This is a great example of how crew resource management extends beyond the cockpit. The other pilot on the radio recognized that the workload for the light sport pilot was high and asking if he needed any help and then even telling all aircraft to remain clear of the airport was an exemplary demonstration of professional piloting and professionalism. Great job by all here!

That was impressive. Not only did the pilot keep calm throughout, maintaining altitude in an unhurried, shallow turn(s) back to Nut Tree, but also kept the passenger calm by verbalizing everything happening and everything he was doing, like saying, "It's going to look dramatic but it's not" in regard to the steep descent upon landing.

3:37 "It's going to look dramatic, but it's not." The pilot gave a perfect reassurance with this statement. He had excess altitude, pulled extra flaps to dump airspeed as he descended, but this maneuver might have been especially frightening to the passenger if they don't understand how an airplane flies. I just love the efficiency of this statement, well done.

Partial engine problems are more dangerous than losing it completely imo. It gives you false hope and makes decision making more difficult. This guy did an awesome job!

I hope all students get to see this. It was a great demonstration of competent piloting! Congratulations and thanks for the posting

Beautifully landed and I loved how u kept your passenger (and yourself) calm at all times, knowing that you had the situation under control. Hope the flights ahead were more enjoyable, safe flights!

I like the calmness of the pilot and his words during the emergancy situation. So professional and no panic. So peaseful to hear you laughing as soon you touched ground 😊 ❤. The passenger kept silent and calm during landing maneuver despite the stress, great cooperation.

This gave me chills. What an amazing human in that pilot. You're a man I would fly with any day. Awesome job handling that level of stress and landing that thing.

That was a fine example of airmanship right there. I laughed along with you guys once you were back on the ground, it's funny how it's contagious once it's over.

For the curious, Nut Tree is in Vacaville, CA off of I-80. The Nut Tree was a huge restaurant/shop until it was demolished and turned into a strip mall. Great memories going there. Nice job pilot.

Bravooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo !... Great pilots make great landings..... 🙂 From Brussels, with Love...

Great job at aviating, navigating and communicating, well done captain!

This pilot is a smooth operator. If I was in an airplane and an emergency happened, I would want this pilot in the cockpit with me. JOB WELL DONE.

Among many ‘aircraft drivers’ around, this is a real ‘pilot’ and did an amazing job in every manner. Greetings and respect from a jumbo captain 👌🏼👏👏👏👏👏👏

Can't understand the dislikes. You handled everything like a champ. Well done.

Great job. I remember the Nut Tree Airport back when the Nut Tree was still a retail store.

Solid airmanship and ADM - really, textbook. You took advantage of the things that were working, adapted and got it on the ground safely in a normal landing. I think coming in high and hot was pretty well justified 🙂

So glad that you gentleman made it back safely and no panicking just pure skill and exactly what a professional would do.

I'd watch this again just for the banter between you two! Very calmly executed. Well done

Very well handled and kept a cool mindset. Realised he still had some power, but not reliably so. Did a full pattern, but maintained altitude, as power could be completely lost at any point. Excellent

Man, ya'll seem like some fun guys too fly with, and you handled that emergency with ease! Great job!

The laughter is so great. The relief. Almost want to take a nap as the adrenaline ebbs away. Really good job keeping your head. Great vid

Thanks for posting. Beautifully handled, including keeping the passenger calm. The other pilot's support was also great. Thanks also for your replies to comments below regarding the cause.

Fantastic. Great work! So glad you and your co-pilot are down safety. So many great lessons in a short video.

Flying from Salinas to San Andreas in a 152 with an instructor at 8K feet, our engine began sputtering over Stockton. The instructor asked what do I want to do, and I saw Stockton airport so I said let's land there. He handled the radio and I did a full slip 360 turns over final approach. Coolest thing ever. Got it on the ground and taxied and parked. Modesto FBO had the instructor fly home and another instructor picked me up by car. Turned out to be low cylinder pressure.

