Chops, I know I don't speak for all, but the honor is ours. Dude the passion you have for aviation in your videos is infectious. How you strike a balance not to make the topic about you but more informative, teaching moments and at the same time entertaining is a feat by itself. To you Sir, I bow down. To Ryan, am glad to see you back in the air, it's not easy. But I wish you quick recovery mentally and hope to see you in the competitions, Tails and Blues brother!
I really appreciate this feedback - I love sharing learning and story telling. There are so many great stories in the aviation community; I'm happy to be a 3rd party conduit to tell them :).
Thank you brother. This entire situation was all about quick decisions and sticking to them. The Suk is a horrible glider as I mention in the video. If we didn't get a lot of rain a few days prior, the airplane would be in one piece. Can't win them all! I appreciate everyones comments as I'm a big believer in sharing lessons in aviation. If we all share our experiences, we can all be better. It's that simple! While this emergency was as successful as it could be, there are definitely times where I second guess myself, and look back on how I would've done things different - Hindsight is 20/20 as they say. I've analyzed this video a lot, and have had many experienced pilots review and give me feedback and the response is there was nothing I could've done differently. While that makes me proud as a pilot, I still find myself wondering...that's just human nature I guess and as aviators, we're our biggest critics. During the emergency, I had one big moment about 20-30 seconds before impact, where I had processed that I would either end up in a wheelchair or dead...and I was content with that provided no one else got hurt. This was my problem, not theirs, and as pilots we have a significant responsibility to protect our passengers and those on the ground. In terms of the investigation, because this is not a certified aircraft and no one died, the TSB released the aircraft an hour after the accident. The lesson I learned in all of this, is that trained instincts matter. Aerobatic training saved my life in this situation because although I have less then 5 hours on type, I was able to draw on my aerobatic experience from flying many high-performance machines to "fly what I see", fly the wing and make judgement calls outside of what the book says. It was marginal, but it all worked out. Appreciate Flight Chops letting me tell my story, and I hope that this video saves someone else's life. Blue skies and Tailwinds and don't forget...Aviate, Navigate and Communicate! :) Ryan "Kaha" Chapman
@@kahaaerosports 💫 Very impressive young man. Your skills and instincts Ryan, are above the top. I so enjoyed this video and listening to you. Wishing you good health and much success 🇨🇦. A big thank you to FlightChops, this was amazing video. So glad you used Ryan’s video coverage along with coverage of you both back up in the wild blue yonder ❤️ 🇺🇸
@@kahaaerosports As a fellow Kiwi aerobatic pilot I’m very pleased to see you got out ok. Planes can be fixed. And i concur with your experienced friends opinion that you did the best job. Going for a road was very tempting but the field was the best decision. Hope you are back doing aerobatics comps soon.
Over 6000 hrs of tailwheel here, and he's absolutely correct. Tailwheel + soft field = bad day. I also found out the hard way that a Cessna 305A (L-19 Birddog) with one notch of flaps will not flair to a 3-point attitude with no engine thrust (engine quit). I was literally a lawn dart and slammed the nose into the ground.
It's pretty rought to land in a soft field with any kind of planes. I should say a tail dragger may land a bit better than a classic landing gear. Anyway, he did well. He landed at a slow airspeed as possible, straight wings. And the Sukhoi (SU-26 ?) he's a very strong airplane to do a perfect bad landing...Now he is an experienced pilot...😁
One of the things I love about aviation is the culture of education and knowledge passing. Kudos to Ryan for sharing the story and getting back into a plane!
My dad did the same thing back 1968 in his straight 35 Bonanza…in Southern Ohio…the fuel strainer became clogged and he had to make an off airport landing in a 800’ cow pasture…my mom and I were on board….I was 7 yrs old….the outcome was very good with minimal damage to the aircraft…..thanks dad…😀
As a student pilot I've been watching a lot of videos of emergencies, but the ones with debriefs help the most. Learning the thought processes of experienced pilots is so useful and will, I hope, make me a better and safer pilot.
The most impressive thing to me isn’t even his landing, but his calm and class about it all. Obviously shaken personally and professionally upset, but he handled it all with an amazing amount of composure and professionalism from the first sign of issue to the end of his debrief on this channel. Lot of guys would have been swearing up a storm and angry at everyone from themselves to their mechanic.
I know what happened was terrible but this video couldn’t have come at a better time. Had my first flight in a couple months getting ready for my comm checkride and had a rough sim emergency. Shows how much we have to respect flying low considering how quickly everything happens and how critical proficiency is.
The wing view clearly shows that you kept flying the aircraft and keeping the nose down as required. Awesome! On that note I'm glad to see you are still flying ... keep flying! Huge thanks to the helicopter that was there for you instantly! These guys are everything you could ask for seconds after you go down!
That full speed replay really puts that lick he took to the head in perspective. When it flips at the end it really comes down hard onto the canopy. Amazing that you could survive the initial crash but then be killed afterwards by your own plane flipping over onto you. Thank God there was no post crash fire. Guardian angels were out in force that day. Glad Ryan ended up ok.
If that ground had been harder, he prob would have been fine, looks like the front gear dug into the ground, letting the prop hit, but not positive, that looks like a freshly ploughed field
Very lucky to not receive a paralyzing neck injury. Bubble canopy airplanes without a true 'roll bar' is about as dumb as flying without shoulder harnesses.
