rank 7
- Posts: 683
- Joined: Sat Sep 17, 2005 9:27 am
- Location: Toronto
Re: Ugly evening to ditch
Friday Harbor is 10 nm less straight line distance (over the Coast Range), and there's strips on just about every island in the San Juans if your nibble into your reserve turns out too big a bite.
The desire to avoid the hassle of two customs stops and possible quarantine is understandable. A handgun, if on board, could become a big problem landing in Canada if the paperwork is lacking.
The desire to avoid the hassle of two customs stops and possible quarantine is understandable. A handgun, if on board, could become a big problem landing in Canada if the paperwork is lacking.
Re: Ugly evening to ditch
if your going to land in the water near a boat, and you can make it , land in front of them.... they might be looking that way.
Condolences...
Condolences...
Re: Ugly evening to ditch
Americans make this trip all the time. Usually they show up in CADORs after flying through Nanaimo, Vancouver, and Victoria airspace in a straight line without talking to anyone. I've been passed one as traffic on more than one occasion. Identified one for TML one day, I was able to fly close enough to get the registration then bank away again. TML thanked me for that.
Re: Ugly evening to ditch
Liberalism itself as a religion where its tenets cannot be proven, but provides a sense of moral rectitude at no real cost.
Re: Ugly evening to ditch
"On January 26, 2021 about 1640 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 170A airplane, N9114A, sustained
substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Port Angeles, Washington. The pilot, the
sole occupant, was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR) Part 91 personal flight.
The pilot initially departed from Kodiak, Alaska the day before the accident with a final planned
destination of Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The day of the accident, the pilot refueled the airplane and
departed from Ketchikan, Alaska about 1000. During the flight, the pilot was in contact with his mother
sending numerous text messages. Around 1525 the pilot sent a text stating that there was a severe
headwind and expressed his concerned about having enough fuel to complete the flight. About 15
minutes later, the pilot stated that his GPS indicated he had been airborne for 5.7 hours and had another
1.1 hours of flight time until reaching his destination (equating to a landing time of 1647). He estimated
that with a fuel burn between 6 to 10 gallons per hour that the airplane could make it to Port Angeles,
but that the headwinds were slowing the airspeed and it was taking him longer than expected to navigate
around numerous clouds. Around 1615, the pilot stated that his estimated time of arrival kept changing
on his GPS because of the fluctuating wind, turbulence, and cloud avoidance.
A review of the radar data revealed that the targets were on a southerly track, reaching the edge of the
northly land mass at 1634. The radar hits continued south for about 5.4 nm at an altitude of about 1,200
ft. At 1638:06 the returns deviated from the southerly direction and were consistent with the airplane
reversing course and heading north-northeast. The returns from the turn to the last hit indicated a
decreasing airspeed and a gradual decent from 1,200 to 400 ft.
The radar hit the farthest south, was about 6 nm from land to the south and 4 nm from land to the north.
The last radar return was 2.9 nm from the closet land (see Picture 2). The pilot sent a picture to his
mother about1637 which showed a marine vessel towing a barge in the water below his location. The
pilot broadcast a mayday call over the Port Angeles UNICOM frequency at 1638:47. He stated that he
was out in the middle of the water and was ditching by a boat that was towing a barge.
The fuel system was comprised of two wing fuel tanks and the pilot had modified the airplane with a
tank in the fuselage. The main left and right tanks each held 20 gals and the fuselage tank held between
10-15 gals. "
A problem with taildraggers is that you sometimes need to level the aircraft to get the full capacity of fuel in a tank. Something that might be especially worth doing when ending up short is as undesirable as it would have been that night.
I think this crash would make for a good accident analysis video.
substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Port Angeles, Washington. The pilot, the
sole occupant, was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR) Part 91 personal flight.
The pilot initially departed from Kodiak, Alaska the day before the accident with a final planned
destination of Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The day of the accident, the pilot refueled the airplane and
departed from Ketchikan, Alaska about 1000. During the flight, the pilot was in contact with his mother
sending numerous text messages. Around 1525 the pilot sent a text stating that there was a severe
headwind and expressed his concerned about having enough fuel to complete the flight. About 15
minutes later, the pilot stated that his GPS indicated he had been airborne for 5.7 hours and had another
1.1 hours of flight time until reaching his destination (equating to a landing time of 1647). He estimated
that with a fuel burn between 6 to 10 gallons per hour that the airplane could make it to Port Angeles,
but that the headwinds were slowing the airspeed and it was taking him longer than expected to navigate
around numerous clouds. Around 1615, the pilot stated that his estimated time of arrival kept changing
on his GPS because of the fluctuating wind, turbulence, and cloud avoidance.
A review of the radar data revealed that the targets were on a southerly track, reaching the edge of the
northly land mass at 1634. The radar hits continued south for about 5.4 nm at an altitude of about 1,200
ft. At 1638:06 the returns deviated from the southerly direction and were consistent with the airplane
reversing course and heading north-northeast. The returns from the turn to the last hit indicated a
decreasing airspeed and a gradual decent from 1,200 to 400 ft.
The radar hit the farthest south, was about 6 nm from land to the south and 4 nm from land to the north.
The last radar return was 2.9 nm from the closet land (see Picture 2). The pilot sent a picture to his
mother about1637 which showed a marine vessel towing a barge in the water below his location. The
pilot broadcast a mayday call over the Port Angeles UNICOM frequency at 1638:47. He stated that he
was out in the middle of the water and was ditching by a boat that was towing a barge.
The fuel system was comprised of two wing fuel tanks and the pilot had modified the airplane with a
tank in the fuselage. The main left and right tanks each held 20 gals and the fuselage tank held between
10-15 gals. "
A problem with taildraggers is that you sometimes need to level the aircraft to get the full capacity of fuel in a tank. Something that might be especially worth doing when ending up short is as undesirable as it would have been that night.
I think this crash would make for a good accident analysis video.
