One person was killed and five others were injured after a small plane crashed on a bridge near Miami on Saturday afternoon, striking an SUV with three passengers and bursting into flames.

The small plane carrying a pilot and two passengers was travelling north over Haulover Inlet Bridge when it crashed into an SUV travelling southbound, Miami-Dade police said in a press release. The plane then caught fire and fire officials discovered a body in the plane while extinguishing the flames.

The single-engine Cessna 172 departed from Hollywood-Fort Lauderdale International Airport bound for Key West and soon lost power, according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration.

A woman was driving the SUV and had two toddlers in the vehicle,who were taken to a hospital for evaluation, according to police.

"It is miraculous," Miami-Dade Police spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta told NBC Miami, that the occupants in the car were OK. "So we're thankful for that but it's still unfortunate that we did lose somebody on this scene."

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association confirmed the person who died was Narciso Torres, 36, a veteran Miami Airport Traffic Control Tower controller who was on board the plane.

“Like so many thousands of our members, Narciso had such a deep love of all things aviation, and of flying, as evidenced by this flight on a beautiful South Florida day where he was doing what he loved," NATCA President Rich Santa said in a statement. "This loss hurts so deeply. Narciso will never be forgotten.”

Torres served as local union president at Miami International Airport since 2019, according to the NATCA.

“He was beloved,” Doug Church, deputy director of public affairs for the union, told the Miami Herald. “It’s a terrible loss.”

Drone footage shared on social media showed the plane crumpled on the Haulover Inlet Bridge with a damaged SUV nearby. A man can be seen scrambling from the plane and being helped by others to the side of the roadway just before the aircraft became engulfed in flames.

On Sun, 15 May 2022 14:17:00 -0700 (PDT), Geoff Rove <jgrove24@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>One person was killed and five others were injured after a small plane crashed on a bridge near Miami on Saturday afternoon, striking an SUV with three passengers and bursting into flames.
>
>The small plane carrying a pilot and two passengers was travelling north over Haulover Inlet Bridge when it crashed into an SUV travelling southbound, Miami-Dade police said in a press release. The plane then caught fire and fire officials discovered a body in the plane while extinguishing the flames.
>
>The single-engine Cessna 172 departed from Hollywood-Fort Lauderdale International Airport bound for Key West and soon lost power, according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration.
>
>A woman was driving the SUV and had two toddlers in the vehicle,who were taken to a hospital for evaluation, according to police.
>
>"It is miraculous," Miami-Dade Police spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta told NBC Miami, that the occupants in the car were OK. "So we're thankful for that but it's still unfortunate that we did lose somebody on this scene."
>
>The National Air Traffic Controllers Association confirmed the person who died was Narciso Torres, 36, a veteran Miami Airport Traffic Control Tower controller who was on board the plane.
>
>“Like so many thousands of our members, Narciso had such a deep love of all things aviation, and of flying, as evidenced by this flight on a beautiful South Florida day where he was doing what he loved," NATCA President Rich Santa said in a statement. "This loss hurts so deeply. Narciso will never be forgotten.”
>
>Torres served as local union president at Miami International Airport since 2019, according to the NATCA.
>
>“He was beloved,” Doug Church, deputy director of public affairs for the union, told the Miami Herald. “It’s a terrible loss.”
>
>Drone footage shared on social media showed the plane crumpled on the Haulover Inlet Bridge with a damaged SUV nearby. A man can be seen scrambling from the plane and being helped by others to the side of the roadway just before the aircraft became engulfed in flames.
>
>

https://www.avweb.com/multimedia/votw/miami-accident-dont-be-fearful-of-ditching/

Miami Accident: Don’t Be Fearful Of Ditching
By Paul Bertorelli -
May 15, 2022
38

Over the weekend of May 14, a Cessna 172 made an emergency landing on the
Haulover Inlet Bridge, resulting in one fatality. Ditching in the water
might have been the higher percentage choice. In this video
https://youtu.be/UXEg1E6-ogs , Paul Bertorelli goes over the numbers. If you
keep them in mind, it might help you overcome fear of ditching if it ever
turns out to be the better survival choice. For a more thorough discussion
of ditching considerations, see this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LwGYBBhTss&t=0s . For more on road
landings, see this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99DomTe9JY4&t=2s .