When a member of the Canadian acrobat team, competing at the World Championship, says: "I'm a huge fan of FlightChops", you know you've done something not just right but great, Steve!
Immediately acting as soon as you sensed something wasn't right is the best thing to do. It also really shows your character that right away you started to search for a place free of people for the worse case scenario. I'm glad you're alright
Probably going to have a class of A&P students watching this. Great pilot skills on display. The mechanical failure will be useful in driving home consequences for up and coming mechanics.
Had the same thing happen to me in ‘89 in an Acrosport 2. During a transit, so not wearing a helmet, and were non-radio too. I was in the front seat when the engine started spluttering, and then quit. I handed control to the owner in the rear and I reverted to my instructor role ‘mags off, fuel off’, just enough time to give the harness a quick tighten, and then it was into a field of barley. The barley caught the lower wing and flipped us immediately. The force collapsed the top wing (which probably saved my life, rather than me taking the impact). I had to have the tail lifted up for me before I could get out. Quite a feeling, trapped upside down looking at the roots of barley, and all you can hear is the ‘tink tink tink’ of hot metal cooling down, and knowing that the fuel tank is above/below your knees. A multitude of emergency vehicles appeared, and the policeman that took us to the farmhouse (the owner of the land we’d arrived on), asked us if we could do it again! He’d been the other side of the county when he got the call and had done 130mph+ to get to us - he hadn’t had as much ‘fun’ in years! Apparently the call had come through with no indication of aircraft size, so they were all expecting to find a Jumbo stoofed in - what they got was a pair of wheels just showing above the barley tops, and a pair of dazed pilots with just a few cuts and bruises (thankfully)! Anyway, glad to see this one have a happy ending too.
Ryan did an amazing job and I'm glad he made it out fairly unscathed. This really drove home to me that if you fly an aircraft with a retractable gear (which this Su-26 didn't have) you should definitely consider a gear up landing if you're forced to bring it down on soft ground.
First I want to say your a dam good pilot Ryan and your cool attitude and training saved your life losing a any pilot hits home for all of us i lost a friend and I’m still not over it. I’m glad your ok and you went home to your family, throttle up and fly straight Ryan and thank you for showing the general public what we go through in keeping the people safe on the ground , pilots put there life in jeopardy to keep the people safe under us. Bless you
You're awareness of your aircraft, it's capabilities, your capabilities, and keeping a cool head in a scary situation, saved your life, and possible lives on the ground. Bravo sir. That's the kind of person I want in the air with me.
I'm a skydiver. I had a cutaway malfunction on my 10th jump and when it happened I was unfazed and landed standing up on my reserve where I wanted to at the DZ. It was about 3 days later I made a phone call to my mother (not married and no kids of my own) and it hit me that someone else could have been making a call to her a few days earlier. It's crazy what family does to you vs what you're ok with accepting solo. Much respect and, as you say, we must get back on that horse and keep moving forward. I'm over 400 skydives with no further problems!
This is a very special video. Thank you for sharing Steve and I'm so impressed with Ryan and I'm beyond pleased for him and his family that he came out unscathed other than a scratch or two. 🙏
There is a small part in this video that I think needs to be highlighted. Ryan's conscience decision to give up the idea of landing on a road due to the risk of injuring the vehicle occupants. Many many times you see videos on YT of other pilots electing to land on busy highways when clearly there are adjacent fields available yet those pilots put numerous lives at risk. Ryan's decision to avoid landing on a road demonstrates to me what airmanship is all about.
Best outcome, the pilot able to do a video about the incident after the fact. I hope you do a follow up once they noodle out what caused the problem. Well done!
What a professional. When it happened, he went into business mode with ice water for blood. That's the sort of dude you want next to you in an emergency.
Wow Ryan, that did happen fast! Great job getting it down and kudos to the whirly bird pilot for coming to your aid so quickly! Good job on the debrief video chops........
the way he jerks that stick is amazing. full trust in his aircraft. Best outcome possible even while landing upside down. glad you're good man and didn't fall out of love with your dangerous but unbelievably rewarding passion for flight.
I fly a Cessna 152 and maybe I'm a bit paranoid about engine-outs, but I'm always looking for potential LZs and maintaining a safe altitude. Glad you survived, good job aviating!
I live in stayner, about 10 minutes from the collingwood airport. I remember hearing about the crash, glad Ryan's okay! It's interesting to hear what exactly happened
Very well done video. Our hats off to Ryan for performing very calm & instinctual under pressure. We're glad everyone is safe, airplanes are always rebuildable/repairable. Can't wait to follow Ryans adventures to Worlds with Luke!
A few thoughts: it was an honor to be present for some of this debrief at the Canadian Aviation Museum and to talk with Ryan in person about this. I hope you were able to share the photos I took with him and Luke. I subscribed to his channel and will make a GoFundMe contribution. I am now certain I MUST get a helmet for any further RV-8 flying and I will buy one from Bonehead Composites. And finally, I wholeheartedly agree: maple syrup rocks!
A former coworker of mine recently died in a crash, during a flight lesson. Anyone who can face the camera and explain how they survived an incident like this should be commended. Hopefully this helps someone.
