I’ve got my instrument, and man it can be so easy to forget to cross check and get complacent with autopilot in your aircraft. Glad to see you were able to recover and make it out of this. It’ll act as a great reminder to cross check and make sure the autopilot is doing what it’s supposed to do.
I like to think about my AP and Nav as a third set of flight controls. YOU are still flying the plane no different than if by hand. When you set or arm a mode you need to stay on the instruments to ensure it’s doing what you expected. You’re right it’s too easy to rely on the AP, set and forget. Very bad habit to fall into. It’s a skill all of its own to operate the airplane solely on AP and Nav.
you were banking in the 180 turn, and in a sustained bank like that you lose altitude . If you're at low altitude that can be dangerous. Or lead to a stall an spin.
Mark, thanks for sharing. First advice: file a NASA report to give you some legal cover. Second, remember that when in autopilot, always, always remain ahead of the plane, knowing what is supposed to happen next, and be ready to do that thing manually at all times. I experienced an autopilot mistake on approach to 25L at Phoenix (KPHX) with parallel arrivals. The autopilot failed to capture the localizer, and in fact turned the wrong way, toward the parallel runway. Because I was closely monitoring and anticipating, I was able to take over and correct it manually. You need to be ready to do that at every point the autopilot has to take action. Simple mental hack: pretend you are an instructor and your autopilot is your student.
Great share. I'm a retired 27-year radar controller from SDF and an instrument-rated pilot. I host the local IMC Club every month and stories like this are what I preach to avoid. I study a lot of NTSB accident reports and the common denominator in most is complacency. It is very insidious. You get really comfortable with something, it gets easy to skip steps. Remember when you first flew with a GPS and Autopilot on a coupled approach, you were probably checking and rechecking that you did everything right. After a while, things get comfortable and we start skipping the rechecking part. I really love my glass cockpit and all of the technology that it brings and it is so easy to enter and go. The great thing about an autopilot is that it frees the pilot up to monitor instead of having to actively center the needles. I won't fly if my autopilot is out and I am planning an IMC or night cross-country flight. I came close to landing at Walterboro once on the way to Charleston a couple of years ago. We were departing Tullahoma TN from the AOPA regional fly-in and I took off VFR because there were 350 other planes there and it was going to get complicated. We thought we could get a pop-up IFR if needed but by the time we needed it, we were way below the MVA and Center couldn't issue an IFR. We ended up landing at Cherokee County GA, filing an IFR flight plan and launching again. We used Walterboro as a destination because there was a nasty front hanging over Charleston and I wasn't about to fly anywhere around those red cells, especially IMC. We managed to get down below the cloud deck at Walterboro, canceled our IFR, and picked our way around the weather to Charleston.
@@Av-vd3wk are you a grammar professional extraordinaire or just another mangy gun grabbing moron that gets their rocks off when someone in our community dies?
Worked in GA back in the 90’s and the seen lots of stuff. One pilot I knew flew out of ECP into cloud coverage commenced a banking turn, went inverted and then he pulled “up” … right into the gulf. He was an experienced pilot that unfortunately trusted his instincts for a few moments more than his instruments. Trust but verify! Be safe out there Mark.
@@9mmthroatpunch211 pulling a blanking turn gives your inner ear a sense of “gravity”” and without a horizon to focus on it easy to become disoriented. That why when your IFR you have to trust your instrument above your instincts.
@@9mmthroatpunch211 Yeah it's an unfortunate result of evolution, we didn't evolve to fly so the way our inner ear works it's physically unable to decipher between certain linear and rotational accelerations. That's also why motion simulators can make you feel like you're actually accelerating
Thanks for sharing your mistakes Mark, as a pilot and gun nut I like to hear this kind of forthrightness. I live in the PNW, and the terrain here could have made a mistake like this far more dire. Hopefully you also filed an ASRS (NASA) report, because as a fellow collector of F agencies they will happily use your honesty against you.
CFIT ... I started flying with a with a NASA test pilot and instructor 50 years ago. These guys seemed arrogant, but, they weren't. They were 100% confident in their abilities. I was kind of humbled by him. We were driving and missed a turn. He asked me why I didn't speak up. I said I thought he knew what he was doing. He said you'll never make it as my co pilot if I don't speak up "Never assume I know what I'm doing!" A lesson learned. Never become complacent, never assume and don't be afraid of asking for help. Two NASA astronauts flew a T38 into the ground and both died. It was pilot era. The NASA pilots were pissed at him. It's bad enough to make a mistake out of arrogance, but, he took someone else with him. When I moved back to New York and joined a flying club and as a student became the go to guy to fly in the right seat. People knew they could count on me 100% ... and if I turned down an opportunity to fly. The owner of the club would take the guy up for a check ride. He knew I saw things I didn't like. Stay vigilant and be safe.
I follow Juan and Dan - mostly to learn about what kinds of mistakes I need to be training for. I'm really glad you caught yourself before something went bad. IMC compounds all the other problems because there's no visual reference. The instruments are the only thing you can reliable go by... and when the autopilot isn't performing as expected... that makes for a very dangerous situation. Glad you made it and shared your experience.
Flying through clouds is insane, one small mistake or a couple of instrument failures and you're one with the terrain before you know it... glad nothing happened this time round.
Not exactly, during instrument training we are taught to be able to maintain positive control even with equipment failures. In IMC you can maintain control of the airplane with just an altimeter and turn coordinator. It’s all about applying what you were taught and never becoming complacent, complacency kills.
Thanks for sharing this harrowing experience. I am a retired air traffic controller with 34 years ATC service. I have issued my share of "Safety Alerts" including Low Altitude Alerts. . Your video points to a significant issue with radios and successfully communicating due to line of sight. Once a controller recognizes an unsafe condition with an aircraft whether it is a traffic alert or safety alert( normally unsafe proximity to obstacles like terrain or antennas ) the controller is mandated to issue a safety alert like your controller. The issue is controllers do not know if line of sight with the radio signals will allow successful two way communication if the pilot is below the assigned altitude. If no reply happens it could be the pilot did not receive the transmission, is too busy handling the emergency or is somehow incapacitated. What all of this really means is the controller is definitely limited on how much they can help and hopefully if assigned 1600 feet that the moment you start going below the assigned altitude by more than 100 feet or so the controller will see that deviation and inquire why with the safety alert. Ultimately, the pilot must scan, check and double check and know he or she is the only one that can really save the day.
