>>1042611It looks like you misunderstand the situation. They didn't end up in the settling ponds like you depicted, they actually wound up in the southeast grass between the ponds and the ramp. Find the playground between the baseball diamonds and look right across the street - that's roughly where the airplane came to rest. And the tracks indicate they touched down going Southwest, still away from the airport centerline (they had not reached past 180 and begun to teardrop back like you have depicted).
>Now most of you, including myself saw the field shown by the orange line and thought "That's Perfect just put it there." I have a feeling the airplane might have been too high to get it put down there by the time the engine failed.Quite the opposite, actually. Given where they wound up, they were probably right above the 27 numbers when it quit, or close to it (keep in mind, the Rocket has plenty of horsepower to climb to 300' by that point... when it's running properly, at least). Had they continued straight ahead, they would have wound up well short of your "perfect" spot. A straight-ahead landing would probably have put them just past the fence into the upper swamp, or perhaps not even that far. Unless you decide to try your luck ON Rincon St, straight ahead does not look hospitable at all.
>Maybe the field south of Harrington and east of the Orange?Mike Nolan (who used to do freeway traffic reports from the air) actually crashed there years ago in another engine failure (I think he was on a long approach for 27 at the time). Caught a powerline and collapsed the nosewheel, but got out with minor injuries. Plane caught fire and burned up, though.
>>1042666Usually, but at this airport the South grass abeam the airport is perfectly landable. Even used to be a designated runway, decades ago. You COULD get away with only 180 here, particularly if operating west.
