I Crashed My Plane!

[@JoseMunoz-ft4fr]

I admire the honesty of this man when he admits that it all happened because of a mistake he made. I mean, sharing the story with all of us so everyone can learn from it is a truly nice act.

[@Wings_of_foam]

Being honest shouldn't always be praised. He made a stu*id mistake.

[@usefulcommunication4516]

@@Wings_of_foam Maybe he should put the camera down and focus on flying properly. And maybe buying some insurance.

[@Wings_of_foam]

@@usefulcommunication4516 That would be a great start!

[@neilsingh5311]

@@Wings_of_foam “Being honest shouldn’t always be praised.” 😂 I think someone’s due for an IRS audit.

[@18sri1]

@@Wings_of_foamand here ladies and gents we have a super human who has never made a mistake in his life. Wanker

[@Alexiosftw]

“I fucked up and here’s how” Honesty is the best policy

[@jbroheretoday]

Note to self: accept no phone calls when performing pre takeoff checklists.

[@gringoloco8576]

Note to self....own a plane that can carry enough gas.

[@theonlywoody2shoes]

Just a PPL, but I was always told; if you are interrupted or distracted for ANY reason during a checklist run though (on the ground, or if sufficient time in the air, and if not go around if it isn’t an emergency) - go back and start again!

[@gdwnet]

@@theonlywoody2shoes This. If you get interrupted you start again. Checklists are written in blood for a reason.

[@esenel92]

Or if anything interrupts you, or you feel your "flow" has been disturbed or something feels off, start the entire checklist (and maybe the one before) over again..

[@FrancSchiphorst]

@@gringoloco8576 Problem was not how much gas the plane can carry.

[@happyteaspoon5436]

Mad respect for just admitting you screwed up, taking it on the chin and learning from it.

[@Wings_of_foam]

Lol

[@Hawkcrom]

Rule one , if checklist interrupted, start over No checklist should be done by memory , not saying you have no paper checklist

[@dputub]

I was going to mention this, as I had heard it before. Especially in an airplane with as simple a checklist as a 601 has. Yet another valuable lesson for me here. Unfortunately, hard won.

[@thierryvt]

ideally fuel should be mentioned on multiple checklists. The ones at my local club has it 3 times I believe, doesn't stop complacency but it does reduce the odds of missing the fuel items.

[@handflyin]

Man! I'm happy to hear that you are ok. Thank you for your humility and willingness to share with everyone.

[@michaeltobias3524]

You are a smart pilot. You didn't turn to go back, landed flat and survived. Lesson learned, lived to fly another day!

[@FLYBOY123456789]

many have done the math regarding landing straight ahead, or turn back or pull the CAPS. mostly depends on altitude...

[@steilkurbler4973]

​@@FLYBOY123456789 Exactly this, there is no solution that fits every situation equally as good. It depends on height. CAPS also depends on what your landing possibilities are.

[@neilsingh5311]

@@FLYBOY123456789 A pilot was killed after using CAPS in a Cirrus just recently. Used the chute instead of just landing on a hard but flat surface. Plane angled forward too much on impact.

[@MarceColucci]

A good policy I found is if you get distracted by ANYTHING during your checks, start over from the beginning. The extra couple of minutes in this case would have averted the crash.

[@kevinsellsit5584]

It's very unfortunate it didn't restart but the good news is you kept flying the plane and are here to talk about it. Thanks for the honesty.

[@briand3837]

Those shoulder restraints saved you from a lot of facial and head trauma. Always fill your tanks if for no other reason than to keep moisture out.

[@jimml1938]

Also do it to avoid insurance companies from declining to ever insure the accident pilot ever again. Most, if not all, insurers will decline to insure a pilot who was in a pilot caused accident within the last three to five years. (Don't ask me how I know - fortunately a pilot's current insurer may continue carrying the pilot if only to recoup the payout, so when time to renew stick with the same insurer. Letting the existing insurance lapse would be a big mistake.) If the cause of the accident was fuel exhaustion due to pilot error the pilot may never again secure aviation insurance. Or so I have read.

