You’re a beast brother. Glad you’re ok.

As a decade-long career air traffic controller, this is exactly what we train for. We aren’t paid for what we do everyday. We are paid for what we can do that One Day. Great work to Rochester Approach and glad you made down safe.

We're glad you landed safely and appreciate the kind words for our team members.🚒🛩📻

As a recent air crash survivor I am very happy you had a positive outcome. I lost my engine at 8,500ft during a climb in a little Cessna 150 unfortunately the ground was at 7,000 and I was over a forested area. Controlling the crash into 60ft Pine trees I survived with the aircraft coming to rest inverted and while substantially injured I recovered fully to fly professionally again within four months. The insurance company said they had never seen anyone survive a crash of this magnitude. We have never spoke Mike but you said a few things using the same words I use and it kind of floored me. The biggest and best point you made, and I said this long before my accident and now say it to every pilot I can. The airplane will whisper to you that something is not right, sometimes long long before anything ever happens the trick is will you listen to it? Too often we try to rationalize by saying "oh this must be the new normal".....wrong! That was my case. I firmly believe a catastrophic engine failure without any prior warning is very rare. Your incident is certainly one of the outliers. I appreciate your comments on turbo props, I fly both Garrett and PT-6, and who knows how these engines have been abused by incompetent pilots. Fly safe Mike and thank you very much for making this video, it may save a life.

Aside from Mike's skills in aviation, he's also got an incredible gift to express the true emotion and passion of everything he does. You could feel the seriousness and passion through every second of this video. Glad you're safe, and really appreciate you sharing with us all.

As flight engineer in the Air Force for 20 years. I went to far to many funerals for heros in their 20's and 30's. I flew on the UH-1N which also uses the PT6 although the 1969 version. So many emergencies throughout my career and one of the things FE's are taught is pilots are allowed to panic FE's are not. It took years to understand that and it simply means we needed to be the calm cool crew member to calm the pilots nerves in that moment. I later had a pilot tell me he was freaking out but my calm tone immediatly set him at ease. He didnt realize on the inside I was freaking out, and that was during a rescue. I have also been doing functional check flights in the left seat with pilots and smoked an engine. Thankfully not our fault but still sucks, it was an issue from depot years earlier. If you want some help on the safety side I would love to help, I was a safety professional in aviation, munitions, and ground safety. I am now retired in southern Idaho right around the corner from you.

Awesome story. In 12 years I had one engine failure in a single. The biggest thing that literally made me tear up was how many aircraft assisted my situation. An A330, Dash-8, Beech 1900, PC-12 a C130 and 2 helicopters were all involved in some way in assisting find me. It was absolutely amazing. 10 minutes after my forced landing in a remote location the Dash-8 and PC-12 had flown over my location to relay with SAR where I was and talk to me. When someone is in trouble, the aviation community steps up fast if they can.

Wow! I’m so glad you both are safe.

Amazing, Mike, and as an Air Traffic Controller, I always trained my personnel to always remember , that when a pilot declares an emergency, be calm, cool, and collective, cause you’re not in that airplane, so someone has to be on point, and ensuring all the appropriate people are contacted, and SAR, is initiated , trucks on the field ! Practice, and practical application is a must, until it becomes muscle memory, and as we say, safe, orderly, and expeditious !

The fact that the engine did not rip itself off the firewall speaks volumes of the quality of Mike’s engineering and building skills not to mention his piloting skills getting it back on the ground through IMC conditions. Wow!!!!

The fact you made it safely to the ground, is testimony to solid engineering and calm management.

