An Unexpected Surprise...

Two days ago, I woke up and checked my voice-mail to find a friend had left a message. His message was to call him as soon as possible because it was urgent. I called him half expecting some bad news, like a car wreck or something worse. When I got in touch with him he said four words I never thought I would hear: "They found your plane!"

3 years, 7 months, 14 days ago, on Tuesday, September 24, 2002, I woke up at 5 a.m. to get ready for my cross country flight to Knoxville's McGhee Tyson Airport. I got up, got my shower, and finished plotting my course on my aeronautical map. I walked over to the University Center to check my campus mail box. There I found I had a card from my mom. Walking back to my dorm I thought I was glad to check my mail just in case...

Not having a car, I rode with another Aerospace major to the airport. On the way we stopped at Sonic, where I ate a hamburger at 7:30 in the morning. I then got to the airport right at 8 a.m. to finish up my flight planning: A cold front from the West would be moving in later that night so ahead of it would be lower clouds that were broken, and a good west wind.

I went out to the airplane, a Cessna 152 N46656, and preflighted it, and then briefed and was briefed by my flight instructor. We took off from runway 36 at Murfreesboro and turned onto course heading straight for Knoxville. The flight there was pretty much uneventful. Talked to Nashville Approach, Memphis Center, Atlanta Center, and finally Knoxville Approach and Tower.

We landed and I taxied to the General Aviation area of the airport and refueled. I went in and obtained the latest weather information. Clear skies in Knoxville but a cloud bank had formed between Knoxville and Murfreesboro at around 3000 to 4000 feet. I called and re-filed my flight plan for the return trip with a new altitude of 2500 feet and then climb to 4500 after getting by the clouds.

I then went back to the airplane and preflighted again. I climbed up on the left wing to check the fuel and I noticed how blue the sky was and noticed the airplane from a different angle.

We got in and started the engine and got our clearance. We then taxied to runway 5R for departure. After takeoff we turned to course and headed back to Murfreesboro. My instructor then said we would not be getting a flight following on our return trip because we would be performing diversions, lost procedures, and other training.

On our way, we crossed the Tennessee River which then turned and we followed it. The view was spectacular. The River started to wind its way back towards us and we crossed it again. On my chart it showed my course would fly us right over the top of a small rural airport right on the banks of the Tennessee River. My instructor asked if we were over it. I then pointed straight down and banked the wings so we both could see it.

As we passed the airport my instructor then began bending down messing with his feet. I looked over at him and he said he was just pulling up his socks. I continued to look outside at the sites and verify my location.

The next few events happened in a matter of seconds and minutes.

Suddenly something strange happened I had never seen before. Now, I have practiced countless engine out procedures. And every time I would notice out the corner of my eye, my instructor pulling the throttle to idle. Sometimes they would even have to push my hand off the throttle to simulate the engine out (I was trained to keep my hand on the throttle at all times).

This time it was different. This time the engine, without warning, suddenly start slowing down. It also started getting quiet. I never noticed any movement from my instructor. As it dawned on me what was happening, a good 5 seconds after I started noticing what was happening, he said, "You just lost your engine, what do you do?".

At that moment, my training kicked in. I pitched the plane up to the best glide speed, 60 knots. My instructor asked me where I was going to land. I said I was going to try for the interstate and if I didn't think I could make that, I would go for a field. He said there were too many trees and hills, and the best place to land would be to ditch in the lake. I turned south to line up with the lake.

I then began to assess the problem to find out what caused the engine to go dead. I reached for the throttle: It was in (I had not seen this before)! The mixture and was also in and full rich. I then checked the primer to make sure it was in and locked and found it OK. The last check would be the Fuel Shutoff Valve. I reached down between the two seats and found it was in the up and closed position. The fuel shutoff had been turned to cut the fuel to the engine. I stated I found the problem and was just about to turn it back on when he said to leave it for a little bit longer.

He then asked me what the procedures for landing in water are. The only thing I have ever read was in the Aeronautical Information Manuel, which states landing in an Ocean (not a lake) is to land on top of a swell parallel to the waves. I stated that and he said something to the effect of just act like it’s a soft field landing.