[@adamr9215]

@@jimml1938Lmao, if they are refusing to insure you, then it was a huge problem and you shouldn’t be flying.

[@jimml1938]

@@adamr9215 It was a taxi accident in which the tip of the left wing of a C-150 slid over the top of a pickup truck. Cost to repair was about $10k (a roof protrusion on the pickup cut into the forward wing skin and bent a stringer.) Misjudged the distance needed to clear the truck during a right turn from the spot where the FBO had parked the plane. I then made the mistake of letting my coverage lapse several months later. When I went to buy a plane I discovered many underwriters don't insure anyone who has had a pilot-caused accident in the last three years. Hence my warning post. In the end I got reinsured with AIG via AssuredPartners at about the same premiums I had before the accident (same hull value and liability coverage.)

[@jimml1938]

@@adamr9215 My previous response was deleted. One last attempt: The accident I had was a taxi accident during a turn that damaged a wing that cost about $10k to repair. Several insurers informed me they would not sell a new insurance policy to a pilot who had an accident in the previous three years that was due to pilot error, regardless of the claim amount.

[@OldGlaseye-gf7si]

What he said..the last thing before you turn your back on your aircraft, is re-fill the tanks.

[@TheBeingReal]

1. Glad you are ok! 2. Huge points for sharing the errors you made. This is how we learn. Good luck on the rebuild.

[@willhibbardii2450]

Hi Larry, I'm glad your okay and didn't suffer injuries. Any landing that everyone walks away from without injury is a good landing. The machine can be rebuilt or replaced. Thank you for sharing. I've enjoyed your channel for several years. Sincerely, Will

[@robertomunoz9897]

Glad you’re ok. I always set my phone on airplane mode when I fly to avoid distractions. Lessoned learned. Plane easy to repair, your well being priceless. keep posting videos of your progress.

[@sgtjonzo]

ironic isn't it lol

[@davesdrone3125]

Glad you're able to tell the story. Thanks for sharing, hoping for a speedy recovery for 8LN!

[@matiasmerono]

How important and how useful are these kind of testimonies for the safety of all of us. Thank you.

[@ImLearningStuff]

I rarely comment on KZbin videos, but this sir, is an incredibly valuable lesson for all pilots and even day to day life. Incidents/accidents are a sequence of events that, at the time get lost, but if the line up in a perfect storm, they can lead to things like this. I’m extremely glad you’re okay and taking this as a learning experience, and sharing it with the community by being honest with only facts. Cheers to you.

[@AnarchyEnsues]

Great work. Fact that you landed safely without stalling it is the real credit to your airmanship. Every one makes mistakes

[@Pondimus_Maximus]

Glad you made it out in one piece! It takes guts to admit to such a mistake. Hope the rebuild goes smoothly and successfully for you! 🖖😀

[@thebodaciousgaucho]

Your honesty is commendable and refreshing. You flew that airplane all the way to a successful off field landing and we've all learned something. Glad you are safe and able to fly another day. Thank you and you have a new subscriber.

[@DDI-sz4yh]

Thanks for the tip big man and good you landed alive🙏🙏

[@outsider.c]

No humans are perfect. Glad you made it down safe! The important thing you are still alive, and you can fly again! Sir, your honesty is astounding, not a lot of people are willing to admit their own faults. Amazing job, sir. God Bless. 🙏🏾

[@marcb1779]

Listen to Juan Brown, "turn the phone off when you get out of the car at the airport". Concentrate on flying. Glad your safe and survived the crash landing.

[@zenvairpilot]

in this case the phone was my legal charts. I have it bluetooth connected and get traffic alerts from the ADS-B signal.

[@paullichte]

respect for your honesty, all the best to you

[@supra2800]

Thank you for sharing this and helping make GA flying safer. This confirms to me that it's a good idea to restart the checklist if being distracted etc., I'll need to try and remember that.

[@n539rv]

I did something similar ONCE in that I taxied out on a low fuel level tank to use up the fuel while on the ground, with the plan to change to a full tank before takeoff. Except I forgot! Got about 300 ft off the ground and the engine started to sputter. Knowing exactly what it was, fast on tank swap, boost pump on, maintain airspeed and the engine cleared up and all was good. Talk about a huge wake up call!!

