Pilot Survives In-Flight Prop Loss | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

 Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-09.15.25

AirborneNextGen-
09.09.25

Airborne-Unlimited-09.10.25

Airborne-AffordableFlyers-09.11.25

AirborneUnlimited-09.12.25

Fri, Sep 26, 2014

Pilot Survives In-Flight Prop Loss

Says Eagle Scout Training Help Him Through Post-Accident Ordeal

A 65-year-old pilot from the San Francisco Bay area found himself in one of those situations that no pilot wants to experience; the prop had come off his airplane.

Tim Cassel told television station KNTV that the prop separated from the airplane at about 13,000 feet over the Sierra Nevada mountains. He eventually put the Piper PA-28 down in a remote canyon in Sequoia National Park. He suffered broken ribs, a broken ankle, and facial fractures from the accident, but he was alive and able to get himself out of the aircraft.

Cassel said he put his Eagle Scout training to work to help him survive. As night fell and temperatures dropped, he wrapped himself in the airplane's cockpit cover to stay warm and activated an emergency locator beacon. He was found by park rangers about 18 hours after the plane went down.

Cassel has been flying about seven years, according to the report. When asked if he plans to fly again, his response was an enthusiastic "you bet."

(Image from file. Not accident airplane)

FMI: www.ntsb.gov

Advertisement

More News

Classic Aero-TV: UAvionix - Transitioning Between Manned & Unmanned Technologies

From 2017 (YouTube Edition): ADS-B For Airplanes And Drones… ADS-B technology developed by uAvionix has come full circle. The company began with a device developed for manne>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (09.14.25): Dead Reckoning

Dead Reckoning Dead reckoning, as applied to flying, is the navigation of an airplane solely by means of computations based on airspeed, course, heading, wind direction, and speed,>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (09.14.25)

"The next great technological revolution in aviation is here. The United States will lead the way, and doing so will cement America’s status as a global leader in transportat>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (09.14.25)

Aero Linx: The Mooney Mite Site Dedicated to the Mooney M-18 Mite, "The Most Personal Airplane," and to supporting Mite owners everywhere. The Mooney M-18 Mite is a single-place, l>[...]

Airborne-NextGen 09.09.25: Textron Nixes ePlane, Joby L/D Flt, Swift Approval

Also: Space Command Moves, Alpine Eagle, Duffy Names Amit Kshatriya, Sikorsky-CAL FIRE Collab Textron eAviation is putting the development of its Nexus electric vertical takeoff an>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Change Display

Headlines Only | Headlines w/ Teasers | View Everything

Advertisement

Top Videos

Airborne 09.17.25: 787 Pilot Busted, 1st Production Ascend, Sling 4 Cocaine Haul

Airborne-NextGen 09.16.25: DOT's AAM Plan, Switchblade 600 AirLaunch, Jetson ONE Delivery

Airborne 09.15.25: Last Call For RV-3/4/6, Second B-21, Dubai Show Bars Israelis

See All

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC