What's the worst thing that can happen while you're 2,200 ft (670 m) up in the air? If you guessed "fall," then you'd be right. That's exactly what a student pilot experienced while he was going on a cross-country journey without his instructor. Mid-flight, he lost his engine and had to perform an emergency landing. The pilot not only lived to tell the story, but he actually aced the landing.
On May 22nd, Brian Parsley embarked on a 180 miles (290 km) round trip, taking off from Concord-Padgett Regional Airport, North Carolina, in a 1968 Cessna 150J. The route was planned with two different stops, one at the Anson County airport and one in Florence County before Brian had to make his way back.
Upon his return to Concord, he began recording the landing for a later inspection with the instructor. At just 10 miles (16 km) away from the airport, the Cessna encountered some engine issues.
Keep in mind that the pilot was 2,200 ft (670 m) up when that happened. In the footage taken by Brian, you can see the RPM suddenly drop. Not only that, but the oil pressure also dropped. That's when he contacted the Concord tower to communicate that he's losing the engine and needs to perform an emergency landing.
Even though the runway was cleared up for landing, the pilot still had a good 9 miles (14 km) distance to get there. Shortly after he saw that he had lost the engine power, you can see the terrifying moment when the propellers came to a full stop.
Brian needed to act quickly, so he chose to maintain the airplane speed and land on the nearest field. It's incredible to see how he managed to pull that textbook emergency landing. You can see the brave pilot in full action in the video below, along with more technical explanations of what he did to survive the incident.
Florina taught herself how to drive in a Daewoo Tico (a rebadged Suzuki Alto kei car) but her first "real car" was a VW Golf. When she’s not writing about cars, drones or aircraft, Florina likes to read anything related to space exploration and take pictures in the middle of nature. Full profile
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