38 COMMENTS
Arthur J F. May 15, 2022 At 10:14 pm
Some people don’t want to “waste and airplane”; so they see a chance to
maybe set down and save it.
I think that it’s a reall mental obstacle to head for the water and know
that the plane is guaranteed to be totalled. Survivability on either is
really a toss-up so some will roll the dice to save the plane.
Log in to leave a comment
Scott F. May 16, 2022 At 6:44 am
Once that engine quits, the airplane belongs to the insurance company. All
that matters after that is the safety of your passengers and you. It is not
right to make drivers on the road unwilling participants of your emergency.
The road should be the last option unless it is certain there is no traffic
or obstacles. (In Florida, there is always traffic, the bridge was not a
good option.)
Log in to leave a comment
Vince M. May 16, 2022 At 7:23 am
Scott: You cannot imagine the number of times that I say that exact phrase
to my students–the objective of an engine out is saving your butt!! Thanks.
Best, Vince
Log in to leave a comment
Arthur J F. May 16, 2022 At 9:20 am
Funny that human psychology, more often than not, trumps an instructors
words during an actual emergency.
Log in to leave a comment
Cosmo A. May 15, 2022 At 10:20 pm
Thanks Paul. I greatly appreciated that run down on this a few years ago. It
made me mentally rehearse the possibility more realistically, especially
saying out loud “roads are the last resort.” When the fan stops blowing and
won’t be resuming activities, I am sure you’ve previously remarked that from
that point, the insurance company owns the plane.
Log in to leave a comment
Rick F. May 16, 2022 At 5:58 am
Often, rental planes are uninsured. Unless you have hull insurance as a
renter, the plane may not be covered at all.
Log in to leave a comment
R N. May 16, 2022 At 5:37 pm
I’m surprised by this statement. How can a flight school not have their
aircraft insured. I know as a renter you want insurance because you’d still
need to cover for stuff that you may be responsible for.
Log in to leave a comment
Steve R. May 19, 2022 At 10:39 am
Most FBOs that rent airplanes DO insure them,but only to protect their own
interests, not the renter’s. If the renter damages the rental, the insurance
company will pay off the FBO and then likely come after the renter ( or
their estate) to recover their loss. Renter’s insurance protects the renter
Log in to leave a comment
Raf S. May 16, 2022 At 3:33 am
Well presented advisory. Thanks Paul.
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Michael H. May 16, 2022 At 4:47 am
As a pilot we have a duty to Fly safely. There was no way to know if the
oncoming traffic was carrying a Church choir or a soccer team. It would it
have been better choice to put the aircraft in into the water for the safety
of the bridge traffic.
Remember it was not like the drivers can pull over off the road.
From many years ago, I remember too many conversations about your duty to
ride it in rather than risk flying into somebody’s home. Sometimes aviation
requires pilots to make hard decisions
Log in to leave a comment
Robert O. May 16, 2022 At 9:06 am
The pilot made the best decision based on the information at hand.
If he would have chose the beach and hit a dog walker, you’d be advocating
for a road/bridge landing. If he chose the ICW and hit a boat, you’d be
advocating for a beach landing. If he chose a ditching off the beach and hit
a swimmer, you’d be advocating for a ICW landing.
No matter the decision, it would have been a “bad” one according to the
Monday morning quarterbacks.
These comments only contribute to indecision for the next pilot. What will
the NTSB think? What will the YouTube and AvWeb comments look like? Who
cares. Fly it all the way to the scene of the crash as safely as you can.
As Paul mentioned, the PIC had about a minute and a half to put it down.
That means, he had much less than a minute and a half to access the
information at hand and make the best decision possible at the time. Maybe a
generous 30 seconds. At some point in the glide, he’s left with one option
and that option now, is based on information that is a minute old.
Log in to leave a comment
Arthur J F. May 16, 2022 At 9:42 am
Robert, spot on. Basically you’re gonna hit something if you fly in a
congested area and it’s always a crap shoot if your initial descision was
“the best” for you or what you hit. Even a whole plane parachute does not
mean safety for what’s under you!
Log in to leave a comment
Michael H. May 16, 2022 At 5:50 pm
I never said to land on the beach or in the surf. I said he should land in
the water. Paul has pointed out many times The best possible outcome is the
land in the water. A pilot has the responsibility to do the least harm
possible. Many times there is no good choice there’s only the best bad
choice.
Captain Sully had to make this choice years ago. He could’ve gone down the
river and landed in the water and the risked the lives of the people on the
aircraft or he could’ve tried to turn back and probably crashed into a
high-rise apartment complex. in a couple of seconds he chose not to risk
other peoples lives.
If you want to be a pilot you may have to make hard choices if you’re if
goal is to down the coast or chase $200 cheeseburgers walk
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Raf S. May 16, 2022 At 6:30 pm
“A pilot has the responsibility to do the least harm possible.” Good
reminder! Thanks Michael H.

Robert O. May 16, 2022 At 7:13 pm
The best bad choice is just another’s worse choice.
I’m not sure how your delineating between “water” and the ICW as the ICW is
full of the stuff, and boaters, and swimmers.
I am fully confident that if he put it down in the water and all aboard
drowned, they’d be a dozen others here espousing there virtues of a beach
landing.