[@papadopp3870]

Luckily, you didn’t have one of those old complicated fuel selection. At 300 feet, that could be catastrophic. Glad you made it in style!

[@5.43v]

Do the impossible turn

[@propguyaviation6985]

Huge respect how honest he is! His mistake, no excueses

[@HerbOMatic]

You're alive, that's all that matters, full-stop. I've had a few close calls, these things happen.

[@aaaht3810]

"A very important but expensive lesson". So true, and one you won't forget. Could have easily been a mistake for which you paid your life. Glad you are OK and thanks for passing your experience on.

[@scottboelke4391]

Balls of steel to make this video. Respect!

[@ukpylot]

I was just thinking this morning that I hadn't seen any of your videos for a while, now I know why :( Glad to see you could walk away and have something to rebuild, lessons for all of us even that they would never happen to us, of course!!!! Thanks for your honesty, and good luck with the rebuild

[@letoleroi9471]

Thank you for sharing this experience, man!!! You are alive and not damaged at all!!! You family is happy! Enjoy your live!!!

[@dputub]

Oh dear. So sorry about this Larry. Very glad you are ok. And glad you can see your way clear to get the plane repaired. Your spirit is undefeated and that is fantastic. You'll be back in the air soon. Thanks for sharing. Of course we all know the lesson to be learned, but to have someone we know (or at least know about) have such an experience makes it stick in our brains a lot more. I certainly will benefit from your misfortune as I will be thinking of that shot of your sickening stop in that field every time I run my checklist. So again, thanks for manning up and letting us benefit from your pain.

[@joseluisvalencia22]

Idb d w=

[@CaptMoo]

WELL DONE CAPT! Thanks for sharing and being vulnerable and honest about things that happen daily.

[@alangluff5535]

In 2007 I put one in a field. It was a 601HD. I blew an oil cooler hose that I should have changed out so I know the feeling. Thanks for the video. Best wishes to you!

[@brandonfasan]

We can clearly see in the beginning of the video you are Outstanding In Your Field, so is a real surprise you crashed. Jokes aside, glad you're okay.

[@johnpooky84]

😂

[@DeltaLima50]

I admire the honesty. Write “Confirm” as last item on checklist as a completion signal to the brain. Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing. Thank the one who watched over you.

[@CharlieTheAstronaut]

Glad you're alive brother. Fly safe!

[@clintgosch2306]

Four point harness for the win!!! After seeing your video I believe I'll be installing a set. Thanks for sharing, great message we can all learn from. You'll have it all fixed up in no time. If you need a ride to the Zenith Homecoming my right seat is open! Take care buddy!

[@whatskevupto2964]

It takes courage to admit a mistake like that, hats off to you sir

[@TheRealBleachX]

Thank you for your honesty as it can only help others. I'm glad you weren't hurt and sorry I just found you on KZbin and found this video. New subscriber because of this video. :)

[@gawebm]

Sorry for you problem. Thanks for the report. Two weeks ago I got distracted and forgot to lean on takeoff and nearly paid dearly for it.

[@antoineastruc239]

Thank you very much for your testimony which can help us all to consider that we must always be focused on our checklists and start again at the beginning if we are distracted during it. So many accidents due to empty tanks! It's sad for your plane, good luck with the repair!

[@landrecce]

You handled the whole thing really well. I appreciate you sharing this with us. None of us are immune to making these kinds of mistakes. I'm going to subscribe and follow the build progress. Good luck dude.

[@Motorhomelife_Adventures]

So glad your ok. Thanks for being honest. Hopefully it will help many more people avoid this.

[@FlyingSurprise]

Amazing honesty here! I'll follow you to see your plane get up in the air again.

[@spdaltid]

Well done for flying the aircraft all of the way into the crash and being man enough to share your mistake, learn and move on. As a retired military and airline pilot, this is the attitude that sorts the Pro's from the Wannabe's. Don't do it again!! 😅 - Just maybe consider a kneepad or clipboard stowage arrangement that reduces loose items in the cockpit - in case. Glad you're okay!

