Pilot Uses iPad to Find Airport After Electrical Failure; Makes Belly Landing

[bradl]

Found this at KOTA-TV, via FlightAware.

Pilot lands safely in Rapid City despite no landing gear
Electrical failure shuts down on-board computers, access to landing gear
POSTED: 11:21 AM MST Feb 07, 2015
UPDATED: 12:46 PM MST Feb 07, 2015

RAPID CITY, S.D. - A single-engine prop aircraft made a successful emergency wheels up landing at Rapid City Regional Airport last night.

According to a release from the Rapid City Fire Department, the plane was en route from Wyoming to Wisconsin with two people on board. The plane’s electrical system failed about 80 miles outside of Rapid City, shutting down the on-board computers and access to landing gear.

With no radio to alert air traffic control, the pilot had to land without notifying the airport. The plane skidded to a stop on the runway used for smaller airplanes. The main airport runway remained in operation.

The pilot and his wife walked away from the crash-landing. Their names were not released.

“The only instruments they had available were airspeed and altitude indicators. They used their iPads to navigate to a safe landing place,” Rapid City Firefighter and Aircraft Rescue specialist Jerry Lueras said.

As they say in aviation, the best landing is the one you can walk away from.

BL.

 

[noisycats]

Someone had their cellular signal on during flight. Tsk, tsk, tsk...

 

[rhett7660]

Someone had their cellular signal on during flight. Tsk, tsk, tsk...

Well yeah, what do you think caused the planes landing gear to fail in the first place!!!!!

 

[bradl]

Well yeah, what do you think caused the planes landing gear to fail in the first place!!!!!

Not sure if you are being sarcastic or not...

But while we know that modern avionics are well shielded from such a signal, we do not know if:

1. The iPad was WiFi only or had a cellular connection,
2. If the iPad was on and active during the flight, or
3. If the iPad was the true cause of ALL avionics to be lost, including comms, which would go out over VHF.

I seriously doubt the latter, because the frequencies used by cell towers, are far lower on the VHF band than avionics and communications.

But either way, the fact that the iPad was used, the pilot was equipped with the right substitute for instruments (ForeFlight, FltPlan, Jeppesen, and FlightAware apps for charts - for all we know, GPS was not used; there is a basic app that calculates radial, bearing, and distance from a given VOR), and the pilot knew how to fly his aircraft to a safe landing is really all that mattered. He could fix the plane; but he couldn't fix it if he were dead.

BL.

 

[rhett7660]

Not sure if you are being sarcastic or not...

But while we know that modern avionics are well shielded from such a signal, we do not know if:

1. The iPad was WiFi only or had a cellular connection,
2. If the iPad was on and active during the flight, or
3. If the iPad was the true cause of ALL avionics to be lost, including comms, which would go out over VHF.

I seriously doubt the latter, because the frequencies used by cell towers, are far lower on the VHF band than avionics and communications.

But either way, the fact that the iPad was used, the pilot was equipped with the right substitute for instruments (ForeFlight, FltPlan, Jeppesen, and FlightAware apps for charts - for all we know, GPS was not used; there is a basic app that calculates radial, bearing, and distance from a given VOR), and the pilot knew how to fly his aircraft to a safe landing is really all that mattered. He could fix the plane; but he couldn't fix it if he were dead.

BL.

Sorry, yes I was being sarcastic.....

 

[noisycats]

Sorry, yes I was being sarcastic.....

As was I.

 

[chabig]

This isn't really a big deal. At night, the lights of cities are easy to see, and most cities have an airport. It's pretty easy to fly to one and land. All the iPad did was help him find a particular airport, something old fashioned aviation charts would have also done. Still, kudos to the guy for landing safely.