Bonanza down. Night, IFR, Deadstick Approach.

[@MooneyOvation2]

Kudos to the controller who did an excellent job trying to assist in this difficult situation.

[@gwhgwh3726]

I was doing the same thing, yelling at the screen..,what the narrator didn’t mention is why did he fly right past the threshold of RNW 34…did I hear the winds were only 110/5?….take the downwind landing!… controller did a fabulous job..

[@cturdo]

Yes, it is refreshing to see a controller thinking ahead of the situation rather than drilling the pilot with nonessential chatter.

[@davidswelt]

No, I'm sorry, I disagree. The controller had a twin-engine jet mindset here. This was not a situation to vector the aircraft onto the active approach. RNAV 34 would been easier to set up for the pilot, and they would have lived. Granted, the pilot didn't declare the emergency earlier (big mistake) and didn't assertively request direct to the runway (there aren't many obstacles around). But even when he did declare, there wasn't a luxury of a base leg. Of course, 300 foot ceiling, that's really hard. As a pilot, I would have insisted on direct to the numbers at that point, and loaded up the RNAV (or the ILS or the visual) for guidance.

[@chrishudson747]

His 1st major mistake was accepting the descent to 3000. He’d declared an emergency with an engine problem, his most valuable asset at that moment was height. He appears to have started the descent from 4900 instead of maintaining all the height he was able. He could always lose it but once it was gone if he lost the engine he was committed. 1000 extra ft would have saved him.

[@longbeach1775]

Maybe that extra 1000ft would’ve led him to not capture the glide slope and went missed approach and the situation could’ve been much worse who knows.

[@ahmadsamadzai8255]

I agree. Altitude was all he had at that point. No need to rush down but given the situation he probably couldn't think too much. Such a tragedy. May he and the passenger rest in peace. I think the atc did a phenomenal job. Wish it had turned out better.

[@chrishudson747]

. He was on a bearing of ~120 from the runway, 160. He was miles and ~280-300 degrees away from the glide slope. The one thing he didn’t need was GS then. He wasn’t going missed under any circumstances.

[@sibtainbukhari5447]

My thoughts too when ATC asked him to descend 3000. Too easy to say from the comfort of our homes what could or should have been done but with a losing oil pressure and plenty of height I would be going idle power and doing a glide approach all the way

[@davidswelt]

@@longbeach1775 Possibly, but he wouldn't have gone missed. He would have put it into a dive without reducing power, speeding up to keep energy. Up to a point of course. It's a Bonanza, not a jet.

[@jimgiordano8512]

Well done, Kerry. We can all learn from this unfortunate situation. I have added to my no-go situation - night IFR with low visibility.

[@flyer617]

Yeah I remember this one. I trained there and still visit frequently. This was a survivable situation, he had plenty of altitude but you have to manage your energy all the way to the runway. I had an instructor who had me practice doing this under the hood with ATC. The one thing is that ATC will frequently use the stock altitudes so plan on being higher while being vectored and don't drop gear until you are absolutely sure you have the runway (after breaking out). You need to practice this!

[@kasm10]

Thanks Kerry. Learned a lot. Like the format here and your expertise really comes through and your guidance clear. You’re a great teacher. Definitely subscribed

[@KerryDMcCauley]

Awesome, thank you!

[@billroberts9182]

Don't be afraid to declare an emergency!

[@Dennyholms]

He was so close!

[@piperg6179]

OK. Pilots, let’s get to the crux of what you do in this and other IFR situations. 1. Declare emergency. 2. Ask for vectors to nearest ILS. 3. Ask for ILS frequency and put it into nav 1. 4. Use heading mode to control roll. 5. If you haven’t got the approach plate in hand ask for runway altitude. 6. Establish on localizer and switch to nav. 7. Dump altitude when you see lights or hold that descent until you are on ground. If time permits extend gear and flaps. Tinkering with the plane, setting bugs, reading check lists, getting weather….that’s all nice if you can, but focus on saving your butt. And, trust me, you can fly a vectored ILS without digging out the map…..they are all the same. Lastly, if you have a gps fly any approach, wait til you are 0.2 miles from runway and dump altitude. You may land on the grass, you may roll off the end, but you stand very good chance of seeing the wife and kids again.

