Yesterday, I had a look at the thread Moksha referenced over on the other site, which had expanded to 7 pages, and made a few notes for a possible comment. Fair Dinkum was being attacked for asking reasonable questions about the Russell M. Nelson story. Helix opined that both the Nelson and CAB versions could be true, suggesting that the following main points are compatible with both versions:
Helix from the other board wrote:
• They are in a small airplane.
• An engine makes a "bang" noise.
• Flames come out of the engine.
• The pilot handles it professionally, as they are trained to deal with a bad engine. The pilot stops one or both engines.
• The pilot starts a spinning steep descent to both aim for a nearby airport and put out the flames.
• A lady on the flight panics loudly.
• Nelson is initially alarmed, but is comforted because he has lived a life for which he's proud.
• The flames are extinguished. The pilot resumes a normal landing sequence.
• They land at the Delta Airport, which in the 1970s resembles a farmers field (or perhaps even had animals on fields very nearby).
• No external damage is seen on the airplane.
Helix is a bit confused here. No flames came out of the engine according to the CAB report. There was no NTSB notification of an engine fire. The CAB stated that the aircraft would have been capable of safely continuing to St. George or returning to SLC, which would not have been the case had there been an engine fire. And it gets worse.
Since the visit yesterday, the thread has expanded to 8 pages and now displays what one can best describe as logic run amok resulting in comedy gold.
Helix again:
Helix wrote:
Sunstone wrote: There was no fire. There was no death dive. There was no emergency landing in a field. This is just one of his "stories" that seems to stray in a big way from reality.
Then how did Nelson know that stopping the affected propeller, shutting off the fuel, going into a descent while spinning, and landing quickly at an emergency airstrip is proper procedure for an engine fire?
Aside from the "How did Nelson know--" non sequitur, as described upthread here, spins are prohibited in a Piper Navajo Chieftain. Spinning that aircraft would not end well with two good engines let alone with one engine out and on fire.
Helix's post goes downhill from here with other misunderstandings about engine fires, rapid descents, and spins vs. spirals. Helix finds references that seem to support Nelson's story without understanding the language or context. The rapid spiral descent references are intended mainly for single engine aircraft, for example, and are to be used in an emergency when the pilot needs to get to the ground and land as quickly as possible on whatever surface is available. Another misunderstood reference is meant as instructions for aircraft ground controllers, not pilots.
No reasonable individual would have posted most of this nonsense had they bothered to even skim this thread, which as been referenced indirectly over there, but is apparently forbidden for faithful Mormons. The willful ignorance, faulty logic, blind faith and denial of reality on display by many posters over on that board is astounding.