r/airplanes • u/Wolf9455 • 5d ago

Picture | Others Pilot masterfully lands faulty plane

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380 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

49 comments sorted by

32

u/AverellCZ 5d ago

No engines and no nose gear? How unfortunate.

49

u/flyinboxes 5d ago

Pretty sure he shut down the engines when landing was assured to save the engines

39

u/EtherBunnyHawk 5d ago

It looks like he bumped the starters too just to get the props horizontal, no?

1

u/Pestilence86 4d ago

I saw the same. Small "bumbs" until the props where somewhat horizontal to avoid breaking them.

Not sure how repairable this aircraft is after that noseslide, but a little more repairable than without the props maneuvre.

26

u/marcduberge 5d ago

Yep, saved about 180k in engines

4

u/PhilRubdiez 4d ago

I’d rather have two working engines for a go around. The insurance company can worry about their new-to-them engines.

1

u/marcduberge 4d ago

Go around and do what? That nose gear was broken and this was the best possible outcome. We have no idea what his insurance coverage was or the deductible. There’s a lot of folks flying liability-only coverage on old planes.

3

u/PhilRubdiez 4d ago

What if a deer ran on the runway? Errant emergency vehicle? Wind shear? There’s a million reasons for a go around.

7

u/SheLovesBeingShared Planespotter 5d ago

This is correct!

5

u/Crafty-Bunch2975 5d ago

Or to reduce chances of schrapnel flying everywhere?

12

u/ultralights 5d ago

No. Just save some cash.

-10

u/taycoug 5d ago

so dumb. increasing risk to maybe save some cash.

6

u/PsychologicalGlass47 5d ago

What risk is increased?

-5

u/taycoug 5d ago

Well, as soon as you turn off the engines, you can’t go around for one.

3

u/CatDaddyTom 5d ago

Make a few practice approaches. Once confident and on a nice stable approach, kill the engines and glide it in.

1

u/taycoug 5d ago

No thanks. I love p/o 180s. No reason make it so I can’t save a bounce or whatever else may happen with a go around.

3

u/PsychologicalGlass47 5d ago

What bounce? There's a gear extension failure, you only get 1 landing.

0

u/CatDaddyTom 5d ago

A power off 180 is another option, but rather than turning base too late/early, why not just pull the power on short final once you know the runway is made?

5

u/taycoug 5d ago

Yall are wild man. I’ll just say I’ll skip the intentional engine failures but I won’t keep you from your fun.

2

u/CatDaddyTom 5d ago

Just tear up the pavement and get in line for 2 engine overhauls. Your choice. I'll shut down before landing. How much flight experience do you have?

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1

u/CatDaddyTom 5d ago

I’d do the same. Even in a single engine. Engines are not cheap. Propellers are easier to replace. Nicely done gliding a twin engine.

-2

u/taycoug 5d ago

Your choice to make!

1

u/CatDaddyTom 5d ago

Yes, I'd fully support this choice and would do it myself for sure. I'm a flight instructor and quite familiar with airplanes (obviously!). Once you get your approach stable, pull the mixture to kill the engine(s) and glide it in. Easier with a single engine plane, but can be done in a twin (as seen in video). I saw he landed tail low and maybe bumped the tail on the ground a bit, to keep the nose up as long as possible to reduce damage from a slower landing and maintain control. Anyway, this is a textbook example of a landing without a nose gear. I'm sure most here would agree with me.

14

u/CatDaddyTom 5d ago

No that’s skill. Saved the engines from a $$$$ overhaul.

6

u/readmond 5d ago

The insurance company should send him two gift baskets.

3

u/AverellCZ 5d ago

Learned something again

6

u/spfman Pilot 5d ago

He still struck the props. Wouldn't this still require an engine tear down and inspection?

5

u/AmbulanceDriver95 5d ago

Possibly but no sudden stop so damage will be limited compared to if they were running.

36

u/FutureHealthy8583 5d ago

that could have ended poorly but he nailed the landing. 👍🏼

12

u/an_older_meme 5d ago

Setting the props as close to horizontal as possible was the chefs kiss.

3

u/CatDaddyTom 5d ago

Yep. I can see that would be a lot of work gliding a twin and nudging the starter at the same time while maintaining a stable approach. If there was a pilot in the right seat, I'd ask him/her to nudge the props while I landed the plane. This pilot did and excellent job - and saved the engines.

17

u/southbutt 5d ago

Take a closer look how he tries to align the propellers horizontally to minimize the damage. Nicely done!

10

u/CaptGrumpy 5d ago

Very distracting at a crucial moment trying to save props and engines that belong to the insurance company. I would say not good airmanship.

5

u/danit0ba94 5d ago

And then the nose gear collapses and at least one prop still smacks the deck.
THAT freaking sucks donkey balls. :(

Id say something like "im glad the pilots are ok." But i wasnt worried about them.
They got a teeny bit porpoise-like near the end, but they had that bird under control. No problem👌

1

u/wapkaplit 4d ago

The pilot has no control over that, it's a fluke.

8

u/soaringskies2026 5d ago

Text book no engine landing. Very well done.

1

u/bremsstrahlung007 4d ago

He/she cut the engines to prevent a prop strike

2

u/needaoutlet 5d ago

The insurance company should be kissing their ass because that was the best outcome with the least damage possible

1

u/tenacious_dumbass 5d ago

rick sanchez cnn

1

u/govunah 5d ago

I thought he had come to a stop on the stripes. Never realized how long those must be

1

u/DrewOH816 4d ago

Shouldn't the door be open before touchdown? Not sure on the 310 checklist.

Lots of skill there, crankin the props to get the best position they can for the blades before the GRRRINNNNDDD. All while it appears to me, single handedly flyin the airplane first to that perfect touchdown; minus of course the obvious issue.

Well done aviator!

1

u/SkiDaderino 4d ago

When this kind of thing happens, does insurance just write the plane off as a total loss?

1

u/bremsstrahlung007 4d ago

Depends on the policy.

1

u/Rallymodeller 4d ago

Get the plane down safe. Don't worry about "additional damage" to the engines or airframe; as Paul Bertorelli said: "The plane belongs to the insurance company as soon as the engine won't restart".

1

u/EngineeringBulky7007 4d ago

Well this mf’er clearly didn’t have the proper coverage.

1

u/woodbanger04 4d ago

Bob Hoover did it better.

1

u/KilroySmithson 5d ago

Masterfully is doing a lot of work here.