Great to know you are OK and no damage to plane.. This is like we would like for all of them to turn out. Congrats. Socialism will eventually run out of other peoples money.
--- On Thu, 6/24/10, Linda Abrams <[email protected]> wrote: From: Linda Abrams <[email protected]> Subject: [ercoupe-tech] Safe off-airport landing To: [email protected] Date: Thursday, June 24, 2010, 6:37 PM Last Sunday, I had a safe off-airport landing, in a plowed field near Merced airport, on my way home from the Columbia air show. No injuries and no damage. At this time the cause appears to have been a broken fuel line. For now, I've left the 'Coupe at the Merced airport, where I'm letting the mechanics & FAA both do their jobs. With no injuries and no damage, the TRACON told me it would be reported as "off-airport landing" rather than an accident, so no NTSB impound of the plane. But there's a time-sink's-worth of papers I need to assemble for the FAA, and other stuff to do, so I'd greatly appreciate it if everyone would p-l-e-a-s-e hold off on any questions or speculations for now. More info to follow at a later time. I do want everyone to know how fantastically well the Ercoupe network came through for me. We train for soft-field landings and other emergencies, but I've never heard what to do next, when sitting in an undamaged 'coupe in the middle of a field, and asking myself, "Now what?!?" I called Dan Hall, my 'Coupe mentor and my predecessor as EOC Region 7 Director, and I'm very grateful that Dan immediately reached Rick Eason, an Ercouper based at Merced, who has just completed a 2-yr. restoration of his second Ercoupe. Rick came out to me within minutes, and I couldn't possibly ask for, nor even dream of, anyone who could have been of more help or more knowledgeable or more take-charge. Rick stuck with me the whole afternoon and well into evening, went up & back to the airport, corral'd an A&P-pilot friend of his, plus his own son-in-law and daughter, and with their help -- plus that of a half-dozen farm workers and a backhoe, and the cooperation of the farmers -- we got the 'Coupe turned around in the furrows and dragged off the recently-plowed field. Then to Merced airport, and into the hands of his A&P. All of this on Father's Day! Rick lurks on this list, and I can't say it enough: THANK YOU!!! Rick, you're my hero, and the Ercoupers rock! Linda N3437H (Sky Sprite) L.A. ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links