Olle P. May 16, 2022 At 9:09 am
As a seaplane pilot, We have Under Water Escape training every second year,
we use an cockpit mock-up in an ordinary swimming pool. Flipping upside
down, unbuckle seat-belts, open doors, finding which way is up under stress
is a good training, that I hope I will never need.
Log in to leave a comment
William S. May 16, 2022 At 10:06 am
It would be helpful to have more information about in what percentage of
ditchings high wing planes flip. There’s one widely-publicized flight
instructor who claims that they “always” flip; Mr. Bertorelli is saying it’s
rare. I’m afraid that, despite the survival stats, in a pinch I might
hesitate about setting up for a landing in which i would likely be trying to
get out of a rapidly flooding plane while inverted. The part of the plane
that floods first is where your head is! I’ve seen myself turn very stupid
very fast when presented with a disorienting physical situation (my first
spin, for example…). Getting the inversion-dunking training isn’t always
practicable, though if I lived near water I would certainly do it.
Log in to leave a comment
Paul B. May 16, 2022 At 10:24 am
It’s absurd to say they always flip. I showed a clip of a 172RG that didn’t
flip. A friend ditched her 210 off Key West. Didn’t flip. I interviewed a
survivor of a 172 ditching in the Bahamas. Didn’t flip. A friend ditched a
182 in the breaker land off Naples. That one did flip. There’s a YouTube
video of a Caravan ditching shot from the inside. Didn’t flip.
The accident reports frequently lack enough detail to determine whether the
airplane pitch poled or not. But I gave the data suggesting it doesn’t
matter much. People egress safely at a rate exceeding 90 percent and
highwings are underrepresented in to total cohort.
Log in to leave a comment
Geoff C. May 16, 2022 At 10:27 am
Having been a seaplane pilot into busy boat harbors, it would be very easy
to quick plan a landing which would avoid collision with boat traffic. And
most boaters would quickly respond to assist in rescue operations.
Log in to leave a comment
Anthony V. May 16, 2022 At 10:30 am
Actually, any small airplane with gear down is likely to turn turtle in a
controlled ditching. And don’t forget that a good number of us can’t swim –
that may influence the choice of whether to ditch or not. I myself am one
who could never be taught to swim, yet I have been flying over water for
over 50 years, albeit almost always in large jet transports that have better
accommodations for a water landing than did the Titanic. But I once flew a
single engine airplane from Florida to Puerto Rico. One cultivates a
somewhat fatalistic attitude in such circumstances, but that does not blind
me to the fact that a ditching is more than likely a better option than
landing on a city street, or a bridge. After all, the passengers probably
can swim, and I am responsible for them too.
Log in to leave a comment
Gary B. May 16, 2022 At 3:15 pm
“any small airplane with gear down is likely to turn turtle in a controlled
ditching”
I have not seen any statistics prove that out. Sure, if I was in a retract I
would leave the gear up while ditching, but that’s as much to reduce water
drag to reduce the decel as much as to mitigate any flipping tendencies.
Log in to leave a comment
Paul B. May 17, 2022 At 1:16 pm
“Actually, any small airplane with gear down is likely to turn turtle in a
controlled ditching.”
This is simply not true. And we should stop repeating it. I’m boring into
some additional data on ditchings and of 36 incidents, two flipped. That’s 5
percent. So the right way to look at it as pitch poling is possible, but
it’s not frequent. And even when it is, egress is a high probability.
Log in to leave a comment
John W. May 16, 2022 At 11:47 am
Intellect vs. instinct. A flying fish would go for water landing, humans
first look for the “friendly” environment of dry land.
Log in to leave a comment
James C. May 16, 2022 At 3:16 pm
My concern wouldn’t necessarily be with flipping over (though that is a
possibility), or with trying to save the airplane, but rather the chance
that the landing (watering?) results in a head injury to someone aboard the
aircraft, and this results in drowning. I’ve had egress training from the
FAA, and it’s definitely good stuff to have, but I’m somewhat less confident
that I could do it after an abrupt stop. So, although I definitely don’t
want to use a roadway, I do want to stay dry, and this would be a very hard
choice.
Log in to leave a comment
R N. May 16, 2022 At 5:28 pm
Paul
Nice one. Did you say you’d put the links to the other videos in the
description?
I can’t see them
Thanks
Log in to leave a comment
Paul B. May 17, 2022 At 5:17 am
They are in the YouTube description section. I have added them to the
summary above.
Log in to leave a comment
Tyler V. May 17, 2022 At 12:29 am
Psychology often trumps training, let alone youtube video breakdowns of “the
stats”. Not everyone is a carrier qualified fast mover pilot with the volume
of training it takes to be one and even they screw up in ways that make
monday morning quarterbacks scratch their heads. Remember that F35 that
bounced off the deck not too long ago? That pilot was probably better
trained than every avweb commenter I see above the comment box right now,
still screwed up big time. Water landing is the probably the scariest forced
landing scenario short of the engine quitting on climb-out over the suburbs
with no good landing areas ahead or within a doable turn, that’s a scenario
a lot of pilots could face based on the sprawl surrounding a good number of
America’s airports. Even strong swimmers like me are instinctively inclined
take the chance on land, especially a roadway, vs water. The common sense
knowledge in the back of your mind that any non-trivial injury in the
process of ditching probably will turn that ditching into a drowning because
of difficulty escaping doesn’t help that. Many injuries which are perfectly
survivable on land in the absence of fire mean you won’t be getting out of
