Crashed my Flight Design CTLS

First, very happy the OP is safe. He did a great job remaining calm and taking decisive action at the very end of the flight.

But ... I'm going to push back on the "good ADM" feedback. IMO the pilot made several bad decisions that turned a manageable situation into a life threatening one.

First, he should have made a precautionary landing while he still had partial power and/or sufficient altitude to set up a 100% certain arrival at a suitable landing site, instead of attempting a LONG glide.

View attachment 102067

Second, he elected to glide from a rural area towards a densely populated area.

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Third, he appears to have glided right over the top of 25SC about half way to GMU.

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I'm not trying to be a jerk here, but there are several valuable lessons to be learned. This situation should have ended with the aircraft sitting in a farmers field up near Lake Robinson, not hanging in a tree.

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The only problem with Mountain Ridge (25SC) is that it doesn’t show up on most if any charts. It’s in the databases but isn’t physically represented on the charts. If you don’t know it’s there, you might miss it even if you are looking for a place to land. Otherwise I agree with your post.
 
The only problem with Mountain Ridge (25SC) is that it doesn’t show up on most if any charts. It’s in the databases but isn’t physically represented on the charts. If you don’t know it’s there, you might miss it even if you are looking for a place to land. Otherwise I agree with your post.

Fair point. I looked at the VFR chart and you are right, nothing there. It appears on my tablet/phone in iFlyGPS, so I assume it appears in FF, GP, and other similar apps, and would come up when NRST function activated. I confess I have not listened to the ATC recording, but am somewhat surprised that the controller would not have identified that as an option.

IMO pretty good illustration of how vector charts are better than digitized sectionals.

Still, we are all taught in PPL that a precautionary landing under power on the terrain of your choice is preferable to an emergency landing at a random location later. This is pretty much a case study for the wisdom of that rule.

Again, not trying to play "I am a better pilot" or rub the OP's nose in his misfortune. But the whole point of the mishaps forum is to learn from others' experiences so it does not happen to us. Thank goodness this time we can actually converse with the pilot instead of the usual thoughts and prayers for his grieving family. Seen far too much of that in 30 years of flying.
 
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VFRONLY I am sure you want those minutes back to make better ADM :) (Sarcasm). Cool thing now that you still have your life, you can play around for hours on a flight sim and rock the landing, stretch the glidepath or land at 25SC. NTSB did that for Sully to prove all the great options he had.

ED that's a cool analysis, its always great to review decisions. Its amazing to see how many options are often not identified when we are stressed. Like a quarterback watching his football game...noticing the wide open receiver he missed. I wonder and perhaps VFRONLY can respond...But if there was no parachute options would he have made more conservative choices...or more desperate and dangerous choices knowing that he MUST LAND? That is VFRONLY was the chute option something in the back of your mind that you balanced in your ADM. Something like, I will try to make it to the airport instead or risking damaging the plane in a field...and in the event I dont.. well I have the chute?
I wonder if having a chute adds a whole other set of ADM stressors.
 
Ed, I haven’t been on this forum a while. Just saw your post. I agree with you. Believe me when I say I second guessed myself for a long time after the accident. But here are some details on what I was thinking at the time. When the oil pressure went away, it was sudden and total. Oil temp stayed in the green. I had replaced the oil pressure sending unit a month prior for reading too high. My first thought was this can’t be real. It’s got to be that sending unit. Oil pressure doesn’t go to zero with no warning! Engine continued to run normally. Just to be safe, I’ll land at Greenville.
That was a mistake. I should have stayed over the countryside until I was sure of what was going on. It was only after I got close to GMU and over the dense area that I knew it was real. The engine was getting loud an it seized shortly thereafter.
Yes, I should have known about 25SC. There was also a closed airport I practically flew over but it’s not on the charts. Perhaps if ATC knew where I was they could have pointed them out to me. Yes I should have squawked 7700, or at least indented. Another mistake.
Anywho, it all worked out. I am very happy I caused no property damage or hurt anyone on the ground. Avemco paid for the airplane and have since bought another, newer version of the CT. I knew if I waited I’d probably never fly again.
 