Sounds like your turbine had stress fractures that couldn’t hold on any longer and it finally failed. 31,000 RPM’s found the fault. Glad you are ok. Textbook emergency planning, conservation of battery life, glide, approach, communication, and landing. BRAVO! 👍🏻

Mike, I’m a long time watcher, and would like to welcome you to our very exclusive and small club. A PT6 catastrophic failure with a split containment ring. Mine was a PT6A-34. Fortunately, I had two of them. When the fire was out (yes fire, thank heavens I had extinguishing), I was able to look out and see through the engine cover (which had an new 10 inch hole in it) straight into the compressor section, of which half was missing. The engine lining and containment ring, made for just this purpose failed at its only job, and had split and curled or peeled back, similar to yours, leaving a 6 inch hole in the engine. I was told by P&W Canada that I should buy a lottery ticket, as this was one of the most rare events they had ever seen. I will admit to being grateful for having the two engines as I was 250 NM from land over the Arctic Ocean in the summer, and knew the other would get me to land. A pretty funny part to the story was before we landed, we received a relayed message from Transport Canada asking us to send them an oil sample on landing. In was must have been my attempt to regain my composure, I sent the message back that if TC wanted an oil sample, they were going to have to get a boat as all my oil was either burned, or sitting 200 miles out it the middle of the ocean, because I don’t have any.😅 In the end, the newly hot sectioned engine had an improperly installed oil seal bearing (at the rebuild shop), and this was not in anyway an actually P&W problem, just my problem. NORAD (Canada and the USA) had been running PT6-20s in the 60s and 70s and 80s running generators on the DEW line in Northern Canada. Because they weren’t used for aviation, regular limit observance weren’t used, and I was told many of them were running continuously and only shut down once a year for maintenance. That means running 9000 hours a years. The most sobering moment for me was when maintenance asked me to come and look at something. There, embedded in the acrylic side cockpit window was a single blade that went through the first of two panes, about 3 inches from my temple. That brought it really home for how badly this could have gone for me and my family. I endeavoured since then to always stay as far away from “the line” as I can. Trouble finds you even when you’re not looking. I now fly B787 Dreamliners, and to this day have a slightly elevated confidence in my abilities to survive that day, and a commitment to my passengers and crew that if ever there could be something done to save the day, I’d make sure I knew how to do it. I’m glad your OK, and I believe you when you say you’re going to make sure to learn whatever lessons this can teach you.

As someone who makes his living flying behind a 1700HP PT6, this video’s a vivid reminder that yes, even PT6’s can and do occasionally quit. Glad you got her down safe!

Like many thousands of fans, I learned of this while I was at OSH and didn't see this until now. I was instantly glad to hear that you guys were ok (altitude is definitely everyone's friend!) and on top of the way you handled the emergency. I'm also so impressed with the way you put this video together. You gave us all the details we all wanted to know in a concise package, as well as sharing your heartfelt descriptions of what it was like to go through it. More great lessons for us all to share. Thanks, Mike. Glad you made it. Love ya, brother.

Thanks for this video, Mike. Pilots everywhere can learn from this about training, flight prep., emergency procedures, regular startup, flight and maintenance procedures, etc. Definitely an eye-opener! I never actually flew much (700 hrs), but when you talked about ATC asking "how many souls on board?" Man, that hit hard. I can only imagine what you felt right then. Very happy everything turned out like it did, and that Garmin system is unbelievable!!

Oh man, i'm glad you're ok. Planes can be fixed, you're unique. Shame it happened, but that's how things go sometimes. You can plan for the worst, but the worst can end up surprising you when you least expect. Hope Turbulence is going to be easy to fix, i know it's not gonna be cheap, but you have the knowhow, you built that plane. Stay safe Mike, you represent so much for grassroots aviation and more than anything else, for your family, first and foremost. edit: and your friend was on board. Woof, what a situation. I know from experience that for someone like you, having someone else's life depend on your actions weighs down on you like the weight of the world. My uncle was like that, and he'd be down for days whenever something like that happened. It's never easy. Again, happy you're both ok.

You have a whole fleet of angels watching over you Mike. P&W is definitely gonna want to go over that engine in detail. Not a typical PT6 failure at all.

