Pacific Ditching (and Coast Guard Rescue) Caught on Video

[Me3xe45]

Go air dales

[zimsplat]

Everything planning aside, excellently preformed ditching.

[sehr56]

He was a very experienced pilot delivering plane to a buyer, Prevailing head winds picked up in route. He was being tracked by airline pilots, and was working with the engine manufacture to figure out the right fuel mixture for maximum efficiency, as well as communicating with the coast guard and ATC. That is why the Coast Guard was exactly at the place the pilot predicted he would run out of fuel, 13 miles short on a 2,400 mile crossing.

[ButterOnMyBiscuit]

Cali to Hawaii is a ferry ride now?

it takes 5 hours by commercial jet going about 500 mph....

how fast is a Cessna? 205 mph with a 1000-1500 mile range

hawaii is over 2,000 miles away

pilot is an idiot

[Thefeed]

@ButterOnMyBiscuit It's not that he is an idiot. He was ferrying the airplane and messed up on some fuel calculations... so a bit of an idiot :)

[timmonst70]

@Thefeed LOL, just a bit of an idiot...very good! Gotta hate those pesky head winds when it comes to fuel calcs, live and learn, glad he is okay.

[gnarkillkicksass]

@ButterOnMyBiscuit You do realise once upon a time, and even today, aircraft as small as a 172 are flown to Australia/NZ. There are companies still doing it and a lot of guys I work with did it when they were younger.

[h2otek]

@ButterOnMyBiscuit Big difference between a calculated risk and being an idiot! Unless you never leave your bedroom you take (albeit smaller) risks every day. How else is this airplane supposed to get delivered? It is something done all the time. If you see one traffic accident will you quit driving forever? He had a 99% chance of success, but the winds changed. Stuff happens! Better to live life than hide from it!

[mayamachine]

I want this job I want to ferry pilot over exteem distance, load up extra tanks,

[pedroca2424]

Lost the airplane for 13 miles... That guy must be hating on himself right now!

[l80sman104]

That could have gone much differently. :)

[xr650lguy]

Poor planning, great water landing.

[7GolfAlpha]

Why the hell would you take a Cessna 310 from Monterey, CA to Hawaii?

[lovUSAhj]

@7GolfAlpha exactly what i'm thinking..

[kemicon]

@7GolfAlpha haha I know right. I don't know much about planes but that sounds BURLY!

[myleftbrain]

To get to the other side.

[supressorgrid]

@7GolfAlpha  because You cant ship meth by Fed Ex.

[gnarkillkicksass]

@7GolfAlpha How else are they moved there? Hell, 172s etc used to be FLOWN across the Pacific to deliver them to Australia. Some still are.

[N137LA]

@gnarkillkicksass How about taking the wings off and shipping it over in a shipping crate?

[gnarkillkicksass]

@N137LA Lots come over that way now, the problem is it is still sometimes more expensive. Having the thing put back together and certified by CASA costs a small fortune.

[N137LA]

@gnarkillkicksass Yeah but at the same time, its much more of a logical/ safer way of shipping an aircraft overseas. Even if he could have made it with enough fuel, twin piston aircraft, or piston aircraft in general, don't nearly have the reliability and safety level as a turbine aircraft. Plus, 5,000' MSL? Can't glide much when your engines fail.

[gnarkillkicksass]

@N137LA Safer yes and now days more cost effective but for the last 30 years the majority of light a/c were ferried across the Pacific. It was easier and more cost effective back then hence more logical to owners and operators. and not as dangerous as most think. It mustn't have been pleasant though having a big fuel bladder on board, I know a guy who ditched twice, once at night. Apparently the USCG sent a C-130 out that made a flare path for him and dropped a raft with a strobe nearby.

[N137LA]

@gnarkillkicksass As a pilot myself, I would never attempt such a flight in a piston aircraft. But your right; a lot of people do in fact ferry aircraft across the Pacific and Atlantic. In 1985, a man at my local airport, flew his Taylorcraft L-2M across the Atlantic Ocean.

[skipde]

Rescue divers are trained to stay with the basket to be sure it is stabilized during the retraction....then drop off.

[farmerfranck]

A modern day Sullenberger!

[64wing]

@farmerfranck cuz that was so long ago...

[delloo]

Pretty choppy seas....really nice job flying.

[HDaviator]

@delloo

Considering its open ocean, its pretty calm.

[hunterTS4]

@delloo nice flying???!!!? right up until the part where he ran out of fuel!!! entirely pilot error

[AmericanAviator]

Crazy stuff, but nice to see the pilot made it out alright!

[RegularGuy76]

God bless the US Coast Guard and their Rescue Swimers!

[LoudestHoward]

Hrm, not sure. Maybe to add some weight during the initial lift so it doesn't swing like crazy?

[NoClassic]

Why did the rescue diver cling to the basket momentarily?