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Dead Stick Landing...An Auspicious Start on the Journey to Johnson Creek

WindOnHisNose

BENEFACTOR
Lino Lakes MN (MY18)
Dead Stick Landing...An Auspicious Start on the Journey to Johnson Creek


It was a trip that I had looked forward to for many years...flying the super cub into Johnson Creek ID. My aircraft was packed, my tanks were full for the first leg of my flight from KANE to Aberdeen SD, only 2.5 hours away. I had arrived at the airport, opened my hangar, did a quick preflight (I had checked things over late the evening before), checked the oil level again, checked the sight gauges and pulled N82667 out of the hangar.


I received clearance to take off on Runway 36 at KANE on Wednesday afternoon, taxied into position at the very end of the runway, slowly eased in full power and off I was on my first trip to the Johnson Creek Flyin. I was stoked, as taking in this event had been on my bucket list for several years, and it was finally a reality!


As I climbed through about 50 feet the engine of my PA18 sputtered and quit running and I found myself quickly preparing to land straight ahead onto 36, letting the tower know that I had a problem. The tower controllers both happened to be friends and they wanted to know if I needed assistance. I was pretty amazed at how quickly the super cub came down, and how different it was to land with absolutely no power, as compared to "power off". She came down right now and as I rolled onto the runway I reached down and switched from the left tank to the right, hit the starter and the engine roared back to life. I turned onto the taxiway and went back to my hangar, a bit dazed as to what had just happened. I tested out the left tank again and the engine died promptly, restarting once again when the right tank was selected.


I shut down the engine, got out of the aircraft and sumped the right and left tank, as well as the gascolator, getting gas out of each. Perplexed, I decided to call Darrell Bolduc (Bolduc Aviation is right across the airport) and told him what had happened. He kindly asked me to taxi over to his shop and he and his team would take a look. I did so, but had decided that unless they found a clear and corrective answer I would scrap this dream trip to Idaho.


I was greeted by Darrell and Tim, one of his most trusted teammates, as they directed me to parking. I exited N82667 and explained what had just happened. It was important for Tim to take a look, because he had just overhauled my carburetor the day before, on a Tuesday. I had flown the aircraft on Monday evening, after leaving the clinic, for a brief 10 minute flight in order to warm up the oil in preparing to change the oil and filter before the long flight. While cleaning bugs off the nose I discovered that the air filter bowl moved when I jiggled it, immediately bringing back memories of how this finding had been associated with separation between the airbox and the carburetor in the past (there was a thread on this here), which had led to significantly reduced power. I had immediately called Larry Cassem, the gentleman A&P/IA, who performs maintenance on the aircraft and he had taken the airbox/carburetor assembly apart on Tuesday, the day before my flight, and the assembly was taken over to Bolduc Aviation for Tim to look over. Tim then worked over the carb, Larry had reassembled and reinstalled the assembly into the aircraft and he called for me to test fly the aircraft that Tuesday evening. I immediately agreed to do so, thanking Larry for his emergency work. The aircraft started right up, I remember switching from the right tank to the left just before runup and takeoff, and I stayed in the pattern for one circuit, then landing and taxiing back to the hangar, where I again thanked Larry and Dan Carroll for all their help in salvaging my bucket list trip. I debated topping off the tanks, but elected not to since I had just topped off the tanks 5 days previously and the aircraft had sat in my locked hangar (with epoxied floor) save for the warm up flight Monday and the test run on Tuesday.


After sumping the gascolator Tim asked if I minded him checking the fuel levels in the tanks and I said "Sure, go ahead, but they are nearly topped off and the sight gauges confirm that". He smiled, climbed up and took off the cap from the left tank.


"This tank is bone dry!" Tim remarked. I couldn't believe it. He checked the right tank and he reported that it was nearly empty. Darrell asked me if I was sure that I topped it off a few days prior to then and I replied that I had. He suggested calling the Key Air, my FBO of choice to see if my memory was incorrect and sure enough they confirmed my recollection of topping it off on the day that I had remembered doing so. Darrell asked if I had noticed fuel stains on my hangar floor and I said that I hadn't...and surely would have noticed 30 plus gallons on that epoxied floor. The three of us looked at each other and all came to the conclusion that the fuel had likely been drained.


I called Key Air to come over to refuel the aircraft, which they did, putting 18 gallons in the left tank and 16 in the right tank. We observed no fuel leaks and Darrell suggested I take the aircraft for several turns around the airport pattern before leaving the area, and I did so. The engine ran perfectly.