Mike Patey has some great videos on GA do’s and don’ts several good videos. He’s unfortunately lost numerous friends in the last year or so do to stupid mistakes by the pilots. Great to see you’re still here with us!!!!
but if you were in Alberta and you set that GPS to 1600 feet, you would be 1800 feet underground... with the dinosaurs and T-rex's they print on drivers licenses, ground level is 3300 feet so 1600 feet flying altitude is 5000 feet. if they aren't running it wide open there loosing altitude most of the time but that's very hard on the engine.
#1 thing is complacency kills! As a new pilot in the clouds you'd be scanning that altimeter every few seconds. I'm not a pilot but I know some of those units only have one altitude knob that works in 100s of feet then switch to 1000s as you turn it, maybe that's what happened? or maybe it somehow left vertical speed mode without turning altitude hold back on, since you said you were on heading mode. Nice plane by the way
Wow! Thanks for staying off the Blancolirio Channel on this one. That was close...Autopilot vertical mode awareness. Man, the fact you never heard those radio calls from atc is frightening. Thanks for Posting!!.
Juan, thanks very much for the comment! Yeah, my days of thinking that the autopilot has things handled are over. I'm glad that I just got a slightly scary lesson to teach me that I'd become complacent with it...could have been way worse. Agreed on the radio calls!
@@markserbuThat’s not a “slightly scary lesson” that’s a 15 seconds to live and dumb luck that you saved it situation. I’m a 150 hour PPL working on my instrument rating and yeah, this will stick with me. I too am so happy to hear this story from you rather than seeing it on Juan’s channel. We would never have known the real reason if you CFIT, after the post fire crash it would probably have been attributed to a likely medical issue. I had my own recent dumb luck how am I still alive moment caught on camera last month, working through it is a process. Take care of yourself.
Re-watch your content about N388RA and relate it to this video. It would be beneficial that history not repeat itself in a negative manner. It may not have been a factor in this learning experience, but it could have.
You gotta get your radios checked, the transmit power from ATC at that airport is more than enough to reach you at 500+ feet. Checking LOS on an elevation map seems like there isn't much that would interfere.
Glad you are still with us! In the process of almost crashing, you and the rest of us will learn some important lessons. Thank you for your humility in admitting the mistakes and I look forward to hearing the next episode after you figure out what actually happened. The value of this kind of content cannot be overstated.
One thing I have tried to do as an instrument rated pilot is keep not just the procedure proficiency, but also the hand flying proficiency. I flew with guys that flipped switches immediately after takeoff and didn't touch the controls again until they were on short final. One route I flew had 7 legs a night, KGUY-KWWR-KWDG-KTUL-KDFW-KOKC-KWWR-KGUY. At least three of those legs were hand flown, including all instrument vectors and approaches. Flying is a perishable skill, and instrument flying even more so. When it came time for the guys who were systems monitors and not pilots to prove they still had it, often times they'd fall short and have to redo the check flight. I also do a lot of chair flying, just thinking about the flight before I go fly it. I've got a few more hours than you, but I've found that's not nearly as important as the mindset you have while flight planning and actually flying the plane. Glad you figured the deficiency out before you flew into cumulus granitus 😊
Mark, thank you for sharing your “almost”. I bet nearly every instrument rated pilot has had at least one “almost”. I wouldn’t be here if my father’s “almost” was a crash and burn. He is a retired Naval Aviator. Watching this video reminded me of my “almost” which I described to a young private pilot sitting next to me a couple of weekends ago while he was serving as my safety pilot for practice instrument approaches to maintain my six HITS. My “almost” was a takeoff into a low cloud layer and low visibility. No, it was not a zero-zero takeoff. I have since developed a special check list that I keep in the Notes Ap of my cell phone. Takeoff into LIFR? Not before completing my special check list that amounts to “fly the airplane EXCLUSIVELY” with no allowed distractions until engaging heading mode on the autopilot of my Piper Arrow. None. No communication. No navigation. Just flying the AI on my G5 until 500 AGL.
Really glad that worked out this time! 🥵 Always treat your autopilot like a crappy instrument student and watch it like a hawk! I've got over 10,000 hours, been flying for the airlines for 15 years now, and even in my airplane I treat my autopilot the same way. Autopilot doesn't relieve you of the responsibility to be actively involved in the flying process, your scan should never stop, ESPECIALLY single pilot!
I've been flying for over five decades and I've never had a controller say to me what you were being informed of. I've made my share of mistakes though; it just comes with the profession of being a pilot. Glad you are safe and have learned from this, and for posting! You'll never make this mistake again.
Also a private pilot, gun enthusiast, and mechanical engineer in SC. Thank you for being open with sharing this. I think the primary mistake is comfort with autopilot in capturing that altitude. So glad you're with us, and hopefully this means you will not be lost in a recurrence of this scenario. And by sharing this, hopefully other pilots like me will be reminded to verify that altitude capture. Wonder how many lost in imc have been due to this very thing?
Thanks for sharing. I have my private. 220 hours. Getting ready to begin IFR training to get the rating. Good to remember: trust but verify! Glad you’re still here and alive!
"DON'T SINK" "TER'RAIN, TER'RAIN, PULL UP" Glad you kept the blue side on top of the ball; 'cause who else will make me slightly-less-heavy-than-defined-war-crimes launchers?
Thanks for sharing. Years ago I almost died flying cargo in twin Cessnas, and it’s something you never forget. I did notice your panel layout is abnormal. When you set up your new panel make your primary ADI/ALT/AIRSPEED cluster be directly in front of you and your secondary navs/gps over to the side. It’s not a good setup to have to be flying straight and level but turning your head to the right to see your primary instruments.
A friend of mine flying back in to Greenville, SC at night in IMC got the low altitude alert from the controller. Luckily, he heard it and reacted immediately. Greenville is not flat like Walterboro. I appreciate you sharing. It's an important reminder. No matter how few or how many hours we have, we still have to check and re-check. Never take anything for granted! I'm about to have an autopilot installed so this is particularly useful for me. btw, I had previously watched your videos about Scott's little issue. I was impressed by how you handled that situation. When I just now learned you're a pilot I'm less surprised than I was. The attitude you bring to flying is the same as what I saw with Scott's situation. Big thumbs up from a fellow pilot!
Well said sir. Not a pilot but appreciate the humility and the willingness to share. You just might have saved someone else because of your video. Love your content and thank you again.
