Passenger lands C208 Caravan after pilot has medical emergency

[jimdavis]

Good man. Very well done.

jim

[Walter105]

According to another report the pilot had an aortic aneurism.

[Raffles]

According to another report the pilot had an aortic aneurism.

He's lucky to survive that!

[Raffles]

Sorry for all the spam in a can We learn something whenever we can separate the spam from the can.

The interview with the passenger

[chrisnic]

I am not convinced??????????????

[p38]

I am not convinced??????????????

I agree, he knew about stalling and overloading the wings. He knew about teh gps map and many other aviation related items in the cockpit...... Also, how could the headset jacks be all "frayed". Also, how did he and his pax manage to get the big pilot out the seat and into the back?

This chap was probably not a bona fide pilot, but I am pretty sure he has good experience polling the plane as a pax, including landing experience.......that landing was better than most.

Things just simply don't add up.

[Still_Learning]

I am not convinced??????????????

I agree, he knew about stalling and overloading the wings. He knew about teh gps map and many other aviation related items in the cockpit...... Also, how could the headset jacks be all "frayed". Also, how did he and his pax manage to get the big pilot out the seat and into the back?

This chap was probably not a bona fide pilot, but I am pretty sure he has good experience polling the plane as a pax, including landing experience.......that landing was better than most.

Things just simply don't add up.

Part of me agrees with you - although terminology can be learned from reading Flying Magazine... part makes me think that NBC have edited the story for dramatic "newsworthy" effect... and part of me feels his landing of the plane undermines all the hours I put into being able to land a simple C172

[Whirly]

Don't worry, landing a C172 well every time is a very scarce feat. I bet a 208 Caravan is easier to land!

Whirly.

[Sideslip]

I think if it is bogus, someone probably would have called him out on it (or will do soon enough).

He probably has lots of pax time as suggested but even so, did a great job. Keeping a cool head kept him alive.

[Walter105]

https://www.flyingmag.com/stricken-cara ... -recovery/

Pilot identified-64 years old, recovering.

[Expilot]

[Sardine]

Have any of the commenters here flown the Caravan?

Its flight characteristics are often compared to that of the Cessna 172.

And with 600hrs on type, I can confirm this. For such a large aircraft, the controls are light and well-balanced.
I'd say the biggest difference between the C208 and C172 in terms of flying feel, is when you extend flaps on the C208. They are HUGE, and the balloon can catch you out.

Otherwise, the C208 is a dream to fly.
It is also built tough and can take a beating on landing. Even if you 3-point it.
So, of all the aircraft to have to land without experience (/experience on type), this is probably the "best".

BUT,

To do a flapless landing in a Caravan, even with experience, is not easy or fun.
You go from approaching at +-80kts to 100-115kts.
It eats up runway faster than you can say "Jurgens", balloons easily if you're just a little too eager on the flare, and will bounce down the runway like a stone skipping across water if you come in too fast.
In training, you do it once, on 3km runway, and then you don't do it again because, quite frankly, it is scary.

---
As for the pilot, kudos to him for communicating to his passengers: that's good cockpit resource management.
Too often when we think of resources, we think of GPS's, back-up navigation devices, maps, cell phones etc.
But often we forget that our passengers and ATC are also excellent resources.

[Raffles]

I went on a demo flight many years ago and yes it is a docile aircraft.

But now apparently the the ill pilot has made a remarkable recovery (I will try find the link and edit it in here so watch this space)

https://www.flyingmag.com/stricken-cara ... -recovery/

[Jasondn78]

Interesting insights by the Mentor Pilot!