emergency landing

[yangsiyui]

Just wandering....if you had to land your plane would it be better to land it in a field or on a road (street, highway) You get the idea right?


Oh and thankyou for the info about the o-flights!

[Fubar]

I'm assuming you mean in an emergency, otherwise the answer is easy, it's wherever the runway is.

It's hard to answer a question like that in absolutes because every situation is different. If there is a busy road that's jam packed with traffic next to a large cornfield, then corn-on-the-cob it is. But same scenario but the road is a empty farm road and the power lines aren't too close, the road might be the better option.

What sort of factors would you consider when making that decision?

[BHartman007]

If you're going to go down, try not to take anyone with you. If you can, try not to take yourself out either.

[SarDragon]

That depends on a lot of factors, and is not an easy decision.

How much traffic is on the road? Are there obstructions - wires, signs, etc?
What is the condition of the field? Dry, muddy, rutted, cultivated?
What landing distance is available?

[Cliff_Chambliss]

As others have said there is no one right answer, too many variables.  Some points to consider:
Roads:  wires are hard to see, especially in rural areas.  Utility poles are usually only on one side of the roadway and servicing lines cross the road to homes on the opposite side.
Fields:  wet or dry (can you make a determination by looking at the color of the dirt or vegetation?) Reasonably smooth or freshly plowed?  field with livestock or for planting?  vegetation - is it high enough to be hiding a ditch or large rocks?  How far from a road to allow first responders to get to you when parts stop moving?

This is a topic I address on every flight review (along with other Emergency Procedures) and go into at length with my students.

[yangsiyui]

Sorry for the bad spelling, I was in a rush.  But thankyou for all your answers. Just wanted to know so I could make the better decision just in case I would have to make one. Hopefully nobody would need to make one any time soon.

[Eclipse]

Your best choice is always a levee in New Orleans.
No matter where in the world the emergency starts, just glide until you get there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TACA_Flight_110

http://lessonslearned.faa.gov/ll_main.cfm?TabID=3&LLID=40&LLTypeID=2





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14DyBpYzwP4

[SarDragon]

I drove my Chevy to the levee, but never thought about taking my Boeing there. 

[RogueLeader]

I drove my Chevy to the levee, but never thought about taking my Boeing there. 

Why not?  The levee was dry.  I'd leave the whiskey and rye at home though.  It's never good to drink and drive.  or fly for that matter.

[Live2Learn]

Just wandering....if you had to land your plane would it be better to land it in a field or on a road (street, highway) You get the idea right?

See if you can find "How to CRASH and Airplane (and survive!)" by Mick Wilson.  Its on this website:  http://www.crashandsurvive.com/.  I don't know if the website is still monitored.  Mick was an accident investigator for years.  He passed away 10 years ago or so.  After retirement he wrote the 100 page book that distilled what he'd seen during his career.  He discussed forced landings in various environments (roads, water, plowed fields, forests, etc.) and shared his observations about the best and the worst places to crash.  His widow was still selling Mick's book four or five years ago. 

Basically, an emergency landing starts BEFORE an emergency.  As we fly we should be thinking about 'where will we'll put it if...'  With a SE aircraft like those in the CAP fleet we can shoehorn into some fairly tight spaces.  However, when we climb into ME and faster aircraft the requirements for a survivable landing site expand with the increase in stall speed and other factors.  Vbg varies a bit by current weight (about 1.25 kts per 100 lbs for a C182 with a wind milling prop) but can't be "stretched".  Know your aircraft weight at takeoff, in cruise, and at the approach stages.  Frankly, once the engine quits (a fire breaks out, or some other problem occurs that demands an off airport landing) screwing around with "extending the glide to land on a levy" so we MIGHT "save" the airplane is idiocy.  Vbg varies by weight, just as Va and other critical airspeeds.  Lots of fatal accidents prove that point beyond argument.   Any in flight emergency that requires an off airport landing as only one primary and absolutely primal objective:  Make a SURVIVABLE landing.  If the aircraft is re-useable that's nice, but...  FWIW, we can easily survive 20 g's of deceleration from an off airport landing (crash) provided we're effectively wearing our seat belts so we don't experience a secondary impact.  20 g's at 60 kts only requires the aircraft to decelerate over about 7 feet.  If we decelerate at the same speed we too experience 20 g's.  If, however, we aren't properly wearing our seat belts and we don't use the 'brace' position, we may experience substantially greater impact forces that may kill or cause some pretty bad injuries. 

FWIW, it's tough to see wires and sometimes even phone poles along (or crossing) roads.  We may not see cars on roads either.  It's not good to put people on the ground at risk as we deal with OUR emergency.