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Whidbey Island Mooney Approach

A wild ride in a Mooney as it does an approach into Whidbey Island in moderate to severe turbulence, landing high and fast on a short strip, and almost crashing.

User Comments

bodybager commented on 04 Mar 2007

When a pilot says OH SHIT! near the ground, theyre really saying the pilots prayer: Dear Lord, I seek your help at this troubled time, humbly admitting that it was my lack of judgment that has placed me and my passengers in harm's way. Many times, I have ignorantly trespassed into your sky with the cocky attitude that it was my skill and not your mercy carrying me through. I call on your mercy now to save us from becoming (not unlike barbequed wings) extra-crispy & wrapped in aluminum. Amen

krabiyan commented on 21 Nov 2007

Yeah, i can see how the go around would be difficult, but still, they are in a mooney, they have a lot more power than a 172. they had plenty of time to know that they were hot and high before entering the treeline. There is an airport where i live that is small like that. I've had some close calls, but still, thinking ahead of the airplane is crucial. If you're comming in fast, and your high, you either go around, or do what these guys did. I just hope they aren't near me when i am flying.

wrxpilot commented on 28 Mar 2009

Touching down beyond the halfway point isn't good, and is a very preventable mistake. This pilot just resigned to getting the airplane down no matter what, which is hazardous. I could tell he was going to be high and fast when he was still 1 mi out. The other problem is that runways like this have visual illusions that can keep you high on the approach. Either way, if you're not going to get it down on the first 1/3 of the runway, it's time to go around.

in4merATP commented on 30 Jan 2007

when the brakes are applied, they generate a nose-down pitching moment. just slam on the brakes in a car, or on a bike. same in a plane. this transfers the weight forward onto the nosewheel (no brakes on a nosewheel). less weight on the mains means less braking potential. by applying downward lift with the tail, not only are you adding weight to the mains, but because that downward lift is so far aft, you're also taking weight off the nosewheel.

debiassi commented on 27 Feb 2009

Great video but yes we all know it should have been a go around. Very lucky ot to have damaged a great plane. The one thing you should never do is force a mooney onto the ground. I alwys find a good tip is to deploy the speed brakes if fitted to dirty the aircraft just after the back wheels touch and get rid of the flaps quick too, it definately helps. See my sturgate landing on a short runway in my 252. Just search my username.

in4merATP commented on 30 Jan 2007

in short, by adding one pound of lift downward with the tail during braking, you're adding significantly more than one pound of weight on the mains. if you don't believe me, try pushing the stick forward next time you're braking. why does performance suffer? because you're lifting weight off the mains by making upward lift, and also using the tail to act as a lever, moving weight from the mains to the nose.

gsmac1969 commented on 28 Jan 2007

Hi everyone, I'm the one who posted this video here. I need to make a clarification. Lest anyone think that I was the moron attempting this landing, please let me inform everyone that no, this is not me. I would have abandoned the approach before even reaching the clearing before the threshold. I've flown high-performance Mooneys before, and am very familiar with their slippery fly-all-day personalities.

in4merATP commented on 28 Jan 2007

so, what happened? you should've gone around when you got unstabilized (as the lift was encountered on about a 1/2 mile final, still above the trees) you should've gone around when you realized your touchdown point was at its most optimistic point, halfway down an already short runway in a plane well-known for its runway-pig nature in the hands of the inexperienced or inattentive.

in4merATP commented on 30 Jan 2007

elevator full aft results in the best braking. this is not rocket science: fact: the pressure of the tyres against the ground is the sum of the A/C weight minus the total lift of the aircraft. fact: at rest, the sum of the weight on the wheels is the weight of the aircraft. less nosewheel weight means more main gear weight; the same total weight with a different balance.

