Kudos to the Cirrus SR-22 parachute, life raft and the US Coast Guard for saving pilot Lue Morton's ass!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTtwRptOw1E

Looks like he was picked up by a boat from a cruise ship.
I guess the coast guard did coordination and monitoring.

Look at a map and try to figure out where this guy was flying to in a single engine a/c. Lost???

I was wondering the same thing.

What happened for him to end up that far out into the ocean on a small single engine plane?

I was thinking the same thing.

Maybe he was competing in the Wings Around The Globe race and a rival aircraft chopped off his GPS antenna?

This flight originated in Tracy, California (KTCY). Yes.... he attempted to fly a single engine aircraft 2100 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean. Surprisingly, these delivery/ferry flights are common. Unfortunately, his pre-flight calculations didn't pan out. It's a very long flight and the headwinds probably picked up.... maybe poor engine management leading to higher than planned fuel burns??... who knows.

Now the aircraft and paperwork are sitting at the bottom of the ocean. Just to recover that will cost $$$ and I doubt the NTSB and FAA will approve a salvage operation of that magnitude for a Cirrus SR22. Base price $500k+ ouch.... added a deflated ego to that price tag.

http://www.benning.army.mil/infantry/rtb/1-507th/jumpmaster/content/PDF/T-11_MC-6%20Pre-Jump.pdf

That said, he did a terrible PLF.

Was there a similar incident a year or two ago, on another ferry flight the came up short?

Man that Cirrus only has an 800 mi range. Must have been a BIG Ferry tank...well not big enough obviously.

Takeoff airport was over 50 mi inland...what's 50 miles right??

Apparently the fuel/flight plan was ok, it was a ferry flight of a brand new SR22 to Australia using extra ferry fuel bladders, with a fuel stop in Hawaii, the problem was a failure of the fuel bladder transfer valve, pilot had a few hours warning and contacted CG who were able to film and coordinate the rescue so well.

That explains why the pilot looked so calm. I had always considered the chute on the SR22 overkill, but this one event shows how much it can help in the right circumstances.

The problem with the chute is that it encourages the overstuffed and undertrained wallets that tend to buy the plane to fly in conditions that they would otherwise not without the security blanket. Many of the chute deployments are simply IMC loss of control. In my harsh but honest opinion the plane (or at least the marketing of the plane) is a curse. Few things are more dangerous on a clear blue Sunday than a Cirrus on an RNAV approach with five planes in the pattern.

That's good insight Smoking_Hole.

Are there any special training or experience requirements for ferry flight pilots? also I wonder why they wouldn't have redundant fuel systems to account for a failure like this on such a long ferry flight over water...

Overwater, single-engine, ferry pilots are generally a very bright bunch with oversized... you know. My comments ware definitely not directed at this particular pilot as he almost certainly educated himself well before taking the job. But the lawyers, surgeons, actors and bankers that are the target market for the Cirrus are generally airborne idiots. There are exceptions of course. And Cirrus is fully aware of these people and has very good training centers scattered throughout the world to bring the willing up to a minimal level of safety. But so long as the sales people make the sale, and the insurance people are willing to provide coverage, look out below.

Ah thanks that makes sense, it also explains why I see a good number of them at local GA airfields, sounds like it's designed to be the rich kid toy.

Also if the real ones come with the G1000 glass that the Carenado SR22 GTSX I fly in FSX has, then I can definitely see where the amateur pilots with more money than experience can be more focused on the PFD/MFD than on what's going on around them in the airspace and the flying they're supposed to be doing.

On the answer of "who can be a ferry pilot" the answer is any Commercially rated pilot.

A pilot with a the right commercial rating (in this case Single Engine Land) and a set of ferry permits for the aircraft from the FAA (allowing temporary modification of the aircraft to carry and use extra fuel in this case) can do the job if a company will hire him and the insurance sign off on him. Most manufacturers have their own certification courses, naturally.

Ferry pilots also work for private concerns as well. Let's say one owns an aircraft and moves across the country, or buys an aircraft that's in another part of it. The owner has the options of A) flying it to its new home, B) having it disassembled, shipped and then reassembled, or C) hiring a ferry pilot. Sometimes C) is cheaper than B), and any time an aircraft is disassembled and re-assembled there's a risk of damage (of the discovery of things that need to be repaired - A&P's can spot an unauthorized modification to a plane from a mile away, and undoing them can cost loads!

Good info thanks Dart.

Right, but I think the big point is that ferry pilots are professional pilots, not professional desk drivers (professionals in other industries) who figure flying is so easy a monkey could do it... and often seem to not offer enough respect to safety, training, other aircraft, changing weather conditions... I'm talking about those type-A jerks for whom the world revolves around them, "HEY... didn't you know... I'm a DOCTOR!!!1!", then go kick the tires, light the fires... and then proceed to be a danger to themselves, other traffic and people on the ground.

Meaning, acting unlike any true enthusiast, or professional pilots, who respect the entire world of airmanship, and strive to enjoy it in the safest ways they can.

Years ago I worked at an FBO. We had lots of contact with pilots of very diverse skill level. Some were former airline guys, at the tail of a long career, ferrying pro sports teams to televised games. Others were air ambulance. Two pilots were amateurs... both rich enough to buy for fun. One owned a PC-9 (must be nice!)... but he RESPECTED the fact it was more plane than his skills. He ALWAYS had a professional pilot ride as copilot. Always. He had a stock trading firm.

The other? A doctor. Owned a second house on a nearby island. Owned a helicopter. Stupid reckless. I mean full on dangerous to himself and others. He thought himself Maveric from that movie that shall remain nameless... but at least Maveric had high skills, was a professional pilot, and flew over desert and oceans... not cities.

The first is not the problem. The second, a hotdog with no skills and a deathwish... he is a problem for him and anyone around him, or beneath his rotorbird.