The controller was definitely shittin' his pants when he didnt get a resposne as you kept descending shesh. Radio blind spots are no joke, thanks for sharing this scary yet humbling experience.
I think the main way to avoid this problem is to monitor your instruments, which I'm sure you were taught to do when training for your instrument rating.
Glad you're alive! I watch several aviation channels (not a pilot though). I am a skydiver however and I watch the JOINTHETEEM (AKA Friday Freakout) channel which shows issues skydivers have and they debrief what went wrong and how it could have been avoided, etc. Love learning all the ways to survive and things to avoid.
Thanks for publishing this and not being ashamed about it. 20 year old plane😂 Most people can not afford that, but then again, they won’t be flying IFR 😄
Old saying- there are bold pilots and there are old pilots, but there are no old bold pilots. The worst mistakes we make are the ones we don’t live to learn from. Very glad you didn’t make one like that.
Well done Mark, it is very easy to transpose a number, then you run out of luck and altitude. Love and learn. You are letting many know how easy it is to make a mistake, check and recheck you settings. My dad taught me there old pilots, and bold pilots, but damn few old bold pilots. Great advice to anyone that is a pilot.
Glad you are alive. As you practice it’s a good technique to hold your hand on the stick even though Auto is flying. Be ready to disengage if the auto doesn’t capture as expected. In the flat areas you might be lucky, in terrain you might not be so lucky. Fly VMC approaches and fly with it. I have the same setup in our RV7, I also fly a corporate jet. Be confident not reckless. Practice practice practice. Good video..
Hey Mark, as a fellow instrument pilot, I'm glad I stumbled upon this video made by you, and not Juan.... Hard to keep your head on a swivel in the clouds, but go up and wring that damn autopilot out in VMC. See if you can recreate the situation, and how to correct it. Get your CFI to go with, and figure it out. We're always learning dude.... 👍
Gun nut and pilot here. Crazy man. You never know what asshole tower can be around there sticking straight into the layer. From having deviated by 2-300feet, I’m wondering why those radio calls weren’t heard. I’ve been out of range as well but that was in the middle of absolute nowhere with very little reception low. This is why that instrument scan is so darn important. Even on autopilot. Glad you’re safe and here to share a story.
Fellow gun nut, private pilot, and Fellow South Carolina resident based in Greer. I can’t say I’ve never busted an altitude on an instrument approach. Those things really make you sit up and take notice. All you need is one communications tower or a hill, even in the low country. Thanks for sharing and so glad you did not become a statistic. Let me know if you’re ever near SC72 and feel free to come in and land for a cup of coffee and a chat. Cheers.
@frankrosenbloom Thanks for the comments! Yes, many times after hearing a couple of altitude alerts from ATC, the next one you year is "Radar contact lost". Glad I didn't get that one! I'm a FL resident, but I may take you up on your offer one of these days, thanks!
I am so glad You are still with us Sir. I was in instrument training, when I lost my medical, and had an incident similar where I had to turn around to get out of IMC. I Thank God, for me, I was still high enough to not have this situation to worry about but was still a "Sphincter Tightening Experience".
Thanks for sharing. When doing my IFR training we had just entered solid IMC at a thousand feet and talking to the approach controller they were calling a call sign over and over again asking for ident if they could hear the transmission. We got vectored pretty far off our intended route because ATC had lost radar contact with an aircraft. When we landed we found out that a national guard Blackhawk had gone down just a couple of miles away from where we were at that time. Absolutely chilling.
Had a friend selling his plane buyer didn't lock the seat it slid back on take off he pulled the yoke back pitched up into a stall crashed and both died on takeoff
I was lucky enough to start out in Vietnam era equipment in the military and at near the same time move into modern glass civilian stuff, one of the first things I realized was that autopilots required you to be more in front of the aircraft. They are bad copilots that will do exactly what you tell them, plus you have to be constantly thinking about what you are going to tell them to do next versus just doing it yourself when the time comes. Glad you’re still here to make cool guns, keep the greasy side down.
Keeping the blue side up isn't enough, and this is a very good example of it. Thanks for sharing and as a pilot I'm more than happy to see you sharing this scary experience.
As a gun nut and tinkerer who grew up in a pilot family and as a fellow flyer it’s always interesting to pick these near misses and accidents apart to see what failures led up to them. Thanks for sharing and I’m glad that you didn’t impact terrain.
As a controller, yes, that’s a radio call we don’t like making as we are generally monitoring other aircraft/data and by the time we notice it may be a CA/LA that prompts us which doesn’t leave much time to get the transmission out for it to be useful to the pilot. Glad you noticed and recovered in time.
can be very easy to loose situational awareness in clouds. From what little I know, without any aircraft qualifications, is that a lot can happen in 15 seconds in an aircraft. It's possible to go from a normal, problem free cruise to impacting the ground in as little as 30!! Audiable clues can be hard to pick up on in high stress situations. the right choices are always easier to make with all the time of sitting in an armchair without consequences. Those that really know, will know that it's very rarely 1 thing but a sequence of events that align to create the situation. Glad you're ok and so good to share this for all to learn more
Hey Mark! I am down in Beaufort, just a few miles away. Great job owning this situation and sharing with us to help prevent this same thing with different results.
Hmmm. That’s crazy. Glad to hear you’re ok. I’d for sure have your radios checked. Seems something may be wrong. 1,200ft on flats seems like you should have heard those transmissions. Something sure went wrong. Again happy to hear this store. Means you’re still alive.
Lowcountry regional is non-towered, so he’d be talking to talking to Charleston approach 30+nm away. Factoring in the altitude and distance it’s certainly possible he couldn’t hear some of the transmissions.
This at the last week or over the weekend. I'm glad you made it through it . Here in the Carolinas the weather is very tricky the plane you have should be able to land with all the Farmland we have here. Next time land in my field will eat a sandwich and right now I am in a very spot you had that problem but grateful you're okay. Not yet. Hell don't want you. And perhaps Heaven is not ready for you yet okay there 62-year-old man take it easy and be very careful. You can't always trust instruments. I don't I had my fair share of flying.