[@piperg6179]

Just to sum up my previous….if things are getting out of hand, don’t distract yourself by looking up charts, fiddling with ATTIS, all that stuff. Just get vectors, set a bug on runway height, set the altimeter. Then just fly the plane. The controller is going to be delighted get you onto the ground without having to deal with a accident inquiry. Later on you can explain why you declared. Later on you can tell your passengers why you they are in Tulsa and not Podunk. Same thing if you are loaded with ice. Declare and decide right then you are flying a no-go-around approach. Keep the speed up, ignore flaps and brake as much as you can once you are on the ground. And always remember the great Sully answer when the controller said he was cleared to Teterboro…..UNABLE. It’s a great word when things get dicey. Oh! One other thing that has killed a bunch of us….if you are not IFR rated and the controller says the field is IFR, declare and tell him you are landing. DO NOT fly away from a plausible landing with the hope of finding a VFR or uncontrolled field. A bird in the hand……is worth a lot of explaining after the fact.

[@JamesWilliams-en3os]

“Use the heading bug on your autopilot. It will greatly reduce your workload.” Absolutely! Great advice. The FIRST thing I do when ATC gives me a flight plan change is to move my heading bug so I can get onto the course they want me to fly immediately… THEN I have the leisure to brief my new approach, or to climb/descend to required altitude, etc. Let Otto (that’s what I call my autopilot) fly the dumb stuff while you work out the hard stuff!! Like you, I use the heading bug to fly my flight plans all the time. It’s a really useful habit when you get in busy Class Bravo airspace like DFW or ORD , where ATC may give you vectors with little warning and the sky is full of airplanes that are bigger and faster than you are! BTW, I just found your channel. Excellent content and commentary. I subscribed. 👍

[@MartyMitchell92660]

Many autopilots don't work properly once the engine fails. My Century III uses the vacuum (pressure) operated attitude indicator as it's a position based autopilot. Once you lose your vacuum, the autopilot stops working properly. No vacuum, no autopilot.

[@JamesWilliams-en3os]

@@MartyMitchell92660 good point, but if your engine fails you are going to want to be actively flying your airplane down to a safe landing, not using your autopilot in any case. I had an engine fail 3 years ago in cruise flight and one of the first things I did (which was not on my “engine out” checklist, btw) was turn off the autopilot. I wouldn’t trust any autopilot in that situation, whether vacuum or electric.

[@dermick]

Good analysis, Kerry. I doubt anyone has seen more challenging flying than you! Flying is serious business. Stack the deck in your favor - good training, good tools (ipad/foreflight/garmin pilot/stratus). If things start to go wrong, get on the ground and sort it out. If you suspect anything wrong with your engine, get over an airport immediately. Or a field. Or somewhere else you can land. If you lose the engine, in IMC, at night, find a level spot using your ipad, trim for just over stall, and take what you get. If you stall, you will die. If you fly into the ground at just over stall, you might survive. It's so tragic to see these unnecessary fatalities. Thanks for the channel and for sharing your wisdom, Kerry!

[@KerryDMcCauley]

Good tips, I'l be making a video on that.

[@leonard.l2671]

The plane can’t climb and he continued. One cylinder down and he did not show any urgency. Unbelievable!

[@KerryDMcCauley]

He was in denial that he might have a problem.

[@leewolfgramscolonelchannel]

Thanks for bringing awareness Kerry, it keeps us all safer!

[@KerryDMcCauley]

My pleasure!

[@wdcjunk]

This is a really interesting case study. I really think he was trying his best, sometimes your best isn't good enough. It broke my heart to see how close he was to the airport.

[@Sambragg-p9s]

Great video! I learned something. Keep them coming.

[@Darkvirgo88xx]

I remember this one. It was two aboard. It was not only night they were having massive thunderstorms with lightning in the press conference the police mention it. When the wreckage was filmed vs the weather at the time for them is night and day. It was bad including pouring rain. Also during the last portion of this flight they were sending text messages telling family members goodbye which the family shared. They should have never departed. I believe I remember there was a reason they took off anyway. If I recall they were very fatgued also thats why needed to get home.

[@KerryDMcCauley]

He just needed to land at the first sign of trouble.

[@Darkvirgo88xx]

​@@KerryDMcCauley Yep but he wasn't going to do that. They were home sick from being away. So chose to press on and it was a bad idea. The weather was horrible.

[@marcpasquini1029]

night, IFR single engine. Why did they start the flight?

[@MartyMitchell92660]

During single engine night flight, you have a 10 times greater probability of ending with fatalities as compared to during the day. Add low IFR to that, even worse.