I was relieved that I could make my trip to Idaho, but was very troubled by the fact that someone had likely gotten into my locked hangar and stolen 34 gallons of fuel. I noticed, on my next fuel stop, that my ELT antenna was snapped off at it's base...it was located just aft of the battery access panel on the top of the fuselage.


This history was bounced around by Dan Carroll, Darrell Bolduc, Darrel Starr and the conclusion is as follows:


Someone likely entered my hangar at some time after I had topped off the tanks. The back of my hangar has an electric garage door opener to lift the door, and either they had been able to activate this, or had accessed a key (only a very trusted few people have a key) in order to gain access. Once inside they had the place to themselves and with the right pump they could easily drain the tanks, leave the hangar and drive away.


I failed here at a number of levels, and thought sharing this with you might keep you out of harms way, so let's take a minute to think this through.


First, I had an incomplete preflight. Had I crawled up onto the wing and simply stuck my finger into the tank, or visually looked in, I would have discovered the empty tanks.


The sight gauges are a great way to see the fuel level once the level had lowered to a certain point, but it is really difficult to know where you are if the tanks are full, or nearly empty. The blue coloring of avgas is so slight that one cannot reliably discriminate between fuel and air.


Second, and kind of a corollary of the first, is that it is unwise to assume that having my aircraft sitting in a locked hangar will keep it safe from tampering. It is much less likely than one might experience in an open hangar, or tie down site, but it is still possible.


Third, I should have noticed the missing ELT antenna during my preflight. Again, I took it for granted that the aircraft was safe sitting inside my hangar.


I have contacted the Metropolitan Airport Commission and the local police department, not in an attempt to find the thieves, but to heighten awareness around the airport. We have had a few breakins on our airport in the last few years. While there is a big fence enclosing the airport, with gates, it is a well known fact that for the main gate all one has to do to get in is simply drive up close to the gate...and presto, the gate magically opens. I have suggested that this might need to change, but again everyone on the airport knows the combination to open the locked gates is nothing more than our Ground Control frequency.


I am thinking of ways of making my hangar more secure, including thoughts of installing a monitored alarm system, etc. This saddens me, but it isn't a safe world out there and even though it is a federal offense to tamper with an aircraft, that certainly didn't stop those who stole from my hangar.


Had the thieves left a gallon or two on each side this story could have ended in a much less positive way. I made the flight to Johnson Creek and had a terrific time, and I am really thankful to have made the trip. I have shared this with you to make you, my friends and fellow aviators, to make you more aware of how important a complete preflight is and to be savvy in being aware of our airport environment and problems that can occur that could impact flight safety.


Randy
 
Don't leave full tanks. they will most likely heat up an vent all over you nice paint. I leave them down till the day I go ,I get up and fuel it,Trust no one.If I am leaving before FBO is open I fuel night before and leave them down one inch.then before I go I top off will 4 gal can to the TOP and this will never happen.lettting other people fuel your plane is a bad habbit.No fuel nothing to worry about.all that weight on it is not good.I am in Wisconsin keep 3 cubs in unheated hangars and have never I mean ever had water because of leaving tanks not full.we fly all in summer but for many many years I kept the tanks full all winter,but in the -30 they would leak,so for years now I store they all will 15 gals in them,total and never have water.never I mean never let someone fuel your CUB. I let people fuel my Seneca But I look over their sholder and hold the cap.17,000 hours of this ,but if you don't have time to fuel it'you don't have time to fly it.Plus how you preflight the top of the wings?if you fuel it you will have time to take a good look at the wings.good luck but don't be lazy and die.also each CUB has is'ts own ladder nice yellow six footer .when the plane is put back in hangar,the ladder goes in front so you can clean window.leave it ther so when you fuel before you go you go up and have fueler hand the hose up to you,a little lazy is good then when you are full move over too other side fill the tank hand hose down to ramp rat then take a good look at top of wing get down the stow ladder.the ladders are part of the CUB.
 
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many electric garage door openers have an "emergency" open/reset code that is the same on all of a particular model, thats why you can buy a universal remote and have it "learn" your door...

this was in the news a few years ago on Slashdot.org .... garage door makers were not happy that their POOR SECURITY in THEIR DESIGN was exposed by researchers... just wait for your fancy cars problems to be exposed...
 
also, back when we were getting hit real bad with gas thieves the one cop I know said it was probably grow operators/(or users trading) stealing the gas for their generators... I had never considered that angle...
 
