Where to land...

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N2625U
Posts: 187
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2008 2:21 pm

Where to land...

Post by N2625U »

A few years back when I was getting a checkride for SES the examiner asked "If you are over the forest with no lakes or clear ground and only trees would you try to 'land' in hardwood or evergreen trees?" I answered evergreen and he didn't answer. What would you think?
Keep your speed up, Blackhawk on final behind you.
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pdb
Posts: 466
Joined: Tue Apr 23, 2002 3:39 am

Re: Where to land...

Post by pdb »

Not having any real clue, I will attempt to answer nonetheless...

I would opt for the hardwood or stands of birch. I say this because I have seen several successful tree landings where the pilot received few if any injuries. The birches in particular seem to have nice energy absorbing properties as do the hardwood canopies. That said, I know of at least two circumstances where the pilots landed very successfully and then managed to fall out of the trees and got hurt trying to get down. The key appears to be, no surprise, fly the airplane onto the canopies, don’t stall.

As far as evergreens go, they just don’t appear to have the same energetic absorbing properties due to the tree shape. What ever you do, don’t stall before impact and don’t hit any eagles or your problems have just begun.
D29F3B4C-CAE5-49B8-90C3-1E8ADDE9D4B1.png
Both the pilot and the passenger managed to survived virtually intact in this event,
Pete Brown
Anchorage, Alaska
N4563C 1953 170B
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GAHorn
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Re: Where to land...

Post by GAHorn »

N2625U wrote:A few years back when I was getting a checkride for SES the examiner asked "If you are over the forest with no lakes or clear ground and only trees would you try to 'land' in hardwood or evergreen trees?" I answered evergreen and he didn't answer. What would you think?
Having dropped out of Forestry School way back in 1967 because I discovered my dorm-roommate was a private pilot and Nacogdoches, Tx had an airport to hang out at... ( I tried to figure out where I was going to live when my parents found out I wasn't attending classes anymore.... but my Uncle Sam discovered it before they did … so I re-enrolled at San Jacinto Junior College which had an aviation curriculum as fast as I could) ….

...anyway.... even a Forestry School drop-out knows that hardwoods and conifers tend to congregate with their own kind... so it's unlikely that such a question will present itself. You'll either be over a hardwood forest or a conifer forest is the most likely scenario and that decision will most likely be made for you..... and a mixed-forest will make any preference entirely moot. :twisted:

I'll add that I personally would avoid a lake because there's no reason to expect exiting an upside-down damaged airplane and immediately having to swim for my life in the hopes I'd be un-injured and/or capable of assisting passengers adds unnecessary complication to the problem. Highways are equally lousy choices. My advice: make every effort to find an airfield, and second-choice, an open field.
'53 B-model N146YS SN:25713
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention.
An originality nut (mostly) for the right reasons. ;)
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daedaluscan
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Re: Where to land...

Post by daedaluscan »

I'll add that I personally would avoid a lake because there's no reason to expect exiting an upside-down damaged airplane and immediately having to swim for my life in the hopes I'd be un-injured and/or capable of assisting passengers adds unnecessary complication to the problem. Highways are equally lousy choices. My advice: make every effort to find an airfield, and second-choice, an open field.[/quote]

Thats not really very useful advice if you fly in BC or much of Alaska.

My question is always how to approach the trees. Given time I think I would trim all the way back and power to idle which gives me about 60 mph and 500 ft per minute. Easy to keep level with the rudder.
Charlie

1956 170B C-GDRG #27019
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c170b53
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Re: Where to land...

Post by c170b53 »

Big city gives your lots of practice cutting in and out between cars so for me I prefer IFR especially through passes, just watch out for the guy coming the other way.
Jim McIntosh..
1953 C170B S/N 25656
02 K1200RS
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GAHorn
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Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2002 8:45 pm

Re: Where to land...

Post by GAHorn »

daedaluscan wrote:...Thats not really very useful advice if you fly in BC or much of Alaska.

My question is always how to approach the trees. Given time I think I would trim all the way back and power to idle which gives me about 60 mph and 500 ft per minute. Easy to keep level with the rudder.
One of the better videos I've seen involved an engine-out Cessna 170 in Alaska. There's lots of open spaces....and lots of water. Avoiding water and trees, especially with the kids on board... IS good advice, IMO. (But I doubt anyone really needs it.)
They landed on a river-bank... much like an open field. :wink:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTiGU5TiYCE
'53 B-model N146YS SN:25713
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention.
An originality nut (mostly) for the right reasons. ;)
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