[@cyb5761]

I've seen a few plane videos. It seems in many of them they are hesitant to declare an emergency. Not understanding why any pilot is hesitant to declare emergency. Is there a lot of paper work that later goes with that? Are you then subject to FAA judgement or something? And I would also land asap to check out the problem. Lack of visibility seemed to play a major role.

[@Charon58]

I’ll fly single engine IFR. I’ll fly single engine night. I’ll fly single engine mountain. I won’t mix any two of these together

[@dwayneneufeld1696]

Good stories! I fly a Vans RV6. Since it is a fixed gear tail dragger, almost every water landing I have heard of in these planes results in an instant stop and flip over. Even when it looks like a well-timed full stall when hitting the water. So, if I am ever in this situation, I am considering dropping a wing in and cartwheeling the plane to a stop hoping to end up, most importantly, greasy side down. Maybe, it wouldn't be like hitting a block wall? The seat being located at the center mass, it may not be such a bad ride? I figure it shouldn't take more than 45 degree bank to miss the gear and start the rotation skipping along on all four ends. Another factor is it is a tip-up canopy. Trapped inverted in shallow water would be a real bummer. What do you think?

[@KerryDMcCauley]

Hmmm, sounds risky. I think you'd be in for one hell of a ride!

[@johnfitzpatrick2469]

G,day Kerry from Sydney Australia. I really enjoyed your 'ferry pilot' videos in small planes, over water. This flight into terrain IMC was tragic. I initially thought it was rime ice. 🌏🇭🇲

[@KerryDMcCauley]

Glad you like them!

[@justsnappy]

Just a VFR PP, but I like the idea of turning toward safety while troubleshooting!

[@russelllowry1061]

I have flown bonanzas for 30 years. The pilot and controller did an excellent job. Bad situation. This controller sounds like he might have been a pilot. He had a very good understanding of the situation that pilot was in.

[@antonfouche8290]

IFR at night in low Weather in a single engine aircraft, many odds stacked against you even before departure! Getting somewhere is never that important, rather delay. Why so reluctant to declare an emergency. Having been an ATC and Airline pilot, don't be afraid to declare an emergency, you can always downgrade if you solve the problem. Declaring an emergency immediately gives you priority and gives ATC license to assist in any way possible, even if it means bending rules to get you safe on the ground. Having a dead cylinder is a partial engine failure and an emergency. If he had declared the controller probably would have offered him ILS 34 and we would not have this video.

[@martind181968]

Very sorry for this pilots loss, I wish he had remained at previous altitude and not descended per tower request and continued to be vectored over or to the airport, he could then do shallow descending turn to hopefully lineup on 16, however he would still have the potential to hit open flat ground at the airport vs going into the hillside with trees. ILS at night in single engine plane, single pilot ---ingredient for too many nasty possibilities. An old Piedmont Airlines pilot told me if I'm in instrument conditions, a nice way to insure not over correcting in a turn ( IFR ) is to just use your rudder pedals for slight heading variations and even shallow turns in order to prevent getting into those deadly spiraling turns in poor visibility, it has always worked.

[@komrad1983]

Single engine and IMC + failure always raises bunch of things that are not discussed in the books. My opinion if you already or about to lose an single engine, always better request direct to airport. Once there, you can lower the flaps and carefully descnd in 10-15 bank spirals until you come out of the milk.

[@peterdaba6651]

When the engine quit he lost his vacuum pump and his HSI so trying to fly at night with out a full panel and dead stick almost always fatal . My air plane has an electric backup . when he first found the saw he had a problem returning to the airport behind him. its your life you don't get a second chance

[@KerryDMcCauley]

Electric backup is key because most pilots don't practice partial panel.

[@michaelallen7230]

Why did the controller set him up on a left downwind when the right base would have been a lot closer??????

[@KerryDMcCauley]

I think he was going to vector him to a right downwind first but the pilot over shot his turn.

[@lnewton3677]

Yup - great controller Tough outcome

[@user-gl9iz1bp1r]

"Situational awareness" and "risk assessment/management." Night IFR with low visibility? Not a pilot - but I learn much watching these presentations.

[@alk672]

Why do people with engine problems keep trying to fly instrument approaches? You know your oil pressure is dropping, you know you've lost your cylinder, you know you could lose all power any moment now. If you're on a glide slope and you lose power - you're done. Why not just go direct and spiral down? I know it sucks if it's only 300 feet when you break out, but certainly I like my chances if I'm already on top of the airport and all I have to do is land anywhere within airport property even if I'm not oriented correctly.

