Picking a spot for your forced landing

[pmccarthy]

Some posters here seem to have a lot of experience of forced landings and it would be good to have the benefit of their experience. Assuming you have spotted the power lines and fences, how do you select a good paddock? When I am driving I look at paddocks and spot the rocks on basalt plains, the gilgais on river flats and so on, and wonder how I would spot them from the air. I look at the colour of the grass and try to remember what matches a good flat surface, but it changes fro week to week. The glider pilots are probably the best ones to help. Is it best to land down the furrows of a fallow paddock, or to take your chances next door in a grazing paddock that hasn't been plowed? How much useful information can be picked up in a forum like this, rather than by harsh experience?

 

 

[dodo]

In a brown landscape, green is not always good. Identify why it is green before you try it. Just because irrigated fields will be flat, doesn't mean a green area is a field. Irrigation drains are bad!

 

 

[davidc95]

I always remember, altitude = time. If your engine fails straight after take-off, you can't afford to be too picky.

 

With that said, its hard to make judgements about the landing field without an engine to help you inspect it (its a forced landing, not a precautionary landing). Your goal in a forced landing is to survive - landing without injury and a damaged aircraft is a bonus.

 

I've heard heaps of stories about successful forced landings, if you can't learn through your own experience, learn through someone else's.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

Good thread, PM. A farmer friend always steers clear of paddocks, preferring roads. While roads are designed for wheels, they usually come equipped with power lines. We need a good long straight road with no trees to hide power poles.

 

A secondary consideration is having mobile reception on the ground, or being near human habitation. Not easy in many rural areas. There are many abandoned farmhouses; some properties only get occasional visits from the owner/manager.

 

 

[rankamateur]

In a brown landscape, green is not always good. Identify why it is green before you try it. Just because irrigated fields will be flat, doesn't mean a green area is a field. Irrigation drains are bad!

Contour banks on brown grazing blocks are bad too.

 

 

[Yenn]

Roads may be good but they have wires parallel and also crossing. Make sure you either see the poles or assume they are there and aim to get below the wires quickly, preferably between houses or gates as that is where the poles will be. My area is either paddock or deadly eucalypt trees. Avoid the trees, paddocks can be very rough and also have boulders in the grass. One of my forced landings was into a grassed paddock with dotted trees, maybe I could have picked a smoother spot, but there was someone using a tractor in the adjacent paddock and I thought it a good idea to land where I could be seen. The paddock had several deep holes, but by sheer luck I missed them all.

 

A clearing amongst trees may be all that is available, in which case you need to be able to come in as steeply as possible, sideslipping ability is good here. Some planes are easier than others, for example the Jab 230 has a very flat glide and would be difficult, whereas the savannah can come in nearly vertical, quite interesting to see it demonstrated when you are in the passenger seat.

 

Probably the best advice is keep flying, don't be tempted to stretch the glide.

 

 

[facthunter]

There's plenty of things that look OK from height and become a very bad idea lower down. Be ready to change to a plan B if you are not certain. (Have one up your sleeve if you can but don't let that make you indecisive). You will often see a single wire electric supply line close to the ground or a washout creekbed appears. If an area is obviously used by farm vehicles to put out straw etc it's a clue that you should be able to land on that area. If it's curved slightly, that doesn't matter. A landing path doesn't have to be straight but keep into wind when possible. IF fuel is a problem land with some rather than let the engine fail first. A powered approach is always the better option If the terrain is rough as guts and you know it will spread the plane about, theoretically it might be better to use up all the fuel to make a fierce fire less likely.Nev

 

 

[farri]

how do you select a good paddock ?

By having a thorough understanding of the capablity of your aircraft and your ability as a pilot to carry out the landing.

 

When I am driving I look at paddocks and spot the rocks on basalt plains, the gilgais on river flats and so on, and wonder how I would spot them from the air. I look at the colour of the grass and try to remember what matches a good flat surface

Excellent thing to do! Having an understanding of the type of terain you are flying over makes you better prepaird in choosing a landing area. Spoting objects on the terain, from the air is a learnt process! Observing and making mental pictures of everything bellow, while you`re flying allong, goes a long way in developing the skill. I still do it with every flight.

