32 SEPTEMBER 2019 ÇPlane&Pilot
It was a steam gauge, so like any
optimist, I tapped the glass and
hoped the needle would pop back
to the green.
It didn’t.
Being on an IFR flight plan, I
told Jacksonville that I was going to
put down at the closest airport and
check out my oil pressure. I could
see Brunswick Golden Isles at 12
o’clock around 10-12 miles away. No
problem, it was probably the gauge.
Just hoped the shop was open on
a Saturday.
No more than a minute or two
after that, oil and smoke started
coming from the cowl. I declared
an emergency with Jacksonville.
My wife quickly retrieved the fire
extinguisher and ensured the kids
were strapped in securely. I still
thought at 6,000 feet, we should be
able to glide to the airport should
the engine quit.
A short time later, the engine
completely seized. With the wind
at altitude and on the ground at 17
knots gusting to 22 from the west
(according to the weather at SAV),
it became apparent we wouldn’t
make the airport. I now had to
pick the best place to put Romeo
down. The choices weren’t the best:
below us was a very wide river, what
looked like some sort of field and
dense pine forest. I opted for the
field area—which turned out to be a
saltwater marsh.
I continued to inform
Jacksonville of our position and
intentions as we glided across the
river with plenty of altitude. I have
to admit, it was a bit of an eerie
sensation not hearing that big-bore
Continental as we went through
the sky. I selected what looked
like a good spot for my imaginary
runway and ran a “normal” pattern,
entering on a base leg. Final was
directly into the last reported
wind direction.
As we continued on final, I kept
the speed to a minimum, using the
stall warning horn as my guide. I
flew between a couple trees that
were previously hidden in the tall
grass and heard the grass touching
the plane. “Keep the nose up,” I
kept telling myself. The strong
headwinds floated us for a bit and
kept our ground speed down. We
continued sinking, and I waited for
the mains to touch—never felt it.
The next thing I knew, we came to a
sudden stop—probably 45 kts to 0
in less than 20 feet. Seems the muck
of the marsh kind of grabbed hold
of us.
Smoke was coming from the
cowl, the left wing was partially
torn away, and torn skin exposed
the gas tanks. The elevator and
right wing had some major damage
as well, and the cowl was buried
about 2 feet into the mud. We
apparently landed in a small gulley.
Luckily, the fuselage was pretty
much intact.
My wife hurriedly got the
kids out of the plane despite
what turned out to be a broken
collarbone, and I shut down
everything and followed soon after.
We trekked about 50 yards from theplane and mashed down a 10-foot
diameter circle in the 6-foot grass
and counted our blessings.
The kids were basically
uninjured with only minor bruises
from the seat belts. I was doing
pretty well, although I was a bit
banged up from smashing my chest
into the yoke and knees into the
lower panel.
We heard search airplanes up
within 15 minutes. What a great
sound! After about an hour, we were
being circled by a Civil Air Patrol
plane. Soon we spotted a helicopter
coming right toward us. Someone
from the Georgia Highway patrol
dropped down on a line and
checked out everyone. The Coast
Guard followed with two large
choppers and lifted us out. The kids
thought this was “way cool.”
And, yes, we even continued on
to Disney World—by car.
My instructor for private and
instrument stressed emergency
procedures throughout my training
such that the procedures were in
the forefront on my brain at all
times. He drilled me on always
having a suitable landing spot
selected if the engine were to
suddenly quit. I shared this lesson
with my wife, and on trips she
would frequently turn to me and
ask, “Where would we put down
if the engine quit?” I knew that
I’d better have a good answer. So
when Romeo lost his engine, I didn’t
hesitate on what to do—I knew
where to put down and how best to
do it. PP❯ ❯ “A short time later, the engine
completely seized. With the wind
at altitude and on the ground at 17
knots gusting to 22 from the west
(according to the weather at SAV),
it became apparent we wouldn’t
make the airport. ”