Looking at your hand on the stick, full nose up after touchdown to keep the blue side up...... Bob Hoovers "fly it as far into the crash as far as you possibly can" immediately came to mind. Well done! -Keyboard Pilot
This has overtaken the "Dan Gryder" episode as my favorite. The topic, the incredible footage, the debrief...really good. The footage of the helicopter landing seen as a reflection on the wing was an incredible happy accident in cinematography. The view of the power lines going by (seen from several angles) made me hold my breath.
Thanks for sharing Steve. A great debrief and demonstration of no time decision making along with excellent aviating. Glad to see Ryan walk away, share his experience and bounce back as well.
Thanks for uploading this video! It is a textbook example how a pilot should react. It shows a highly skilled, highly trained pilot with the right mindset, a pilot who can do 100% under high stress, who is clearly able to assess the situation and make right choices. I'm sure there are people who will comment as ''Why he didn't do this?'' or ''He should have done that''. For those people: he needed two or three minutes to explain what happened, what he did and why he did in ten (10) seconds. Based on the information he had and his knowledge he did the best. I wish him all the best and hope he can make it to the WC! I also hope the plane is salvagable, these rare birds are awesome.
So pleased there was a good outcome in the end. So interesting to hear the decisions making in it, especially around the power lines, something we are constantly warned about as pilots. I wonder how much of a difference keeping the engine going made in his ability to clear them. That little bit of thrust probably ended up making a big difference in the options he had.
Superior airmanship by Ryan to get himself safely down. Something I never considered when thinking about a field to set it down in was how wet it may be and I don't think my instructor ever really brought it up. This is definitely something I will consider in the future!
Flight Chop's Excellent video.........Smart and very skilled pilot to say the least, almost pancaked enough to keep from flipping.....thank god for the head protection........Thx for all your great work
i grew up on a farm where a stunt pilot used to practice for air show stunts, and i've seen him crash three times. the third one almost punched his ticket and he basically stopped flying after he barely made it to the emergency landing strip next to his practice spot. it was very surreal to see a plane fly low overhead while it was shedding engine parts. its engine ran away and the prop spun so fast that it exploded (i still have a chunk of the prop we picked up later)
Jettison the canopy while gliding. I've had numerous power off experiences in lots of different aircraft. I've been lucky to not flip over. Great video.
Excellent video! Love your work and this is one of your best, in my opinion. Thankful this is a story Ryan can be around to tell. Best wishes to you both!
Well you sir made lemonade out of lemons. But you had a plan and worked you way through things mentally and you never panicked. The Landing was great and thankfully people came for the rescue.
Great video and awesome that Ryan survived this. Funnily enough I'm from New Zealand and I was looking at Ryan thinking he looks like he has Maori ancestory.....then saw the designs on the helemt and thought wait a minute.and then he confirmed it by saying he was from here originally. Kia ora Ryan!
You flew it all the way to the ground, good job! One word of advice....get your noggin checked again in a few weeks, internal brain bleed is real and deadly.
WOW! So glad it resulted in minor physical injuries. I hope the mental injuries are just as minor and quick to heal. The 4:1 glide ration is crazy. Almost as if the wings are only there as support structure for the control surfaces. Thanks for sharing the video so we can all learn from it. I'm looking forward to hearing what was going on with the engine. Scary stuff.
Some airmanship points I observed. Just before starting any maneuver perform HASELO Cxs. 1. Height- at or above safety altitude. 2. Airframe- Clean Config. 3. Security- Nothing lose in cockpit/baggage secure. 4. Engine- in Green 5. Location- Not over built up area or water body. 6. Orientation- Select reference point and field in case of engine quital or forced landing For clearance scan and cx area inside the turn, nose to other wing tip, over the top to the inside turn is clear. The last bit is essential specially if in formation.😊
I really appreciate the way you stay true to the original mission of your channel! I am always learning something from your content and can’t thank you enough!
Thanks for that report. It calmed my concerns after an off field landing in my Luscombe. In my case my left rudder cable snapped on short final. By the time I stabilized, I was past the point of safely landing on the field and had to put it down in soggy mud. Stayed upright, but my left gear collapsed. Walked away, but kept looking back on how I could’ve better managed the situation.
I just became a CFI which is a definite turning point in regard to the weight you feel carrying your student, and being in charge of their safety. I’ve been thinking a lot about what I would do based on where I am if an emergency happened. It’s definitely stressful stuff, and I really appreciate this shared experience of an emergency. I think he handled everything as perfectly as you could, and I can only pray that I won’t end up in the same situation, but that if I do, it gets handled as safely as this so everyone makes it out safe. Thank you for sharing this!
Glad Ryan is still with us. He's a good friend and fellow One D driver who's helped me with my One D. Been following the progression of the Suk coming up to Canada and was really sad to see the initial post on FB in the field. Hope you're getting that bird back in the air and giving my fellow US pilots some good competition and that secret maple syrup weapon :). Thank you Flightchops for putting this up and all the aviation content you've put up and experiences you give your viewers (I've personally enjoyed one of those experiences on your DC-3 giveaway at Sun-n-Fun a couple years ago).
When he said 4:1 I got shivers… that’s how a stone flies when I threw it! It must really suck when such a responsive and fast plane *whith* the engine suddenly becomes the opposite when the engine fails... Great flying and glad he got it down as good as he did.
