Good Outcome

[Guest DWB]

Here is a well presented newspaper article about an RAAus Pilot which had a good outcome. Headwinds sure can change the game plan.

 

http://www.northweststar.com.au/news/local/news/general/low-fuel-forces-barkly-into-airstrip/2343805.aspx

 

 

[Wayne T Mathews]

. Headwinds sure can change the game plan.

An excellent outcome. Irrespective of the reason, the guy knew he was running out of fuel, so he landed on a deserted road to get some more. How good is that? An incident with a happy ending for a change.

 

Well done that man...

 

 

[Guest Darren Masters]

Was a good outcome. Headwinds or bad weather can very quickly change what is planned for. I replied this to the 'local' twit which stated: "So the kudos are for the flight planning that saw him run out of fuel"? What a twit. Obviously does not fly. My response was:

 

Well 'local' sometimes headwinds (especially strong head winds) change what you have planned for. Obviously you don't fly. The pilot would have left his orgin with sufficient planned fuel for the destination and the winds soon changed that. It CAN happen. This was a good outcome and as stated what recreational pilots (or any pilot) is trained for.

Hopefully they publish it. If not, no loss. We all know this guy did a good job :)

 

 

[Wayne T Mathews]

Makes ya wonder doesn't it, when someone who wasn't there has a kick at the guy's crotch, from the safety of some office... Darren is right, anyone swiping at this bloke is NOT an airman.

 

 

[Spin]

Makes ya wonder doesn't it, when someone who wasn't there has a kick at the guy's crotch, from the safety of some office... Darren is right, anyone swiping at this bloke is NOT an airman.

Yeah I dunno about that - no argument that the eventual outcome was good, but let's not lose sight of the fact that somewhere along the line something went wrong in that flight. There are valid questions to be asked as to why the pilot found himself in that position and I expect that RAAus Ops will be breathing down his neck wanting the answers.

 

 

[Wayne T Mathews]

Yeah I dunno about that - no argument that the eventual outcome was good, but let's not lose sight of the fact that somewhere along the line something went wrong in that flight. There are valid questions to be asked as to why the pilot found himself in that position and I expect that RAAus Ops will be breathing down his neck wanting the answers.

OK,,, You're right Spin,,, there are some valid questions to be asked.

 

I tend to get a bit cranky when people say things about an "Incident/Mishap" without knowing the facts, like the twitter Darren told us about in post #3,

 

"So the kudos are for the flight planning that saw him run out of fuel"? And then I've gone and ranted without thinking it through... Sorry.

 

Note to self... Bad Wayne, bad!!!... Don't do that again...

 

 

[Spin]

I suspect we're on the same page Wayne and I agree that there is no need for the pilot to cop a spray from some arbitrary bystanders who cannot know the facts yet.

 

 

[David Isaac]

Simple, he got caught out, cocked up on fuel management, he realized his mistake and planned and executed a safe landing. He did NOT continue on and suffer an engine failure, which indicates he was 'on top' of the fuel situation at least at that time. No one hurt, no damage done. There will be a request for an explanation and that SHOULD be followed by "... do you realize where you went wrong ... would you like some help on fuel management (he probably wont, he probably knows well what went wrong) ... ?" ... and he and we move on.

 

There is absolutely no need for some one to 'get up him or breath down his neck' and there certainly is no place for punitive actions.

 

But will bureaucracy get in the way and make a mountain out of a mole hill? I doubt it, not in RAA, if it were CASA I am not so sure!

 

 

[Spin]

I think you're jumping to confusions David, he may have a perfectly valid reason for having less fuel than he thought ie leak or similar outside influence, however by my rough reckoning the trip he embarked on would be marginal with the original 65l tank in the old Jab's. If that is what he was flying (as has been suggested elsewhere) and he could not have had an adequate reserve under normal circumstances, then I would fully expect RA-Aus to ask the hard questions. At the moment we simply don't know enough to reach firm conclusions however, I firmly believe that there are questions which require answers.

 

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to see any authority coming down on pilots like the proverbial ton of bricks, but if people cut corners it has potential implications for all of our freedom.

 

 

[David Isaac]

Carl,

 

No matter which way you cut it (with the exception that he may have filled up somewhere and then suffered an unknown fuel loss) it is a fuel management issue; no confusion there I would have thought. So apart from a potential poor overall fuel management, he planned and achieved a good outcome once becoming aware of the problem.

 

The point I was trying to make is that lets not make a mountain out of a mole hill, it should just require an inquiry, assistance where required and we move on. There is too much of this threatening environment in aviation 'throwing the book' at people, sometimes bad things happen; we need to learn and move on.

 

 

[Guest Darren Masters]

How do we know what the head wind component was? May have been very substantial significantly upping the burn. Someone mentioned 'he did not have an engine failure', geez being a Jabiru (and I guess a Jab donk) that's surprising :D Dodging bricks now...