Ed, I haven’t been on this forum a while. Just saw your post. I agree with you. Believe me when I say I second guessed myself for a long time after the accident. But here are some details on what I was thinking at the time. When the oil pressure went away, it was sudden and total. Oil temp stayed in the green. I had replaced the oil pressure sending unit a month prior for reading too high. My first thought was this can’t be real. It’s got to be that sending unit. Oil pressure doesn’t go to zero with no warning! Engine continued to run normally. Just to be safe, I’ll land at Greenville.
That was a mistake. I should have stayed over the countryside until I was sure of what was going on. It was only after I got close to GMU and over the dense area that I knew it was real. The engine was getting loud an it seized shortly thereafter.
Yes, I should have known about 25SC. There was also a closed airport I practically flew over but it’s not on the charts. Perhaps if ATC knew where I was they could have pointed them out to me. Yes I should have squawked 7700, or at least indented. Another mistake.
Anywho, it all worked out. I am very happy I caused no property damage or hurt anyone on the ground. Avemco paid for the airplane and have since bought another, newer version of the CT. I knew if I waited I’d probably never fly again.

I think that is one probably one of the harder decisions to make, whether to believe something is wrong with the engine or just a erroneous reading. I've resolved to believe the reading and sort it out on the ground, I hope I will stick with that mantra if I ever get tested.
 
So what are you going to buy ?
 
When the oil pressure went away, it was sudden and total. Oil temp stayed in the green.
The oil temperature sensor is on the outlet of the oil pump - if you sucked the oil tank dry because oil was not being returned to the tank then the temperature is not going to be telling you much (I know, more armchair quarterbacking...).
2 oil return lines had become “disconnected”.
That confuses me a bit. The typical Rotax 912 oil system has a single return line from the bottom of the crankcase to the oil tank. I assume that your mechanic had done the oil system purge procedure? Perhaps after an oil change? Or some other more extensive work? For that procedure you disconnect the oil return line and the breather tube from the oil reservoir - if he/she failed to reconnect those, that would be two lines disconnected.
https://legacy.rotaxowner.com/si_tb_info/serviceinfo/si912018_914020.pdf
upload_2022-3-14_12-15-58.png
 
(This likely should be a new thread, but since you owned a CTLS and explicitly chose to replace it with a CTLS I think you could offer some valuable insight)

Can you talk about your thought process to buy another CTLS vs. every other option on the market?
 
Just watched the video, and I was also wondering the same about best glide speed as was posted back in November-
"Looking at the altimeter winding down and the high IAS, what is the best glide speed for this aircraft?
CT LS says 78 kts no flap and for CT SW 63 kts with 15 degree flap."

It appeared during most of the glide you were about 140-150 mph descending 1,500 fpm+. Later before you pulled the chute, had the speed back down into the 70mph range, and descent rate was about 800fpm. Not to Monday morning QB, but at best glide, I think you easily make GMU.

Congrats on making it thru what was a hairy experience, I mostly post this so others might learn and get to best glide speed ASAP. :)
 
Ed, I haven’t been on this forum a while. Just saw your post. I agree with you. Believe me when I say I second guessed myself for a long time after the accident. But here are some details on what I was thinking at the time. When the oil pressure went away, it was sudden and total. Oil temp stayed in the green. I had replaced the oil pressure sending unit a month prior for reading too high. My first thought was this can’t be real. It’s got to be that sending unit. Oil pressure doesn’t go to zero with no warning! Engine continued to run normally. Just to be safe, I’ll land at Greenville.
That was a mistake. I should have stayed over the countryside until I was sure of what was going on. It was only after I got close to GMU and over the dense area that I knew it was real. The engine was getting loud an it seized shortly thereafter.
Yes, I should have known about 25SC. There was also a closed airport I practically flew over but it’s not on the charts. Perhaps if ATC knew where I was they could have pointed them out to me. Yes I should have squawked 7700, or at least indented. Another mistake.
Anywho, it all worked out. I am very happy I caused no property damage or hurt anyone on the ground. Avemco paid for the airplane and have since bought another, newer version of the CT. I knew if I waited I’d probably never fly again.