It happens quick! I had an engine failure on takeoff back in 2021 and landed in a field. Glad you walked away from this one! Hopefully you can get the Sukhoi back in the air before too long.
My biggest concern/fear when it comes to single engine planes. Can't imagine the emotional weight on Ryan... but so glad he survived. What a great video!
Great job getting her down controlled. I don't watch aerobatics, but now I think I gotta follow along and cheer ya on. "Gotta get back on that horse" Glad you're safe and flying again. GOLD FOR CANADA!
Wow. That could have been so much worse. Glad Ryan was able to walk away. Broken planes can be repaired or replaced. Pilots, husbands and fathers not so much.
Ryan thank God everyday as its him alone whom gave you that slow in time to clearly think and make the choices that saved the lives of others and also your own, give thanks to the big man bro 🙂
Peter Besenyei tipped over his Extra during an emergency landing on a soft field 14 years ago. It is almost impossible to keep a taildragger in line under these circumstances, the other problem is the wheels being too small to start rolling. Glad you survived! the tail , engine cowl and canopy did their job keeping you out of the mud.
Thank you for your share, it is helpful for every other pilot here. Wish you a quick mental recovery and i hope you'll win the next competition you apply to ! The Van's aircraft's are so cool, my dad has an Rv-7 and it's so fun to fly and to do aerobatics with. It's a really different kind of aerobatics than with the sukhoi but still so cool !
I think his emphasis on the helmet saving his life is worth noting. I realize he's in an aerobatic plane with low head clearance, but I wonder how useful a helmet would be in other GA aircraft. Are there any pilots here who wear helmets in fixed wing or does anyone have fatality-caused-by-head injury data?
I remember the "Airshow" program on Discovery several years ago. I don't know how much was drama-scripted, but it seemed one of the younger pilots was in way over his head, culminating in a fuel-related forced landing. It looked totally unprofessional. They need to revisit the show with guys like you and Ryan. It would be better than most of the garbage on TV nowadays.
WOW! What came to mind is "Any landing you can walk away from is a good one". Was he lucky? Of course however lived to tell the story. Luck was a small factor in my opinion, his ability to stay calm and process what needed to be done is outstanding! Well done Ryan, thumbs up all the way from London England.
Crashing is bad enough but flipping upside down and being trapped is a nightmare scenario. Thank God there wasn't a post-crash fire. Glad to see he was ok.
I had a crash in 2015 in a TD Glasair, Broken Tail bone, 10 stitches in back of my head, and a broke big toe. Seeing you go down made the hair on my arms stand. Glad you are safe.
Ryan is such a rad dude with a great attitude. Really enjoyed this one. Excellent work as always. These debriefs are so important to the community. As a lowly mechanic, I salute it. See y'all in the air someday.
Chops, I know I don't speak for all, but the honor is ours. Dude the passion you have for aviation in your videos is infectious. How you strike a balance not to make the topic about you but more informative, teaching moments and at the same time entertaining is a feat by itself. To you Sir, I bow down.
To Ryan, am glad to see you back in the air, it's not easy. But I wish you quick recovery mentally and hope to see you in the competitions, Tails and Blues brother!
I really appreciate this feedback - I love sharing learning and story telling. There are so many great stories in the aviation community; I'm happy to be a 3rd party conduit to tell them :).
Thank you brother. This entire situation was all about quick decisions and sticking to them. The Suk is a horrible glider as I mention in the video. If we didn't get a lot of rain a few days prior, the airplane would be in one piece. Can't win them all!
I appreciate everyones comments as I'm a big believer in sharing lessons in aviation. If we all share our experiences, we can all be better. It's that simple! While this emergency was as successful as it could be, there are definitely times where I second guess myself, and look back on how I would've done things different - Hindsight is 20/20 as they say. I've analyzed this video a lot, and have had many experienced pilots review and give me feedback and the response is there was nothing I could've done differently. While that makes me proud as a pilot, I still find myself wondering...that's just human nature I guess and as aviators, we're our biggest critics. During the emergency, I had one big moment about 20-30 seconds before impact, where I had processed that I would either end up in a wheelchair or dead...and I was content with that provided no one else got hurt. This was my problem, not theirs, and as pilots we have a significant responsibility to protect our passengers and those on the ground.
In terms of the investigation, because this is not a certified aircraft and no one died, the TSB released the aircraft an hour after the accident.
The lesson I learned in all of this, is that trained instincts matter. Aerobatic training saved my life in this situation because although I have less then 5 hours on type, I was able to draw on my aerobatic experience from flying many high-performance machines to "fly what I see", fly the wing and make judgement calls outside of what the book says. It was marginal, but it all worked out. Appreciate Flight Chops letting me tell my story, and I hope that this video saves someone else's life. Blue skies and Tailwinds and don't forget...Aviate, Navigate and Communicate! :)
Ryan "Kaha" Chapman
@@kahaaerosports 💫 Very impressive young man. Your skills and instincts Ryan, are above the top. I so enjoyed this video and listening to you. Wishing you good health and much success 🇨🇦. A big thank you to FlightChops, this was amazing video. So glad you used Ryan’s video coverage along with coverage of you both back up in the wild blue yonder ❤️ 🇺🇸
@@ddalton692 👊thank you!
