Swass

BILLINGS, Mont. — A student pilot whose plane crashed into a snowy mountainside survived a freezing night by wrapping himself in a tarp, then hiked a mile through waist-deep snow in shorts to meet rescuers, aviation and rescue officials said Wednesday.
The student, whose name was not released, crashed about 40 miles south of Billings on Tuesday night and was rescued about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday. He was taken to a Billings hospital with hypothermia but did not appear to have any major injuries, said Jon Trapp, one of the pilot's rescuers.
"He ended up hiking quite a ways in his shorts and tennis shoes, in waist-high snow. He was very cold and cut up by the time we found a place to land and could hike into him," said Trapp, assistant coordinator of Carbon County Search and Rescue.
The small plane crashed into a forested slope on Big Pryor Mountain during a solo training flight from Billings to Pryor, Wyo.
The Rocky Mountain College student stayed with the 2006 Piper through the night. With overnight temperatures dropping close to zero, Trapp said, the student wrapped himself in an orange tarp to keep warm, and also was wearing a jacket and wool cap.
Rescuers on the ground had searched for the student through the night, but Trapp said the Federal Aviation Administration initially gave them coordinates that were about eight miles off.
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The student used a cell phone to call his flight instructor about 9 a.m. to report he survived the crash with a dislocated shoulder and other minor injuries, said Mike Fergus, a spokesman for the FAA's Northwest Mountain Region in Seattle.
Though it was not immediately clear why a call had not been made earlier, cell phone service in the area is spotty.
The pilot started to hike out after he was spotted by rescue planes, around the time he reached the flight instructor.
Dan Hargrove, director of aviation for Rocky, could not be reached immediately for comment.
About 100 students are enrolled in Rocky's 10-year-old aviation program, which offers degrees in aeronautical science and aviation management. The Billings-based program has a fleet of eight Piper and Beechcraft planes.
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USMCFLYR

Amazing. The student pilot crashes and the first cell phone contact he makes is with his CFI. Oh well....glad he made it out alive. What a story to share in his later years.

USMCFLYR

Planespotta

Awesome hangar-flying ammunition . And I thought having an electrical fire on my pre-solo checkride was a big deal

USMCFLYR

Well it is planespotta.....how did it go for you? Handle it OK?

SPDBOILER

Yeah, nasty stuff. Good thing it turned out well...could have been very different.

Reminds me of an article I read that extoled the virtues of bringing along emergency gear & clothing on all cross country flights. The thought being you might end up having to put it down somewhere away from civilization. Perhaps I might start doing a little more packing for my next flight.

Planespotta

It went well, thanks. I followed all the checklist procedures by memory, and the examiner let me fly the whole thing. We made an emergency landing at an airport with a short-field, so I got to show off my short-field technique, too . We also killed two birds with one stone by selecting this airport, as it is where my flight school's maintenance headquarters is located. However, the airport is also uncontrolled, and with out radios shut off, we had to take extreme caution when we entered the pattern. I've never felt so alert in my life.

After the landing, we shut the Cessna down by the hangars, filled out forms, debriefed, and got to check out all the awesome airplanes that were undergoing repairs (including a Pitts, Michael Goulian's Extra, and some souped-up Cessnas).

Then, my flight school was going to send over a Cessna to pick us up and fly us back home, but this airplane had magneto problems and wouldn't start (talk about the stars aligning), so we ended up having to drive back.

On the ride back, my examiner, who has been instructing since 1967 and hadn't experienced a single electrical fire until this fateful Saturday morning, told me that he was actually just about to test how I'd respond to a simulated electrical fire when the real one broke out . The natural joke being that, if you've been flying as long as he has, the airplane just begins to "respond". . .

BoredwLife

THIS GUY MUST BE CRAZY!!! I dont know anywhere within range of his "solo cross country" that he would be able to wear shorts and preflight.

Scooter2525

hmmm ditto... considering my next job will probably be 135 night cargo...

JayDee

When I first began my flight training at MTSU, I hated the clothing rules. Have to wear a pair of thick demin or khaki jeans, and a cloth shirt of some sort... ALso suggested to always bring a jacket. My instructor insisted that I always bring a light to medium grade jacket with me.

Back then it didnt make much sense, but now, after a few eyars of experiance, I fully understand and thank him for his lessons.