PILOT SPIN
Pilot Zone => Accident Review/Never Again (I hope..) => Topic started by: EppyGA - White Christian Domestic Terrorist on January 31, 2022, 10:21:50 AM
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Heard from a close friend this morning. I actually gave him his first GA ride and he went out and got his PPL and IR. He belongs to the club that bought our Warrior. Since then they bought a Dakota that he likes to fly. Went to fly yesterday, took off from LZU, got 1,000' and had an engine out. He managed to get it back to the ground, not sure what condition the airplane is in. He's going to call and give me the whole run down. The carburetor fell off (https://www.purpleboard.net/forums/images/smilies/yikes.gif) Some A&P is going to be in trouble. I think this engine had been replaced after they bought, I'll have to ask.
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N18KN (https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N18KN)
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Glad he got down safe. Mark had an engine out right over a runway and got down safe. That’s what I like to hear. Hope the plane is okay too if not, that’s not the important part.
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Things just break sometimes also. It doesn't have to be the mechanic's fault. Just think about why airplanes, parts and repairs are so expensive. Liability anyone?
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Things just break sometimes also. It doesn't have to be the mechanic's fault. Just think about why airplanes, parts and repairs are so expensive. Liability anyone?
The carburetor fell off. The FAA wants to see the mechanic log
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The carburetor fell off. The FAA wants to see the mechanic log
What can the log say other than he did the repairs IAW published procedures.
They need to inspect the engine to SEE why the carb fell off.
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It amazes me things don’t break more often than they do.
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It amazes me things don’t break more often than they do.
Breaking and falling off are two different things. I can't imagine anything breaking that would cause a carburetor to fall off.
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A good reason to fly fuel-injected engine aircraft.
;)
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What can the log say other than he did the repairs IAW published procedures.
They need to inspect the engine to SEE why the carb fell off.
The FAA is going to look at the logs and may look to Piper to publish an SB or AD to address this. The nuts backed off and only had a few threads left. May not have been torqued properly when it was last removed.
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The FAA is going to look at the logs and may look to Piper to publish an SB or AD to address this. The nuts backed off and only had a few threads left.
Nuts backed off? Is that confirmed? (Not officially, of course) Just what we need--a hundred hour AD requiring a mechanic to check and see if the carburetor is still firmly attached.
Tim
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Nuts backed off? Is that confirmed? (Not officially, of course) Just what we need--a hundred hour AD requiring a mechanic to check and see if the carburetor is still firmly attached.
Tim
Yes, I talked to him yesterday. He said when they got it back to the hangar and took the bottom cowl off everything looked fine. He reached up and grabbed the carburetor and it moved. Upon examination they saw the nuts had backed off almost all the way. There, apparently, was enough of a gap that it wouldn't draw fuel to develop power. He could a little out of it, but not enough to keep it flying. It was a very low DA day so he actually had too much altitude for the "impossible" turn. That is why ended up doing a very close in pattern. Landed back on the runway he had taken off from. Fix might be one of those nuts with tabs that the nut actually sits in. Then the tab can be bent down.
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Nuts backed off? Is that confirmed? (Not officially, of course) Just what we need--a hundred hour AD requiring a mechanic to check and see if the carburetor is still firmly attached.
Tim
Nut check?
Check!
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Yes, I talked to him yesterday. He said when they got it back to the hangar and took the bottom cowl off everything looked fine. He reached up and grabbed the carburetor and it moved. Upon examination they saw the nuts had backed off almost all the way. There, apparently, was enough of a gap that it wouldn't draw fuel to develop power. He could a little out of it, but not enough to keep it flying. It was a very low DA day so he actually had too much altitude for the "impossible" turn. That is why ended up doing a very close in pattern. Landed back on the runway he had taken off from. Fix might be one of those nuts with tabs that the nut actually sits in. Then the tab can be bent down.
Or a safety wire at least.
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Somewhat related past crash: an unseated carburetor part caused Harrison Ford to have an accident:
https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/08/06/ntsb-unseated-carburetor-part-probable-cause-of-harrison-ford-plane-crash/ (https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/08/06/ntsb-unseated-carburetor-part-probable-cause-of-harrison-ford-plane-crash/)
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Somewhat related past crash: an unseated carburetor part caused Harrison Ford to have an accident:
https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/08/06/ntsb-unseated-carburetor-part-probable-cause-of-harrison-ford-plane-crash/ (https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/08/06/ntsb-unseated-carburetor-part-probable-cause-of-harrison-ford-plane-crash/)
That seals it. Now we must have ADs and SBs and 100 hour checks on all carburetted airplanes.
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Mark’s engine out was actually our friend’s plane, a Cessna 152 I think, or 150. The friend was a low time new PPL and Mark had helped change the oil in the new-to-him plane. They were taking it around the pattern when one of the carburetor hoses just “disintegrated” from old age. The friend was flying left seat and when the engine quit he threw up his hands and said “Your airplane!” LOL!!! Mark had hundreds of hours if not over a thousand by then. He got it back on the runway from the right seat with no problem. The friend didn’t fly the plane again until after he’d spent many thousands totally overhauling the engine. Then he died of cancer a few years later. :'(
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Mark’s engine out was actually our friend’s plane, a Cessna 152 I think, or 150. The friend was a low time new PPL and Mark had helped change the oil in the new-to-him plane. They were taking it around the pattern when one of the carburetor hoses just “disintegrated” from old age. The friend was flying left seat and when the engine quit he threw up his hands and said “Your airplane!” LOL!!! Mark had hundreds of hours if not over a thousand by then. He got it back on the runway from the right seat with no problem. The friend didn’t fly the plane again until after he’d spent many thousands totally overhauling the engine. Then he died of cancer a few years later. :'(
That's sad, but at least he spent his money on something he (presumably) enjoyed while still alive.
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That's sad, but at least he spent his money on something he (presumably) enjoyed while still alive.
Yes he did. He was a really nice guy.
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Mark’s engine out was actually our friend’s plane, a Cessna 152 I think, or 150. The friend was a low time new PPL and Mark had helped change the oil in the new-to-him plane. They were taking it around the pattern when one of the carburetor hoses just “disintegrated” from old age. The friend was flying left seat and when the engine quit he threw up his hands and said “Your airplane!” LOL!!! Mark had hundreds of hours if not over a thousand by then. He got it back on the runway from the right seat with no problem. The friend didn’t fly the plane again until after he’d spent many thousands totally overhauling the engine. Then he died of cancer a few years later. :'(
Does Mark still fly?
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Does Mark still fly?
Not at the moment. We have no mission. I don’t know what’s going to happen after he retires.
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Not at the moment. We have no mission. I don’t know what’s going to happen after he retires.
If you’re in Texas, maybe you and he should look into one of the numerous Commemorative Air Force units. Many would welcome someone who may wish to fly one of their aircraft.
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If you’re in Texas, maybe you and he should look into one of the numerous Commemorative Air Force units. Many would welcome someone who may wish to fly one of their aircraft.
He and my brother in law and one of our sons in law are planning to do this: ;D
https://www.drivetanks.com/
But that’s just one trip.