And We Do Mean 'Engine Loss'...

What started as an afternoon jaunt over the beach turned into an ordeal -- but one heck of a story to tell -- for pilot Floyd Brown.

Brown, a 17-year pilot for Delta Air Lines, was as surprised as those watching him on Topsail Beach, NC were when his Christen Eagle II experimental biplane Ifile photo of type, below) lost its engine at 2,000 feet AGL, while maneuvering overhead on September 3.

And by 'lost its engine,' we mean exactly that -- the block sheared off the airframe. Fortunately, Brown kept a level head as the plane tumbled and fell -- managing to bail out, and hitting the silk at 700 feet over the water.

“The plane suffered a catastrophic failure when the engine came off,” Brown explained. “I have crashed two previous planes, but they were manageable and I rode them to the ground.”

Brown landed safely in the water, and was picked up a short time later by a vacationing family in a boat.

“I had 15 seconds to figure out what to do,” the pilot added. “We practice egress all the time, but I had to do it in a flash.”

Once safe on the ground, Brown's attention turned to recovering his beloved bipe, which had also fallen into the ocean. As it turns out... bailing out of a compromised airplane wasn't the most difficult ordeal Brown had to face.

As the accident involved a homebuilt aircraft -- and did not result in serious injury, or an insurance claim -- the FAA said it wouldn't help pull the plane from the ocean. Ditto for those with the Pender County Division of the Wildlife Resource Commission.

In the end, Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown -- after checking with his counterpart in Pender County -- allowed divers from his department to help Brown pull his plane out of the water on Labor Day.

Alas, the engine was nowhere to be found... but Brown said he'll keep looking. He also asked those who may find engine parts washed up on the shore to contact the Topsail Beach Police.

**   Report created 9/12/2006   Record 3
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IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 225FL        Make/Model: EXP       Description: CHRISTEN EAGLE II
  Date: 09/03/2006     Time: 1725

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: None     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Unknown

LOCATION
  City: HOLLY RIDGE   State: NC   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  ACFT ENGINE FAILED AND CRASHED INTO THE OCEAN ONE MILE OFFSHORE FROM
  AIRPORT, HOLLY RIDGE, NC

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   0
                 # Crew:   1     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Pass:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   

WEATHER: METAR KNCA 031656Z 00000KT 7SM FEW030 FEW250 28/19 A3004

OTHER DATA
  Activity: Pleasure      Phase: Unknown      Operation: OTHER

  Departed:                             Dep Date:    Dep. Time:     
  Destination:                          Flt Plan:              Wx Briefing: 
  Last Radio Cont: 
  Last Clearance: 

  FAA FSDO: GREENSBORO, NC  (SO05)                Entry date: 09/05/2006

FMI: www.faa.gov