For Michael Smith, the trip from Japan back to the states in a Pilatus PC-12 was intended as simply a little moonlighting, a job he took to make a few extra dollars and garner a little more international experience. But when the PT6 driving the big single-engine aircraft quit over the water some 100 miles from the Japanese shoreline, Smith and his three passengers quickly realized they were going for a swim in water with temperatures hovering in the low 50s. By Smith’s estimate, the swells when they hit that day were seven to 10 feet, with 25 knots of wind blowing.
“Despite having logged 23,000 hours and many years flying a DC-3 in Africa, I’ve never had any survival training,” Smith admitted. “We had a small four-man raft on board on the PC-12, but almost no supplies except for some cans of [soda], a little food and a basic survival kit. We actually didn’t know what equipment our rented raft had on board until we ditched.” The four men were afloat for 15 hours before a passing Russian freighter picked them up. “I honestly don’t think we could have survived much longer anyway,” Smith said.
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