I DO DECLARE

Making that emergency call as early as possible increases the odds of a positive outcome.

SAM WINER

The silence was deafening. On April 26, 2022, at approximately 11:12 a.m. ET, while in level VFR flight at 2,000 agl and cruising over the nondescript Ohio landscape, 2,000-hourplus pilot Marc Epner experienced the unthinkable in his Cirrus SR22, N973SD—a total engine failure. Cue the sweaty palms. What makes this event unique is the fact that the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System, affectionately referred to as CAPS, was intentionally, albeit not consciously, not activated as Epner recalls. “The brain told me what to do,” he says. “I knew exactly what to do and reacted accordingly.” This included establishing the best glide speed, picking out a suitable landing area, a restart attempt, sending out a Mayday call on Guard—121.5—and successfully landing the airplane. Elapsed time from engine failure to safe landing: 1…

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Plane & Pilot (Digital) - 1 Issue, November/December 2023

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