A wet-behind-the-ears commercial pilot on his first paying job emerged, along with his passenger, relatively unscathed from a dunking in the Sea of Cortez off Baja California on Friday. Mike MacDonald said his training kicked in to ensure the happy outcome for him and his passenger. Mike MacDonald, 47, of Burnaby, British Columbia, was about three hours into a flight with a marine biologist spotting and recording marine wildlife off La Paz, Mexico when the engine quit on the Cessna 182 he was flying. They were about 1,500 feet above the open ocean seven miles offshore. After several unsuccessful restart attempts, he switched to prepping for ditching and got himself and his passenger as ready as possible for the water landing.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/pilot-recounts-ditching-off-mexico