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Another plane down in AK

D

Den

Registered User
Kodiak AK & Arizona
Was in the hangar working yesterday when some fisherman stopped through to buy some fuel. They mentioned that there was "A 210 in Wild Lake". A friend of mine runs a mine there and has a 1200' strip with a 210. We figured it was him. Flew over to the lake to check on him. Sure enough, Marty was on final in the middle of the lake and had some problems and crashed into the water. Doors jammed and he had a hard time getting out. Thinks he was maybe 30' deep before he got out. Nearly drowned. His wife watched the whole thing from the strip. Luckily the neighbors across the lake saw what was happening and jumped in their boat and rescued him. Fortunately the water wasn't too cold. Won't say more as he has not been able to report it to NTSB as his SAT phone is in the lake.

Be careful out there!
 
Thank the Lord he got out. Sorry to hear about the mishap but sure glad that he's OK.

Bill
 
Sure hope something like never happens to me. Do you guys think that popping the door latch before impact is a good idea?
 
My response to Marty? Heck yes, if you have the time and remember to do it.

My airplane key rings include seat belt cutters and I hate added seat track locks (Saf-T-Stop, Aerostop) in Cessnas because they make egress more difficult. Cessna seats are hard to get out of if you can't slide the seat back.
 
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I'll bet that water wasn't THAT warm! Dang, glad he persevered and was fished out of the lake......and good for the neighbors being Johnnie on the spot to pick him up.

If you're going to open a door prior to landing, it helps to have a little altitude prior to touchdown....and I can tell you from experience that things get a little busy about the time the fan stops when you're low.

He did good to have survived that deal.....good on him.

MTV
 
Good to hear he got out okay. He must have a pretty good clue operating a 210 in/out of 1200 ft.


Sent from my iPad using SuperCub.Org
 
Practice hitting the door handle up with an elbow a few times from memory. Even if cracked water pressure can make the doors hard to open until it equalizes. Good time to have a knife handy in your survival vest if entangled in belts and cords.

Gary
 
He couldn't get the door open even when the plane was full of water. He said it was jammed. He got tangled in the harness from the right seat and it took 30 seconds to get free. No air left in the cabin when he finally scrambled through the broken out windscreen.

I have been fishing up there lately and standing in the water waist deep with just shorts on. I can last indefinitely so no sure what the temps are. 24 hours of sunlight each day warms it up fast. You should see how fast the ice comes off when it finally does. Solid one day and clear the next.
 
ahhhh...lucky and bush savvy pilot that didn't give up. No panel v-brace to deal with. Learn to pop that door handle up with a back elbow before hitting water. Practice doing that before it's time.

Type of seat belts makes a difference. On my champs I had a 4-point with twist cam so everything would fall away (that and a door release for aerobatics wearing a chute). My taylorcraft has belt and buckle with the dual belt shoulder harness slipped over the belt tang...again it all flys apart with buckle release (tried it before flying floats). The Cessna belts I used were OEM over the shoulder single harness type that can form a snare in the exit door. Something to think about. Plus roll snag-prone hip boot tops tight in flight if worn.

Edit: Something to pay attention to here via MTV: https://backcountrypilot.org/forum/crashing-a-cessna-185-a-bas-shoulder-harness-testimonial-694

Gary
 
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Wild Lake, I was given the use of a cabin there once upon a time. What a beautiful location! This pilot was extremely fortunate.
 
Marty's plane.JPG

Here is a photo of Marty's 210 sitting on the ramp in Bettles well before he flew it to Wild Lake.
 

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Theres not a whole lot of 'experienced' ditching pilots out there! I always pay close attention to the experiences of others who have been lucky and Iv often thought about the things id like to do in such an event- trying to remember to crack and jam a door open (eg. with a shoe) would be at the top of the list -time permitting.

I recently talked to a guy who went in to the sea in a cherokee after an engine failure on takeoff through 600'. He had the presence of mind to un-hook the door but the impact still jammed it. He said they went straight down to the bottom, nose first, and only got out through the front windscreen which had collapsed inward on impact. lucky for them (3x) it was only 30ft deep. Congrats to your friend with the never give up attitude! That man deserves a Beer!
 
Glad he is safe, Wild Lake is wild that's for sure. Last time I was there some Cessna wings were bent up lying on the north end.

IMG_1881.jpg IMG_1882.jpg
 

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Old timer years ago told me the best way to ditch in a Cessna and keep the doors from jamming is to open the door and lock the handle forward.
 
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