JakeHarvey commented on 03 Jan 2009

I love how everyone likes to pretend they'd never make a mistake like this. You've all got perfect judgment and perfect skill. Everyone has done something stupid or dangerous and had a close call they hopefully learned something from. If you deny this you're lying - and if you actually believe your own lies, God help you.

bodybager commented on 22 Jan 2008

I wanted to see how long this runway was, so looked up diagrams for Whidbey Island and found that it is a NAVAL AIR STATION with two concrete runways 8000 feet long. It appears this runway is 2500-3000 feet long, and it is certainly not KNUW. Doesn't look like KOKH either. Does anyone know what airfield this really is?

gsmac1969 commented on 28 Jan 2007

...continued... This guy obviously was in the "land" mindset, to the point where there were 200 feet left of runway, and because of the trees and his remaining speed, he no longer had the opportunity to go around. He did run off the runway at the end, but it's a miracle he didn't wreck the airplane.

N Dale Hill commented on 11 Dec 2007

glad it ended safe...as a 15 year 201 pilot, I would say that I have gotten into many sea level

MixtureRich commented on 10 Aug 2007

I've landed at this strip several times in a 172. A waste, but hopefully a lesson learned. Also, it isn't easy to go around here, high trees on the opposite side of the runway make it a real pain to abort when you get low, but he should have expected this outcome early on in his final.

gsmac1969 commented on 05 Oct 2008

Keep in mind...this is NOT ME flying the airplane! Mooneys are extremely slippery: that's why they're so fast. You can have flaps down, speed brakes out, and if you haven't started your descent far enough out, you are still going to come in high and hot.

codewarrior78411 commented on 30 Jul 2007

And people wonder why I drive a Cessna... A half way decent 172 pilot would have floated down on full flaps at 65mph, flared into a full stall landing and hit the numbers then spent the next minute or so taxing and talking about where to grab lunch.

EXAir113 commented on 27 Mar 2009

Actually, I've never ballooned that far down a runway, I've ballooned (who hasn't?), but not like that. The closest to an accident I've ever been in is when I was following two 152's on final that just sort of came out of nowhere...

mitgolden76 commented on 06 Oct 2008

i've never flown anything other than a 172... and i understand coming in hot, thats definately excusable.. but thats a missed approach by anyone's standards.. that should've been a go around. exciting video though.. i like it

jgarzilli commented on 13 Aug 2008

terrible from start to finish. just terrble; Mooneys aren't great xwind airplanes; you should have gone around and gone somewhere else. I hope you learned from this experience; you're very lucky to not be injured

markmimp commented on 28 May 2008

too high and too fast - obvious from 4-500 m out with plenty of time - especially with short runway and tall obstructions and ? load on climbout. Judgement error. Instant go around and possibly land elswhere

gizmomulanPiper commented on 08 Oct 2011

altitude, airspeed, glideslope, altitude, airspeed, glideslope, altitude, airspeed, glideslope, altitude, airspeed, glideslope, altitude, airspeed, glideslope, altitude, airspeed, glideslope, wave-off.

dtmspam commented on 11 May 2010

As a Mooney pilot, I recognized the high and hot quite a ways out. You can't goose a Mooney in--not enough drag in the airframe and rubber puck landing gear. Definite go-round...

jrussell4711 commented on 23 Jan 2007

Don't do that again!! You learned your lesson and got away with it this time. Hell, I won't even try and put it down in a Super Cub if I'm that fast and that far down....

Roger Weber commented on 04 Mar 2014

Bodybager, it is at Langley, 2400 feet, down in the trees. Been in and out a buch of times, always have plan b at this airport. //www.airnav.com/airport/W10

jbird0168 commented on 13 Jul 2009

Any idea what the winds speeds/direction were that day? Not sure I would've used a Mooney for this field, as I havent been able to pull it off on a simulator.

DontSkrewWitMe commented on 11 Jan 2010

i would say go around but as a pilot i know that in that kinda situation u just wanna have it over with and if gas is an issue, ohh boy

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User Comments

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User Comments

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