[@WinstonsGarage]

It takes a lot for a man to admit his mistakes. This guy is awesome. He didn't blame it on anyone, but himself. Good luck with the rebuild.

[@johndean2925]

So thankful you are safe!!! Good luck with the rebuild!!! I hope you post the entire process...very interesting.

[@sqd37l]

hang in there brother, we all have days like this. it will make you stronger

[@doughoffman9463]

Thanks for posting and glad you're ok. John Denver ran out of fuel but didn't fare as well. Nice piloting on your part. The beauty of a motorglider is you have more time to react and also can land e.g., in a field much more slowly (much less energy to dissipate). Good luck on repairs.

[@alfonzocurry8035]

I’m glad to see & hear in your voice that you are ok. I appreciate you sharing. I’m in the learning process & learned something from you today.

[@Boscovius]

Happy to see you got out of that incident unscathed. Unfortunate about the damage but your life is more important.

[@CLEAREDDIRECT]

Welcome to the club. Thanks for the honest debrief. Good luck with the rebuild.

[@weofnjieofing]

You did extremely well during the emergency to handle that plane and try to get that engine started. You kept your nerve and did not aggressively manoeuvre. It would have been super w as y to get destructed trying to start the engine than stall spin to your death. A learning experience but you’re with us today so thank God!

[@locustvalleystring]

Sorry to see the damage, but you are OK and learned something that we all are learning from. Thanks for sharing. I am sure this was a tough one to share.

[@LydellAaron]

I'm almost convinced we are attracted to conflict or misfortune is in order to increase our imagination of ways of how to respond. So hearing about your accident and humility and responsibility gives us something to learn and model. Glad you are safe. Thank you.

[@flyHawaii989]

Dude!! I literally just found your channel, but I just wanted to say as a fellow aviator and former airplane owner, I appreciate your transparency and your honesty! I should have said first of all super stoked that your well and you weren’t hurt or at least it doesn’t look like you were four minutes into your video. Good for you my brother aloha

[@lobowynnTV]

Glad to see you are ok ..a plane can be replaced my friend but you can not and your family would never be able to replace you

[@wf4919]

Great job committing to your crash and not getting distracted and losing control of the plane. Having said that….why would ever leave a tank completely empty in an airplane? That makes no sense. Obvious checklist discipline was the final hole in the cheese….but you reduced your redundancy and increased your risk in one small decision to leave zero fuel in a tank. Again great job on the landing tho…..many lesser pilots have died over smaller issues than yours. Thank goodness you had ample flat clear terrain in every direction.

[@advocaciamendes]

I used to take a lot of friends to fly in my Ultralight, down under Brazil, but at the same day I got a field land like yours, that was the same day day I lost all those friends... none of them even tried to help me took the wings off and load it onto the truck.... Bless you cause you are Ok and didnt got hurt... you will be flying very soon... Best wish to you Cmte...

[@wiffleful1]

That’s a tough lesson, but I’m thankful we all can learn from you. Thanks for being so clear. Phones are wonderful most of the time.

[@197jm]

Thanks for sharing the story and your humility. I notice you forgot your mandatory parachute and selfie stick though ;)

[@johnpooky84]

😂

[@rodrigomuller]

You might have just saved a whole bunch of current and future pilots, experimental or not, from making the same mistakes you did. Props (no pun intended) for owning your mistakes like a champ and informing people.

[@Mondkalb]

Great retrospective! Your video will now be a mental item on my checklist every time I do pre-takeoff check for green. Thanks!

[@oceanventure]

Your not human if we don’t make mistakes. Learning from other’s only make us better. Glad your okay and able to rebuild your pride and joy.

[@almillar6752]

I phoned a friend who answered and said I'm just about to line up and roll ,,, I said why the hell are you even answering your phone ! You're a lucky man that the paddock of wheat or barley didn't catch fire.

[@olddogg60]

I'm saddened to see these videos but I appreciate the sharing so that we can all learn. Thank you and speedy a rebuild.

