Real life save: how'd he fix it?

[whereisrandall]

I just sent this link to one of my students with a few questions. I thought it might be useful for any student pilot here who cares to answer.

In the recording above, what attitude was the plane in, and what were the two things the controller suggested doing? Does it matter what order the pilot did them in?

Lastly, what's the difference between a spin and a spiral? Which one was this?

 

[exncsurfer]

spiral dive, level wings then stop the descent, order matters or you'll steepen the spiral.

 

[SixPapaCharlie]

I know it is out of I know it is out of context and we only heard a portion of the recording. It startles me a bit that ATC had to reach out to him instead of him notifying them that he was having a problem. Good on them.

 

[Brad Z]

I know it is out of I know it is out of context and we only heard a portion of the recording. It startles me a bit that ATC had to reach out to him instead of him notifying them that he was having a problem. Good on them.

Dude probably knew he was having a problem but was too busy trying to fly the plane (or too scared to admit he was having a problem) to ping ATC.

 

[Cajun_Flyer]

It startles me a bit that ATC had to reach out to him instead of him notifying them that he was having a problem. Good on them.

Aviate, Navigate, Communicate, Drink Heavily When Back On Ground

I imagine he was trying to fly the plane.

 

[Cajun_Flyer]

In the recording above, what attitude was the plane in, and what were the two things the controller suggested doing? Does it matter what order the pilot did them in?

I haven't watched this video since yesterday, but as I recall it sounded like he was in a steep turn at a high speed, so I'm guessing the unusual attitude was nose low. That's probably why ATC wanted him to level his wings and slow his speed. Don't remember which order of operation the controller had him do it in, but I would have reduced power before leveling wings.

 

[SixPapaCharlie]

Dude probably knew he was having a problem but was too busy trying to fly the plane (or too scared to admit he was having a problem) to ping ATC.

Good point.

 

[ifly4fun]

After someone suggested Archie awards in cajuns thread I must have watched a dozen of these yesterday. I've at least learned if I find myself in a position like that I won't hesitate to get help from ATC.

 

[mscard88]

Biggest thing was the controller got the pilot to listen to him, which in turn calmed the pilot down a bit. Sounds like he was in a descending turn to me, not necessarily steep either, nor a spiral and definitely not a spin. And helping the pilot get on the AI was a good move as the pilot leveled the wings and stopped his turn, and further encouraging the pilot to look at other supporting instruments was good advice. Informing the pilot that his airspeed of 100 kts also drew the pilot's attention to his power setting, enabling him to keep it under control. Encouraging the pilot in a slow descent that it was VMC below the clouds helped and encouraged the pilot to maintain control. Great job by the controller. Very few controllers actually fly however, and this pilot was fortunate he had one who did.

 

[whereisrandall]

After someone suggested Archie awards in cajuns thread I must have watched a dozen of these yesterday. I've at least learned if I find myself in a position like that I won't hesitate to get help from ATC.

I've listened to a zillion, too - and heard Doug White land that King Air a bunch.

 

[luvflyin]

Biggest thing was the controller got the pilot to listen to him, which in turn calmed the pilot down a bit. Sounds like he was in a descending turn to me, not necessarily steep either, nor a spiral and definitely not a spin. And helping the pilot get on the AI was a good move as the pilot leveled the wings and stopped his turn, and further encouraging the pilot to look at other supporting instruments was good advice. Informing the pilot that his airspeed of 100 kts also drew the pilot's attention to his power setting, enabling him to keep it under control. Encouraging the pilot in a slow descent that it was VMC below the clouds helped and encouraged the pilot to maintain control. Great job by the controller. Very few controllers actually fly however, and this pilot was fortunate he had one who did.

He was very fortunate.

 

[denverpilot]

After someone suggested Archie awards in cajuns thread I must have watched a dozen of these yesterday. I've at least learned if I find myself in a position like that I won't hesitate to get help from ATC.

I wish they wouldn't take the old ones down. I have a small collection from when they were audio and didn't need fancy graphics that conveyed nothing at all in a video larger by a factor of ten than the compressed audio files.