that sinking plane unless a competent boater happens to be close enough to
drag you out before the plane slips beneath the waves.
Log in to leave a comment
David B. May 17, 2022 At 3:35 pm
A few years ago I flew my 172 from Dallas to Seattle. The many hours I spent
over the mountains gave me little concern. Then we went up to Friday Harbor,
and the minutes we spent over the Puget Sound waters concerned me greatly. I
found that odd, because I’ve also flown to Key West without much concern,
but two things were different in Washington State. First, a cloud cover kept
us down low and I didn’t have the mitigation of high altitude available to
me. The other is water temperature. I can swim, that doesn’t worry me. But
even in summer I think the Puget Sound will incapacitate me in a matter of
minutes. Try to go down near a boat.
Log in to leave a comment
Peter L. May 17, 2022 At 5:16 pm
I’ve never ditched (knocks on wood)–and a good thing, as the great bulk of
my overwater time has been on ferry flights worldwide (primarily North
Atlantic, where despite immersion suit, life raft, PLB, etc., the ultimate
outcome of even a successful ditching is likely dire). I have, however, had
a crash (in a Marchetti SF-260), just after departing Narsarsuaq, Greenland,
enroute to Canada. I had the choice between jettisoning the canopy and
ditching in the adjacent fjord–which was frozen, but on which the ice was
quite thin, offering the possibility of punching through it and being stuck
underneath–or picking the “least worst” spot on land, which was a sloping
rocky field. That’s what I chose; the airplane was totaled (at least so far
as insurance was concerned), I walked away without a scratch.
A couple of thoughts:
1.) It had thrown a rod, but was still running (after a fashion), and I was
still close enough to the airport that I might have been able to nurse it
back to the runway–but if I’d tried turning back across the fjord and it had
then quit outright, I’d definitely have had to ditch. I remember thinking,
“it’s not mine, it’s insured, it’s time to park it” as a headed for the
field which I knew was within gliding range. (I can add that cutting the
engine and stopping the prop provided a very significant increase in glide
performance.)
2.) It was a huge psychological advantage for me that it wasn’t my first, or
even my thousand and first, forced landing without power (I fly gliders) nor
my first, or even my hundred and first, off-airport landing (I fly gliders).
I happen to think that glider experience–even if only a few hours–is
absolutely invaluable, and if I had my druthers as a CFI I’d start every
student in them first. (Not to mention that it’s huge fun.)
Log in to leave a comment
Marc G. May 17, 2022 At 6:58 pm
Great comment. Thank You.
Log in to leave a comment
Eric G. May 18, 2022 At 12:31 pm
Great video. Besides the gulp of air, I have heard that it is a good idea to
take your feet off the rudders at the moment of impact. The rudders may give
you directional control on the way down. They may be abruptly jammed one way
or the other at impact breaking or spraining an ankle and are ineffective
after contact with the water anyway.
Log in to leave a comment
Black B. May 18, 2022 At 5:01 pm
Conducting an emergency landing & exposing ANYONE on the ground to possible
injury (or death) is ABSOLUTELY UNFORGIVABLE!!!!
My take
Log in to leave a comment
Rush S. May 19, 2022 At 9:52 am
Exposing ANYONE on the ground to possible injury (or death) by flying over
inhabited areas is ABSOLUTELY UNFORGIVABLE!!!!
Take two.
Log in to leave a comment
Tod L. May 19, 2022 At 4:01 am
Did the pilot know how to swim? I am sure you experts know that answer.
Log in to leave a comment
Jeff W. May 19, 2022 At 7:50 am
Likely half or more of these types of accidents could be prevented. We would
have much less to talk about with if pilots put safety and prevention before
all else. Sure, even brand new airplanes fail, I get it. But bad, or no,
maintenance is at fault many times, as is fuel starvation. Secondly flying
over the concrete jungle at a higher altitude affords more options to
newly-minted glider pilots too. Prevention.
I flew a King Air B-200 for a company for a number of years. There was a
simple log entry that read “left Outer Wing Panel P/N 0000 changed”. Out of
curiosity I checked the part number thinking it was an inspection panel.
Nope. The wing panel is the entire wing from the nacelle outward. The wing
panel attaches to the mother ship, at the nacelle, with 4 bolts! Six months
after the aircraft was built in 1981 the captain turned the aircraft into a
glider by somehow forgetting to put fuel in the aircraft. The “Aluminum
Recycling Center – Next Left” sign on the freeway turned the left wing into
future beer cans. I know what you are thinking, because I thought the same
thing every time the air got the least bit bumpy. “What about the wing panel
attach fittings?” There was no log entry even suggesting the attach points
were inspected.
In grade school we learned this song “Safety is my friend, and safety is
your friend, the more we think of safety the safer we will be”.
God bless.
Log in to leave a comment
John M. May 19, 2022 At 8:24 am
There were few options for the pilot. Looking at Google Earth you had the
beach which would have probably resulted in deaths of people on the beach. U
of Biscayne property has some open space but could have made that? The
Haulover Sand Bar is a large shallow area that would probably have been
best. Just a couple of feet of water to land in so the potential for
drowning would have been minimal.
Log in to leave a comment
Black B. May 19, 2022 At 12:54 pm
That’s also my take John.
Log in to leave a comment
.. May 20, 2022 At 1:20 am
I appreciate the intellectual assessment Paul Bertorelli makes in all his
articles. Many thanks for making all of us smarter with data and diligent
reflection on the issue (and perhaps a little wittier too!) MM
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https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/fuel-valve-out-of-position-in-miami-bridge-crash/