[@dougolson304]

Absolutely declare the emergency squawk 7700,conserve altitude fly min sink speed or best glide which ever is appropriate, go direct to the airport, even if you have to do it on syn vis, run the checklist. If you’re in brain freeze, think FUEL, AIR, IGNITION. That’s my 2 cents worth.

[@F1fan007]

Whew, that was a nail biter. Couldn’t agree more that a pilot should land asap if suspecting an engine problem in IFR and especially at night. Like you said, sort it out on the ground. Such a sad outcome. Thank you for posting this video

[@KerryDMcCauley]

Pilots have a hard time landing short of their destination, even when they should.

[@Darkvirgo88xx]

He wasn't landing anywhere in that weather if you saw what it was really like. They should have never took off.

[@tlt3921]

You never said. Was it confirmed the engine quit or was the prop turning on impact?

[@scottbeyer101]

When the pilot reported "no oil pressure" and given that he knows he has lost a cylinder, it is very safe to assume the engine is producing zero thrust.

[@bernardanderson3758]

My condolences

[@Chris-ev7xo]

Would a professional pilot answer this, and would it have been better to circle down from 5,000 ft straight over the airport. Why go so far from the airport

[@rn2811]

Had he loaded the ILS approach. He would’ve had some guidance especially if he had ForeFlight. Great job by the controller, but sad situation.

[@KerryDMcCauley]

Agreed!

[@enricodigenova8112]

So sad love the channel mate 👍👍I think more training needs to go into ga pilots by looking at the flight he had made so many mistakes which could have been avoided

[@Gualdemar]

Agree that they were on a worst case scenario. My prayers to family and friends. Hoping as a contribution... 1. They lost the engine.. did they lost attitude ind. and gyros? May be that's the difficulty in maintaing a heading. 2. Did they lost the GPS? I think I would have asked to be vectored to the CLOSEST runway, or in this case 34. And MAYBE, just maybe, they would have make it.

[@KerryDMcCauley]

You are correct. Losing your engine would mean losing attitude ind. and DG. So, a partial panel situation unless he had an upgraded panel with electric backup. Going immediately to 34 would mean arriving at that runway too high to land, so you still have to be vectored to final somehow. Now, I might choose that option and spiral down over the airport vs. being vectored to to the end of the runway by ATC. Tough call.

[@Gratefulwon]

BTDT, and got lucky. 10 minute glide imc and broke out 800’ and found a field right there. (audio of atc on my channel) It happened right out of the blue, zero warning. Man, did I get lucky. Not a scratch on the plane, it was back in revenue service in a week.

[@emdude1784]

My heart goes out to the family. Being an engineer, I have limited confidence in hardware, I am constantly waiting for a push rod to puncture a cylinder wall, or a fuel line to rupture. This makes my safety margin and self imposed minimums very limiting. I will not take on hard night IFR any more. Did it in my 20s and 30s.

[@KerryDMcCauley]

Funny how our minimums increase with age!

[@emdude1784]

@@KerryDMcCauley yes sir. The more I learn (with age) the more I realize how little I know.

[@nottoolatetofly371]

He should have declared even before he said “dead cylinder”!

[@bombsaway6340]

Think this guy did a fairly good job. Real lesson, when in doubt land and sort it out. A 300 ft cei😅gave him no choice but fly and approach somewhere .

[@TenantRepGuru]

He passed the airport on his left. He could have landed upwind. Who cares? Get it towards the airport. Land any runway or taxiway.

[@MKwan82]

Exactly this. 4100 AGL doesn't leave you much choice. Get the vector for 34. If he's still high, full flaps and slip it down. Easier in VMC though.

[@MartianSolarbuddy]

Not sure what kind of blindness I’m looking at here, but a Bonanza that won’t climb?!? I’m struggling to be charitable to the memory of this clueless pilot.

[@baejiaoflying9434]

That was tough to watch.

[@richardbieber9323]

The quality of even factory new legacy engines from TCM / Lycoming is bad. My consequence is not to fly in the night. I would only do it with a Parachute System, the only lifesaving system that works every time.