@@kahaaerosports As a fellow Kiwi aerobatic pilot I’m very pleased to see you got out ok. Planes can be fixed. And i concur with your experienced friends opinion that you did the best job. Going for a road was very tempting but the field was the best decision. Hope you are back doing aerobatics comps soon.
8:43 - Glide ratio of 4:1 is *worse* than the space shuttle on final approach.
A glide ratio like that is a trajectory to earth catagory 😅
😂 Yes I can relate to that comment from my own experience! I experienced my first solo outlanding in a glider on 7th of April 2023!
I’m pretty fat and I can probably pull that off nude from my roof.
its the tradeoff for having small wings to chop quickly through air
Yes, 25%. That's pretty steep!!!
Over 6000 hrs of tailwheel here, and he's absolutely correct. Tailwheel + soft field = bad day. I also found out the hard way that a Cessna 305A (L-19 Birddog) with one notch of flaps will not flair to a 3-point attitude with no engine thrust (engine quit). I was literally a lawn dart and slammed the nose into the ground.
It's pretty rought to land in a soft field with any kind of planes. I should say a tail dragger may land a bit better than a classic landing gear. Anyway, he did well. He landed at a slow airspeed as possible, straight wings. And the Sukhoi (SU-26 ?) he's a very strong airplane to do a perfect bad landing...Now he is an experienced pilot...😁
I'm glad you survived but I just laughed so hard at "Lawn dart" 😂
One of the things I love about aviation is the culture of education and knowledge passing. Kudos to Ryan for sharing the story and getting back into a plane!
My dad did the same thing back 1968 in his straight 35 Bonanza…in Southern Ohio…the fuel strainer became clogged and he had to make an off airport landing in a 800’ cow pasture…my mom and I were on board….I was 7 yrs old….the outcome was very good with minimal damage to the aircraft…..thanks dad…😀
Cool dad! most daddy's would have screwed the pooch, especially due to tension with family on board!
As a student pilot I've been watching a lot of videos of emergencies, but the ones with debriefs help the most. Learning the thought processes of experienced pilots is so useful and will, I hope, make me a better and safer pilot.
Try White water Kayaking if you want Adrenaline rush! Death is always around the next class 4-5 rapid!
The most impressive thing to me isn’t even his landing, but his calm and class about it all. Obviously shaken personally and professionally upset, but he handled it all with an amazing amount of composure and professionalism from the first sign of issue to the end of his debrief on this channel. Lot of guys would have been swearing up a storm and angry at everyone from themselves to their mechanic.
I know what happened was terrible but this video couldn’t have come at a better time. Had my first flight in a couple months getting ready for my comm checkride and had a rough sim emergency. Shows how much we have to respect flying low considering how quickly everything happens and how critical proficiency is.
The wing view clearly shows that you kept flying the aircraft and keeping the nose down as required. Awesome!
On that note I'm glad to see you are still flying ... keep flying!
Huge thanks to the helicopter that was there for you instantly! These guys are everything you could ask for seconds after you go down!
That full speed replay really puts that lick he took to the head in perspective. When it flips at the end it really comes down hard onto the canopy. Amazing that you could survive the initial crash but then be killed afterwards by your own plane flipping over onto you. Thank God there was no post crash fire. Guardian angels were out in force that day. Glad Ryan ended up ok.
If that ground had been harder, he prob would have been fine, looks like the front gear dug into the ground, letting the prop hit, but not positive, that looks like a freshly ploughed field
@@HicSvntDracones you're right. if it was dry, plane would be in one piece.
She did come down hard. You can see me tuck my head prior to impact knowing that I was gonna hit hard.
Very lucky to not receive a paralyzing neck injury. Bubble canopy airplanes without a true 'roll bar' is about as dumb as flying without shoulder harnesses.
@@kahaaerosports Glad you made it buddy!
This was a great video. It had levels to it. Appreciate your work putting this together and Ryan for being so open about his experience.
I'm glad you enjoyed it - we tried to pack a lot of info and story into 23 minutes :)
When a member of the Canadian acrobat team, competing at the World Championship, says: "I'm a huge fan of FlightChops", you know you've done something not just right but great, Steve!
Immediately acting as soon as you sensed something wasn't right is the best thing to do. It also really shows your character that right away you started to search for a place free of people for the worse case scenario. I'm glad you're alright
Probably going to have a class of A&P students watching this. Great pilot skills on display. The mechanical failure will be useful in driving home consequences for up and coming mechanics.
Had the same thing happen to me in ‘89 in an Acrosport 2. During a transit, so not wearing a helmet, and were non-radio too.
I was in the front seat when the engine started spluttering, and then quit. I handed control to the owner in the rear and I reverted to my instructor role ‘mags off, fuel off’, just enough time to give the harness a quick tighten, and then it was into a field of barley.
The barley caught the lower wing and flipped us immediately. The force collapsed the top wing (which probably saved my life, rather than me taking the impact). I had to have the tail lifted up for me before I could get out. Quite a feeling, trapped upside down looking at the roots of barley, and all you can hear is the ‘tink tink tink’ of hot metal cooling down, and knowing that the fuel tank is above/below your knees.
