UAL T38 Phlyer

Not an engine-issue per se, but the T-6A has a PT-6, and had a rash of prop-problems (called "Prop-sleeve touchdown"). Could cause the prop to go flat, coarse, or make it depart the engine shaft.

Don't think they had any fatalities, or even losses, but lots of landings that weren't planned. Supposedly fixed now (I think the third or fourth iteration of "the final fix").

Bellanca

I was chatting with a pilot in an FBO that was out of KBMI that had an engine failure in a TBM a couple years back. I can't remember what exactly happened, just remember it was a PT-6 issue. Apparently he glided the thing down from ~25k, and landed in the grass like 100 feet short of the runway he was aiming for because of a strong headwind. It messed up the landing gear pretty badly, but he and all of the pax walked away. He told a story of being grilled by a panel of people from the FSDO where it happened because "they don't see many people who have engine failures in single engine planes up in the flight levels that live to tell about it." Apparently after like some 8 hours or so of Friendly Aviation Administration scouring his logbooks and interrogating him they couldn't catch him on anything, and I remember him saying during the accident investigations it was found to be a freak problem with the PT6 that caused the engine failure.

B350pilot

I have over 2500 hours of incident free PT6 time. Most of the failures I hear about are components failing but usually nothing catastrophic. The biggest component is the High Pressure pump. If that fails, engine quits.

joepilot

I flew a Beech 99 in for engine overhaul, and the mechanic showed me a couple of the turbine blades that had to be removed. I was amazed that the engine could still run with such badly eroded blades.

Joe

Ray Blaszak

My friend Ameer was the CPT of the ACE Air Cargo flight that went down off of Sand Point, Alaska a few years ago. I am not sure if the NTSB has determined a cause yet.

USMCFLYR

Ray -

I thought I would try to help you out with your buddy's accident there and see what the NTSB/FAA had to say about it but I couldn't find anything using the NTSB database:
NTSB Aviation Database Query Page

or the FAA Accident/Incident database:
http://www.asias.faa.gov/portal/pls/...ssionid=111085

Let us know if you find anything.
Flying a PT-6 now I'm always interested in others experiences.

USMCFLYR

WalkOfShame

I have about 1800 problem free hours in PT-6's (not a lot) but a guy I fly with has over 5000 hours PT-6's with zero engine problems (most of his hours are in PC-12's fwiw). I try to treat it nice as often as I can and we do trend monitoring as well. Only time we've had to replace a motor (PC-12) was after lightening struck the prop, arced onto the spinner, through the main shaft welding one of the bearings together (as well as doing some other component damage), eventually making it's way out the left elevator burning a rather large hole. It was a 2 hour flight to a suitable airfield and the motor took it in stride.

HuggyU2

I have very limited experience with the PT-6 (700 hours), but the MC-12's in Afghansitan are flying a ton. The number of hours each week is classified (don't know why), but they are flying more than any other manned squadron anywhere in DoD.
And with the tons of hours they are putting on the PT-6, there is virtually no problem.
We had one engine run away and over-torque, but it was due to improper maintenance: a nut that wasn't safety wired came off, etc...

A great engine.

nerd2009

After 8000 hours operating the Dash 7, I had one that shutdown itself. I am not sure what happened to it.

RareBlueAir

I've heard they have ran for years on end pumping oil down the Alaskan pipeline , agreed great engines.