[@hankramos8663]

RIP to those 2 unfortunate souls

[@Rennyteam359]

Controller has to work the problem. Yes hind sight is always is easier than foresight. Both pilot and controller are busy. The New York area is not for faint hearted controllers. Many controllers will spend their entire careers and never have to face a problem like this. This controller is good. He is calm, assuring

[@KerryDMcCauley]

I agree, the controler did a fantastic job.

[@tonypybus8003]

As you have already said very sad and scary moments for this pilot. I have already declared that I am not an aviator. I have question for any pilot or ATC on here. When this pilot declared an emergency he was, as I understand it on or nearly on a base leg for reciprocal runway 34. Why was he not vectored towards Runway 34? I understand about conflicting traffic - but this aircraft was in so much trouble the Controller noticed its slow climb. The pilot declared an emergency and declared he had a cylinder out and loosing oil pressure. Even the most non mechanical must realise the engine could fail at any time. I cannot understand why he was not vectored to runway 34 and given the ILS frequency to guide him in (and to relieve the task saturation). This question is not to criticise ATC in any shape or form. It is simply that I don't know!

[@Cotz95]

I’m not an IFR pilot, but It looks like the minimus for 34 are higher and the clouds were only at 300’. Maybe that’s why?

[@mortonrobinson6408]

Since I believe KHPN has an ILS for RWY 34 and he was already headed north, it would have been absolutely wonderful if ATC gave him vectors for ILS 34 in this dire emergency. Maybe I should not be thinking coulda, woulda, shoulda. I guess that’s what happens to me when I read such super sad events.

[@KerryDMcCauley]

I think it's very helpful to analyze incidents like this and think about what we might have done differently. That's how we learn.

[@brianmorgan3542]

You ABSOLUTELY SHOULD BE THINKING OF COULDA SHOULDA WOULDA. That’s the WHOLE REASON for these post accident briefings is for us pilots to analyze what COULDA SHOULDA WOULDA been done to save our lives. Not to criticize the pilots, but to LEARN from these incidents and hopefully prevent something like this from happening again.

[@1dariansdad]

He was so in the weeds he had no chance.

[@jimjernigan3670]

Too many 'what ifs' here. What if the controller had let him keep his altitude at 5000 as long as he could? Having him descend to 3000 just removes options if/when the engine dies.

[@19ij]

He almost made it... Maybe he didn't set up ILS frequency properly... He had enough altitude to make the airfield, but unfortunately he missed last turn.

[@nicholaskennedy4310]

Don’t scrub off any altitude early That was really poor

[@maryl923]

Heartbreaking. 😢

[@davidrichards4451]

You really should explain what a deadstick landing is.

[@gawebm]

So many things wrong with this. His situational awareness was nonexistent.

[@KerryDMcCauley]

Situational awareness is key. So is telling ATC you're in trouble.

[@kslloyd8443]

I’m gonna have to disagree with many of the comments that praise the Controllers actions. In this specific indication. St night , in IMC, unfamiliar Airport AND Emergency Diversion to an Instrument Approach. He initially started out excellently. Helping to guide the Pilot to an immediate decision to divert and check out the issue. He started by establishing his guidance with the use of VECTORS. Then he switched and continuously used 8 , 10, 11 o’clock heading callouts. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO VECTORS ? He’s flying the A/C. He’s looking for the AIRPORT to find the Approach. Is that on an IPad or does he have a Fully integrated EFIS and can fly a Coupled approach With Vertical Guidance ? If he’s on iPad he’s loosing visual contact with his instruments and not fully flying the A/C. His attentions are SPLIT. THIS controller should have only been using VECTORS. NOT S COMBINATION OF CLOVK DIAL POSITIONS and HEADINGS. The reviewer talks about FLYING THE BUG on A/P. WHERE ARE THE CALLOUTS? VECTORS, VECTORS, VECTORS. This also is a perfect example of why when you declare an Emergency. Fly DONT troubleshoot. There is not a single EMERGENCY CHECKLIST that has an action item that is TROUBLESHOOTING. Without a doubt the controller added to this tragic outcome.

[@tvstevie9594]

Flying single engine, night, LIFR is an catastrophy waiting to happen!!!

[@MKwan82]

This one is so sad. He had the altitude for it.

[@mikeryan6277]

Terrifying

[@wallywally8282]

Trying not to become a statistic overrides common sense! I’d rather be on the ground feeling embarrassed than being on the 6 o’clock news for being stupid!

[@aviatorel32]

Such a lethargic attitude from pilot, should have immediately land on the opposite runway instead of flying away from the airport. RIP.