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.
One other lesson from this. If you have to ditch, make sure it’s in the warm waters off Baja and not in the far less hospitable and survivable Straits of Georgia.
Sure, on the navigation, mine worked fine at the arctic circle last year. My question was what phone or phone case managed to survive a ditching and hours in the water. Very clear photos too.
Wow, was that worth the read!
Seems like he had a really great attitude which certainly helped their situation. Kudos go out to all the people that were involved in helping them get retrieved out of the wet.
Don’t know about the Canadians but in the US you can get a Commercial rating without an Instrument rating. Lots of banner and skydiving pilots build time that way. My first part 135 freight job in 1980 I had about 750 hours and an Instrument rating which wouldn’t let me take an IFR 135 ride until 1,200 hours. It involved a lot of extreme scud running until 1,200 hours and an Instrument 135 ride. I lived but it’s not the safe or recommended way and wouldn’t happen in today’s environment.
As a freight dog your opinion doesn’t count…just kidding, I think it’s the toughest flying job there is and I have great respect for the pilots that do it. Back in the late 70’s I got my instrument rating before the commercial because it required less total time. I always thought it was funny that, even though I was a pretty good IFR pilot, I couldn’t get a job flying until I learned how to do a half way decent chandelle. After I got my commercial I did a lot of IFR flying but I don’t think I ever did another chandelle.
Such electronic devices usually have some resistance to liquid intrusion.
There is a rating system expressed in depth of water (thus pressure resisted).
But I wouldn’t count on it. “Don’t try this at home.”
(I read that his phone was under water until he raised it to take the photo.
People carry phone in pants pocket - unwise, I used holders on my belt, and pants having pockets with closures. That’s not far under water.)
Why on the Lord’s green earth would you take a selfie of yourself bobbing around in the ocean after ditching your airplane in the Pacific Ocean on your first commercial trip? His passenger looks scared poopless. It’s almost childish.
Mike MacDonald may have been new to the job but his actions in the cockpit spoke volumes about preparation presence of mind and old school airmanship. Engine out scenario over open ocean he didn’t panic. He didn’t freeze. Worked the problem, kept the faith and ditched a single engine Cessna 182 in the Sea of Cortez succesfully.
This wasn’t bravado. It wasn’t luck. It was a case of solid training mental composure and a deep respect for the responsibility that comes with having a passenger’s life in your hands. He transitioned from pilot to survivor ensuring both he and the young marine biologist made it out of the sinking aircraft and into life vests.
They spent hours bobbing in the water maintaining contact staying alert and eventually guiding their rescue via handheld radio. The cellphone that captured the aftermath might seem a bit casual to some but the fact it worked after a ditching was almost as surprising as how well the entire ordeal was handled.
Mike didn’t grandstand. His takeaway was humble. “Now that I’ve been through it I’m glad to have experienced it because it tells me that I can do what is right when needed”. That’s not arrogance that’s reflection. And that right there is the mark of a good pilot.
Give that man a slot at AirVenture and let folks shake the hand of a guy who earned his stripes not in a simulator but in seven miles of open sea.
Perhaps more profound than the ditching and subsequent rescue is the author’s eloquent prose in describing the event. Thank you sir for a well written narrative with proper punctuation and grammar, logical sequence of events and great detail. Very refreshing!
