Ft. Lauderdale, Fl highway landing

papogator24

papogator24

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Papogator24
http://www.local10.com/news/small-plane-lands-on-i595-in-davie/35457096

Davie, Fl -A small plane has landed on Interstate 595 in Davie.

It happened Thursday morning in the westbound lanes of I-595 near Southwest 136th Avenue.

A view from Sky 10 showed the 1963 single-engine Piper PA-24 plane in the shoulder of I-595.

The pilot, identified as Scott Richmond, was not injured. He waved to Sky 10 and could be seen sitting on a wing of the plane.

A check of the plane's tail number shows it is registered to Gary Hill of Nashville, Tennessee.

Richmond told Local 10 News reporter John Turchin that he was headed to South Florida from South Carolina on a business trip.

Westbound traffic was being detoured off the interstate at Nob Hill Road. Traffic was backed up all the way to Interstate 95.

According to Richmond, as he was approaching Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, the tower suddenly refused to allow him to land, explaining that an airbus needed the runway immediately.

Richmond flew around for a while and was passed on to Miami International Airport's tower, when he realized that he couldn't stay in the air for much longer.

So Richmond decided to land on the highway, clipping the top of a gold Honda. A Florida Highway Patrol trooper was seen taking a photograph of the damage.

The plane has been taken apart and The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the cause of the landing. FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the pilot was the only person on board the plane.

Richmond said he has been flying for about six years.


I think he could have declared an emergency or diverted to another airport which isn't too far away.
 
Good fuel management skills pal....

There are 2 parallel runways at FLL. Declare and I'm sure they can fit you inky dink plane in between the big boys in there.
 
Stingray Don said:
Sounds like fuel exhaustion.
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Yup.
I wonder how long they had him circling. 30 minutes seems like a long time to wait for an airliner that needs the runway "right now". Perhaps he didn't have sufficient reserves.
 
"She sputtered and quit," Richmond said. "She ran out of fuel."

<sigh>...maybe next time plan better? Or declare? Or say something? Geeze...
 
Looks like nobody ever told this guy about declaring min fuel if needed. Pilots often forget that controllers are not the ones ultimately in charge of your airplane.
 
papogator24 said:
According to Richmond, as he was approaching Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, the tower suddenly refused to allow him to land, explaining that an airbus needed the runway immediately.
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This part is a bit vague. Was he previously cleared to land then the tower suddenly change their mind for the Airbus? Was the Airbus also landing or was it taking off? If taking off, they should have been told to hold for landing traffic. If landing, maybe they were gaining too fast on the Comanche so the tower told him to go around, extend downwind or something. Again, too vague.

However if he was low on fuel and knew it he should have replied "Unable. Minimum fuel. I am declaring an emergency." Or words to that effect. If he left the tower clueless about his fuel status, it is all on him regardless of how the tower managed the flow.
 
Who was the bigger fool,the pilot who went bingo fuel, or the Airbus ,who needed priority. Willing to bet the air bus also was low fuel. Or had the general dislike of GA pilots who would dare land in front of him.
 
frfly172 said:
Who was the bigger fool,the pilot who went bingo fuel, or the Airbus ,who needed priority. Willing to bet the air bus also was low fuel. Or had the general dislike of GA pilots who would dare land in front of him.
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Either way, odd that he would go away and fly 'around for a while'. And not make his fuel situation known to the tower or get back in line.

Wonder if there is a liveATC of this.
 
No excuse for the pilot on this one. There are airports and runways everywhere. Low on fuel? Land a bit earlier for some cheap stuff. Fly yourself into a corner.. Come clean and let ATC put you on runway now. The Airbus wasn't involved.

Bill 'I have no idea what happened" Watson
 
I had just turned base one time at RST when the tower had me break off and do a big circle and get back on base because a jet seemed to come up on them rather quickly. I think the tower controller was caught a bit off guard a bit maybe by a late handoff from approach. I don't know why. I had plenty of fuel so I obliged. This sort of stuff happens.
 