Fuel Valve Out Of Position In Miami Bridge Crash
By Russ Niles -
Published: June 4, 2022
Updated: June 5, 2022

The fuel tank selector valve was between Both and Right on the Cessna 172
that collided with two vehicles in an emergency landing on a bridge in Miami
on May 14. The crash killed the pilot and injured two passengers and five
people in one of the vehicles. That was the only obvious anomaly with the
aircraft mentioned in the NTSB’s preliminary report on the accident. The
full report is copied below. Although the fuel valve was out of position,
there was fuel in the line to the carburetor, which was functioning
normally, the engine had compression on all cylinders and the ignition
system was fine. The throttle was pushed all the way in, the mixture was
full rich and the carb heat was turned off.

The plane took off from Homestead Airport and landed at North Perry Airport
in Hollywood where the pilot added 11.2 gallons of fuel and met the
passengers. The NTSB checked the fuel at the airport and found no
contamination. The plane took off for Key West and was flying below the
Miami Class B along the waterfront at 1,200 feet when the pilot called a
MayDay, saying he’d lost engine power and was going down. “There’s three
souls, there’s um a road right here … a little bridge, I’m going to make
that, 54Z,” the pilot said in his last radio transmission. The plane landed
straddling the median of the four-lane bridge, hit a vehicle from behind,
crossed the median and collided head-on with a van before flipping over and
catching fire. The pilot was a Miami tower controller.

Report_ERA22FA226_105075_6_4_2022-7_45_36-PMDownload
https://s30121.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Report_ERA22FA226_105075_6_4_2022-7_45_36-PM.pdf
================================================================================

On Tue, 24 May 2022 13:37:15 -0700, Larry Dighera <LDighera@att.net> wrote:

>On Sun, 15 May 2022 14:17:00 -0700 (PDT), Geoff Rove <jgrove24@hotmail.com>
>wrote:
>
>>One person was killed and five others were injured after a small plane crashed on a bridge near Miami on Saturday afternoon, striking an SUV with three passengers and bursting into flames.
>>
>>The small plane carrying a pilot and two passengers was travelling north over Haulover Inlet Bridge when it crashed into an SUV travelling southbound, Miami-Dade police said in a press release. The plane then caught fire and fire officials discovered a body in the plane while extinguishing the flames.
>>
>>The single-engine Cessna 172 departed from Hollywood-Fort Lauderdale International Airport bound for Key West and soon lost power, according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration.
>>
>>A woman was driving the SUV and had two toddlers in the vehicle,who were taken to a hospital for evaluation, according to police.
>>
>>"It is miraculous," Miami-Dade Police spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta told NBC Miami, that the occupants in the car were OK. "So we're thankful for that but it's still unfortunate that we did lose somebody on this scene."
>>
>>The National Air Traffic Controllers Association confirmed the person who died was Narciso Torres, 36, a veteran Miami Airport Traffic Control Tower controller who was on board the plane.
>>
>>“Like so many thousands of our members, Narciso had such a deep love of all things aviation, and of flying, as evidenced by this flight on a beautiful South Florida day where he was doing what he loved," NATCA President Rich Santa said in a statement. "This loss hurts so deeply. Narciso will never be forgotten.”
>>
>>Torres served as local union president at Miami International Airport since 2019, according to the NATCA.
>>
>>“He was beloved,” Doug Church, deputy director of public affairs for the union, told the Miami Herald. “It’s a terrible loss.”
>>
>>Drone footage shared on social media showed the plane crumpled on the Haulover Inlet Bridge with a damaged SUV nearby. A man can be seen scrambling from the plane and being helped by others to the side of the roadway just before the aircraft became engulfed in flames.
>>
>>
>
>https://www.avweb.com/multimedia/votw/miami-accident-dont-be-fearful-of-ditching/
>
>Miami Accident: Don’t Be Fearful Of Ditching
>By Paul Bertorelli -
>May 15, 2022
>38
>
>Over the weekend of May 14, a Cessna 172 made an emergency landing on the
>Haulover Inlet Bridge, resulting in one fatality. Ditching in the water
>might have been the higher percentage choice. In this video
>https://youtu.be/UXEg1E6-ogs , Paul Bertorelli goes over the numbers. If you
>keep them in mind, it might help you overcome fear of ditching if it ever
>turns out to be the better survival choice. For a more thorough discussion
>of ditching considerations, see this video:
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LwGYBBhTss&t=0s . For more on road
>landings, see this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99DomTe9JY4&t=2s .
>
>38 COMMENTS
>Arthur J F. May 15, 2022 At 10:14 pm
>Some people don’t want to “waste and airplane”; so they see a chance to
>maybe set down and save it.
>I think that it’s a reall mental obstacle to head for the water and know
>that the plane is guaranteed to be totalled. Survivability on either is
>really a toss-up so some will roll the dice to save the plane.
>Log in to leave a comment
>Scott F. May 16, 2022 At 6:44 am
>Once that engine quits, the airplane belongs to the insurance company. All
>that matters after that is the safety of your passengers and you. It is not
>right to make drivers on the road unwilling participants of your emergency.
>The road should be the last option unless it is certain there is no traffic
>or obstacles. (In Florida, there is always traffic, the bridge was not a
>good option.)
>Log in to leave a comment
>Vince M. May 16, 2022 At 7:23 am
>Scott: You cannot imagine the number of times that I say that exact phrase
>to my students–the objective of an engine out is saving your butt!! Thanks.
>Best, Vince
>Log in to leave a comment
>Arthur J F. May 16, 2022 At 9:20 am
>Funny that human psychology, more often than not, trumps an instructors
>words during an actual emergency.
>Log in to leave a comment
>Cosmo A. May 15, 2022 At 10:20 pm
>Thanks Paul. I greatly appreciated that run down on this a few years ago. It
>made me mentally rehearse the possibility more realistically, especially
>saying out loud “roads are the last resort.” When the fan stops blowing and
>won’t be resuming activities, I am sure you’ve previously remarked that from
>that point, the insurance company owns the plane.
>Log in to leave a comment
>Rick F. May 16, 2022 At 5:58 am
>Often, rental planes are uninsured. Unless you have hull insurance as a
>renter, the plane may not be covered at all.
>Log in to leave a comment
>R N. May 16, 2022 At 5:37 pm
>I’m surprised by this statement. How can a flight school not have their
>aircraft insured. I know as a renter you want insurance because you’d still
>need to cover for stuff that you may be responsible for.
>Log in to leave a comment
>Steve R. May 19, 2022 At 10:39 am
>Most FBOs that rent airplanes DO insure them,but only to protect their own
>interests, not the renter’s. If the renter damages the rental, the insurance
>company will pay off the FBO and then likely come after the renter ( or
>their estate) to recover their loss. Renter’s insurance protects the renter
>Log in to leave a comment
>Raf S. May 16, 2022 At 3:33 am
>Well presented advisory. Thanks Paul.
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>Michael H. May 16, 2022 At 4:47 am
>As a pilot we have a duty to Fly safely. There was no way to know if the
>oncoming traffic was carrying a Church choir or a soccer team. It would it
>have been better choice to put the aircraft in into the water for the safety
>of the bridge traffic.
>Remember it was not like the drivers can pull over off the road.
>From many years ago, I remember too many conversations about your duty to
>ride it in rather than risk flying into somebody’s home. Sometimes aviation
>requires pilots to make hard decisions
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>Robert O. May 16, 2022 At 9:06 am
>The pilot made the best decision based on the information at hand.
>If he would have chose the beach and hit a dog walker, you’d be advocating
>for a road/bridge landing. If he chose the ICW and hit a boat, you’d be
>advocating for a beach landing. If he chose a ditching off the beach and hit
>a swimmer, you’d be advocating for a ICW landing.
>No matter the decision, it would have been a “bad” one according to the
>Monday morning quarterbacks.
>These comments only contribute to indecision for the next pilot. What will
>the NTSB think? What will the YouTube and AvWeb comments look like? Who
>cares. Fly it all the way to the scene of the crash as safely as you can.
>As Paul mentioned, the PIC had about a minute and a half to put it down.
>That means, he had much less than a minute and a half to access the
>information at hand and make the best decision possible at the time. Maybe a
