Powerless airplane drops in on I-40 traffic

Memphis Commercial Appeal ^ | January 26, 2004 | Chris Conley

[GaltMeister]

Ira Nisby had his eyes on the road as he tooled down Interstate 40 in Memphis Sunday, but he should have been watching the skies.

Just before noon, an out-of-gas Cessna 210 single-engine airplane with four aboard touched down on the top of his GMC Jimmy, then bounced into the lane ahead of him.

"I heard a knock," Nisby said. "He came from the air. I couldn't see it," he said.

Nisby, of Millington, was headed west at Covington Pike to drop off a woman passenger in his vehicle, when the airplane descended.

There were no injuries. The airplane didn't have any apparent damage. A runner on the top of Nisby's vehicle was crushed.

Nisby said he concentrated on trying to screen the traffic coming up behind so the airplane could coast from the far left lane to the right shoulder.

"It was important to get the traffic stopped behind me," Nisby said.

The airplane came to rest close to the Austin Peay exit, about two miles west of touchdown.

"He had to be a good pilot. He didn't lose control," Nisby said.

Nisby said it had been a lucky week for him. He said he played the lottery three times and won every time.

The pilot, who wasn't identified, did a good job, said Memphis Police Maj. Harvey Sullivan, except for running out of fuel.

The pilot was on his way from Albany, Ga., to Fayetteville, Ark., according to Sullivan, and planned to refuel in Memphis. "Next time he should use an airport," Sullivan said.

The emergency landing slowed westbound traffic for about two hours. Two left lanes were opened shortly after the landing.

The pilot declined to speak to reporters at the scene.

Police towed the airplane to General DeWitt Spain Airport several miles away at Whitney and Second. It wasn't known Sunday evening if the pilot continued his flight.

After an investigation, the pilot could face sanctions ranging from a letter of warning to a suspension or revocation of his flying license.

"This is something we take very seriously," said FAA spokesman Kathleen Bergen. "It is uncommon."

[SwinneySwitch]

Had a friend run out of fuel in a Cessna years ago. He landed in light traffic on I-37 in Corpus Christi. Someone helped him get a gas can and some fuel and the cops held up traffic so he could take off and fly on over to the airport. The next morning they had the picture of the plane on the front page of the newspaper!! Those were the days, my friend!

[HairOfTheDog]

Nisby said it had been a lucky week for him. He said he played the lottery three times and won every time.

"Luck" is not a reliable fuel gauge though!

The guy did a good job getting the thing on the ground without hurting anyone. Kudos for that... but he shouldn't have skipped the pre-flight.

[HairOfTheDog]

Oh - I read it wrong.. I guess Nisby is the guy that got hit!

OK - if getting hit by a plane ~without~ getting hurt is still considered lucky, I guess he's still golden!

[TankerKC]

The pilot, who wasn't identified, did a good job, said Memphis Police Maj. Harvey Sullivan, except for running out of fuel.

You can't make this stuff up.

[HairOfTheDog]

The only time your fuel gauges read correctly ;-0)

Never seen a fuel gauge on a plane that was remotely truthful, I guess it is because I never ran out....

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

The sky really is falling!

[lafroste]

In the final class in a particularly grueling 400 level engineering class, my professor , instead of taking questions regarding the final, gave a slide show of his trip to Alaska the summer before. The trip ended with a flair when he forgot to fuel his twin engine plane, ran out of gas, and landed on a road but was unable to stop before he went through the front wall of a restuarant located at the end of the road at a Tee intersection. (The plane was totaled)

[sirshackleton]

Yup. The other important thing I learned in flight school is that a fuel gauge is only required to be correct when it reads ZERO FUEL....It can basically tell you you have full tanks the whole time, as long the needle shows zero when the fuel finally runs out, and it's still legally operational. One instructor always said "Treat your fuel gauges as if they were gossipy neighbors....there maybe some truth in what they're saying, but always confirm for yourself (by checking the tanks visually and double checking your fuel burn calcs)."

[Blood of Tyrants]

I would think that a Cessna 210 would have more range than 450 miles. But then he may have sacrificed fuel for additional passengers/cargo. Bad choice.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Funny, but totally unrealistic since the airplane would have easily crushed the Jeep.

[FreedomFlynnie]

Aero: Thanks for the ping.

Blood et al.: DUATS says Albany to Memphis (KABY-KMEM) is 358.2nm GPS direct. I looked at a couple sites that say a 210 should go well over 500nm at max. gross with a full cabin and partial fuel. My speculation is pilot error, starting when the line boy in Albany asked him if he needed fuel and he said no.

[skinkinthegrass]

Have a friend, who owned an ultralight, flew for 80+ miles over in 7+ hours in northwest Ky to central In...strong headwinds...showed us, his GPS way-points. Other friend (also flying an trike) was dump-on by a buzzard. :)

[GaltMeister]

I would think that a Cessna 210 would have more range than 450 miles. But then he may have sacrificed fuel for additional passengers/cargo. Bad choice.

I was talking to a Pilot frind about this yesterday - he said that more than likely the guy didn't lean out his engines after takeoff - did his fuel calc's based on lean flight but was burning fuel full-tilt-boogie. Just forgot to lean the mix.

[dljordan]

It's not only fuel gauges that cause problems. One of the last jobs I worked on as a mechanic was replacing wing tanks in Pipers. As it turns out the supply lines were given to cracking and allowing fuel to leak into the wing. I don't know how many times I told the flight school owner that I smelled fuel whenever I got in that aircraft but he blew me off. When I finally removed the tank (a small job of drilling out about one hundred stainless steel screws) the wing was slohing with fuel. A flying bomb. Plays hell with your fuel calculations.