2007 3
My Former Plane is now at the Bottom of the Sea
Published by MartinVarsavsky.net in General with No Comments
For many years I owned a single engine turboprop called Jetprop. That plane now is in the bottom of the sea.
The accident happened yesterday afternoon and it is a miracle that my former partner, Jose Maria de Arcas and his 3 passengers, are all alive. When I was training to be a pilot I flew hundreds of hours in that Jetprop. I went as far as Cape Verde in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean with it.
But my family did not like the Jetprop because it was much more uncomfortable to fly than the Citation Jet that we have had since 2000. So I ended up selling my 50% interest in it a few months ago. When I heard the plane had ended up in the sea near Ibiza I shivered.
What is amazing is that after the flameout, an extremely rare case in which a turbine turns off on its own, Jose Maria was able not only to make a successful water landing, but to evacuate the aircraft together with 3 passengers, all with their life jackets before the plane actually sunk. The vast majority of water landings, even if successful, leave no time for passengers to get out. And, on top of that, Jose Maria had time to notify the rescue helicopters while gliding and they were there a few minutes after the water landing.
I am not a believer, but Jose Maria is and I can now very well understand why. In any case there is one thing I do believe in, and that is Jose Maria´s supernatural survival skills.
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No Comments
Lukketto on May 3, 2007 ·
Lucky Martin! 😉
Martin Varsavsky on May 3, 2007 ·
Kasper,
The citation is safer, the jetprop was great to learn to fly, it has incredible climbing rates for a prop plane and cruises at 260kts.
But it is clearly not that safe. I once had a bird ingestion in the Citation and it was no problem. Passengers did not even notice, but losing an engine in the jetprop is pretty critical.
Kasper on May 3, 2007 ·
Yes, I can imagine. Do you co-own the Citation, or is it yours to play with entirely? 🙂
May you have many happy landings!
/Kasper
Martin Varsavsky on May 4, 2007 ·
Kasper,
I have own the Citation Jet 100% since 2000. It´s really a fantastic plane. It is the most economical private jet, the one that pollutes the least, the most reliable. I also owned a Learjet before and it gave me tons of headaches. It had a much better performance, range, speed but all this was true only when it was not being repaired.
Mike on May 4, 2007 ·
Sorry to hear about that, it was surprising as the PT6 found in this aircraft is one of the most reliable powerplants available today, and has an almost monopoly on short-haul twins and singles.
The Citation is of course more reliable as it has two engines 🙂 – however Piper are introducing a range of single engine jets, so we will be able to compare on a level playing field. Jet engines themselves are becoming more reliable, for example by making the compressor in one single solid block, rather than individual blades on slotted disks.
Martin Varsavsky on May 7, 2007 ·
Wow Mike! I did not know we shared a passion for flying! Indeed its a mistery.
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Kasper on May 3, 2007 ·
Wow, must have been a horrifying experience… glad they all made it. By the way, I like the Citation better too 😉