Don't leave full tanks. they will most likely heat up an vent all over you nice paint. I leave them down till the day I go ,I get up and fuel it,Trust no one.If I am leaving before FBO is open I fuel night before and leave them down one inch.then before I go I top off will 4 gal can to the TOP and this will never happen.lettting other people fuel your plane is a bad habbit.No fuel nothing to worry about.all that weight on it is not good.I am in Wisconsin keep 3 cubs in unheated hangars and have never I mean ever had water because of leaving tanks not full.we fly all in summer but for many many years I kept the tanks full all winter,but in the -30 they would leak,so for years now I store they all will 15 gals in them,total and never have water.never I mean never let someone fuel your CUB. I let people fuel my Seneca But I look over their sholder and hold the cap.17,000 hours of this ,but if you don't have time to fuel it'you don't have time to fly it.Plus how you preflight the top of the wings?if you fuel it you will have time to take a good look at the wings.good luck but don't be lazy and die.also each CUB has is'ts own ladder nice yellow six footer .when the plane is put back in hangar,the ladder goes in front so you can clean window.leave it ther so when you fuel before you go you go up and have fueler hand the hose up to you,a little lazy is good then when you are full move over too other side fill the tank hand hose down to ramp rat then take a good look at top of wing get down the stow ladder.the ladders are part of the CUB.

Excellent points. fyi, I always fuel my super cub myself, so that I know how close to "topped off" I am.

Randy
 
WOW RANDY!!!! That is so unbelievable. Not just the fact that someone emptied your tanks but fortunately your engine stopped when it did. You had a lot of Metro area to cross before you had somewhat safer countryside to dead stick her in. Would not have been fun to try pick out a landing sight in those first 20 miles.

Reminds me of a local old Navy crew chief who in his retirement years learned to fly and kept his plane at our hangers in D00. He would always check his tanks with a stick on his 150 Cessna which I thought was kind of silly. He knew how much fuel he had on board and checked before and after each flight and after every refueling to the point he discovered our fuel pumps were shorting him on gallons dispensed. Turned out he was right. Perhaps a good habit to get into.

Once again I am so glad it turned out like it did and your able to make it to JC:)...........Rod
 
That's a bummer. I'm glad it turned out ok and you're safe. It's a good thing runway 36 is almost 5000' long and the KANE tower controllers are great. When I was learning to fly TW in the 180 God bless my instructor, among other things, he'd have me do multiple takeoffs and landings on that stretch of pavement... usually in a gusty crosswind while my wife was at Key Air watching.. :eek:
 
Randy, Randy, Randy. Your a GYN, if anybody should know, you should know that you need to get your finger wet to make sure your going to get a good ride.

Glenn
 
Glad you can tell the tale Randy! Not glad to hear you have a thief at your airport, especially one that doesn't mind trying to kill someone!
 
Crazy. At least it was a simple fix! I always check my fuel caps and sump them after if fuel them. Just in case the idiot fueling(me) didn't fill it or tighten the caps.

Oh don't forget to sump...
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Doc

So glad things went the way they did. Good job!!

I do hope they find the perpetrators. That is how you kill someone and why airport mischief is, and should be, a felony offense.

Thanks for sharing.

Bill
 
Game cameras. The ones that transmit images to your cell phone. They've been used with great effect to identify people breaking into hunting cabins in AK.
 
Even though my airplane is in a locked hangar, I pre-flight before every flight. That includes a stick in each tank. Sorry this happened to you, Randy, but so glad you're okay and were able to make your dream trip!

Anne.
 
Glad to hear you're OK, Randy.

Now that you're just about done with your soul searching, consider the following.

We all learn from our failings, but often neglect to do so - at least consciously - from our successes. I have come to realize that a little meditation at the end of the day, going over events one by one, trying to relate effects to causes, is all it takes to learn from things we did right. E.g., checked fuel level before flight (cause); engine kept going to destination (effect). No, it doesn't deliver lessons with the same punch as realizing mistakes we've made. But it costs nothing; and the number of these tiny reinforcements does add up over time, and the routine - AKA procedure - becomes second nature. An example closer to home (for you, anyway), is the example of the wife's hand-washing ritual after talking to patients over the phone(!). I used to laugh at her at the beginning, but later realized just how wise she is.

There are, of course, times when common sense has to overrule adherence to procedures. But it's good to keep in mind that the perceived value of procedures ebbs away a little every time we deviate from them. That's why it's best to limit deviations to circumstances that demand them.

Congrats on coming up (down) from your emergency smelling like a rose. Hope you'll give that some thought, too.
 
Randy, you sure they just stole the gas???

they could have borrowed your plane for a joy ride....
This has happened here at Birchwood before, the plane owner got a call from the state DOT, asking what he was gonna do about his cub that was upside down at Willow Airport.... he was like WHAT?!!!!!! he hadn't flown it in months...
 
Glad it worked out the way it did, Randy. I saw this sign while walking around Lake Hood. Not sure if it would have deterred the thieves in your case.


