Page 9 - Volume 18 Number 1

unfortunately, the same thing tends to happen when a real problem occurs in a real airplane; doesn’t matter how careful or methodical you are about your planning. Hence, we find ourselves well offshore, over shark-infested waters, at night, with a possible engine fire located less than six inches away from a nacelle tank holding 20 gallons of very volatile avgas, unable to hold altitude and with unknown weather less than 4,000 feet beneath us.
I call Miami Center, tell them we have an engine fire light on that won’t go out, and declare an emergency. The otherwise busy frequency suddenly becomes very silent as the controller and I work our way through the usual litany about the nature of the emergency, fuel and souls on board, and our intentions. Sensing the effect our conversation is having, the controller wraps up our discussion by assigning me a discrete frequency. I can almost hear the frequency-change knobs clicking on the number-two radios of all the other aircraft in the area and know that instant judgments are being made about me as a pilot by all my anonymous peers. I take a couple of deep breaths, and with as much gravel in my voice as I can muster, call the new controller. He answers immediately with a very friendly and confident tone of voice. Somehow, I suspect I am now talking to a supervisor.
I again explain the problem and ask him for a vector to the nearest point of land, which he promptly provides. As the best place to be with an onboard fire is outside the aircraft, even if that means being in the water, I next ask for a block altitude, all the way to the surface if need be. He immediately clears me at my discretion down to 10,000. As we descend and begin bouncing through the cloud tops, the visual effect of what we hope is still distant lightning becomes all-surrounding, strobe-like in its brightness.
But, on the good side, as we descend through 14,000 the cabin
JANUARY 2014
TWIN & TURBINE • 7