>generous 30 seconds. At some point in the glide, he’s left with one option
>and that option now, is based on information that is a minute old.
>Log in to leave a comment
>Arthur J F. May 16, 2022 At 9:42 am
>Robert, spot on. Basically you’re gonna hit something if you fly in a
>congested area and it’s always a crap shoot if your initial descision was
>“the best” for you or what you hit. Even a whole plane parachute does not
>mean safety for what’s under you!
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>Michael H. May 16, 2022 At 5:50 pm
>I never said to land on the beach or in the surf. I said he should land in
>the water. Paul has pointed out many times The best possible outcome is the
>land in the water. A pilot has the responsibility to do the least harm
>possible. Many times there is no good choice there’s only the best bad
>choice.
>Captain Sully had to make this choice years ago. He could’ve gone down the
>river and landed in the water and the risked the lives of the people on the
>aircraft or he could’ve tried to turn back and probably crashed into a
>high-rise apartment complex. in a couple of seconds he chose not to risk
>other peoples lives.
>If you want to be a pilot you may have to make hard choices if you’re if
>goal is to down the coast or chase $200 cheeseburgers walk
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>Raf S. May 16, 2022 At 6:30 pm
>“A pilot has the responsibility to do the least harm possible.” Good
>reminder! Thanks Michael H.
>
>Robert O. May 16, 2022 At 7:13 pm
>The best bad choice is just another’s worse choice.
>I’m not sure how your delineating between “water” and the ICW as the ICW is
>full of the stuff, and boaters, and swimmers.
>I am fully confident that if he put it down in the water and all aboard
>drowned, they’d be a dozen others here espousing there virtues of a beach
>landing.
>
>Olle P. May 16, 2022 At 9:09 am
>As a seaplane pilot, We have Under Water Escape training every second year,
>we use an cockpit mock-up in an ordinary swimming pool. Flipping upside
>down, unbuckle seat-belts, open doors, finding which way is up under stress
>is a good training, that I hope I will never need.
>Log in to leave a comment
>William S. May 16, 2022 At 10:06 am
>It would be helpful to have more information about in what percentage of
>ditchings high wing planes flip. There’s one widely-publicized flight
>instructor who claims that they “always” flip; Mr. Bertorelli is saying it’s
>rare. I’m afraid that, despite the survival stats, in a pinch I might
>hesitate about setting up for a landing in which i would likely be trying to
>get out of a rapidly flooding plane while inverted. The part of the plane
>that floods first is where your head is! I’ve seen myself turn very stupid
>very fast when presented with a disorienting physical situation (my first
>spin, for example…). Getting the inversion-dunking training isn’t always
>practicable, though if I lived near water I would certainly do it.
>Log in to leave a comment
>Paul B. May 16, 2022 At 10:24 am
>It’s absurd to say they always flip. I showed a clip of a 172RG that didn’t
>flip. A friend ditched her 210 off Key West. Didn’t flip. I interviewed a
>survivor of a 172 ditching in the Bahamas. Didn’t flip. A friend ditched a
>182 in the breaker land off Naples. That one did flip. There’s a YouTube
>video of a Caravan ditching shot from the inside. Didn’t flip.
>The accident reports frequently lack enough detail to determine whether the
>airplane pitch poled or not. But I gave the data suggesting it doesn’t
>matter much. People egress safely at a rate exceeding 90 percent and
>highwings are underrepresented in to total cohort.
>Log in to leave a comment
>Geoff C. May 16, 2022 At 10:27 am
>Having been a seaplane pilot into busy boat harbors, it would be very easy
>to quick plan a landing which would avoid collision with boat traffic. And
>most boaters would quickly respond to assist in rescue operations.
>Log in to leave a comment
>Anthony V. May 16, 2022 At 10:30 am
>Actually, any small airplane with gear down is likely to turn turtle in a
>controlled ditching. And don’t forget that a good number of us can’t swim –
>that may influence the choice of whether to ditch or not. I myself am one
>who could never be taught to swim, yet I have been flying over water for
>over 50 years, albeit almost always in large jet transports that have better
>accommodations for a water landing than did the Titanic. But I once flew a
>single engine airplane from Florida to Puerto Rico. One cultivates a
>somewhat fatalistic attitude in such circumstances, but that does not blind
>me to the fact that a ditching is more than likely a better option than
>landing on a city street, or a bridge. After all, the passengers probably
>can swim, and I am responsible for them too.
>Log in to leave a comment
>Gary B. May 16, 2022 At 3:15 pm
>“any small airplane with gear down is likely to turn turtle in a controlled
>ditching”
>I have not seen any statistics prove that out. Sure, if I was in a retract I
>would leave the gear up while ditching, but that’s as much to reduce water
>drag to reduce the decel as much as to mitigate any flipping tendencies.
>Log in to leave a comment
>Paul B. May 17, 2022 At 1:16 pm
>“Actually, any small airplane with gear down is likely to turn turtle in a
>controlled ditching.”
>This is simply not true. And we should stop repeating it. I’m boring into
>some additional data on ditchings and of 36 incidents, two flipped. That’s 5
>percent. So the right way to look at it as pitch poling is possible, but
>it’s not frequent. And even when it is, egress is a high probability.
>Log in to leave a comment
>John W. May 16, 2022 At 11:47 am
>Intellect vs. instinct. A flying fish would go for water landing, humans
>first look for the “friendly” environment of dry land.
>Log in to leave a comment
>James C. May 16, 2022 At 3:16 pm
>My concern wouldn’t necessarily be with flipping over (though that is a
>possibility), or with trying to save the airplane, but rather the chance
>that the landing (watering?) results in a head injury to someone aboard the
>aircraft, and this results in drowning. I’ve had egress training from the
>FAA, and it’s definitely good stuff to have, but I’m somewhat less confident
>that I could do it after an abrupt stop. So, although I definitely don’t
>want to use a roadway, I do want to stay dry, and this would be a very hard
>choice.
>Log in to leave a comment
>R N. May 16, 2022 At 5:28 pm
>Paul
>Nice one. Did you say you’d put the links to the other videos in the
>description?
>I can’t see them
>Thanks
>Log in to leave a comment
>Paul B. May 17, 2022 At 5:17 am
>They are in the YouTube description section. I have added them to the
>summary above.
>Log in to leave a comment
>Tyler V. May 17, 2022 At 12:29 am
>Psychology often trumps training, let alone youtube video breakdowns of “the
>stats”. Not everyone is a carrier qualified fast mover pilot with the volume
>of training it takes to be one and even they screw up in ways that make
>monday morning quarterbacks scratch their heads. Remember that F35 that