So sorry to hear of your catastrophic engine failure...Awesome to hear of the wonderful ending of a safe landing. God bless to you and all who helped make this story have a happy ending.

Good job Mike. Thanks for sharing this experience with us. I bet seeing your family afterwards was a very special feeling. Glad you’re home safe.

Mike I join the chorus of fans and fellow aviators who are glad you are safe and Turbulence will live to fly another day. Your professionalism, your full disclosure, transparency and honest emotion in sharing this with us confirms that you are everything we believe you to be. A pilots pilot who loves aviation and wants to share it with all who care to listen. Thanks!!!! CobraPilot45

So glad to hear you’re safe.

Dude. 13:48 sent legitimate CHILLS through me and sank my stomach! Awesome to hear you're shifting your focus even more to safety. A lot of people punch holes in that lucky-to-be-alive card until it's confetti. Glad you're okay, man. Stay awesome and stay safe.

What a story for years to come! You built it strong and it brought you home. All those well thought details paid off. I'm very glad for you.

Wow! Glad you're safe! YES! A video on starting these engines would be great!! Yes, I see video's of folks starting these with parameters all over the place from each other. Once again, glad you're safe!! EDIT: I, and I'm sure many others would love to see a tear down and analysis of findings....Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Hats off to that ATC controller, he understood and provided everything you needed. It’s great the plane stayed together and after that its good you had the time to plan and fly to an A/P and plan the approach. Would be great to know your TAS when she let go.

Glad you were ready and still with us .

Absolutely flooded with emotions watching and listening to this. One impossible obstacle after another to experience and overcome to live another day. Unbelievable. Welcome back Mike saving yourself and the other soul on board.

I feel bad that Mike’s beautifully engineered Turbulence was damaged, but luckily for the aviation community he will undoubtably make it better than ever, and increase our knowledge 👍

"Souls on board" .. my heart is in my throat ... Mike, you are the most safety oriented person I know, even when pushing boundaries of design and performance, safety is forefront in all you do .. so glad that you and your friend are safe .. I hope you take the needed time to heal and absorb all this .. Josh , thank you for calmness and professionalism , and Mike, we love you

Glad you are home. Please be safe in the future. You’re my hero. Thanks for all you do to help make aviation better.

Yep, be up on your practices...wow, great recovery @mikepatey, God blesses you, surely!

Hey Mike…..I have over 10,000 hours behind a PT-6 and I’ve never had one problem flying behind that engine. I can’t imagine what you went through and what caused the explosion. I always was very careful on startup so as to not hot start the engine. You, my friend are a great aviator and I’m so happy things turned out well for you. You did everything right. Glad you’re ok buddy!

Thank God you are both safe! You're a skilled pilot and an amazing builder/ engineer. So glad you're safe. Mike Patey; as far as I'm concerned, You are a national Treasure!

Mike - One of your best so far - Thank you for your candor and transparency

Glad you're OK and thanks for sharing this experience in such detail! That's such a beautiful plane you put together - I hope you get it flying again!

What an incredible professional pilot!! Blown away how well you handled it, but guess it should be no surprise with how you carry yourself. Gliding from 20k + through a cloud deck dead stick is something I would never like to experience. You are an inspiration and we could certainly all learn something from your training and dedication.

Catastrophic engine failure at that altitude was properly better than some intermittent engine failure. When it exploded, it eliminated any need to consider restart procedures, and allowed you to focus in quickly on getting the plane on the ground safely. I've seen several incidents where intermittent engine problems caused people to come up short, second guess life saving decisions, etc. While definitely not a good thing whatsoever, it was good that it was no questioning or second guessing what you needed to do. Land the plane safely. That was the goal from the get go, and you absolutely nailed it. 👏 👏

Mike, thank you for this wonderful and educational video.i am so greatful you are still here.

Really glad you made it down safe. Although the loss is heartbreaking, in the end, the engine is replaceable. You and Josh are not. Also what you bring to the aviation community, your passion, your drive, and your influence can never be replaced! Thanks Mike for all you do!