Great job, all the laughter and joking at the end is what we all want. Composure=10 stars!

I had a very similar if not identical experience yesterday in my 2006 CTsw. I didn’t have the engine light flashing, and only made it about 20ft above the ground on a 10,000ft runway, so was easily able to land and taxi off. From your other comments you point to mogas, which I also use. And yesterday was fairly warm with a high-ish DA. So, 100LL from now on!

Nice job Captain! Kept it together under a lot of pressure and kept it loose for your... concerned... Passenger!! Sweet landing! Glad you are both still with us!!

I like the pilot flying’s INSTANT reaction to dump the nose when the engine dropped off, excellent.

Nice job. Did all three mandatory items: FLY THE AIRPLANE FLY THE AIRPLANE FLY THE AIRPLANE

Aviate, navigate, communicate. Great example of flying the plane first, then getting on the radio to let everyone know what your plan was.

Great job guys! So glad ya'll made it back safe. Lots of learning done in that 6 minutes.

Right after lift off you can see the red engine light turn on, can’t make out what the display is saying but that would have been a good time to land back on the remaining runway. Very lucky it was only a partial power loss!

Aircraft N427CT is a 2007 Flight Design GNBH CTSW with a Rotax 912ULS series 100 HP engine. Pretty high 'pucker factor' here, but looks like pilot handled it well. Kept his options open for an off-airport landing while attempting to return to a downwind & runway landing as long as the engine was still operating intermittently.

Pilot did a great job of remaining calm and flying the plane. My husband and I once had to declare an emergency 20 minutes after departing Burbank, CA to San Francisco when the cockpit suddenly filled with white smoke. We eventually nursed our sputtering Piper Saratoga to a safe landing. It turned out a clamp on the exhaust outlet to the turbo charger broke causing the hot exhaust gases to slowly melt things like the spark plug wiring harness and the plastic liner in a baggage compartment which created the smoke. In emergency situations it often seems like time begins running slower and that return flight seemed to take forever but when we finally touched down safely we experienced the same giddy feeling of relief mixed with excitement.

Great work and I enjoyed the way you calmed your passenger and discussed procedures and needs ("slow it down" etc). Great work!!

Man it's hard not to pull that stick back... it must be connected to that pucker factor thing... Great job! So thankful!! ❤

Your composure was remarkable given the situation. Also great ADM choosing to fly the pattern and come back around instead of attempting to land off field. Great job all around, even by the pilot on the ground.

You can eliminate that audio feedback if you connect the camera to a lithium battery instead of ship power.

Way back in the mid 80's, two friends and I rented an airplane to just have a recreational flight to Nut Tree from Napa, to meet up with and surprise my parents who had driven there. We had to declare an emergency landing when we suddenly heard a loud and consistent banging outside the cabin. Our pilot was concerned about the engine, or maybe a broken control surface, and we sweated bullets inbound to Nut Tree but like these pilots, maintained our composure. I guess if you think your time is coming, you just are born, or most of us are, with an innate Creator given calm to work things out til as long as possible, like these pilots did and my friend, a low time pilot did (I later became a light sport student in '06). We were embarassed upon landing at Nut Tree when an approaching pilot who'd just landed and heard us on Unicom came up laughing, and showed us the source of our 'emergency' -- one seat belt in the empty pax seat had been hanging loose outside the '172--the buckle was the source of our "emergency" and I guess this happens to low time pilots who don't pre flight well. Regardless, the three of us went thru the same emotions anyone would in a declared in flight or on ground emergency and used our internal calm to save ourselves from giving up hope. Five years later, I became a business instructor, traveling commercial weekly. I survived three aircraft incidents, one a ground collision and I was the only passenger who had not deplaned, the other (fortunately) a ground engine explosion but the fan blade did not penetrate the cabin--the 120 or so passengers and crew did not say a word until the crew ordered a casual evacuation since the plane was crippled and the danger had passed--it was a 737 in Bozeman Montana. So I find it odd, in these situations or the few serious car accidents I survived, how a calm, like a warm blanket, comes over me, as if dead or alive, I will be OK.