Great point on not being sure the Oil Press indication was valid, and thanks for sharing your experiences. As I said, I am very, very happy that you are alive, well, and still flying! The rest is just money, and the insurance company's money at that.
 
I think that is one probably one of the harder decisions to make, whether to believe something is wrong with the engine or just a erroneous reading. I've resolved to believe the reading and sort it out on the ground, I hope I will stick with that mantra if I ever get tested.

Yes it is. Years ago I had an engine suddenly drop oil pressure. I looked at the gauge and in my mind I said that can't be the correct reading, that gauge must have quit working. But I quickly decided to humor the gauge and shut down the engine. That was the right decision to make because the gauge was correct and the engine was not making oil pressure.

I had two engines so it was not a problem to return to the airport for landing with the remaining engine.
 
Just watched the video, and I was also wondering the same about best glide speed as was posted back in November-
"Looking at the altimeter winding down and the high IAS, what is the best glide speed for this aircraft?
CT LS says 78 kts no flap and for CT SW 63 kts with 15 degree flap."

It appeared during most of the glide you were about 140-150 mph descending 1,500 fpm+. Later before you pulled the chute, had the speed back down into the 70mph range, and descent rate was about 800fpm. Not to Monday morning QB, but at best glide, I think you easily make GMU.

Congrats on making it thru what was a hairy experience, I mostly post this so others might learn and get to best glide speed ASAP. :)

That video is a flight sim with ATC overlaid on it. Didn't you think it was odd that an aircraft with a videographer was flying 75' off the port quarter of the OP's CTLS when the engine gave up?

:rofl:
 
That video is a flight sim with ATC overlaid on it. Didn't you think it was odd that an aircraft with a videographer was flying 75' off the port quarter of the OP's CTLS when the engine gave up?

:rofl:

Really, that was a simulation...... huh, I had no idea......rolleyes. I'm guessing though that the airspeeds, altitude and vsi data shown were based on somewhat accurate information?
 
When the oil pressure went away, it was sudden and total. Oil temp stayed in the green. I had replaced the oil pressure sending unit a month prior for reading too high. My first thought was this can’t be real. It’s got to be that sending unit. Oil pressure doesn’t go to zero with no warning! Engine continued to run normally. Just to be safe, I’ll land at Greenville.
That was a mistake.
Similar thing (except transmission instead of engine) happened with a UH-1 in Vietnam. Oil pressure zero, everything else in the green, including oil temp, and no caution lights. Pilot talked to his flight lead, and the decision was made to continue on, since they were over hostile territory. Soon after, the rotor slowed down to a stop, about 1000 AGL. Thirteen souls on board. Accident investigation brought out the fact that accurate oil temp indication will lag significantly if there's a change at the sensor. On this particular aircraft, it also happened that the xmsn oil pressure caution light was inop. So the pilot voted for best 2 out of 3, forgetting the caution light writeup in the logbook. The irony is that he was in an air cav platoon formation with gunships and several other Hueys with troops, who could have easily have secured a perimeter had he made an urgent precautionary landing.

So the moral of that story is the same as yours: if the oil pressure goes to zero, land ASAP.
 
That's one nice thing about old school analog Oil P gauges. No sender to quit.
 
That is one hellufa intro post. Talk about a mic drop. Great to hear you could walk away to talk (respectful) smack with us here. Are there consequences for the shop that did the MX?
 
That's one nice thing about old school analog Oil P gauges. No sender to quit.

Ed, you have not had an old school direct reading oil pressure guage in a plane with 7,000 hours on it crack the line behind the panel and dump hot oil on your legs.
That did not happen to me, but did happen to one of my partners. 1960 Cessna 150. An airport was reached before the oil level reached the low limit, but cleaning the plane took a while, and he discarded his pants and shoes. fortunately, he moved far enough that the oil did not go on him after the hot oil arrived at the break.
 
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