Not a bad off-field landing...

[arajca]

Found this little item this morning...

I-70 makes a pretty good runway...

[Panzerbjorn]

Good on him for making a good landing!  Too bad it's completely mitigated by a fuel exhaustion event.  There's never an excuse for that unless your tanks are actively leaking.

[Holding Pattern]

I remember when one of our local pilots had to do that...

http://komonews.com/news/local/civil-air-patrol-plane-lands-on-e-wash-highway-no-injuries

(note, not due to lack of fuel.)

[Live2Learn]

I remember when one of our local pilots had to do that...

http://komonews.com/news/local/civil-air-patrol-plane-lands-on-e-wash-highway-no-injuries

(note, not due to lack of fuel.)

The engine of the C182R  seized shortly after entering the cruise phase at 20:54 and was wheels down at 21:02.  It was very dark outside of the cockpit.  The highway was selected as the preferred landing site because it was night, headlights marked the highway, the terrain was known to be uneven with cliffs and sharp drainages, the directions of travel were segregated (i.e. two lanes north, two lanes south), and it had sufficient straight stretches to allow for a stable approach.  However, wires were an unmitigatable hazard.  Traffic was fortunately moderate to light.  Based on the images taken of the engine after landing a very unofficial description of the root case was speculated to be a plugged oil port that prevented oil from lubricating a main bearing surface at the rear of the engine.  Exactly 10 hours Hobbs  prior to the engine seizing the aircraft was released from 100 hr/Annual.  The oil filter had metal in it (one pilot who saw the oil filter after it was cut later mentioned the metal included "chunks" and speculated it was ferrous).  The shop was unable to produce the metal upon later questioning.  The presence of metal in the oil was not documented in eDiscrepancies, nor did the UMO advise  the Wing LGM or all pilots of this issue  prior to the incident.  After the incident the aircraft was  re-engined at El Topia and is again flying.  The aircraft was in the air for eight minutes from the time the engine seized until wheels down.  The prop stopped, which prolonged the glide distance (a good thing) and reduced sink to about 600'/min.  Wheels down highway elevation was about 700' MSL, a descent of 4800' from cruise.

Key lessons:

>  Use eDiscrepancies effectively!  ANYTHING that might affect airworthiness should be reported in it.
>  Share information about the aircraft.  Don't assume that when a mechanic tells you some discrepancy is benign (metal in the oil, for example) that it is so.  CHECK IT OUT AND KEEP THE LGM AND OTHER PILOTS INFORMED.  This is serious stuff, boys and girls.
>  Know (and practice) emergency procedures.  You might need 'em.  Fly enough hours and you WILL need 'em.
>  Thoroughly brief the flight.  Know what your options might be should you need to return to terra firma before you arrive at an airport.
>  Remember, CAP flys SE, piston aircraft.  For the most part the machines are "well maintained".  Human error is, however, present in the system.  Consider this before launching at night, in IMC, or at night in IMC.