I know what you did with your autopilot that caused the descent. You inadvertently selected “VS - Vertical Speed” as the primary mode for your autopilot along with a negative descent rate per minute. Or you may have selected “Heading only” in which the autopilot would have left the altitude control up to you through pitch control via the yoke/stick. Some GA and most Commercial autopilot systems will give the pilot several modes to choose from. It’s easy to select one of these “partial” modes while assuming that the autopilot is in full control of heading, altitude, and airspeed. With so many numbers and indicators to track in the modern glass cockpit it’s easy to miss the one small indicator that is letting you know that your autopilot is in “Heading and Speed” control mode only .. while your nose slowly pitches down and the ground comes up to meet you. Glad you’re alive!
As a pilot, I always read other accidents/incidents to avoid making the same mistakes. I was in a flying club and they didn't allow us to use the auto-pilot as they can cause problems with misuse
As a fellow pilot... You should have altitude as part of your flow (scan) every 20-30 seconds when under 3K'! Yes, especially when on AutoP! Glad you didn't die. Learn from this!
I believe a descent is one of the things that can fool your inner ear into thinking you are just accelerating, I am just a Private. You didn't mention feeling like you were accelerating, I wonder what your descent rate was? This might be how you missed it, your inner ear wasn't registering anything. As somebody mentioned below, the scary thing is you could be inverted and pull up into the ground. Fly safe, thanks for sharing this.
Did my 300nm commercial training to Savannah and then back to raleigh via low country, so remember the route quite a bit. Thankfully it's relatively flat terrain there!
Glad you made it through it brother. It is so easy to get distracted by ATC and working the radios and flying by knobs, you got to pay strict, strict attention to everything going on, listen to your body, your gut will tell you something ain't right before ATC will usually. Stay safe!
We had a Gulf Stream just dump his altitude to 1000 feet below the FAF crossing altitude after he intercepted the localizer, the sup was prompting approach to let him know he was half a mile right of course and that’s when we all took a closer look at the data block and noticed he was 1000 feet below the MVA and approach altitude 😅 these autopilot things definitely throw people off sometimes.
First of all thank God that you are alive and unharmed as well that you didn't crash. I'm not a pilot and I have never flown a plane but I love aviation and I love to learn about it. I just happened to see the headline of your video so I watched it and I'm a new subscriber. Glad to see that you are a gun designer.
I flew an autopilot coupled RNAV approach on my simulator last week, and two miles from the runway the autopilot disconnected and nose dived , I was flying it at night in IMC and was able to recover and do a go around. I came back around and did another autopilot coupled approach and the same thing happened , this time I was prepared and hand flew the approach to land. Thank god I was on my sim and not in my airplane. I also look at accident reports to learn from them been doing that for years. Been a pilot for 53 years and safety has always been a priority.
This is a big reason why autopilot doesn't necessarily get rid of the standard instrument scan. We've still got to make sure that we're headed the right direction at the right altitude! I've had autopilots act weird on me too, and then its best to disable and go back to hand flying.
Glad your still with us Mark, should you have an untimely demise I will never get on the waiting list for a BFG 50 A. I fully understand how things can happen, when I flew with a pilot buddy he was constantly adjusting trim, checking instruments, checking his air space and he did that for the whole flight.
Close call. Lots to be thankful for this season. Glad you made it and were not on one of those other YT channels because you plowed it into the ground.
Thanks for sharing. I'm 40, about a week away from my private checkride and will be working on instrument. I try and be really humble around the plane. I have a healthy fear of it.
Thanks for sharing Mark, I’m currently working on my IFR and flew autopilot for the first time, wow mind blowing, could see how you could get complacent. Taking your advice to heart, trust but verify! BTW, I’m 64yo, definitely started a little late in life. Thanks again
I've gotten my instrument and I'm working on my multi now. Sometimes autopilot doesn't always work perfectly. Just recently, I was on climbout and I configured autopilot and pushed the button to engage it, and then quickly went to my climb checklist to go through it. After I finished I realized I was off heading and off speed because while the flight director was on, and I am confident I pushed the button, the autopilot didn't engage. Thankfully I was in a climb in relatively stable air and the plane was trimmed properly, but it was still scary. Gotta remember, the autopilot is just an aid, and you're still the one flying the airplane, not autopilot. Autopilot will do its best to kill you if you're not careful. What might have happened (I know, I've done it before) if if you set up the autopilot for descent but don't move the heading bug to your altitude, it will just keep descending because it doesn't know when to stop because there's no heading bug for it to intercept. Thank you for making this video, it's always good to share your mistakes so no one else suffers from the same mistake.
I’ve got my instrument, and man it can be so easy to forget to cross check and get complacent with autopilot in your aircraft. Glad to see you were able to recover and make it out of this. It’ll act as a great reminder to cross check and make sure the autopilot is doing what it’s supposed to do.
Trust, but verify.
I like to think about my AP and Nav as a third set of flight controls. YOU are still flying the plane no different than if by hand. When you set or arm a mode you need to stay on the instruments to ensure it’s doing what you expected. You’re right it’s too easy to rely on the AP, set and forget. Very bad habit to fall into. It’s a skill all of its own to operate the airplane solely on AP and Nav.
you were banking in the 180 turn, and in a sustained bank like that you lose altitude . If you're at low altitude that can be dangerous. Or lead to a stall an spin.
Mark, thanks for sharing. First advice: file a NASA report to give you some legal cover. Second, remember that when in autopilot, always, always remain ahead of the plane, knowing what is supposed to happen next, and be ready to do that thing manually at all times. I experienced an autopilot mistake on approach to 25L at Phoenix (KPHX) with parallel arrivals. The autopilot failed to capture the localizer, and in fact turned the wrong way, toward the parallel runway. Because I was closely monitoring and anticipating, I was able to take over and correct it manually. You need to be ready to do that at every point the autopilot has to take action. Simple mental hack: pretend you are an instructor and your autopilot is your student.
Great share. I'm a retired 27-year radar controller from SDF and an instrument-rated pilot. I host the local IMC Club every month and stories like this are what I preach to avoid. I study a lot of NTSB accident reports and the common denominator in most is complacency. It is very insidious. You get really comfortable with something, it gets easy to skip steps. Remember when you first flew with a GPS and Autopilot on a coupled approach, you were probably checking and rechecking that you did everything right. After a while, things get comfortable and we start skipping the rechecking part. I really love my glass cockpit and all of the technology that it brings and it is so easy to enter and go. The great thing about an autopilot is that it frees the pilot up to monitor instead of having to actively center the needles. I won't fly if my autopilot is out and I am planning an IMC or night cross-country flight.