Nice job keeping calm and not rushing the turns back to the runway.

What were they flying? They were pooping bullets! That nervous laughter was priceless!

Dude was just chill like another day in the air 😂.

I can see the adrenaline rushing through your thumb 😄 good job sir!

You nailed it. As a person who felt that kind of sh*t flavour in my mouth, I just have to say: You are the man!

Good job getting the nose down! I loved the relief once you were back on the ground Back in the 70s my father would fly us from Palo Alto to the Nut Tree, when the most exciting thing was the little train ride to the restaurant. Then, in the 80s, I would fly my girlfriend there from UC Davis, when the most exciting thing was the little train ride to the restaurant! In a few weeks my 18-year-old newly minted pilot daughter is going to fly me there from Denver. I guess the train is long gone, but still, it’s pretty cool. Thank you for sharing the video.

This is a bit off-topic, but I'm still amazed that a little propeller has enough power to get an airplane in the air! There is no part of my brain that understands that. BTW, you did a great job!

I used to fly a a lot in that area: Nut Tree, Sac Metro, the old now-gone Natomas, Auburn...etc. My mom and dad used to fly into Nut Tree when I was in my mom's tummy. So glad to see you get that bird back on the runway safely. Glad you both are ok. I used to say that it's better to be "lucky AND good" and that's what you were there as PIC. Good job.

Thrilling to watch oh my god.Pilot was calm and cool on this situation.

Very well done, sir ! ... only under pressure you recognize a good pilot !

Well done Sir!! Calm, collect and let the training kick in!! Glad you got back safely!! Outstanding!!

Grace under pressure, thank you God for a safe outcome for you gentlemen. Well done sir

That pilot knew how to keep his cool. Kept his head in the game and didn’t get rattled. God bless

Any landing you walk away from is a good one, keeping the aircraft intact is a great landing.

You've gotta love the aviation community. We are all one.

Glad there isn't an accident to watch - well done gentlemen.

Stunning work! May I feature this landing in one of my next episodes? Of course with a link back to your original video. Cheers!

Nice takeoff by the pilot & getting altitude was done very well. Nicely done turning back to the airport - no panic at all.

Amazing job, literally couldn’t have handled it better!

Very nice job. Way to keep calm and Aviate, Navigate and THEN Comunicate.

Passenger: Thank you, Jesus…I ain’t never flying again. 😂

What makes this even cooler is the cameras frame rate is not fast enough and you can see the engine RPS drooping and returning! Great video!

Proud of you and the student...congratulations from the UK

Good pilot, good procedure!!!! Stay calm, keep flying, comunicate and land safe.

Nice control and landing, great job. Thank you so much for this video, buddy.

For a split second you were definitely thinking about that open field straight ahead of you huh..?

What was the cause? Noticed a red light flashing after rotation and am wondering if it could have been related to fuel pressure or oil. Great job!

Handled it like a beast! Great job, Sir.

Great work, and excellent to see that instant response of pushing the nose down the moment the power dropped. That is what catches many out in similar situations the lighter the aircraft the less time you have at that critical moment, so well done.

Even though still had sporadic power at least he was focused on flying the plane first before trying to communicate! He also was very cognizant of maintaining a shallow turn back to the airport ensuring he maintained altitude before it was time to dump it off! Great job!!!

Had you not exibited exceptional pilot skills and sound judgement that aircraft may have been returned to the airport on a flatbed or in a wooden crate. Great job keeping the dirty side down and the passenger entertained all the way around the pattern Mark.

Good job getting back on the ground! Solid airmanship right there.