I appreciate you sharing shortly after the incident because it captured your raw state; your emotions were still on your sleeve. My basic impression is that you had good equipment and you know your equipment well. This should and will be a case study for the flying community. Thanks again for keeping us, the viewer, close to the action.

As an ex-Air Traffic Controller, I'm delighted you made is down safe and sound, and I appreciate you giving thanks to the Controllers. This kind of situation is EXACTLY why we do what we do, to do everything in our power to make sure you make it down safely. Glad everything worked out safely. Bummer to see what happened to Turbulence, but she WILL fly again. And kudos again to the Controllers on duty for this. Thanks for this video, as it gives insight to what was going on in your head during the decent. You can get quite busy in the cockpit, and this kind of video is very helpful to the controllers as we now know what you were thinking and doing to get down safe. Wishing you all the best. An Ex-Air force controller.

Riviting Mike. I had the same thing happen back in '94 and landed in a lake...luckily on floats and ended just as well. Impressed by your professionalism and calm demeanor. Good job!

It's wonderful that you're telling us about it. God bless you always 🙏❤

Don't lose your way, Michael. Keep doing things as you always have. I met you years ago, before KZfaq, and was humbled by your gift of insight and knowledge. That is one of the reasons that your videos that have veered off of the aviation path have never stopped me from watching. I am so happy that you guys are safe and Turbulence will fly again. I have also had inflight emergencies where ATC has gotten involved and I agree that a calming voice can not be beat, ever. Those guys don't get enough credit for what they do. Again, my friend, glad everything ended well. I can't wait to hear what Pratt has to say about the PT-6.

As a 63 year old machinal/electrical/avionics engineer, this video was an interesting and emotional watch. So glad you and your co-pilot are safe. Get back to work!

Through all the thoughts and emotions going through your mind, the second your engine failed, it was your professionalism, experience and knowledge of doing the correct procedures is what saved you and your co pilot. Kudos Mike, your an unbelievable guy, I’m glad your safe and the co pilot, I know you will dig deep into the engine to find the failed part and be sure to safety everything. Save travels brother. Back to work 💪🏻

Mike, first and absolutely foremost I am thankful that you and Josh made it through this ordeal. I've met you at OSH (like so many others have) and beyond your mind boggling knowledge, work ethic, and passion, you remain one of the nicest, most humble people I've met. I'd also like to say it's amazing you were composed enough and had the desire to put together this video immediately after the incident. I agree with many others who have commented here; this video will indeed help the aviation community in many ways and you are commended for putting it out there in such a complete, concise, descriptive manner to make the necessary points in your usual professional way. Not a video you would have chosen to have to make for certain but one that has great importance and will make an impact to many. So thank you for that. So happy you are here to continue the passion. Peace brother.

Given that we were watching a mini series on the evolution of Turbulence, this was absolutely shocking. And when I heard the intro, my heart was in my mouth. So glad your skills and a blend of good fortune in terms of the airframe and flight controls remaining worthy, resulted in such a relief. And I never realized was a crazy touch down speed Turbulence had! Great shot of you touching down too. And good to see Turbulence in better shape after a mishap at 30,000 than Draco at 50 odd. So grateful for the outcome and happy for you, your friend and your loved ones Mike :)

I flew sky divers for 18 years and always stayed within gliding distance of the airport. It was still frightening when I lost the engine and had to make it back to the airport without it.(6 times for various reasons) This story is nothing short of an amazing demonstration of calm professional pilotage on your part. I now as BushCat Darrell fly just Light Sport and also have a few KZfaq videos of my adventures, just like you I always give credit to the folks at (Syracuse) approach control for their unwavering professional calm tone of voice providing us with the help we need to stay safe. I shook your hand at Sun N Fun and I am sure you don't remember me, but I remember you, and can't begin to tell you how glad I am you were able to make it down safely. Blue Skies my friend.

