Originally Posted by
Kepi
The NTSB believed that since the propeller had damage from rotation, that the engine must have had power. The whole flight was 58 seconds and my son achieved an altitude of about 250 feet. I've been told that the propeller will continue to spin after an engine failure. This could have caused the propeller damage as it hit the trees and ground. It was evident that he was making a controlled emergency landing according to my aviation lawyer, who is a very experienced pilot. The NTSB went to interview the mechanic of the airplane and he happened to be having surgery that day. No further followup as far as I know. The there is no mention of the maintenance logs in the NTSB report. We are fighting the defense to get those logs now. They are refusing to give them to us as they also were refusing to allow us to inspect the aircraft and engine. My lawyer says the NTSB can use whomever they want to help with the investigation. They can choose the manufacturer of the engine and there is nothing anyone can do about it. As it was obvious power turbine wheel failure to my expert investigator, something is not adding up. I don't know exactly who is responsible for everything in the report, but it needs to be reopened with this new evidence brought to light. Thank you for the information and your interest in this case.
In the world of piecing together aviation mishaps; determining whether an engine was producing power upon impact is a fairly easy study/answer. You are correct that the propeller very well might still be spinning even if the engine has failed - a term called windmilling that I'm sure you have heard before. The damage from a windmilling propeller and a propeller being turn by engine power are very different, then there is the other evidence of damage to other engine parts/mechanisms that lead investigators to the facts.
As JNB states - the NTSB has no dog in this investigation for or against you son or the company. They are widely recognized as one of the premier accident investigation organizations worldwide. If there is evidence that the 'turbine wheel' failed, then I personally feel that there would be no chance that the NTSB would not have reviewed the companies maintenance records. It is one of the primary areas of any investigation.
One of my new co-workers is a former NTSB investigator. I'll ask him today if I see him if he might envision any circumstance where there would be evidence of such an engine failure that you describe where the NTSB would NOT look into maintenance actions/records/history of the aircraft as part of the investigation.