Cessna Catastrophic Engine Failure Emergency with Video and ATC Audio

For all the people saying he put it down on the numbers and cut his margins too close -- simply not true. He carried plenty of extra speed across the threshold and if you notice he doesn't touch down until well beyond the 1000ft markers. I think he did a damn fine job.

Hey Kevin. I am retired with 28,000 hours. You are a pro. I am so impressed with how you managed everything from the plane to ATC, to your own emotions. Well done sir.

Your emergency landing was cleaner than my normal landings! Great job!

Pilot is calmer than some people are during a normal day at the office. Respect. Edit: holy cow that engine got NUKED! I wonder what happened.

This has to be the smoothest, most calm and professional emergency landing I've EVER seen. Almost like he didn't have a engine failure

As a former ATC I have to say this whole video is a thing of beauty. Super professional job by all involved and that landing was something else. And then after all that you were asking for taxiway directions! Ten out of ten, sir, amazing stuff.

The proffessionalism of everyone involved and the airmanship of the pilot. Wow 👏

Dude, you legend! Seriously. I’ve got 30+ yrs of piloting experience and watching (and listening to you) deal with that emergency is awesome. Cool calm collected. I’m sure your heart was racing. But you executed what you’d been taught. You kept and open mind. You listened and changed your plan at an appropriate time. You even knew the exit you had available. I’m sure many other aviators will have already said well done! But well done!

This guy was calmer than me when we lost power at home the other day… Great pilot!

Truly an excellent example of how to properly deal with a real emergency. I hope you consider this to be one of your finest days. You did everything right. A. You continued to fly the airplane B. You were decisive C. You were flexible (when you saw that there was a better action, you changed to a different runway) D. You were calm throughout This is a textbook example of how to deal with an emergency. Congratulations on your successful outcome.

Talk about catastrophic engine failure - your airmanship was utterly superb !!!

Unbelievable. You are the teacher I'd want for emergency management. Cool, calm, communicative, professional, and a greased landing! Bravo and thank God the airport was there!

Aside from your impeccable stick and rudder skills, some points I made to myself as a relatively low hour VFR pilot: - You suppressed your anxiety and did whatever needed to be done. There's time to panic on the ground. - You used the ATC almost like a copilot, and they were a great resource to have. - Asked for the winds - Asked for the longest runway - "We'll figure it out as we get closer in" - defer the important decisions until you have more information. This in turned set up your mindset to reject an initial idea and choose a different runway, in a way avoiding confirmation bias - "While I've got some time, what's the frequency going to be down there?" - Simply amazing. Far ahead of the airplane and the current situation you were in during the gliding phase. - "Looking at the smoke blowing down here, it looks like 31L is going to be a better bet for us" - Now that you have enough information, now is the time to make/change the runway choice. I'm not sure I would have had the mental capacity to make that runway switch. Kudos! - This is a good time to understand that ATC is working the phone to coordinate with the tower and get you whatever you need. - "Can you give me the field elevation" - Another great call. Use ATC as a resource to give you whatever information you need. Don't be shy, you're an emergency and they have nothing more important to do right now than help you out. - Switched to tower at an appropriate time. Tower now becomes a better resource for you than approach. Legalities aside, the tower can probably see you visually while approach cannot, so whatever the charts say, this was another great call, initiated by you. I'd probably wait to be handed over (!?) and not shown the initiative in an emergency. - "Cleared to land any runway" - This gives me chills. They are there for you, so do whatever you need to do to get down on the ground. I remember seeing a video where a guy with an emergency (INOP gear IIRC) offered to land on a taxiway so as not to inconvenience other traffic. Don't do this, they can divert and you need the longest, widest, most suitable surface to land on. - Having the presence of mind to offer to taxi off the runway, again kudos. You can hear the relief in the ATC's voice at this time. Although it wasn't his life on the line, I'm sure he was anxious to see you on the ground almost as much as you were. What I'm about to write is easy to say flying from the comfort of my reclining chair, but the only thing i'd do differently in my airplane would be aiming for the 1/3 point or maybe even 1/2 on the runway. It's a long one, a small airplane an in my case I'm equipped with a spoiler/airbrake so I could easily make the landing shorter if I'm about to overshoot - in your case you could add flaps as you had the electrical system going still. In any case, you dove down in the base to final turn to get the speed up so your energy state was good. This is not criticism but a humble chair flying opinion, I'd have screwed up many things before getting to this stage of the flight. And greasing the landing RIGHT on the centerline... just amazing. Another point to make is that you cruised at 9000 ft. For whatever reason, I always go lower, usually 2000 - 3000, which makes for great VFR flying and sightseeing, but dramatically decreases my options in case of an emergency. I do have a ballistic parachute on the airplane though so it kind of mitigates the risk, but still something to consider. Thank you for posting this so we can all learn from your experience and maybe it helps one of us. I hope we don't end up in your seat, but if we do, this is great training material. This video has changed me for the better.

In the end no drama, a picture perfect landing, amazing

Man! You made that emergency landing look like just a normal day of flying with perfect conditions all around. That was amazing given the very real emergency.

Beautiful landing...No panic, no indecision, minute by minute calculation and course adjustment (love the runway change based on wind blown smoke) no doubt you a brilliant flyer. Well done!

I was operating a Transit bus as you passed over Cornell Ave. (just south of the runway) I saw you as you just about landed. I remember looking up and seeing your prop not moving. Saying to my self, that is not right! You can't see my bus as the camera frame just missed me. You landed as smooth as any pilot who does under power! Massive Kudos, that is A+ flying! Edit, To those who say I did not see this or his Prop; simply wrong. I do not care if you disagree. I am tired of explaining that I did almost a year later. I drove under him at 45 MPH. It was silent and I could see the large prop stuck. It would be a weird coincidence if two planes had the same emergency that day at around the same time at Hillsboro Oregon airport. I am happy to support the algorithm, if it gives this great pilot more cash to get his plane back to working order. Focus on the pilot and not the comments, thank you.

I am not a pilot but that landing looked smooth as silk. My utmost respect sir for your skill and calm demeanor. Simply amazing.

There were like 3 seconds of elevated emotion and a single curse word -- followed by 9 minutes of calm, business-like professionalism. One of the calmest pilots I've heard with an engine out.

As someone with a moderate fear of flying, this video helps calm my nerves. The way everyone acted so calm and professional and the fact that the bird touched down with ease does help calm my fears. Great flying and fantastic landing.