A multitude of emergency vehicles appeared, and the policeman that took us to the farmhouse (the owner of the land we’d arrived on), asked us if we could do it again! He’d been the other side of the county when he got the call and had done 130mph+ to get to us - he hadn’t had as much ‘fun’ in years! Apparently the call had come through with no indication of aircraft size, so they were all expecting to find a Jumbo stoofed in - what they got was a pair of wheels just showing above the barley tops, and a pair of dazed pilots with just a few cuts and bruises (thankfully)!
Anyway, glad to see this one have a happy ending too.
Ryan did an amazing job and I'm glad he made it out fairly unscathed. This really drove home to me that if you fly an aircraft with a retractable gear (which this Su-26 didn't have) you should definitely consider a gear up landing if you're forced to bring it down on soft ground.
I think a gear up landing is a no brainer after seeing that. Less chance to flip the aircraft, and it will stop much faster if it does roll
First I want to say your a dam good pilot Ryan and your cool attitude and training saved your life losing a any pilot hits home for all of us i lost a friend and I’m still not over it. I’m glad your ok and you went home to your family, throttle up and fly straight Ryan and thank you for showing the general public what we go through in keeping the people safe on the ground , pilots put there life in jeopardy to keep the people safe under us. Bless you
You're awareness of your aircraft, it's capabilities, your capabilities, and keeping a cool head in a scary situation, saved your life, and possible lives on the ground. Bravo sir. That's the kind of person I want in the air with me.
I'm a skydiver. I had a cutaway malfunction on my 10th jump and when it happened I was unfazed and landed standing up on my reserve where I wanted to at the DZ. It was about 3 days later I made a phone call to my mother (not married and no kids of my own) and it hit me that someone else could have been making a call to her a few days earlier. It's crazy what family does to you vs what you're ok with accepting solo. Much respect and, as you say, we must get back on that horse and keep moving forward. I'm over 400 skydives with no further problems!
What do you think happened?
This is a very special video. Thank you for sharing Steve and I'm so impressed with Ryan and I'm beyond pleased for him and his family that he came out unscathed other than a scratch or two. 🙏
There is a small part in this video that I think needs to be highlighted. Ryan's conscience decision to give up the idea of landing on a road due to the risk of injuring the vehicle occupants. Many many times you see videos on YT of other pilots electing to land on busy highways when clearly there are adjacent fields available yet those pilots put numerous lives at risk. Ryan's decision to avoid landing on a road demonstrates to me what airmanship is all about.
Best outcome, the pilot able to do a video about the incident after the fact. I hope you do a follow up once they noodle out what caused the problem. Well done!
thanks for sharing this incident analysis... our family and other people's safety are the priority... well done
Make no mistake, Analysing these incidents saves lives. Great debrief Ryan! 👍
What a professional. When it happened, he went into business mode with ice water for blood. That's the sort of dude you want next to you in an emergency.
Amazing display of composure and professionalism, its a great thing to get right back in the seat and keep it going.
Huge props to the helicopter crew who located and assisted you so quickly. Heroes.
Wow Ryan, that did happen fast! Great job getting it down and kudos to the whirly bird pilot for coming to your aid so quickly! Good job on the debrief video chops........
the way he jerks that stick is amazing. full trust in his aircraft. Best outcome possible even while landing upside down. glad you're good man and didn't fall out of love with your dangerous but unbelievably rewarding passion for flight.
🤨🤨
I fly a Cessna 152 and maybe I'm a bit paranoid about engine-outs, but I'm always looking for potential LZs and maintaining a safe altitude. Glad you survived, good job aviating!
Much respect for having handled the situation so well!
Amazing airmanship in an incredibly tense situation. Best of luck in finding out what went wrong and getting back into the air!
I'm glad you walked away. Great job handling a bad situation and thanks for sharing your story
I live in stayner, about 10 minutes from the collingwood airport. I remember hearing about the crash, glad Ryan's okay! It's interesting to hear what exactly happened
Very well done video. Our hats off to Ryan for performing very calm & instinctual under pressure. We're glad everyone is safe, airplanes are always rebuildable/repairable. Can't wait to follow Ryans adventures to Worlds with Luke!
A few thoughts: it was an honor to be present for some of this debrief at the Canadian Aviation Museum and to talk with Ryan in person about this. I hope you were able to share the photos I took with him and Luke. I subscribed to his channel and will make a GoFundMe contribution. I am now certain I MUST get a helmet for any further RV-8 flying and I will buy one from Bonehead Composites. And finally, I wholeheartedly agree: maple syrup rocks!
Awsome dude.
I'm glad you survived the crash.
Stay safe dude.
A former coworker of mine recently died in a crash, during a flight lesson. Anyone who can face the camera and explain how they survived an incident like this should be commended. Hopefully this helps someone.
Looking at your hand on the stick, full nose up after touchdown to keep the blue side up...... Bob Hoovers "fly it as far into the crash as far as you possibly can" immediately came to mind.
Well done!
-Keyboard Pilot
I’m glad he is ok. Thanks for the video. Great work.
This has overtaken the "Dan Gryder" episode as my favorite. The topic, the incredible footage, the debrief...really good. The footage of the helicopter landing seen as a reflection on the wing was an incredible happy accident in cinematography. The view of the power lines going by (seen from several angles) made me hold my breath.
Thanks for sharing Steve. A great debrief and demonstration of no time decision making along with excellent aviating. Glad to see Ryan walk away, share his experience and bounce back as well.