By now we were around 2000 feet and already over the lake. My instructor said I was too high to make the lake so to add full flaps and "fly the top of the white arc." The "top of the white arc" means the maximum flap extension speed. By flying at the "top" of it means I can fly without fear of ripping the flaps off the wings. This new speed was 80 knots. I am now coming down faster to make the lake.

As I was descending I remember seeing an island to my left. My instructor then said we were now low enough and I would have made a successful landing and it was time to go around. He turned the fuel shutoff valve back on. After a second or two, he said the engine was not restarting. I looked out my left window and remember thinking the water looked close. In my mind I could see the engine coming back to life and us climbing from the river just moments before disaster. That thought seemed so real for me.

I verified and he re-verified the throttle was in, mixture rich (in) and primer locked. I made sure the ignition switch was to both. With it being to "both", each time the propeller made a cycle, due to it wind milling, a spark would fire igniting any fuel in the engine.

The engine just continued to spin pathetically in the wind. Not a sputter or any other sign of life came from the engine.

My left hand was on the ignition switch and my right on the yoke. I then saw the most bizarre sight I had ever seen! The front windshield popped out, and up, like it was hinged at the top. Where the windshield separated from the cockpit I saw water come in like a miniature waterfall and come toward my face rather rapidly. I also had another strange thought: “Damnit, I’m going to miss the season premiere of West Wing.” That’s when I closed my eyes.

A second later I opened my eyes to find it was much brighter (due to my sunglasses being flown from my face), and the sound of trickling water (due to my headset also being flown from my face). I was now angled in my seat almost 30 degrees forward looking at the nose of the plane underwater. My legs and waist were already fully submerged. I heard my flight instructor yell, “We’ve got to get out of here.” To which my thought was, “No shit, Sherlock.” (It’s amazing at the strange thoughts you have when something like this happens)

Not being able to see my seat belt and shoulder harness I had to “feel” my way to the latch to release it. When it released, I slipped forward a few inches due to the incline of the plane. Because of the impact, the doors miraculously opened instead of being wedged shut. I quickly got out of the cockpit and went under the left side of the wing and crawled on top. When I looked up I saw my Flight Instructor. His face looked shocked and in disbelief. He was also bleeding somewhere from his face. All I could think was what injuries I might have.

He then said we need to swim to shore. I looked at the closest shore and it was about a good quarter mile away. This is when another off-the-wall thought came into my mind: “I wish I had known he was going to do this so I could have brought my ear plugs.” (I have tubes in my ears so every time I swim I have to wear ear plugs). I kicked off from the plane and started kicking the water attempting to swim.

This would be a good time to mention I didn’t know how to swim. Every futile attempt I made to swim, I would find myself going under the water. I had a thought of kicking my shoes off which might help me, but remembered when we get to shore I’ll need them on the land (looking back now I should have kicked my shoes off).

I reached up and grabbed the right wingtip of the quickly sinking plane (By now all I could see was the tail and wing sticking up, the cockpit was now already underwater and in a mater of seconds, maybe a minute). My instructor said I had to let go of the plane because it was going to sink. This is when I had the last strange thought of, “First it’s the engine, then the plane, what next, am I going to be paralyzed?” (Flight Instructors are notorious for taking things away from student pilots, like a landing light when landing at night, or an engine. This tests the student pilot’s abilities in handling things when things go wrong. So when I thought this, to me was still training.)

Suddenly I realized. Suddenly, I saw the windshield popping out, the blood on my instructor’s face and the plane sinking. Suddenly I knew this was not a training exercise anymore. I suddenly realized this was life or death. I started screaming for help. Why I was yelling for someone to help us I don’t know. We were in the middle of a very VERY large lake (Actually a reservoir for the Tennessee River), and I was holding onto a quickly sinking plane.

I let go of the airplane and started my futile attempts at swimming again. Again I went under. My instructor said to try and float on my back, but with all the waves in the middle of the lake, I kept going under.

I went under and I opened my eyes. I could see the refraction of the sunlight under the water. I was still trying to swim when I had two separate thoughts at completely the same time. One of the thoughts was, “This is it…. This is how I’m going to die. I survived a plane crash to drown in a lake.” And the second thought was, “This isn’t it…. This isn’t how I’m supposed to die… I have some more things to do.”