I came close to landing at Walterboro once on the way to Charleston a couple of years ago. We were departing Tullahoma TN from the AOPA regional fly-in and I took off VFR because there were 350 other planes there and it was going to get complicated. We thought we could get a pop-up IFR if needed but by the time we needed it, we were way below the MVA and Center couldn't issue an IFR. We ended up landing at Cherokee County GA, filing an IFR flight plan and launching again. We used Walterboro as a destination because there was a nasty front hanging over Charleston and I wasn't about to fly anywhere around those red cells, especially IMC. We managed to get down below the cloud deck at Walterboro, canceled our IFR, and picked our way around the weather to Charleston.
Glad your still with us mate👌🏼
you’re*
@@Av-vd3wk are you a grammar professional extraordinaire or just another mangy gun grabbing moron that gets their rocks off when someone in our community dies?
We have had about 15 dead here at french valley in the last 6 months and about half are from weather and letting the plane get ahead of them.
Worked in GA back in the 90’s and the seen lots of stuff. One pilot I knew flew out of ECP into cloud coverage commenced a banking turn, went inverted and then he pulled “up” … right into the gulf. He was an experienced pilot that unfortunately trusted his instincts for a few moments more than his instruments. Trust but verify! Be safe out there Mark.
Damn that's crazy how do you go upside down and not realize it probably happens to the best
@@9mmthroatpunch211 pulling a blanking turn gives your inner ear a sense of “gravity”” and without a horizon to focus on it easy to become disoriented. That why when your IFR you have to trust your instrument above your instincts.
@@palerider7171 ok I appreciate you making it make sense never been in a plane so I was curious thanks
@@9mmthroatpunch211 Yeah it's an unfortunate result of evolution, we didn't evolve to fly so the way our inner ear works it's physically unable to decipher between certain linear and rotational accelerations. That's also why motion simulators can make you feel like you're actually accelerating
Thanks for sharing your mistakes Mark, as a pilot and gun nut I like to hear this kind of forthrightness. I live in the PNW, and the terrain here could have made a mistake like this far more dire. Hopefully you also filed an ASRS (NASA) report, because as a fellow collector of F agencies they will happily use your honesty against you.
100% correct. A friend of mine did something similar and lost his license.
Yep, mark you have 10 days to file. Do it. The F agencies will screw you
This is really cool. I'm no pilot, but appreciate the humility and honesty. Very professional. Mad respect.
CFIT ... I started flying with a with a NASA test pilot and instructor 50 years ago. These guys seemed arrogant, but, they weren't. They were 100% confident in their abilities. I was kind of humbled by him. We were driving and missed a turn. He asked me why I didn't speak up. I said I thought he knew what he was doing. He said you'll never make it as my co pilot if I don't speak up "Never assume I know what I'm doing!" A lesson learned. Never become complacent, never assume and don't be afraid of asking for help. Two NASA astronauts flew a T38 into the ground and both died. It was pilot era. The NASA pilots were pissed at him. It's bad enough to make a mistake out of arrogance, but, he took someone else with him. When I moved back to New York and joined a flying club and as a student became the go to guy to fly in the right seat. People knew they could count on me 100% ... and if I turned down an opportunity to fly. The owner of the club would take the guy up for a check ride. He knew I saw things I didn't like. Stay vigilant and be safe.
I like the Shorty12 in the Battlefield 4. Glad you're still here Mark!
Useful, honest self-analysis, evidencing one of the most important qualities of a good pilot: humility. Thank you for sharing, Sir.
Good thing is you're still here to talk about it! Keep on making cool stuff!
I follow Juan and Dan - mostly to learn about what kinds of mistakes I need to be training for. I'm really glad you caught yourself before something went bad. IMC compounds all the other problems because there's no visual reference. The instruments are the only thing you can reliable go by... and when the autopilot isn't performing as expected... that makes for a very dangerous situation. Glad you made it and shared your experience.
I'm a regular Blancolerio fan, so the aviation jargon is cool and welcome.
You made me realize something : Loss of com when very low like you were / no help from ATC that we take as granted !! Tx for the reminder !
Mark.....we wouldn't be the same without ya' .....
Don't let it happen again...........
“Keep him at 24,000. No, feet."
From the movie Airplane.
Dang it Mark! Not the thumbnail I want to ever see!! Glad to see you talking us through all of it.
Flying through clouds is insane, one small mistake or a couple of instrument failures and you're one with the terrain before you know it... glad nothing happened this time round.
Not exactly, during instrument training we are taught to be able to maintain positive control even with equipment failures. In IMC you can maintain control of the airplane with just an altimeter and turn coordinator. It’s all about applying what you were taught and never becoming complacent, complacency kills.
Thanks for sharing this harrowing experience. I am a retired air traffic controller with 34 years ATC service. I have issued my share of "Safety Alerts" including Low Altitude Alerts. . Your video points to a significant issue with radios and successfully communicating due to line of sight. Once a controller recognizes an unsafe condition with an aircraft whether it is a traffic alert or safety alert( normally unsafe proximity to obstacles like terrain or antennas ) the controller is mandated to issue a safety alert like your controller. The issue is controllers do not know if line of sight with the radio signals will allow successful two way communication if the pilot is below the assigned altitude. If no reply happens it could be the pilot did not receive the transmission, is too busy handling the emergency or is somehow incapacitated. What all of this really means is the controller is definitely limited on how much they can help and hopefully if assigned 1600 feet that the moment you start going below the assigned altitude by more than 100 feet or so the controller will see that deviation and inquire why with the safety alert. Ultimately, the pilot must scan, check and double check and know he or she is the only one that can really save the day.
Mike Patey has some great videos on GA do’s and don’ts several good videos. He’s unfortunately lost numerous friends in the last year or so do to stupid mistakes by the pilots.
Great to see you’re still here with us!!!!
but if you were in Alberta and you set that GPS to 1600 feet, you would be 1800 feet underground... with the dinosaurs and T-rex's they print on drivers licenses, ground level is 3300 feet so 1600 feet flying altitude is 5000 feet. if they aren't running it wide open there loosing altitude most of the time but that's very hard on the engine.
Just started the video, but I am glad that you are ok!
