CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE – Raw Footage of Landing in a Corn Field

YouTube / Straight and Level Seaplanes

Skilled Pilot Saves Student

This nail-biting incident could have ended either way. Seaplane pilot and certified flight instructor Antony Yen was on a flight with one of his students on May 26, 2022, when disaster struck.

Their supposedly routine flight took off from Williamsburg-Jamestown Airport (KJGG), and the two were on their way to Connecticut. However, just within ten minutes after takeoff, the experimental light sport flying boat suffered a catastrophic engine failure at only 600 feet above the ground.

To make matters worse, their aircraft was gliding just above a dense stretch of trees – with the engine just 40 seconds away from shutting down.

I spend a lot of time training my students for engine failures and, more importantly, training them to always have a field in mind in case you lose an engine. 

Fortunately, Yen was able to spot a cornfield within gliding distance and decided to commit to the landing. Yen and his student managed to land safely – albeit roughly, with no injuries to themselves or the aircraft.

As the landing goes, it wasn’t my smoothest landing, but given the conditions, it’s good enough for me

According to the FAA, the loss of fuel pressure was due to a cracked fuel rail, and the incident was not due to pilot error.