Powerless in the sky
It was a beautiful september day in 2002, sky clear, unlimited visibility and moderate temperature. In my flight training, I was in the frustrating period between being confident as a solo pilot in the plane but not perfect enough to take the check ride. I quickly pre-flighted the 172 and taxied out to 27R. Run-up check...controls free and clear...fuel on...Carb Heat...1900 RPM...guages good..magnetos checked..ammeter charging...1000 RPM..radios..etc..etc. I couldnt wait to nail those power-on stalls and s-turns that had been dogging me.
Ten minutes after takeoff I was over Mt. Diablo. After about half hour of power-ons, turns and general loitering, I prepared to return to OAK. I dialled ATIS and noticed that my radios were really scratchy. I had seen that before and I did what's worked before, cycled the radios. Still no ATIS. A few more knob twists and headset connection checks later, I realised that my radios were completely dead. I had to land in the busy Oakland aiport and I had no radios to talk to the tower. I was in an in-flight emergency. The first few seconds are unforgettable. It was complete panic.
My student pilot brain took about 30 seconds to through all the doomsday scenarios and suddenly came to the realization that the plane was still flying and not dropping out of the sky. Good. I quickly checked all the other systems and pointed the nose towards to Oakland. What I simply couldnt remember was the radio failure transponder code. 7700 or 7600. It drove me nuts. After frantically searching my kneepad and actually thumbing through my FAR/AIM book, I guessed 7600. I hoped my transponder would be picked up by the tower so looked for light gun signals. Light gun signals! More frantic searching for what colors and flashes to look for followed. I planned to enter the pattern on the 45 and hoped traffic would be light. As I flew by the colosseum, I saw a game in progress. Suddenly a fresh wave of panic hit me. There I was flying a small plane, no radio contact with anyone, flying by a crowded stadium one year after 9/11. I scanned the horizon expecting to see a F-16 screaming towards me or worse a missile of some sort. No time to search for the intercept procedures.
By the time I turned downwind, I still couldnt make out any light gun signals from the towers. I proceeded on my base turn and scanned the runways. A plane ready to take off on the runway suddenly made a 360 and exited the runway. So, someone had noticed that I was coming. Final approach was perfect and a few seconds later, I was on the ground. As I taxied and parked, I expected someone from the FAA to drive up and hand me a sheaf of citations. Luckily, FAA didnt show.
After I got to the club, one of the intructors suggested I call the tower. We did and I was surprised to hear that the tower did not get my transponder signals at all and fired their light gun. I had lost all electrical power in the air. Thinking back, if I had been careful with my run-up check instead of racing through it, I may have caught the discharge in ammeter. I should've memorized the light gun signals, the intercept procedures (just in case) and ofcourse the transponder codes. Overall, it was a great learning incident. I was glad I experienced it. I was even more glad to be back on the ground in one piece.
Ten minutes after takeoff I was over Mt. Diablo. After about half hour of power-ons, turns and general loitering, I prepared to return to OAK. I dialled ATIS and noticed that my radios were really scratchy. I had seen that before and I did what's worked before, cycled the radios. Still no ATIS. A few more knob twists and headset connection checks later, I realised that my radios were completely dead. I had to land in the busy Oakland aiport and I had no radios to talk to the tower. I was in an in-flight emergency. The first few seconds are unforgettable. It was complete panic.
My student pilot brain took about 30 seconds to through all the doomsday scenarios and suddenly came to the realization that the plane was still flying and not dropping out of the sky. Good. I quickly checked all the other systems and pointed the nose towards to Oakland. What I simply couldnt remember was the radio failure transponder code. 7700 or 7600. It drove me nuts. After frantically searching my kneepad and actually thumbing through my FAR/AIM book, I guessed 7600. I hoped my transponder would be picked up by the tower so looked for light gun signals. Light gun signals! More frantic searching for what colors and flashes to look for followed. I planned to enter the pattern on the 45 and hoped traffic would be light. As I flew by the colosseum, I saw a game in progress. Suddenly a fresh wave of panic hit me. There I was flying a small plane, no radio contact with anyone, flying by a crowded stadium one year after 9/11. I scanned the horizon expecting to see a F-16 screaming towards me or worse a missile of some sort. No time to search for the intercept procedures.
By the time I turned downwind, I still couldnt make out any light gun signals from the towers. I proceeded on my base turn and scanned the runways. A plane ready to take off on the runway suddenly made a 360 and exited the runway. So, someone had noticed that I was coming. Final approach was perfect and a few seconds later, I was on the ground. As I taxied and parked, I expected someone from the FAA to drive up and hand me a sheaf of citations. Luckily, FAA didnt show.
After I got to the club, one of the intructors suggested I call the tower. We did and I was surprised to hear that the tower did not get my transponder signals at all and fired their light gun. I had lost all electrical power in the air. Thinking back, if I had been careful with my run-up check instead of racing through it, I may have caught the discharge in ammeter. I should've memorized the light gun signals, the intercept procedures (just in case) and ofcourse the transponder codes. Overall, it was a great learning incident. I was glad I experienced it. I was even more glad to be back on the ground in one piece.
posted by Praveen at 7:11 PM
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