successful ditching in the pacific this morning

[ultrarunner]

News said the plane was enroute to Hawaii. Appeared to be a small SE t-tail type.

The Chineese picked up the crew. Which is kind a scary...

 

[FL420]

NW Pilot and mav1morrison. You guys okay?

 

[Amish RakeFight]

The Chineese picked up the crew. Which is kind a scary...

Why is that?
(I know you're being ethnocentric)

More fortuitious than drowning.

 

[FN FAL]

The Chineese picked up the crew. Which is kind a scary...

why, were they CHICKEN?

Hahahahahahahaha.

 

[Hold West]

News said the plane was enroute to Hawaii. Appeared to be a small SE t-tail type.

The Chineese picked up the crew. Which is kind a scary...

Was two VH-registered Seminoles. One developed a problem, they had about 5 hours warning. USCG C-130 and a Navy P-3 on hand to assist, and they ditched near a Maltese-registered ship enroute to China. Story and photo of the floating bird here.

 

[CA1900]

VH is Australia, if you don't want to look it up like I had to.

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif][SIZE=-1]It was 1,000 miles off the coast of California when the female pilot reported engine trouble but decided against turning back, Epiceno said.

[/SIZE][/FONT]
Hang on, let me get my beer and popcorn for this one....

 

[Way2Broke]

Female pilot hu? This should be a testament to the fact that it does not matter if you are purple, red, white, black, female, or male, either you can fly or you can't! Anyone that says otherwise is an idiot.

 

[Thresh]

I'm a little confused about the range here. They were flying from California to Hawaii in a Seminole?

 

[wmuflyguy]

I'm a little confused about the range here. They were flying from California to Hawaii in a Seminole?

Porbably only had the front seats in the airplane and a ferry tank installed where the passenger seats would be.

 

[PacoPollo]

I thought the PA44 was ETOPS certified...

 

[wmuflyguy]

I thought the PA44 was ETOPS certified...

That is the PA-44XR

 

[NW_Pilot]

NW Pilot and mav1morrison. You guys okay?

Yep, I just Dropped Off Today and I Am Back Home For a day or so .

 

[NewBlue]

I thought the PA44 was ETOPS certified...[/quote

]
Well, yes....if ETOPS means Engines Turning Or People Swimming.

Glad they are ok even if they are on a slow boat to China.

 

[falconvalley]

West coast to Hawaii is approx 2000 miles

 

[Gorilla]

West coast to Hawaii is approx 2000 miles

It depends upon where you coast out. If you leave SOCAL towards HI then there'll be a point where your closer divert is KSFO. It's kind of odd; you think of Hawaii being to the South, and it is, yet if you punch up a "closest airports" from a GPS or FMC when flying LAX to HI, then sure enough KSFO is there before a return to LAX.

This may be due to the northerly offset when flying a great circle to HI out of LAX, combined with the CA coast poking westward as you go north along the coast. Whatever it is, it doesn't seem logical.

 

[falconvalley]

Sure thing, but either way, she was 1000 miles from Hawaii. She certainly looked at all the factors, some of which we may not be aware of, and elected to continue.

 

[ReverseSensing]

Well, yes....if ETOPS means Engines Turning Or People Swimming.

Glad they are ok even if they are on a slow boat to China.

Well done! :laugh:

 

[Hold West]

It's about 2200 miles to SFO and 2400 miles to LAX.

If nothing else, I'd continue SW bound towards Hawaii because the sea surface temp rises rapidly towards Hawaii. If I was contemplating the possibility of spending any time in the water at all, I'd find the warmest I could. A map of sea surface temps is here.

 

[Benhuntn]

Jack from 24 was picked up and put on a Chinese boat on the last episode. I wonder if it is the same boat? Maybe the pilot can find Jack and solve what is going to happen before the next season.

 

[Alcatraz]

... and make their escape by hijacking a helicopter from the ship and land again on the EMERGENCY RUNWAY at VNY!!!! That would be so realistic!!!