My instructor pulled me back up and I was able to get a quick breath. He was tiring and I was tiring so I slipped back under the waves. I had another thought I should tell him to let me go. I knew it was impossible for us both to make it to shore if I couldn’t swim. He then pulled me back up and said the words that gave me a renewed strength: “Someone on a boat is coming!” I then slipped back under the water.

The next thing I remember is being pulled up onto the boat and then lying on my back. I lifted hands to my face to touch it, because I remembered seeing the blood from my instructor on his face. After I wiped my face with my hands I held them up and looked at them to see if I saw blood. I saw no blood, but I remember them feeling extremely heavy.

I don’t know how long I was on the boat but I remember feeling the wind and hearing the waves crashing as we went back to a marina. When we got to the dock they got me to my feet and asked me if I could walk. Now because I have water in my ears, a contact missing, and being disoriented, walking on a dock that is bobbing in the water was not easy. When I got to shore I sat down next to one of the people who saved me. My instructor said he had to go and call MTSU.

I sat there for a while looking at the water thinking my career was over. I would now never be able to fly for an airline, now that I was in a plane crash. What kind of trouble was this going to cause my old flight instructor in Memphis? A ton of thoughts came over me. Then suddenly, I remembered what my instructor had just said. He was going to call MTSU.

When MTSU found out, they were going to call the emergency contact number I had listed when I started flying at the University. I could just see how my mom would react:

“Mrs. Harper, your son was just involved in a plane crash.”

“WHAT?!....”

I had to call my parents before the school called them. I got up and asked to call my parents and they took me to the bait shop with the phone. This bait shop was located on the dock which was still bobbing in the water. I stepped on the walkway and immediately got motion sickness! After I fed the fishes, I felt a hundred times better. I called home. This is how the conversation started:

Dad: “Hello?”

Me: “Hey, Dad, it’s Mac.”

Dad: “Hey Mac, what’s going on?”

Me: “Well, I’m OK….. but I’ve just been in a plane crash.”

Dad: “You’re kidding me.” (I don’t know WHY he would thinking I’m joking about something like this. I never have in the past)

Me: “Uhh…. (I was standing outside on the dock using a cordless phone and was looking at the water, the trees and the mountains thinking I wish I was joking)… no I’ve been in plane crash.”

I then told him quickly what happened and I was OK and needed to tell mom. I told him I would have her call him after I told her, but she needed to hear it from me so she could hear my voice.

So I called my mom at work. Now when she is away from her computer, her voice mail will pick up. I have the option of leaving a message or dialing 0 and having her paged if it’s an emergency. Now, you must remember I have already been through the plane crash and had no injuries (not even a scratch) so it’s not an emergency. So I didn’t know really what to do if she didn’t answer. Leave a message or have her paged? Fortunately she was at her desk. This is how her conversation started:

Mom: “GST this is Sheila.”

Me: (In my best upbeat voice) “Hey Mom, its Mac!”

Mom: “Hey! Did you fly today?”

Me: (Looking around at the scenery again to make sure it was real) “Uh, yeah….. are you sitting down?”

Mom: “Yeah.”

Me: “Well…. I’m OK, but I’ve just been in a plane crash.”

Mom: “………………………………. WHAT?!” (I wasn’t too far off my prediction of how she would react, but at least she was hearing it from me).

I told her quickly what happened and that dad was expecting her to call after she hung up with me.

Now anytime there is a plane crash everyone comes out, including the paramedics! My instructor comes up and said they wanted to check us out to make sure we were OK. So that’s when I said to my mom, who was still on the phone, “Hey, I gotta go, the paramedics are here and want to check me out.” (Just note, this is NOT a good way to hang up with someone who you just told you were in a plane crash.)

The paramedics checked us out. Suddenly people were asking us a lot of questions. One jerk from the Tennessee version the Environmental Protection Agency asked how much fuel was on the airplane. After I told him, he then asked me again as if I was lying to him (Why would I lie about how much fuel was on the airplane). He then said we had to go back out on a boat and look for the “Oil slick” to find the plane.

I was not to enthusiastic about getting back on the lake. I would rather have been in an airplane or helicopter flying around searching for the “oil slick” than back on a boat on the lake that almost killed me (Remember, I didn’t start panicking until I was in the water, not the plane.) And another thing, it’s a reservoir for the Tennessee River. Millions of gallons of water with 24.5 gallons of 110 Low Lead AvGas and 8 Quarts of Oil is NOT going to cause an oil slick.