>bounced off the deck not too long ago? That pilot was probably better
>trained than every avweb commenter I see above the comment box right now,
>still screwed up big time. Water landing is the probably the scariest forced
>landing scenario short of the engine quitting on climb-out over the suburbs
>with no good landing areas ahead or within a doable turn, that’s a scenario
>a lot of pilots could face based on the sprawl surrounding a good number of
>America’s airports. Even strong swimmers like me are instinctively inclined
>take the chance on land, especially a roadway, vs water. The common sense
>knowledge in the back of your mind that any non-trivial injury in the
>process of ditching probably will turn that ditching into a drowning because
>of difficulty escaping doesn’t help that. Many injuries which are perfectly
>survivable on land in the absence of fire mean you won’t be getting out of
>that sinking plane unless a competent boater happens to be close enough to
>drag you out before the plane slips beneath the waves.
>Log in to leave a comment
>David B. May 17, 2022 At 3:35 pm
>A few years ago I flew my 172 from Dallas to Seattle. The many hours I spent
>over the mountains gave me little concern. Then we went up to Friday Harbor,
>and the minutes we spent over the Puget Sound waters concerned me greatly. I
>found that odd, because I’ve also flown to Key West without much concern,
>but two things were different in Washington State. First, a cloud cover kept
>us down low and I didn’t have the mitigation of high altitude available to
>me. The other is water temperature. I can swim, that doesn’t worry me. But
>even in summer I think the Puget Sound will incapacitate me in a matter of
>minutes. Try to go down near a boat.
>Log in to leave a comment
>Peter L. May 17, 2022 At 5:16 pm
>I’ve never ditched (knocks on wood)–and a good thing, as the great bulk of
>my overwater time has been on ferry flights worldwide (primarily North
>Atlantic, where despite immersion suit, life raft, PLB, etc., the ultimate
>outcome of even a successful ditching is likely dire). I have, however, had
>a crash (in a Marchetti SF-260), just after departing Narsarsuaq, Greenland,
>enroute to Canada. I had the choice between jettisoning the canopy and
>ditching in the adjacent fjord–which was frozen, but on which the ice was
>quite thin, offering the possibility of punching through it and being stuck
>underneath–or picking the “least worst” spot on land, which was a sloping
>rocky field. That’s what I chose; the airplane was totaled (at least so far
>as insurance was concerned), I walked away without a scratch.
>A couple of thoughts:
>1.) It had thrown a rod, but was still running (after a fashion), and I was
>still close enough to the airport that I might have been able to nurse it
>back to the runway–but if I’d tried turning back across the fjord and it had
>then quit outright, I’d definitely have had to ditch. I remember thinking,
>“it’s not mine, it’s insured, it’s time to park it” as a headed for the
>field which I knew was within gliding range. (I can add that cutting the
>engine and stopping the prop provided a very significant increase in glide
>performance.)
>2.) It was a huge psychological advantage for me that it wasn’t my first, or
>even my thousand and first, forced landing without power (I fly gliders) nor
>my first, or even my hundred and first, off-airport landing (I fly gliders).
>I happen to think that glider experience–even if only a few hours–is
>absolutely invaluable, and if I had my druthers as a CFI I’d start every
>student in them first. (Not to mention that it’s huge fun.)
>Log in to leave a comment
>Marc G. May 17, 2022 At 6:58 pm
>Great comment. Thank You.
>Log in to leave a comment
>Eric G. May 18, 2022 At 12:31 pm
>Great video. Besides the gulp of air, I have heard that it is a good idea to
>take your feet off the rudders at the moment of impact. The rudders may give
>you directional control on the way down. They may be abruptly jammed one way
>or the other at impact breaking or spraining an ankle and are ineffective
>after contact with the water anyway.
>Log in to leave a comment
>Black B. May 18, 2022 At 5:01 pm
>Conducting an emergency landing & exposing ANYONE on the ground to possible
>injury (or death) is ABSOLUTELY UNFORGIVABLE!!!!
>My take
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>Rush S. May 19, 2022 At 9:52 am
>Exposing ANYONE on the ground to possible injury (or death) by flying over
>inhabited areas is ABSOLUTELY UNFORGIVABLE!!!!
>Take two.
>Log in to leave a comment
>Tod L. May 19, 2022 At 4:01 am
>Did the pilot know how to swim? I am sure you experts know that answer.
>Log in to leave a comment
>Jeff W. May 19, 2022 At 7:50 am
>Likely half or more of these types of accidents could be prevented. We would
>have much less to talk about with if pilots put safety and prevention before
>all else. Sure, even brand new airplanes fail, I get it. But bad, or no,
>maintenance is at fault many times, as is fuel starvation. Secondly flying
>over the concrete jungle at a higher altitude affords more options to
>newly-minted glider pilots too. Prevention.
>I flew a King Air B-200 for a company for a number of years. There was a
>simple log entry that read “left Outer Wing Panel P/N 0000 changed”. Out of
>curiosity I checked the part number thinking it was an inspection panel.
>Nope. The wing panel is the entire wing from the nacelle outward. The wing
>panel attaches to the mother ship, at the nacelle, with 4 bolts! Six months
>after the aircraft was built in 1981 the captain turned the aircraft into a
>glider by somehow forgetting to put fuel in the aircraft. The “Aluminum
>Recycling Center – Next Left” sign on the freeway turned the left wing into
>future beer cans. I know what you are thinking, because I thought the same
>thing every time the air got the least bit bumpy. “What about the wing panel
>attach fittings?” There was no log entry even suggesting the attach points
>were inspected.
>In grade school we learned this song “Safety is my friend, and safety is
>your friend, the more we think of safety the safer we will be”.
>God bless.
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>John M. May 19, 2022 At 8:24 am
>There were few options for the pilot. Looking at Google Earth you had the
>beach which would have probably resulted in deaths of people on the beach. U
>of Biscayne property has some open space but could have made that? The
>Haulover Sand Bar is a large shallow area that would probably have been
>best. Just a couple of feet of water to land in so the potential for
>drowning would have been minimal.
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>Black B. May 19, 2022 At 12:54 pm
>That’s also my take John.
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>. May 20, 2022 At 1:20 am
>I appreciate the intellectual assessment Paul Bertorelli makes in all his
>articles. Many thanks for making all of us smarter with data and diligent
>reflection on the issue (and perhaps a little wittier too!) MM
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>
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