#1 thing is complacency kills! As a new pilot in the clouds you'd be scanning that altimeter every few seconds. I'm not a pilot but I know some of those units only have one altitude knob that works in 100s of feet then switch to 1000s as you turn it, maybe that's what happened? or maybe it somehow left vertical speed mode without turning altitude hold back on, since you said you were on heading mode. Nice plane by the way
Damn, that’s scary! As a private pilot myself, I’m vary glad you caught it in time. Stay safe!
Wow! Thanks for staying off the Blancolirio Channel on this one. That was close...Autopilot vertical mode awareness.
Man, the fact you never heard those radio calls from atc is frightening.
Thanks for Posting!!.
Juan, thanks very much for the comment! Yeah, my days of thinking that the autopilot has things handled are over. I'm glad that I just got a slightly scary lesson to teach me that I'd become complacent with it...could have been way worse. Agreed on the radio calls!
@@markserbuThat’s not a “slightly scary lesson” that’s a 15 seconds to live and dumb luck that you saved it situation. I’m a 150 hour PPL working on my instrument rating and yeah, this will stick with me. I too am so happy to hear this story from you rather than seeing it on Juan’s channel. We would never have known the real reason if you CFIT, after the post fire crash it would probably have been attributed to a likely medical issue.
I had my own recent dumb luck how am I still alive moment caught on camera last month, working through it is a process. Take care of yourself.
Re-watch your content about N388RA and relate it to this video. It would be beneficial that history not repeat itself in a negative manner. It may not have been a factor in this learning experience, but it could have.
You gotta get your radios checked, the transmit power from ATC at that airport is more than enough to reach you at 500+ feet. Checking LOS on an elevation map seems like there isn't much that would interfere.
That airport is non-towered so he was talking to Charleston approach.
Glad you are still with us! In the process of almost crashing, you and the rest of us will learn some important lessons. Thank you for your humility in admitting the mistakes and I look forward to hearing the next episode after you figure out what actually happened. The value of this kind of content cannot be overstated.
One thing I have tried to do as an instrument rated pilot is keep not just the procedure proficiency, but also the hand flying proficiency. I flew with guys that flipped switches immediately after takeoff and didn't touch the controls again until they were on short final. One route I flew had 7 legs a night, KGUY-KWWR-KWDG-KTUL-KDFW-KOKC-KWWR-KGUY. At least three of those legs were hand flown, including all instrument vectors and approaches. Flying is a perishable skill, and instrument flying even more so. When it came time for the guys who were systems monitors and not pilots to prove they still had it, often times they'd fall short and have to redo the check flight. I also do a lot of chair flying, just thinking about the flight before I go fly it. I've got a few more hours than you, but I've found that's not nearly as important as the mindset you have while flight planning and actually flying the plane. Glad you figured the deficiency out before you flew into cumulus granitus 😊
I have know Airbus drivers that made the calls airspeed alive 80 knots cross check, V1, rotate, positive rate, Gear up, auto pilot 1 on!
Mark, thank you for sharing your “almost”. I bet nearly every instrument rated pilot has had at least one “almost”. I wouldn’t be here if my father’s “almost” was a crash and burn. He is a retired Naval Aviator.
Watching this video reminded me of my “almost” which I described to a young private pilot sitting next to me a couple of weekends ago while he was serving as my safety pilot for practice instrument approaches to maintain my six HITS.
My “almost” was a takeoff into a low cloud layer and low visibility. No, it was not a zero-zero takeoff.
I have since developed a special check list that I keep in the Notes Ap of my cell phone. Takeoff into LIFR? Not before completing my special check list that amounts to “fly the airplane EXCLUSIVELY” with no allowed distractions until engaging heading mode on the autopilot of my Piper Arrow. None. No communication. No navigation. Just flying the AI on my G5 until 500 AGL.
Fate is the Hunter......not this time Fate. Glad you made it OK. Blue skies and tailwind, my friend.
Really glad that worked out this time! 🥵 Always treat your autopilot like a crappy instrument student and watch it like a hawk! I've got over 10,000 hours, been flying for the airlines for 15 years now, and even in my airplane I treat my autopilot the same way. Autopilot doesn't relieve you of the responsibility to be actively involved in the flying process, your scan should never stop, ESPECIALLY single pilot!
I've been flying for over five decades and I've never had a controller say to me what you were being informed of. I've made my share of mistakes though; it just comes with the profession of being a pilot. Glad you are safe and have learned from this, and for posting! You'll never make this mistake again.
I like your attitude, always learning as a pilot. The best autopilot is you!
Also a private pilot, gun enthusiast, and mechanical engineer in SC.
Thank you for being open with sharing this. I think the primary mistake is comfort with autopilot in capturing that altitude. So glad you're with us, and hopefully this means you will not be lost in a recurrence of this scenario. And by sharing this, hopefully other pilots like me will be reminded to verify that altitude capture. Wonder how many lost in imc have been due to this very thing?
Thanks for sharing. I have my private. 220 hours. Getting ready to begin IFR training to get the rating. Good to remember: trust but verify! Glad you’re still here and alive!
"DON'T SINK"
"TER'RAIN, TER'RAIN, PULL UP"
Glad you kept the blue side on top of the ball; 'cause who else will make me slightly-less-heavy-than-defined-war-crimes launchers?
Thanks for sharing. Years ago I almost died flying cargo in twin Cessnas, and it’s something you never forget. I did notice your panel layout is abnormal. When you set up your new panel make your primary ADI/ALT/AIRSPEED cluster be directly in front of you and your secondary navs/gps over to the side. It’s not a good setup to have to be flying straight and level but turning your head to the right to see your primary instruments.
A friend of mine flying back in to Greenville, SC at night in IMC got the low altitude alert from the controller. Luckily, he heard it and reacted immediately. Greenville is not flat like Walterboro. I appreciate you sharing. It's an important reminder. No matter how few or how many hours we have, we still have to check and re-check. Never take anything for granted! I'm about to have an autopilot installed so this is particularly useful for me. btw, I had previously watched your videos about Scott's little issue. I was impressed by how you handled that situation. When I just now learned you're a pilot I'm less surprised than I was. The attitude you bring to flying is the same as what I saw with Scott's situation. Big thumbs up from a fellow pilot!
Well said sir. Not a pilot but appreciate the humility and the willingness to share. You just might have saved someone else because of your video. Love your content and thank you again.
The controller was definitely shittin' his pants when he didnt get a resposne as you kept descending shesh. Radio blind spots are no joke, thanks for sharing this scary yet humbling experience.