That was truly scary. I'm so glad that you were able to land safely. I'm looking forward to your future focus on safety now.

Glad you are both Ok. Thank you for this amazing presentation of what happened. I’m not a pilot, but get so much information about private aviation from your videos. You’re an amazing person. All the best to you and your families.

Aviation fans fly on your wings! We're glad you all have come through this event safe and sound.

I’m so relieved that you are still here with us and able to take the time after such a stressful event to update your viewers and fans.

Thank you for the great lessons and checklist of things to know if an emergency arises most important is practice practice practice. Glad to see you safe. Prove practice pays off.

I love your tenacity and vision of pushing the limits of your passion. who cares what the reason is you are inspiration and a visionary we need more people like you in this world

You sounded so calm Mike, even if your heart was pitter-pattering like crazy - so well handled and hats off to ATC for helping without swamping - great teamwork. Hope you are enjoying a beer now!

Nobody wants to see one of their own struggle or die in the aviation community. So happy for this very positive outcome Mike. Practice makes perfect and you did a fine job given the circumstances. Loved that you had time at altitude to digest what you needed to do. Praise God, hug your family and friends!

Mike, I enjoy what you have to say in so many ways. Continue to take such good care of yourself and your family. Good job!

love you Mike.Thank you for sharing. Glad you and your passenger are still with us.

Mike...object lesson on how to handle an emergency...Bloody good effort...huge respect...aviator legend. Primarily I am glad you are safe an no injuries resulted. This was a brilliant lesson on how to get through nan emergency. Bloody good job mate. You are an inspiration. We can all learn from you. Big BRAVO ZULU to you (Look it up, British Royal naval well done Call). What a guy WOW.

Glad you made it out of that Mike. Good to see your still with us.

Glad your safe. Great job bringing her down. Thanks for sharing.

So glad you made it down safe, WELLDONE and CONGRATS. I wish you had a video of the actual event. 🥊 🥊 🥊 👍🏻 👍🏻 👍🏻

Your calm and professionalism made this look much easier than it was. Rule #1, Fly the airplane was always your priority. Glad your safe.

Mike, this video is a great contribution to the entire aviation community. Thank you for that and all you have shared over the years. By including all those details and capturing the experience while it was still fresh is truly invaluable. Having made that "two souls" call myself, I can say it puts things in perspective even when you dedicate yourself to staying on top of safety and maintaining proficiency as you clearly do.

I am a new subscriber to your Channel and as an aviation enthusiast, I love and admire the education that you provide with your superior engineering and flying skills! Most definitely glad to see you return alive and healthy..!

So happy for humanity, your okay! You are such a kind human and the world can’t afford to lose you. ‼️🙏🤗

Not a pilot but the calmness of traffic control for the win. Love all those around you.

thank God you’re safe Mike. God bless you.🙏🏼

I'm so happy the best possible outcome came after this catastrophe by you being prepared and disciplined to perform as called by the circumstances. God bless you, your co-pilot and both your families.

I owe you a subscription after this. I'm glad you made it down safe, and this truly emphasizes the importance of safe maintenance and flying practices.

Hey Mike. Might seem silly to you, not knowing me, but I can say I'm grateful you're still kicking. Between Turbulence and Draco, I'm really glad you're still around, as you've been a great inspiration to me to show me what a man can do in this life. Keep building cool things and keep inspiring us to build things are worth building. Still rocking my "back to work scrappy" sticker on my laptop and wishing you the best.

Glad you and your friend are safe. Your story and content is super valuable as it hits home on how crucial this is. I have my final stage check for my PPL tomorrow and have practiced my engine failures and emergency descent procedures over and over until it feels natural. Lucky for me it’s not real and I hope never have to do this. You managed this like a pro, great job and thanks for posting this.