Thanks for uploading this video!
It is a textbook example how a pilot should react. It shows a highly skilled, highly trained pilot with the right mindset, a pilot who can do 100% under high stress, who is clearly able to assess the situation and make right choices.
I'm sure there are people who will comment as ''Why he didn't do this?'' or ''He should have done that''. For those people: he needed two or three minutes to explain what happened, what he did and why he did in ten (10) seconds. Based on the information he had and his knowledge he did the best.
I wish him all the best and hope he can make it to the WC!
I also hope the plane is salvagable, these rare birds are awesome.
Watching that sink rate get faster and faster, as the ground approached, had me on the edge of my seat.
Hat's off to Ryan's talented flight skills.
Well done on the landing sir. Glad you’re ok.
Thank God Ryan is okay. Super cool dude and an amazing pilot. You'll just have to bring home the gold in the Staudacher now. 😉
nicely constructed film.. lots of good lessons....over my morning coffee.
So pleased there was a good outcome in the end. So interesting to hear the decisions making in it, especially around the power lines, something we are constantly warned about as pilots. I wonder how much of a difference keeping the engine going made in his ability to clear them. That little bit of thrust probably ended up making a big difference in the options he had.
This episode belongs in Canadian PPL ground school. Wow! I'm a PPL and I learned SO much from this.
not just Canadian
Any landing you can walk away from is a great landing! Any landing you can use the plane next day is an awesome landing! Great job!
I wish that cliche' could be retired.
Superior airmanship by Ryan to get himself safely down.
Something I never considered when thinking about a field to set it down in was how wet it may be and I don't think my instructor ever really brought it up. This is definitely something I will consider in the future!
Absolutely. But when it's the only field you can reach, you take it. The alternatives can be far worse.
Man, your energy and determination are greater than any incident, or event of this nature, You are capable, strong and prepared! Overcoming always!
Good pilots have great minds. I love how he thought his way through this to the best possible outcome. Well done.
Flight Chop's Excellent video.........Smart and very skilled pilot to say the least, almost pancaked enough to keep from flipping.....thank god for the head protection........Thx for all your great work
i grew up on a farm where a stunt pilot used to practice for air show stunts, and i've seen him crash three times. the third one almost punched his ticket and he basically stopped flying after he barely made it to the emergency landing strip next to his practice spot. it was very surreal to see a plane fly low overhead while it was shedding engine parts. its engine ran away and the prop spun so fast that it exploded (i still have a chunk of the prop we picked up later)
Jettison the canopy while gliding. I've had numerous power off experiences in lots of different aircraft. I've been lucky to not flip over. Great video.
Excellent video! Love your work and this is one of your best, in my opinion. Thankful this is a story Ryan can be around to tell. Best wishes to you both!
You are an amazing pilot. Respect to sharing everything of this with us. Get well soon in every regard.
Well you sir made lemonade out of lemons. But you had a plan and worked you way through things mentally and you never panicked. The Landing was great and thankfully people came for the rescue.
Great video and awesome that Ryan survived this. Funnily enough I'm from New Zealand and I was looking at Ryan thinking he looks like he has Maori ancestory.....then saw the designs on the helemt and thought wait a minute.and then he confirmed it by saying he was from here originally. Kia ora Ryan!
Great video Steve! Myriad lessons to be learned here. Great to see you out on Saturday morning too (it was me that called you out on YHM TWR)
Haha - awesome :)
You flew it all the way to the ground, good job! One word of advice....get your noggin checked again in a few weeks, internal brain bleed is real and deadly.
WOW! So glad it resulted in minor physical injuries. I hope the mental injuries are just as minor and quick to heal.
The 4:1 glide ration is crazy. Almost as if the wings are only there as support structure for the control surfaces.
Thanks for sharing the video so we can all learn from it. I'm looking forward to hearing what was going on with the engine. Scary stuff.
Thank you. Thank you chops and thank you aerobatic pilot. You are both great examples.
Kudos to you sir. Excellent pilot you are. I was a flight instructor for many years and you did a great job. I salute you!
Thank you for sharing. Great to see him walk away & get back in the air.
Some airmanship points I observed.
Just before starting any maneuver perform HASELO Cxs.
1. Height- at or above safety altitude.
2. Airframe- Clean Config.
3. Security- Nothing lose in cockpit/baggage secure.
4. Engine- in Green
5. Location- Not over built up area or water body.
6. Orientation- Select reference point and field in case of engine quital or forced landing
For clearance scan and cx area inside the turn, nose to other wing tip, over the top to the inside turn is clear. The last bit is essential specially if in formation.😊
I really appreciate the way you stay true to the original mission of your channel! I am always learning something from your content and can’t thank you enough!
Thanks for that report. It calmed my concerns after an off field landing in my Luscombe. In my case my left rudder cable snapped on short final. By the time I stabilized, I was past the point of safely landing on the field and had to put it down in soggy mud. Stayed upright, but my left gear collapsed. Walked away, but kept looking back on how I could’ve better managed the situation.
holy jesus! glad you are okay, you did so well to control the crash as much as you could, you are still kicking that's the main thing
I just became a CFI which is a definite turning point in regard to the weight you feel carrying your student, and being in charge of their safety. I’ve been thinking a lot about what I would do based on where I am if an emergency happened. It’s definitely stressful stuff, and I really appreciate this shared experience of an emergency. I think he handled everything as perfectly as you could, and I can only pray that I won’t end up in the same situation, but that if I do, it gets handled as safely as this so everyone makes it out safe. Thank you for sharing this!