[@audrybella6405]

I am very happy you were not injured and that for the most part the plane is repairable. I respect your willingness to be open about what happened and it is good to see you understand what happened and how it happened. Just a personal note from another pilot, after John Denver killed himself as a result of fuel tank mismanagement I made it a mandatory requirement for myself that I never leave the ground with anything but full fuel in all my tanks. Fuel is more important than baggage or an extra passenger since your engine won't run on either of those!! I never want my last thought on earth to be "damn, if I just had a little bit more fuel......". Good luck with the rebuild and I strongly recommend you get a second and even a third set of eyes to inspect the entire plane for damage if you haven't already done so. Impact load transfer through a rigid structure from loads for which the structure is not intentionally designed can be surprisingly significant and concealed.

[@markweiss4126]

Glad you're OK, Larry! Rebuild and keep flying.

[@salamander5703]

Well done with the landing and for sharing your experience so others can learn. I often wonder if similar situations occur when pilots are taxiing out, working through a checklist and getting interruptions making and receiving radio calls.

[@Jimmyb0y336]

Thank God you’re ok brother. I friend posted that someone crash their plane at Co19 today. Crazy to this.

[@idsawtooth]

That sucks! Glad you're OK!

[@stewartw.9151]

Easy mistakes to make - BUT........I learned that if I were distracted as you described, either TOTALLY ignore any distraction or if not possible, then start again working through the checklist to make damn sure!

[@richardgreen7811]

In 1973 a friend of mine allowed me to dry-rent his Cessna 150 to get my pilots license. With that completed, I moved to Chicago and continued my flying experiences. Many decades after I left, my friend went out for a pleasure flight. Because for all those years after I left, he had been the only person flying the plane, he removed "'fuel check" from his check list. On the evening prior to that particular day, some thieves came onto the field and stole the gas from his plane. When he took his pleasure flight, he made it about a mile after departure when the engine quit. He attempted a restart while announcing his "return" but unfortunately couldn't make the runway. The ensuing crash totaled the plane however he survived without injury. My takeaway ... never amend a checklist unless its for added equipment. The checklist items are critical items and should always be marked..

[@johnnorth9355]

Any accident you walk away from is a learning experience and you will be a better pilot from now on. Expensive educations should always provide high quality learning.

[@CanadianWaterfowler]

I watched the intro several times, and on 0.25x speed... He aviates, is calm and composed till the very last moment! (One big lesson to learn - don't have lose things in the cockpit that can fly around and hit you in the head...). Otherwise, as Chuck Yeager said: "If you can walk away from a landing, it's a good landing. (...)" [ If you use the airplane the next day, it's an outstanding landing. ] Also worth noting the outstanding positive attitude, that should define any good pilot -- crashed plane still in the field and he says "rebuild is gonna begin shortly"... Solid pilot and great character (making this video and posting it!)

[@Coops777]

What a great human factors lesson! Thankyou so very much for sharing a difficult experience so we can all learn. You are indeed a gentleman.

[@FLYBOY123456789]

Glad you're okay and not injured...curious to know why you would take off with an empty fuel tank? Appreciate your honesty...

[@zenvairpilot]

empty auxiliary tank.

[@FLYBOY123456789]

@@zenvairpilot we know it was an auxiliary...but why not fill it up before your flight? always flew with the most fuel (weight and balance) I could take...just in case. again, glad you're safe.

[@dalecostich8794]

you owned up to this...a given...that you keep it positive and bounce back makes you a winner in my eyes.

[@clarkgwillison]

Thanks for sharing man! So glad to see you are okay.

[@AndreasMake]

I’m no expert but I believe it’s this kind of attitude that will enable you to tell us this story. Thank you for sharing! 👍🙏👏

[@RobtheAviator]

Thank you for sharing. Many people wouldn’t. Our community is better for it. Thank you for educating us!

[@jhaedtler]

You're not the only pilot to do this same thing! A friend of mine was doing his pre-flight and the phone rang, Sadly he left the left engine nose plug in place. When he started it up he ingested the plug! Very costly on a Garret turbo prop! So glad you're OK!