Big Thank you for all of you who have kept Mr Patty alive very much appreciated

I'm so happy to see that you are safe and able to bring to life more safety factors for others. God Bless you and your family.

Not a nice emergency to have to contend with. The main 1:23 thing is that you mastered the situation your skill and professionalism clearly helped you. Well done.

"But Mike, the prop and spinner are fine!" Man, you are the chosen one to provide real-world examples of aviation and other engineering feats. I am very glad that you and Josh survived this, and I bet Josh is very glad it was with YOU that he experienced this event. Cheers from Texas.

Just Wow. Glad your safe. You continue to inspiring the community.

Thanks for sharing your experience and thank God you both made it through this event. We hear your message. Thank you

Hey Mike glad that the outcome was positive for you and your friend. You putting your ordeal on KZfaq shows just how real life is, regardless of who you are, how well prepared you are, bad things happen indiscriminately and posting the reality of this incident will help save a pilots life one day and potentially any passengers. The more we share our bad experiences as well as the good, provides invaluable food for thought and awareness which IMO is the best outcome anyone could ask for. Enjoy Oshkosh, thank you for all you do for the world of aviation. The aviation family thanks you.

As always, Mike, great respect for your skill and for your humility.

I have had over 35 years in the PT6 and PW120,123,150A, and have never had a catastrophic failure. As Mike has said, they really are reliable. This is an outlier in terms of failures from my experience and you did a fantastic job Mike. Well done Sir!

Best video I have every seen. Mostly because of your calm and honest retelling . Well done. Video and landing.

As the safety manager of a commercial IFR single engine turbine operation here in Australia, this video is a great resource. Thanks for being so open Mike, I’ll be taking a really keen interest in seeing how this engine failed.

This one really was one of the best educational video's about emergency management I ever saw. Your intro was such a "real life" experience, it hit hard. Well done and I'm happy you guys made it without a scratch.

So glad you shared this with us all. Lives surely saved. God Bless

Great job Mike! Keep Calm and Carry On, is you buddy!! I’m glad you’re with us and safe.

Wow, Mike - Jumping into the group of folks here who are glad you're OK. Very well done all the way down, and we appreciate your candidness and look forward to some analysis on this event. Small point early in the video after you made it to the ground: You thanked ATC, and others on freq offered congrats and a 'good job'. Speaks to the family of aviators out there who were listening. We're all lucky to play this game, and super happy you made it through this one.

So glad you all are still here with us. One minor guess as to why it happened. If the engine ever had a minor prop strike, Even though there is no physical connection, it is possible to have the turbine blade strike the can. This causes the damage to the tips of the blades.

Thanks for sharing great info, and more importantly, you lived to tell it. I'm glad you're both safe and ok. Keep up the great work, and stay blessed.

The way you described the explosion sound reminded me of a head crash I had running a high speed lathe years ago. I think we were running 15K - 20K RPM (could be wrong it's been decades) and the head ran right into the chucks. I had my back turned measuring the previous part and heard what sounded like a small car crash as the concrete shook. Unreal the amount of power of momentum. Glad you're both okay man!

Excellent point regarding the number of souls on board when things get dicey. I flew my high-performance single around the western states for work for forty years and was always thankful to be alone whenever the risk factors were elevated.

Very glad to see you're safe on the ground. Well done.

I am very relieved to see you are OK. That was one heck of a glide for someone used to having a fuel to noise converter ;). Also props to the ATC controller, he did a bang up job too.

Mike did such a great job of showing how long and terrifying that silent glide down was, my heart was pounding by the 2:00 glide mark. Glad your alive, please keep doing as such, your a important person.

When people who are out as an icon of flying, share these emergency events. It’s huge for the community to remember it’s not just fun it’s a serious skill. Glad your ok guys.

Relief to know you're OK. Much respect

We're all glad you're safe. Thanks for sharing your experience.

And here is where "BEST aviation maintenance procedures" was born. :) Glad you're safe.