I think the main way to avoid this problem is to monitor your instruments, which I'm sure you were taught to do when training for your instrument rating.
Glad you're alive! I watch several aviation channels (not a pilot though). I am a skydiver however and I watch the JOINTHETEEM (AKA Friday Freakout) channel which shows issues skydivers have and they debrief what went wrong and how it could have been avoided, etc. Love learning all the ways to survive and things to avoid.
Thanks for publishing this and not being ashamed about it. 20 year old plane😂 Most people can not afford that, but then again, they won’t be flying IFR 😄
IKR?!? I'm used to flying in aircraft older than I am, and I'm in my 50's.
Your assessment is so honest, it's refreshing to hear a man who is modest enough to recognize something went wrong.
Glad you're still with us my friend. I think Paul and Sally would've been pretty upset otherwise. Stay safe and stay cool!
Glad you're ok man!
That's great controlling, you owe him a beer!
You've learnt an important lesson on automation.
Old saying- there are bold pilots and there are old pilots, but there are no old bold pilots.
The worst mistakes we make are the ones we don’t live to learn from. Very glad you didn’t make one like that.
I was very intrigued when I saw "markserbu" underneath one of the many aviation videos I watch. Glad you're alive!
Well done Mark, it is very easy to transpose a number, then you run out of luck and altitude.
Love and learn.
You are letting many know how easy it is to make a mistake, check and recheck you settings.
My dad taught me there old pilots, and bold pilots, but damn few old bold pilots.
Great advice to anyone that is a pilot.
Glad you are alive. As you practice it’s a good technique to hold your hand on the stick even though Auto is flying. Be ready to disengage if the auto doesn’t capture as expected. In the flat areas you might be lucky, in terrain you might not be so lucky. Fly VMC approaches and fly with it. I have the same setup in our RV7, I also fly a corporate jet. Be confident not reckless. Practice practice practice. Good video..
Hey Mark, as a fellow instrument pilot, I'm glad I stumbled upon this video made by you, and not Juan.... Hard to keep your head on a swivel in the clouds, but go up and wring that damn autopilot out in VMC. See if you can recreate the situation, and how to correct it. Get your CFI to go with, and figure it out. We're always learning dude.... 👍
Gun nut and pilot here. Crazy man. You never know what asshole tower can be around there sticking straight into the layer.
From having deviated by 2-300feet, I’m wondering why those radio calls weren’t heard. I’ve been out of range as well but that was in the middle of absolute nowhere with very little reception low.
This is why that instrument scan is so darn important. Even on autopilot.
Glad you’re safe and here to share a story.
Fellow gun nut, private pilot, and Fellow South Carolina resident based in Greer. I can’t say I’ve never busted an altitude on an instrument approach. Those things really make you sit up and take notice. All you need is one communications tower or a hill, even in the low country. Thanks for sharing and so glad you did not become a statistic. Let me know if you’re ever near SC72 and feel free to come in and land for a cup of coffee and a chat. Cheers.
@frankrosenbloom Thanks for the comments! Yes, many times after hearing a couple of altitude alerts from ATC, the next one you year is "Radar contact lost". Glad I didn't get that one! I'm a FL resident, but I may take you up on your offer one of these days, thanks!
I am so glad You are still with us Sir. I was in instrument training, when I lost my medical, and had an incident similar where I had to turn around to get out of IMC. I Thank God, for me, I was still high enough to not have this situation to worry about but was still a "Sphincter Tightening Experience".
I am a shooter and pilot too, fly VFR but fogs are regular popups in Florida so it gets hairy and scary sometimes! glad u made it.
Thanks for sharing. When doing my IFR training we had just entered solid IMC at a thousand feet and talking to the approach controller they were calling a call sign over and over again asking for ident if they could hear the transmission. We got vectored pretty far off our intended route because ATC had lost radar contact with an aircraft. When we landed we found out that a national guard Blackhawk had gone down just a couple of miles away from where we were at that time. Absolutely chilling.
I’m not a pilot, but I’m an aviation and gun nerd, so this was an interesting story. Glad you’re still here brother!
Had a friend selling his plane buyer didn't lock the seat it slid back on take off he pulled the yoke back pitched up into a stall crashed and both died on takeoff
I was lucky enough to start out in Vietnam era equipment in the military and at near the same time move into modern glass civilian stuff, one of the first things I realized was that autopilots required you to be more in front of the aircraft. They are bad copilots that will do exactly what you tell them, plus you have to be constantly thinking about what you are going to tell them to do next versus just doing it yourself when the time comes. Glad you’re still here to make cool guns, keep the greasy side down.
Keeping the blue side up isn't enough, and this is a very good example of it. Thanks for sharing and as a pilot I'm more than happy to see you sharing this scary experience.
Glad you're okay.
I'm not a pilot, let's just say we've had some close calls. Here in Walterboro South Carolina. Yeppers glad you're okay Mark
As a gun nut and tinkerer who grew up in a pilot family and as a fellow flyer it’s always interesting to pick these near misses and accidents apart to see what failures led up to them. Thanks for sharing and I’m glad that you didn’t impact terrain.
As a controller, yes, that’s a radio call we don’t like making as we are generally monitoring other aircraft/data and by the time we notice it may be a CA/LA that prompts us which doesn’t leave much time to get the transmission out for it to be useful to the pilot. Glad you noticed and recovered in time.
can be very easy to loose situational awareness in clouds. From what little I know, without any aircraft qualifications, is that a lot can happen in 15 seconds in an aircraft. It's possible to go from a normal, problem free cruise to impacting the ground in as little as 30!! Audiable clues can be hard to pick up on in high stress situations. the right choices are always easier to make with all the time of sitting in an armchair without consequences. Those that really know, will know that it's very rarely 1 thing but a sequence of events that align to create the situation. Glad you're ok and so good to share this for all to learn more
Hey Mark! I am down in Beaufort, just a few miles away. Great job owning this situation and sharing with us to help prevent this same thing with different results.
"Man that ground is pretty close" Famous Pilot Last Words, lol.
Hmmm. That’s crazy. Glad to hear you’re ok. I’d for sure have your radios checked. Seems something may be wrong. 1,200ft on flats seems like you should have heard those transmissions. Something sure went wrong. Again happy to hear this store. Means you’re still alive.
Lowcountry regional is non-towered, so he’d be talking to talking to Charleston approach 30+nm away. Factoring in the altitude and distance it’s certainly possible he couldn’t hear some of the transmissions.