[@Boslandschap1]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience and your analysis, it's incredibly useful for all other pilots to learn from! Based on this example and many others, I am seriously considering adding as the first item on my checklist "I will only accept any following item on this checklist by explicit and positive confirmation", just so as to prime myself for consciously going through each item. Not an absolute guarantee, but I imagine it can only have a positive net effect because it favours being aware that getting distracted is possible when going through the checklist. I hope you will get your plane up and running soon with minimal costs.

[@Mozzy_Sticks]

As a new student pilot, videos like this have me really creating a strong mental foundation around the absolutely importance of staying engaged, avoiding complacency, and prioritizing checklists because any mishap can lead to a crash. Thank you for sharing this.

[@ronuyeyama4020]

Thanks for posting this video I am really glad you are okay!

[@glennwatson]

Hi, first time visiting your channel. Glad you made it out alive, knew what you did wrong and reflected. I know its hard to present to a wider audience when you made a big screw up but hopefully others can learn from your mistakes.

[@barblargh]

That is why you do your runup on the tank you will be taking off on! What is the point of doing the checks to confirm everything is in working order if you then go and change things immediately afterwards? A lot of things can kill an engine, such as water in the tank you just switched to, and it takes about a minute or two for the engine to die, which as you found out, is just enough to have an EFAT. Start and taxi on low tank, before runup switch to the full tank, then DON'T TOUCH THE TANK AGAIN until within a gliding distance of an airfield.

[@ffnqwc]

Glad you are okay. Sorry to hear about the plane.

[@Jeremiah-f8h]

Wow, glad you are ok. Thanks for sharing. It’s a valuable lesson that can help everyone.

[@patrickunderwood5662]

A friend flies a Subaru HD and he’s put in a field once with engine out. Love the Zodiac-it’s like flying a Jetsons car. Stalled (so to speak) on my 650 build. Building isn’t that hard but self-motivating definitely is! Glad you’re okay, and thanks for the valuable lesson.

[@simoncoles100]

Got here by looking up what happened to a somewhat narcissistic "aviator" (you know the one). Great honesty, glad you're still alive, and good on you! Love to all x

[@glenncivale6824]

This is a good 'heads up' warning for builders/owners- there's got to be a low fuel warning indicator that can be installed to warn distracted pilots. Glad you are OK.

[@ulbuilder]

I have two wing tanks. I put some micro switches on my fuel selector valve. If the valve is in the off position, the fuel gauge reads empty and lights a warning light. When a tank is selected, the fuel gauge reads the level of the selected tank. If the level is too low, a warning light turns on. If a broken/lose wire prevents the computer from seeing the signal from the fuel level sender, warning light turns on.

[@JeremyThomerson]

I love how honest and open you were! Could you post the entire video from the time you hit the throttle for take-off through the crash? Seeing how you responded to each thing that happened would be interesting and educational. Thanks for considering!

[@christianagren1032]

Thanks for sharing. I need new floats thanks to a stupid distraction. We all do mistakes!

[@MarceColucci]

Man that is the one thing we pilots all have in our minds every time we fly and pray never happens. Glad you’re ok. Planes can be fixed. BTW I hope you plan to do a shock test on the engine. If the prop impacted the ground you’ll make to make really sure that there was no shock damage to the rods in the engine.

[@pedrocaballero1497]

This man is definitely not a politician. He spoke the truth all the way from start to finish. The best and most important thing is he lived to tell the story. This is a win-win for him and his family. The plane will be rebuilt and able to be airborne again. Just find the parts and remove and replace. Respect to this man for being a stand up individual. We all will look forward to the rebuild video(s) of this bird. Like a Phoenix, it will rise again and do what it does best. Stay safe and learn from this very important and valuable lesson. 👍 ✈️

[@airwaffle]

very helpful and thankyou for sharing everything. i hope you get you plane up and running asap! good luck and fly safe!

[@none4454]

Thank you, THANK YOU for positing this. It takes courage, but it saves lives posting this kind of content.

[@JinnZest]

I am glad you didn’t kill or hurt yourself. Everything else is recoverable with time and efforts