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The sight gauges are a great way to see the fuel level once the level had lowered to a certain point, but it is really difficult to know where you are if the tanks are full, or nearly empty. The blue coloring of avgas is so slight that one cannot reliably discriminate between fuel and air.

I have some horizontal markings behind my site gauges. When there's no fuel, the stripes appear to be horizontal. If there is fuel in the gauge, the light diffraction through the fuel in the gauge will cause the horizontal stripes to appear nearly vertical. It's an easy way to know whether the gauge is full or empty. That's why you sometimes see "barber pole" stripe behind the site gauges.

Glad all turned out OK. Man, I hate it when the fan stops. :yikez: And the fact that someone violated the sanctity of your hangar makes it that much worse.

-Cub Builder
 
Game cameras. The ones that transmit images to your cell phone. They've been used with great effect to identify people breaking into hunting cabins in AK.

I agree. I have multiple trail cameras on my properties. I put them about 10' up and aim them at an angle so no one can get them. Got pictures of one guy dumping rolls of barb wire in my favorite swimming hole. Needless to say he got a visit from law enforcement with some hefty fines and charges. Also got some pictures of a couple that thought they would go "parking" on my place. The look on their faces when they realized there was a camera photographing them the whole time was priceless. Anyway if someone did this too you once, I bet they will come back for more.
 
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First of all, glad you and the plane are all good. Definately lessons learned here, being in a hangar now myself I see that I should keep up the vigilance. But I do have a question, throwing NO stones here btw. On takeoff, did the plane seem lighter and ready to go quicker without all that fuel? Might be just one more thing for all of us to think about during take off.

Joe
 
I also am glad the outcome was not worse. The broken antenna and lack of a fuel stain would confirm your diagnosis of the event but I would like to offer a thought. As I have aged, I think through projects and plans with much more detail than when I was younger and more prone to jump into something with both feet and little thought. The disadvantage in thinking things through so thoroughly for me is that I ofen find I have convinced myself the project was completed when it actually is still not done. In your case I can see myself planning the trip for weeks, going over in my mind all the details of packing the plane, planning the flight, all the details- to the point it seems to me the task was already completed. I can see myself taking off with empty tanks because I had fueled them in my mind several times and became convinced it was done. I recognize this for myself and know I must be very careful to check every detail so nothing was left undone no matter how sure I am of its completion. My low usage pickup truck has two fuel tanks and gauges that are inaccurate and I find myself thinking that someone siphoned my "reserve" fuel when I actually only thought through filling the empty tank. I almost ended up on the roadside with empty tanks twice before I realized what I had done. Geez, gettin' old ain't easy. jrh
 
Randy,
Thank God all turned out ok. About 20 years ago we lost a local farmer who owned a Pawnee when the same thing happened to him but much different result. His plane was on his own private strip. Great lesson for all of us to be more vigilant. I have to admit to just checking the gauge and not sticking the tank after topping off when the plane goes back into my private hanger. Thanks for sharing.
 
Randy, glad you are ok and good job handling the forced landing.

I had some guys steal fuel out of one of my airplanes. Thought they would put some high octane stuff in their rice rocket motorcycles. Trouble is, they took it from one of the King Airs. Has props right? LOL! They did not get far.
 
Crazy. At least it was a simple fix! I always check my fuel caps and sump them after if fuel them. Just in case the idiot fueling(me) didn't fill it or tighten the caps.

Oh don't forget to sump...
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Tom, Is that your pee bottle for cross country?
 
I also am glad the outcome was not worse. The broken antenna and lack of a fuel stain would confirm your diagnosis of the event but I would like to offer a thought. As I have aged, I think through projects and plans with much more detail than when I was younger and more prone to jump into something with both feet and little thought. The disadvantage in thinking things through so thoroughly for me is that I ofen find I have convinced myself the project was completed when it actually is still not done. In your case I can see myself planning the trip for weeks, going over in my mind all the details of packing the plane, planning the flight, all the details- to the point it seems to me the task was already completed. I can see myself taking off with empty tanks because I had fueled them in my mind several times and became convinced it was done. I recognize this for myself and know I must be very careful to check every detail so nothing was left undone no matter how sure I am of its completion. My low usage pickup truck has two fuel tanks and gauges that are inaccurate and I find myself thinking that someone siphoned my "reserve" fuel when I actually only thought through filling the empty tank. I almost ended up on the roadside with empty tanks twice before I realized what I had done. Geez, gettin' old ain't easy. jrh

Yeah, I agree with you. That is why Darrell Bolduc made me call the FBO and verify that I had refueled as I thought I had!

Randy
 
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