What’s worse is getting the terrain warning (due to miss programming), and the controller never said a word……!!!
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You absolutely are beloved my dude. Glad you are safe❤
This at the last week or over the weekend. I'm glad you made it through it . Here in the Carolinas the weather is very tricky the plane you have should be able to land with all the Farmland we have here. Next time land in my field will eat a sandwich and right now I am in a very spot you had that problem but grateful you're okay. Not yet. Hell don't want you. And perhaps Heaven is not ready for you yet okay there 62-year-old man take it easy and be very careful. You can't always trust instruments. I don't I had my fair share of flying.
whew.... that was a good lesson and glad you're okay!
Jesus Mark....facepalm. Glad you're still with us!
I know what you did with your autopilot that caused the descent. You inadvertently selected “VS - Vertical Speed” as the primary mode for your autopilot along with a negative descent rate per minute. Or you may have selected “Heading only” in which the autopilot would have left the altitude control up to you through pitch control via the yoke/stick. Some GA and most Commercial autopilot systems will give the pilot several modes to choose from. It’s easy to select one of these “partial” modes while assuming that the autopilot is in full control of heading, altitude, and airspeed. With so many numbers and indicators to track in the modern glass cockpit it’s easy to miss the one small indicator that is letting you know that your autopilot is in “Heading and Speed” control mode only .. while your nose slowly pitches down and the ground comes up to meet you. Glad you’re alive!
As a pilot, I always read other accidents/incidents to avoid making the same mistakes. I was in a flying club and they didn't allow us to use the auto-pilot as they can cause problems with misuse
As a fellow pilot... You should have altitude as part of your flow (scan) every 20-30 seconds when under 3K'! Yes, especially when on AutoP! Glad you didn't die. Learn from this!
I believe a descent is one of the things that can fool your inner ear into thinking you are just accelerating, I am just a Private. You didn't mention feeling like you were accelerating, I wonder what your descent rate was? This might be how you missed it, your inner ear wasn't registering anything. As somebody mentioned below, the scary thing is you could be inverted and pull up into the ground. Fly safe, thanks for sharing this.
Did my 300nm commercial training to Savannah and then back to raleigh via low country, so remember the route quite a bit. Thankfully it's relatively flat terrain there!
I’m in the trades and your message about complacency speaks volumes. I’ll be using it in my classes.
Blancolorio and Dan Gryder will be up on this.
Sending to all I know, glad you are with us, true professional and this video will save lives. Thank you.
Glad you made it through it brother. It is so easy to get distracted by ATC and working the radios and flying by knobs, you got to pay strict, strict attention to everything going on, listen to your body, your gut will tell you something ain't right before ATC will usually. Stay safe!
We had a Gulf Stream just dump his altitude to 1000 feet below the FAF crossing altitude after he intercepted the localizer, the sup was prompting approach to let him know he was half a mile right of course and that’s when we all took a closer look at the data block and noticed he was 1000 feet below the MVA and approach altitude 😅 these autopilot things definitely throw people off sometimes.
I’m glad you mentioned the morbid aspect. Although tough to watch, there is a ton to be learned from others mistakes.
A common phrase in corporate and airline aviation in regards to autopilots and automation is……..what is it doing now ???
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First of all thank God that you are alive and unharmed as well that you didn't crash. I'm not a pilot and I have never flown a plane but I love aviation and I love to learn about it. I just happened to see the headline of your video so I watched it and I'm a new subscriber. Glad to see that you are a gun designer.
I wish more people would remember the “VERIFY” part of that quote, maybe we’d all be closer to the same page.
I flew an autopilot coupled RNAV approach on my simulator last week, and two miles from the runway the autopilot disconnected and nose dived , I was flying it at night in IMC and was able to recover and do a go around. I came back around and did another autopilot coupled approach and the same thing happened , this time I was prepared and hand flew the approach to land. Thank god I was on my sim and not in my airplane. I also look at accident reports to learn from them been doing that for years. Been a pilot for 53 years and safety has always been a priority.
Damn Mark, glad this was just terrifying and not terminal.
This is a big reason why autopilot doesn't necessarily get rid of the standard instrument scan. We've still got to make sure that we're headed the right direction at the right altitude! I've had autopilots act weird on me too, and then its best to disable and go back to hand flying.
A good scare keeps us honest. Glad you’re still above ground.
Glad you didn’t die! Be careful! We can’t afford to lose a good gun designer!!!
Thanks for sharing this! GA safety cannot be overstated or shared.
Glad your still with us Mark, should you have an untimely demise I will never get on the waiting list for a BFG 50 A. I fully understand how things can happen, when I flew with a pilot buddy he was constantly adjusting trim, checking instruments, checking his air space and he did that for the whole flight.
Close call. Lots to be thankful for this season. Glad you made it and were not on one of those other YT channels because you plowed it into the ground.
I was a pilot, easy to get in trouble in IMC especially snow.. Good that you figured it out befoe eating a tree... stay safe..😊
Thanks for sharing. I'm 40, about a week away from my private checkride and will be working on instrument. I try and be really humble around the plane. I have a healthy fear of it.
Thanks for sharing Mark, I’m currently working on my IFR and flew autopilot for the first time, wow mind blowing, could see how you could get complacent. Taking your advice to heart, trust but verify! BTW, I’m 64yo, definitely started a little late in life. Thanks again
I'm not a pilot but I always appreciate when people go over what went wrong. to help other people avoid the same mistakes/issues
I've gotten my instrument and I'm working on my multi now. Sometimes autopilot doesn't always work perfectly. Just recently, I was on climbout and I configured autopilot and pushed the button to engage it, and then quickly went to my climb checklist to go through it. After I finished I realized I was off heading and off speed because while the flight director was on, and I am confident I pushed the button, the autopilot didn't engage. Thankfully I was in a climb in relatively stable air and the plane was trimmed properly, but it was still scary.
Gotta remember, the autopilot is just an aid, and you're still the one flying the airplane, not autopilot. Autopilot will do its best to kill you if you're not careful.
What might have happened (I know, I've done it before) if if you set up the autopilot for descent but don't move the heading bug to your altitude, it will just keep descending because it doesn't know when to stop because there's no heading bug for it to intercept.
Thank you for making this video, it's always good to share your mistakes so no one else suffers from the same mistake.