After our search we got back to shore and headed out of there. I went to the hospital to get a thorough checkout and then went over to my instructor’s parents’ house. We watched the news (we were top story after a story of a lady who fell down a hill) and had milkshakes. We then drove back to Murfreesboro where I met my parents who had driven up from Memphis.

That night we went out to eat to Steak and Shake where I told them more about what happened. I also told them what all I had lost in the plane crash. My logbook; the very life of a pilot, was now sitting at the bottom of Watts Bar Lake. Every hour I had worked for was now destroyed. I had no backup of the hours I had earned in flying. My Pilot’s license and Medical Certificate were in it. Sure the FAA had a copy of my license, but would only guarantee I had the minimum hours of flying to get the license: 40 hours. I was now at my lowest point.

Weeks passed and I was able to find out my flying school in Memphis had a copy of all my receipts of when I flew there. I was able to “rebuild” my logbook and bounce back. I kept on flying and the very next semester I did something I should have done long ago: I took swimming lessons.

Now 3 years 7 months and 12 days later I am in Midland, Texas talking on the phone to a friend of mine telling me they found my plane. That was Saturday May 6, 2006.

Monday morning I called University of Tennessee at Knoxville to find out if they had indeed recovered it. After bouncing around from department to department I gave up. I called MTSU, and couldn’t get in touch with the Department Chair of the Aerospace Department. I called the flight school and spoke to a friend of mine there who told me it was recovered and he remembered something about the Body Farm.

I called UTK back and got in touch with the Forensic Anthropology Department. I told them who I was and why I was calling. The man on the other end started out sounding reluctant to give me any information. But the more information I gave to him, the more he was convinced I was telling the truth. He got my number and said he would look into this and find out if they did in fact recover the plane.

A couple of hours later my phone rang. He called me back with the name of the man who did recover the airplane. I called him and he was able to give me more details about the plane. He began asking me questions about the crash: “Were you the instructor or the student?”, “Did you flip because the report said you flipped?” and other questions. I told him I was the student but I had already had my license. I also told him we did not flip because if we had I probably wouldn’t have been here today.

He told me the plane was in very good condition. The right main gear was bent “a little” and there was some warping to the underside of the fuselage and some minor damage to the right wing. He also said, “I got one of you guy’s license.” I immediately asked if it was laminated and he said it was. He asked what my instructor’s name was and what my name was. He said it was probably mine because my name sounded familiar.

3 and half years its been and now the plane has been recovered. This was one of the best things I have ever heard. Sure I don’t need the stuff from the wreckage. But when something like this happens, you connect with it. It makes it real. I think it’s the same reason why so many people go to the Pearl Harbor Memorial, and other sights around the world. Important things change your life you have to connect with, and stay connected.

I will never forget my plane crash. That night I was at rock bottom. That night I thought I would never make it in the Aviation Industry having been in a plane crash. That night, the plane crash was the worst thing that ever happened to me. But now, 3 and half years later, I realized although the plane crash in itself was bad, it actually helped me in the long run. I am now successful in the aviation industry. It taught me how I would react in an emergency.

We all gain knowledge from our experiences. We are shaped by our experiences. We can either run from them, or embrace them and move on. This plane crash motivated me to learn to swim. Not that I will ever it need again for the same situation, but now I have the knowledge in case it does, I will be OK. It taught me the importance of never giving up and to look at the bright side of things. I will never forget it.


Location of where I went down approx. (Red X Marks the spot). The Blue Line was my flight path (Notice the Airport symbol just below the blue line on the far right side of the picture.


These picture were given to me by Jon Jefferson who found the airplane (Thank you Mr. Jefferson). This is the Sonar image.


Here you can see the picture of the airplane.


Here is another angle of the shot. Mr. Jefferson said you can see where the plane was digging a trench from the current.


And here she is: N46656. Notice she is in relatively good condition for being in a plane CRASH and being under water for almost 3 years.


Here is the other side. Mr. Jefferson was telling me that the tail was full of muck that it caused it tail to drag.


And here is the Cockpit. If you look closely you can see the ignition switch just below the Left Yoke. I had my hand on that when we hit. You can also see the cords to our headsets. So strange to see this after so many years.