Piper down in Lake Michigan

[FN FAL]

You are more likely to find in the rental agreement a clause prohibiting flying beyond gliding distance of land than an fbo that has rafts to rent in the Great Lakes area. Every place I ever rented from in Michigan had that restriction for its single engine rentals. None prohibited the multiengine rentals from crossing the lakes.

I'm sure Wisconsin Aviation has such a stipulation on their rental agreements.

Something else to consider is that Wisconsin Aviation, like many other FBO's, has a policy of charging for the difference between the cost of buying outside fuel v. company fuel. This is to discourage a renter from bringing a plane back full of 3.00 a gallon avgas, when the price at the pump of the rental FBO is 2.00 a gallon. I don't blame FBO's for having such a policy, all they are doing is passing an expense back on to the renter.

Did this factor in this pilot's decision on fuel? I hope not. An hour's extra fuel would be what in a piper single, 12/15 gallons? Even at twice the price, saving 30 bucks wouldn't be worth the risk.

Besides, for liability reasons, no FBO would charge extra for FAR required fuel...just excess fuel bought at a higher price.

 

[TDTURBO]

Lake Michigan temps vary up to 40 degrees depending on wind, I have seen 80 in august in South Haven, earlier that day it was in the 50's, crazy lake. Wind direction change causing lake turnover is the reason. I live and swim in LM every year with a dive watch with temp, so I know.

Almost forgot, if the water temp is 94, you can die of hypthermia, your body temp is 98.6 orally and varies a few tenths depending on where it is taken. You can indeed die in 90 degree water if you are in it long enough, basic physics.

 

[FN FAL]

Hard to believe...they found the cell phone

Diver says he found plane in lake
Wreckage is 160 feet down, he says; pilot's body not located
By JOHN DIEDRICH and LINDA SPICE
A private dive company operator said on Friday that he located a single-engine plane that crashed in Lake Michigan on Monday night. He did not find pilot Jonathan Leber's body, he said, but did see the cell phone on which he made his final call for help.

Jerry Guyer, owner of Pirate's Cove dive company, said he used coordinates of where Leber's plane went off the radar - eight miles straight out from the center of the Hoan Bridge - and searched using advanced sonar equipment on his boat Thursday. At noon, the sonar revealed what appeared to be the plane, and he marked the spot, planning to return Friday to search.

On Friday, Guyer said, he dived alone into the 41-degree water and could see the plane beginning at 80 feet below the surface. Guyer said he dived to the bottom - about 160 feet - to find the plane nose-down on the lakebed. The plane's door was open and a cell phone was next to the plane in the sand, Guyer said.

Leber's rented single-engine Piper Archer went into Lake Michigan about 11:40 p.m. Monday after he ran out of fuel on his way back from visiting a friend in Hamilton, N.Y. He sat on top of the plane while making a 911 call for help as the aircraft sank into the water. U.S. Coast Guard officials searched immediately for Leber after receiving a call from Mitchell International Airport, which had tracked his aircraft on radar. A 15-hour rescue effort found no sign of Leber or the plane.

Guyer, who often looks for wreckage and assisted authorities last year when two girls drowned in the Milwaukee River, said there was no way Leber could have swum to shore, given the water's temperature.

"After 17 minutes in the water with the best wetsuit and underwear money can buy, I was already shivering cold myself," he said.

Altogether Guyer said he was in the water for 30 minutes. He brought a video camera but said he didn't have time to use it because he spent time searching for Leber's body because he wanted to give the family closure.

Jeff Baum, president of the Wisconsin Aviation Program, which owned the plane, said it's now the insurance company's call on whether to recover the wreckage.

"We're obviously much more interested in recovering the body than the airplane," he said.

Matt Teeuwen, an insurance adjuster with Phoenix Aviation Managers, the Minneapolis-based insurance company for Wisconsin Aviation Program, declined to comment Friday, citing a pending investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Leber's parents, John and Kathy Leber of Springfield, Va., said they received word from the U.S. Coast Guard that the plane had been found by Guyer.

"The body wasn't found, so he used the last resource, which was to swim," said Kathy Leber. "He used every means that he had to survive, which is what he was used to doing. He's a fighter. He wanted to survive."

A memorial service for Leber is planned for 10:10a.m. Monday in the gymnasium at Maranatha Baptist Bible College in Watertown, where he was a junior majoring in biblical studies with an emphasis on missions. He planned to become a mission aviator and start churches along the Amazon River, his family said. He had been a licensed pilot since 2002.

Leber's family plans to meet with U.S. Coast Guard officials Monday to thank them for their rescue efforts, and visit the crash site.

A scholarship fund has been established in memory of Jonathan Leber. Contributions may be made payable to Maranatha Baptist Bible College and mailed to 745 W. Main St., Watertown, Wis., 53094

.....

 

[Iceman21]

I honestly do not understand the philosophy that many people take when it comes to over water operations in single piston airplanes, especially ones that come from FBOs. These planes are the planes that beat to absolute sh%$ daily, in the MX hangar all the time, and are rarely used to the manufactures expectations in regards to checklists. However, people would rather save a few hours on a trip instead increasing the chances that you will in fact make it home by keeping the plane over the green stuff.

There is a reason that flight instructors drill this into our heads when we take our training. It is because of situations like these. This guy was 5 miles off shore. FIVE miles, that's not very far. He probably thought he would make the 911 call and start swimming, in few minutes they would find him and he would be home.

Every single time I head downtown and get over the water even a 1 mile off the shore I get nervous and start giving the airplane looks. Paranoia? No, I just don't trust these planes as far as I can throw them.

 

[Lead Sled]

I honestly do not understand the philosophy that many people take when it comes to over water operations in single piston airplanes...

I spent 8 years as the east coast chief pilot for a large part 91 corporate flight department back in the late 80's and 90's. It never ceased to amaze me to hear single-engine types talk about how much time and money they saved by flying across the various great lakes versus flying around them. I knew a few of those guys and I would have been very surprized if they carried a raft, let alone life preservers.

There are some things, that no matter how much you are able to rationalize them, are and will always be bad choices. Fortunately, most of the time these lapses are uneventful - that doesn't make them any less dangerous. It is truely unfortunate that our friend paid for his lapse of judgement with his life. However, that is the nature of aviation.

'Sled

 

[Flightjock30]

150 hours of flying experience is so little! He clearly should have maintained better personal minimums on fuel. He may not even have refueled prior to crossing the lake! And for heavens sakes at night, vfr, single engine over Lake Michigan!!!! It is truly sad. I recommend any inexperienced pilot to supplement their flight experience with reading the NTSB accident reports. You can learn many life-saving stories from other pilots mishaps from that site! I.E. Continued flight into IMC without instrument proficiency or an instrument rating, stalling and/or spinning it in after a loss of power (fly the F***in thing until impact, BUT NEVER STALL IT IN!), not going around due to a sloppy approach or too high of a crosswind and losing direction control upon touchdown, careless fuel estimation, improper preflight inspections, the list goes on ladies and gentlemen! Aviation is unforgiving! Do not make the mistakes in the first place.

There are 3 very true sayings in aviation "runway behind you, altitude above you, and the fuel in the fuel truck on the ramp are 3 very useless things indeed once its too late."