Respect to you Ryan. Been there. Watch your emotions down the track mate. Good luck from Down Under.
The most surprising thing to me is that the RV14 was able to get into the air carrying the weight of Ryan’s huge balls.
🤣
Original..
Aviation humor can be great for every Aviation enthusiast!
stupid remark
I was coming to the comments because I wanted to say the same 😂😂😂 damn your first
Glad Ryan is still with us. He's a good friend and fellow One D driver who's helped me with my One D. Been following the progression of the Suk coming up to Canada and was really sad to see the initial post on FB in the field. Hope you're getting that bird back in the air and giving my fellow US pilots some good competition and that secret maple syrup weapon :).
Thank you Flightchops for putting this up and all the aviation content you've put up and experiences you give your viewers (I've personally enjoyed one of those experiences on your DC-3 giveaway at Sun-n-Fun a couple years ago).
Actually, got me choked up at 16:21. Honorable man.
Assured the best possible outcome with the circumstances. Good job aviator.
When he said 4:1 I got shivers… that’s how a stone flies when I threw it! It must really suck when such a responsive and fast plane *whith* the engine suddenly becomes the opposite when the engine fails... Great flying and glad he got it down as good as he did.
It happens quick! I had an engine failure on takeoff back in 2021 and landed in a field. Glad you walked away from this one! Hopefully you can get the Sukhoi back in the air before too long.
So happy to see you survived your crash. Great video and debrief for others to learn from. 👍👏🏻🙏
Glad you are ok my friend! Thank you for sharing with us all so we can learn together.
My biggest concern/fear when it comes to single engine planes. Can't imagine the emotional weight on Ryan... but so glad he survived. What a great video!
it can be even worse with a twin engine. a few have a tendency to yaw themselves into a uncontrolled dive with an engine out
Great job getting her down controlled. I don't watch aerobatics, but now I think I gotta follow along and cheer ya on. "Gotta get back on that horse" Glad you're safe and flying again. GOLD FOR CANADA!
Wow. That could have been so much worse. Glad Ryan was able to walk away. Broken planes can be repaired or replaced. Pilots, husbands and fathers not so much.
Ryan, Bro! well done sorting that cluster out so professionally, Thank you for sharing this. Great wake up call for me so thank you. NZ.
Ryan thank God everyday as its him alone whom gave you that slow in time to clearly think and make the choices that saved the lives of others and also your own, give thanks to the big man bro 🙂
Peter Besenyei tipped over his Extra during an emergency landing on a soft field 14 years ago.
It is almost impossible to keep a taildragger in line under these circumstances, the other problem is the wheels being
too small to start rolling. Glad you survived! the tail , engine cowl and canopy did their job keeping you out of the mud.
Hello from Minnesota USA!! Great episode!
Thank you for your share,
it is helpful for every other pilot here.
Wish you a quick mental recovery and i hope you'll win the next competition you apply to !
The Van's aircraft's are so cool, my dad has an Rv-7 and it's so fun to fly and to do aerobatics with.
It's a really different kind of aerobatics than with the sukhoi but still so cool !
I think his emphasis on the helmet saving his life is worth noting. I realize he's in an aerobatic plane with low head clearance, but I wonder how useful a helmet would be in other GA aircraft. Are there any pilots here who wear helmets in fixed wing or does anyone have fatality-caused-by-head injury data?
Kia kaha Ryan. Always good to see an export achieving even if it is for Canada :P
I remember the "Airshow" program on Discovery several years ago. I don't know how much was drama-scripted, but it seemed one of the younger pilots was in way over his head, culminating in a fuel-related forced landing. It looked totally unprofessional.
They need to revisit the show with guys like you and Ryan. It would be better than most of the garbage on TV nowadays.
I watched the roll at 16:40 several times, he was doing all he g training, very cool. Someone I would love to meet some day. Great video.
thanks for sharing, glad Ryan is okay!!! clear skies and calm winds sir!
Than you for that video, good to see how to solve situation like this. He have good friends around you.
WOW! What came to mind is "Any landing you can walk away from is a good one". Was he lucky? Of course however lived to tell the story. Luck was a small factor in my opinion, his ability to stay calm and process what needed to be done is outstanding! Well done Ryan, thumbs up all the way from London England.
Thank you for sharing this, as a new pilot its a big help in what to do in these situations! Safe flying all!
Bail Out.
Crashing is bad enough but flipping upside down and being trapped is a nightmare scenario. Thank God there wasn't a post-crash fire. Glad to see he was ok.
I had a crash in 2015 in a TD Glasair, Broken Tail bone, 10 stitches in back of my head, and a broke big toe. Seeing you go down made the hair on my arms stand. Glad you are safe.
Maybe it’s a good idea for helmets! I’m so happy to see no one injured! And yes time to upgrade the RV14 for the oil✅
Ryan is such a rad dude with a great attitude. Really enjoyed this one. Excellent work as always. These debriefs are so important to the community. As a lowly mechanic, I salute it. See y'all in the air someday.