121. Heidi Porch

121. Heidi Porch

From I Learned About Flying From That by Flying Magazine

January 7, 2026 · 53 min

About this episode

Heidi Porch shares her experience of surviving an emergency landing in the Pacific Ocean as a retired airline pilot.

In this episode of the I Learned About Flying From This podcast, host Rob Reider interviews Heidi Porch, a retired airline pilot who survived a harrowing emergency landing in the Pacific Ocean. For a pilot who admitted a lifelong fear of swimming, Heidi details the technical and psychological challenges of ditching a Cessna 182 during a ferry flight from California to New Zealand in 1984.

People in this episode

Host: Rob Reider

Guest: Heidi Porch

Topics covered

  • emergency landing
  • aviation safety
  • pilot experiences
  • psychological challenges
  • Cessna 182
  • ferry flight

Keywords

  • emergency landing
  • Cessna 182
  • aviation
  • Heidi Porch
  • Rob Reider
  • Pacific Ocean
  • California
  • New Zealand
  • pilot
  • ferry flight

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: I Learned About Flying From This

Places: Pacific Ocean, California, New Zealand

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