make a direct to and set the runway heading as the DTK
That is however very likely to place you in a position from which you can’t land – too high (have to then orbit or head for the opposite runway, or whatever) or too low (be forced to do a forced landing short of the airport).
I would always fly a DCT to the airport centre and then orbit.
In the Alps, I would head for a nice deep canyon. There are lots of them, mostly with flat bottoms. The Pyrenees are much worse, however.
By far the best policy is to fly as high as possible, and usually that needs the full IR, because of artificial restrictions in access to CAS. Plus, often, oxygen.
That TBM icing incident was probably the aircraft collecting ice, on autopilot, and the pilot failed to spot the IAS dropping off. He should have had at least tens of seconds in which to spot it, because in icing conditions you should watch the wind leading edges like a hawk and if there is any buildup you also watch the IAS. The advice to hand fly in icing conditions is a good one but almost nobody does it and IMHO that is understandable. Personally I would leave the AP engaged because it leaves me 100% able to keep an eye on the icing situation, and I would execute Plan B (a descent, invariably) long before the ice reaches the point at which the pitch attitude becomes a problem (and thus the point at which the AP might lose control or just disconnect). That point would be 5-10mm of ice.
That is however very likely to place you in a position from which you can’t land
That really depends on your position. But for orientation I’d like to see the runway orientation. I can still do it diferently! But if I was in IMC close to the field and low… I’d use CAPS anyway. There’s enough used airplanes on the market and i have the confirmation from my insurance that they’s pay for it :-)
Just listened to LiveATC – poor guy – not much he could do. He needed the option of CAPS and didn’t have it, it has the highest statistically probability of a safe outcome in such a scenario.
Where’s the LiveATC recording?
Has anyone mentioned that he probably lost his AI and DG when the engine stopped? That all adds to the workload.
A windmilling engine (if his was) should produce enough vacuum to drive the AI.
Did he have a vacuum DG also? They aren’t very common.
@peter, certainly not having your expirience but one of the principle problems of Instrument flying is the capability to land the aircraft safely even if you can’t make it to an aiport that has suitable support facilities. That means your ability to glide through clouds at best glide speed, to break the descent below cloud, kick out landing gear/or not(depending of type), allow your brain to adjust within seconds to VFR and marginal visibility, eastablish situational awareness in respect to location and hazards and try to fly to a point safe to land for you and others. Plan your route suitably over terrain and settlements. jf you can’t ensure this, don’t fly, its just unresponsible.Bold Don’t let manual flying skills deteriorate, its the only thing that keeps you alive when everyting else fails (unless you got a parachute)
stardust, how would that ever allow approaches in low IFR to city-based airports? Or are you suggesting that SE aircraft simply don’t do them?
Peter,
the most common installation in traditional GA aircraft is that both the AI and the DG are vaccuum driven while the TC is electric.
