First Question

Ben from Cherry Hill, NJ, asked me:

Why would the FARs demand that you proceed to an airport to investigate a communications problem? If your communications are out, then it would be impossible to inform the airport that you want to land, wouldn't it? And if a storm is affecting the airport's radar as well as your communications, then you could end up colliding with another plane on a runway or something, right? So wouldn't it make more sense to do exactly what you did, by landing in a rural area?

Not necessarily Ben. When the FARs talk about a communications failure, they refer to simply that; not an electrical failure. Obviously, my electrical failure in turn caused a communications failure. If I had just had a comm. failure, then I would've been able to essentially tell Air Traffic Control what happened without speaking to them. This is done through the transponder. The transponder is a piece of equipment which enables ATC to specifically identify you and also helps obtain other information such as altitude (on some models) and speed. They only way they can see that information is if you enter the 4-digit "squawk", or transponder code into the transponder.

There are three important codes which every pilot must know in regards to a transponder. These codes are 7500, 7600, and 7700. Each of them has its own meaning/purpose. Entering 7500 into the transponder tells ATC that you are being hijacked or forced to another destination. Entering 7600 indicates that you've had a communications failure. Finally, the code 7700 signifies a general emergency (structural aircraft damage, loss of control, etc.). In my case, if I had only experienced a comm. failure, I would've been able to enter 7600 into the transponder and tell ATC that I can no longer speak to them. They would then clear all traffic ahead of me or in my vicinity so that I have priority to land. However, since I had an electrical failure, all of my radios and the transponder were rendered inoperational.

Also, it's very unlikely that a storm could knock out the radar for an ATC facility. I've never heard of it before, and I'm sure there are numerous measures in place to prevent it from happening.

Lastly, landing in a rural area (i.e. a field) really should be a last resort simply because it can be really risky. I'll certainly admit that my landing in the field came with quite some luck (i.e. our main wheels touched-down about 3 feet beyond a fairly deep ditch). A pilot is much better off going to another airport that they've never been to. Of course, that is not always possible in every situation.

Thanks for the question Ben. Again, if anyone has another question to ask, feel free to e-mail me at mike_stangy@msn.com.