Originally Posted by
HwkrPlt
I'm glad they are ok too. Say what you will about the PC-12, no one has died in it as result of an engine failure.
You're right the PC12 is a great airplane but it only has one engine. I was never comfortable flying it in low IFR conditions down low or over water for that reason. The PT6 is a great engine but it has had a number of failures. Even worse are all the FCU failures that were occurring a few years back. Planesense had 2 of those alone. In one case the crew turned the plane into a glider and the other occurred on rollout so it was a non event. I've lost track of the total number of PC12s that had that particular problem and never once has a crew successfully recovered the engine with the MOR. Even Pilatus over-temped the engine on a test flight when simulating FCU failures.
I have several thousand hours in the PC12 and the King Air and I was always happier operating the King Air in marginal conditions. If I was sitting in the back I would want to be in the King Air or a Jet.
I think they've been pretty lucky, to date, given the conditions they ask their crews to operate the plane in.