123. Engine Failure at FL230

123. Engine Failure at FL230

From I Learned About Flying From That by Flying Magazine

February 25, 2026 · 25 min

About this episode

Pilot James McDiarmid shares his harrowing experience of an engine failure at 23,000 feet during a cross-country flight.

In episode 123 of "I Learned About Flying From That," host Carl Valeri sits down with pilot James McDiarmid to discuss a dream cross-country flight that quickly turned into a terrifying emergency. Cruising at 23,000 feet in his Mooney Acclaim en route from the UK to Italy, James was enjoying a smooth ride—until the engine unexpectedly quit cold over Brussels. Faced with freezing temperatures and a complete loss of power, James was forced to declare a Mayday and initiate a harrowing dead-stick glide toward an unfamiliar runway, with his wife by his side and the odds stacked against them. Will they make it to the ground safely? And what invisible, easily overlooked threat caused a perfectly well-maintained engine to suddenly fail at flight level 230? Tune in to hear the gripping conclusion to James’s mid-air crisis and discover the critical lesson every high-altitude piston pilot needs to hear.

People in this episode

Host: Carl Valeri

Guest: James McDiarmid

Topics covered

  • engine failure
  • aviation emergency
  • cross-country flight
  • piston pilot
  • dead-stick glide

Keywords

  • engine failure
  • aviation
  • emergency landing
  • cross-country flight
  • Mooney Acclaim
  • Mayday
  • dead-stick glide

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Mooney Acclaim

Places: Brussels, UK, Italy

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