 

I look at the colour of the grass and try to remember what matches a good flat surface, but it changes from week to week?

Then there`s always what I call, " The unkown factor! ".....Unfortunately things can and do change from time to time. Always be fully allert and on the lookout.

 

How much useful information can be picked up in a forum like this, rather than by harsh experience?

Depends completely on whether the information is factual or not.

 

Frank.

 

 

[turboplanner]

Depends completely on whether the information is factual or not.

Picking up information from other people can be very dangerous, as in a recent triple fatal where the PIC, who was experienced enough to know much better, phoned a relative of one of his passengers to obtain weather information at the destination.

 

 

[farri]

Picking up information from other people can be very dangerous.

If the information given is misunderstood by the person receiving it, I agree that it can be dangerous! However, I also believe that correct and factual information, given by those who are more experienced in the area of the information being requested, can be of benifit to those with less experience in that area.

 

as in a recent triple fatal where the PIC, who was experienced enough to know much better, phoned a relative of one of his passengers to obtain weather information at the destination.

With all due respect to you, The only thing I can gather from your statement is that it was a tripple fatal! The PIC was experienced! He chose to phone a relative of one of his passengers to obtain weather information, at the destination.

 

There is no information there that would allow anyone to come to a conclusion about the value of the information given to the PIC, or if in fact, it played any part whatsoever, in the accident.

 

Frank.

 

 

[dazza 38]

I will say this- when you "pick" a paddock to land in, don't get fixated on it, there may be another options if you have enough height to play with .Always look at the big picture.

 

 

[metalman]

I like to pick a really big paddock, in the absence of that the advice I got, " it's better to hit the trees at the other end at 10 knots than the upwind fence at 60 knots", something that seems to be prevalent in survival is to fly the aircraft as far into the crash as possible( more old school advice) , another statement I've read from Alaskan pilots is " your not a real bush pilot till you've put one in the trees" , I'm guessing they expect to do it and go flying again sometime, the point is a forced landing is never a death sentence,

 

Matty

 

 

[DrZoos]

There is a fantastic section on forced landings at. http://flysafe.raa.asn.au/safety/impact_energy.html

 

And

 

http://flysafe.raa.asn.au/emergencies/index.html

 

 

[Camel]

Just a suggestion about power lines ( if that paddock is the best option), if you spot power poles then aim for and above the pole this will allow you to see the wires and see what direction they run, it is easier then to avoid the wires. I was trained this way and we actually landed in paddocks over power pole on practice engine failure and when doing precautionary search and landing, when he said let's have a simulated engine failure and pick a paddock, I picked the right one, the one he bought grog for the farmer to use the paddock for practice so we could actually land and stop.

 

Also there is the 5 S 's to always check for.

 

Size. Shape. Slope. Surface. Surroundings.

 

I am not a glider pilot, but others have explained methods of estimating glide distances. I have done one hour in a glider and found this a great experience. Also did a BFR with a all round instructor and demonstrated thermalling a C152 which is a great thing to experience and be able to do if you have that as an option with an engine failure. I would recommend at least one flight in a glider to learn a few techniques.

 

 

[kaz3g]

I fly from one out landing spot to another :-)

 

I had some 700 forced landings when gliding but most of them were at the airstrip. If landing out, I looked for paddocks close to habitation for phone (no mobile then) and help if injured BUT took particular care to look out for SWER lines which are absolutely deadly. They connect the house to the woodshed or to the next property along and often go cross country rather than following a road.

 

A ploughed paddock is a good choice in a glider if you land along the furrows because the fuselage is so close to the ground and the long nose prevents it tipping over. The wings are less likely to be damaged, too. Any poles and wires stand out.

 

A freshly cropped paddock, is also a good bet for the same reasons and any contour banks should also be pretty obvious.

 

Beware irrigated bays because they may be soft causing a tip over but may also be hiding ditches...ouch!

 

If you are way outback, wires are far less likely and roads are commonly used. When I had my station in the Upper Gascoyne everyone landed on dirt roads and windmill tracks when checking around their runs. But watch out for bull dust holes and road trains...

 

Kaz