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Swearingen SA-226AT Fatal Crash MHT

Old 12-12-2021, 08:58 AM
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Default Swearingen SA-226AT Fatal Crash MHT

VASAviation Video:

https://youtu.be/1fUJ1OqCFx8

12/10/2021: Engine failure on short final to Rwy 6 at MHT. Single Pilot on board was fatally injured.
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Old 12-12-2021, 10:11 AM
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RIP.

Something else went wrong, other than the engine. A Metro should certainly be able to complete an ILS with OEI.
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Old 12-12-2021, 10:50 AM
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Originally Posted by rickair7777 View Post
RIP.

Something else went wrong, other than the engine. A Metro should certainly be able to complete an ILS with OEI.
That's what I was thinking but I'm not familiar with that aircraft so was wondering about it. Anyone know if the prop auto-feathers or if it's done manually?
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Old 12-12-2021, 11:48 AM
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Sounds a lot like the Alan Kulwicki crash.

We had a bunch of freezing rain that started a few hours after the crash, he could very well have picked up ice in the descent.

RIP

https://app.ntsb.gov/pdfgenerator/Re...Final&IType=MA
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Old 12-12-2021, 01:24 PM
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Originally Posted by rickair7777 View Post
RIP.

Something else went wrong, other than the engine. A Metro should certainly be able to complete an ILS with OEI.
Or with one engine out and a cirrus going right through it...
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Old 12-12-2021, 05:32 PM
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It has to be done manually to feather. Otherwise it stays in “NTS” which I can’t remember what that means. But it is not auto-feather.
To feather you have to pull a handle on the center pedestal labeled stop and feather. If you don’t , IMHO , you might not make the runway.
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Old 12-13-2021, 12:44 AM
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Originally Posted by oldrebel View Post
It has to be done manually to feather. Otherwise it stays in “NTS” which I can’t remember what that means. But it is not auto-feather.
To feather you have to pull a handle on the center pedestal labeled stop and feather. If you don’t , IMHO , you might not make the runway.
Negative torque sensing. Positive torque values occur when the engine drives the propeller. Negative torque values occur when the slipstrip drives the propeller, and thus, the engine. Any value in which the prop is flat and is being driven by the slipstream, or when negative torque occurs, involves a steep rise in drag. NTS works to increase prop pitch to reduce negative torque, but will not feather the engine. It drives toward feather, or more accurately reduces oil pressure to allow the prop toward feather to reduce drag and negative torque. The prop must still be manually feathered.

NTS, when operating, will be felt as a pulsing as though the prop keeps taking a load, and alternately driving to feather. It's not unique to the garrett/honeywell offering, but found on other systems such as the Allison turboshafts, too. One could think of it as a temporary partial feathering, automatically dumping oil pressure, but it doesn't actually feather the aircraft. It only acts long enough to decrease the negative load.

Ironically, Honeywell states that the 331 will run for 1/2 hour with no oil; it runs like a top, in fact. Just no oil pressure, and still doesn't feather, and may not get much NTS action, either. Nor does it produce torque, during that time; it may produce a little, depending on the amount of oil remaining and the nature of the problem, but not much. An engine failure can occur such that the engine does produce considerable drag, which may or may not be relieved by NTS, and under such a circumstance, depending on how the engine has been rigged (there are a lot of ways to set up a TPE-331), the drag rise can be substantial. Feathering is critical.

Consider that when feathering is required, we all have taught not to rush. Sit on the hands, count to ten, etc. On short final, selecting the correct engine and feathering it may allow less time, and may be much more critical, as one sinks below the glide path. If one cannot maintain that glide path, then eliminating that drag is essential. Consider the ramifications of not eliminating that drag, eliminating it too late, or attempting to feather the wrong engine. Or, in the case of the rapid drag rise that can occur with a shaft-drive engine, an increase of power on the other engine, exaggerating the differential problem. Consider also, the effect of increasing power on the failed engine, and the possibility of a drag increase there, too (as simple as pushing both power levers up together: under the right circumstances, pushing up the power on the failed engine my act at cross purposes to NTS and may cause a drag rise, increased yaw, decreased aircraft performance, and directional control issues).

I find that most pilots who have been checked out in TPE-331 aircraft don't have a detailed grasp of NTS or operations in that regime; mostly just the memory items and procedures and the understand that the engine is either working or it isn't, and if it isn't, then feather it. With the TPE-331, there's a lot that can take place between working and not working, and if one is at low altitude when in that region, available time and altitude may be both compressed significantly so far as finding a solution and executing it. I say that from the perspective both as a pilot who has flown various 331 aircraft, experienced engine failures in them, worked on them as a mechanic, and put them on the ground following an engine failure in a regime where nothing works as one might expect. The TPE-331 is a great engine when it's functioning as intended; relatively light for a lot of power. Small, compact. When it's not functioning as expected, the results can be rather disappointing.
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Old 12-13-2021, 06:04 AM
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If the failure is a surprise during a high workload critical flight regime, the metro can get away from you in a hurry. I only had 1 total failure, and it was at altitude. But I also had 4 precautionary shutdowns, followed by single engine approaches and landings.
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Old 12-13-2021, 07:56 AM
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https://www.wmur.com/article/pilot-k...amily/38496343

BEDFORD, N.H. —The mother of Emmanuel "Manny" Vomvolakis tells News 9 her son loved to fly and that he knew he'd be a pilot since he was 4 years old. Vomvolakis, 23, was killed Friday night, after crashing into the banks of the Merrimack River in Bedford. In a message to News 9, the pilot's mother says she has no doubt that Manny sacrificed himself to avoid hitting any nearby buildings. Many in Bedford are calling that decision heroic. The Swearingen SA-226 operated by Castle Aviation was en route from the Essex County Airport in Fairfield, New Jersey, when the pilot reported there was engine trouble, according to Manchester-Boston Regional Airport Director Ted Kitchens. The president of Castle Aviation released a statement saying, "The staff and management of Castle Aviation are very saddened by this event and our thoughts and prayers are with the family."
,.......
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Old 12-14-2021, 10:32 AM
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Originally Posted by EMAW View Post
If the failure is a surprise during a high workload critical flight regime, the metro can get away from you in a hurry. I only had 1 total failure, and it was at altitude. But I also had 4 precautionary shutdowns, followed by single engine approaches and landings.
I have about 2000 hours in the metro. No actual engine failures, simulator only but the airplane is a handful.
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