Good job----from an old non-bold pilot. Very good thinking and airmanship.throughout

I fly the same type of aircraft, CT, even camera is located on the same place :) You could have aboryed if spotted the flashing red light just afger lift off, but I never understood, why these signal lights are on the right side - you never look there during take off roll. We had a similar case couple of years ago - the friend of mine experienced drop of fuel pressure after take off in ~1000 ft. AGL, reduced power and pressure came back. He flew a pattern and landed safely like you did. Reason: faulty mechanical pump did not deliver pressure above 4500 RPM. Thanks for the video, good airmanship! Fly safe!

It’s amazing how adrenaline works. You nearly die and you laugh hysterically. I’m glad you guys are okay. Good job.

He flew the plane, pure and simple!

Good job, the panic was there for a second but he managed to gather himself and was calm talking to his friend letting him know it was ok, we're gonna land again.

Great job. Smithing similar happened to one time.

Wow, great job!! Calm, cool, and collected...

Finished out my pilot training here after Woodland shut down their school. Brings back some memories! Great little airport. I remember being right in the path of a Galaxy coming out of Travis... I just about sh@t myself, but I bet the Galaxy jockeys were cracking up.

GOOD JOB! You guys had me laughing so hard with you from your positivity!

Excellent pilot. Great control all the way back to the runway.

Well done Mark. Fly that plane.

What did the red light blinking on the right side of the panel indicate? He seems like a hero, because he made it. However, had he totally lost power when he started to make that turn, there were a lot of buildings in the way and he wasn't very high! He didn't have good opportunities again, until he had completed the 180.

That is why I prefer planes to helicopters

Very well handled!! Pilot is a pro!!

The pilot did a phenomenal job keeping the passenger calm. You can tell he was freaking out and he did his best to keep him from panicking.

Great job in handling the situation. Fuel delivery problem?

Good job. I had a very similar experience, except I had just crossed the numbers on a down wind departure. I know it’s a judgment call but once you’re stabilized on final and are super high you can always slip it to get rid of that extra altitude.

Next time a parachute will be on the wardrobe list...Great handling of that situation

Well done!! Curious what went worng? why the red light blinking on the right side of the panel?

Good Job Captain!

Excellent emergency landing 👌 👍 👏

The pilot has a nerve of steel!! I would have fainted in this situation even in MSFS!!

Your throttle control in this situation was simply amazing. Power off then back on, numerous times, may have cleared a fuel blockage . What ended up being the issue in this case?

Good job. Looked like plenty of places to set it down anyway

Whilst not an expert on the CTSW, it does look from the over the shoulder perspective that the fuel cut off lever above the ignition keys, is not fully in the “On” position. Apologies if this is not the case but thought it worth a comment, as the engine symptoms could have been semi fuel starvation.

Just a suggestion, but I would suggest a Mayday call. Let everyone know there is a problem.

i had 4 different LOTOT/partial power engine fails on take off as a Bush Pilot in South America. If the engine is only vibrating while lost some power but NOT SURGING OFF AND ON, and keeps altitude at least, it is good to try to turnback to closest runway at airport from 400 agl or higher (i did that 2 times, one from 300 agl only) instead of throwing the towel and crash in front without a fight(Besides in front there were houses and or ocean). But if heavy surging, prep to land, little turns only. No turnback unless much higher than 400 agl. Due it can quit dead next surge. Those difficult to judge LOTOT killed the great MacSpadden. He was killed on a “Surging LOTOT” and they did turnback but lost engine after it, NOT REACHING THE RUNWAY after the airplane owner pop the draggy gear out. Practice LOTOT.. FOR EXAMPLE; climb to 400 agl, Engine power to 50%.. level at 400 agl. Troubleshoot with SOME carb heat and some leaning too. And decide if Turnback, Turnaround the airport OR CRASH I FRONT. 3 OPTIONS ON LOTOT. IT S SURGING LOTOT, TREAT A SURGING LOTOT as an engine dying in next few seconds. Be ready to lower nose and land.

Awesome piloting!!! Kept it cool calm and collected.