There is a lot of information missing:

#1. Flying around for a while? (Define what a while means) 5 Mins 10 Mins? You should have a least a 45 min reserve.

#2. That part of Florida has a TON of airports, (North Perry is one that comes to mind right away) A lot of student activity...Why didn't he try to land there it's about a 5 min flight from there.

#3. That waving to the media and sitting on the wing doesn't sit well with me. This could've ended up pretty bad and I hope it's a learning experience for him.

It's a nice looking Comanche though :yes:
 
SkyDog58 said:
I had just turned base one time at RST when the tower had me break off and do a big circle and get back on base because a jet seemed to come up on them rather quickly. I think the tower controller was caught a bit off guard a bit maybe by a late handoff from approach. I don't know why. I had plenty of fuel so I obliged. This sort of stuff happens.
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It should be expected at a FT Lauderdale or even a Podunk. A circle or 2 for spacing has nothing to do with running out of fuel.

I can hear the pilot saying to himself, "you know, a Mayday is a whole lot less embarrassing then a roadside disassembly, and a precautionary landing for fuel trumps both.... Yes, I think it does."

Idiot, but for the grace....
 
Wow....facts are not even in yet and the executioners have their hoods on already. Tisk, tisk....
 
Unit74 said:
Wow....facts are not even in yet and the executioners have their hoods on already. Tisk, tisk....
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Indeed. But what I don't understand is how this could happen given that the pilot (apparently) had a certificate. Perhaps his medical had expired. That would explain it.
 
This guy is a bonehead !!! At least three other airports he was right F**KING NEXT TO !!!
 
KPMP to KMIA is 29 nm. He landed right between the two. There are 5 airports on this route, not to mention the dozen north before you get to PMP. 2nd fuel exhaustion emergency landing around here in less than two months. Hard to have much sympathy when there's alternates everywhere. Too populated down here for this kind of thing. How hard is it to tell ATC, 'Hey guys, I'm about out of gas. Want me to divert 5 miles to FXE?'
 
Lol...that's awesome that video, I would probably be that guy who drove by and said "Learn how to fly".
 
If I heard him correctly he said he was cleared to land and was on his final approach to 10L & 10R. Really, he was on final to two runways?
 
Unit74 said:
Wow....facts are not even in yet and the executioners have their hoods on already. Tisk, tisk....
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You are right,

That happens quite a bit on this site but I can speak for some of the pilots on here. When you run out of fuel in a perfectly working airplane the responsibility is on the pilot. This situation could've been different. Suppose there was a LOT of traffic on I-595 which sometimes happens? He would've taken out many cars and himself along in the process.

Preventable situations like this affects us pilots as a whole because people are going to want to regulate the GA industry more than it already is and take airplanes away from Pilots which we don't want to happen.

IMO
 
No one gets executed or even imprisoned for screwing up like that. Pilloried on the boards may be the worst of it besides some expense.

But let's be perfectly clear, if he ran out of fuel, he screwed up. I don't know him but he also seems to be a completely unaware idiot - but that is just my uninformed opinion.

Bill "perfectly capable of a bonehead screwup at any time" Watson
 
According to the article, the guy just bought the plane 2 weeks ago and it had 4 tanks.. Is a commanche just a L/R fuel tank switch or is it more complicated?
 
FredFenster said:
According to the article, the guy just bought the plane 2 weeks ago and it had 4 tanks.. Is a commanche just a L/R fuel tank switch or is it more complicated?
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4 if it had tip tanks installed.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Wondering how unfamiliar he might have been with plane? Once he couldn't land at FT Lauderdale, he had many choices - FXE, North Perry, or Pompano for example, all being a few minutes away. It sounds like he had fuel to reach those airports. I don't understand it.
 
petrolero said:
I'll say it. This is why we can't have nice things.
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LOL. I hope to never be in this situation, even just flying rescue animals I never leave the ground with less than 3/4 tanks, and always look for fuel stops if I think I am anywhere near getting close to a 1 hour reserve.
 
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