Engine Failures

cloudrunner · Post by **cloudrunner** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 12:06 am

No doubt, there are hundreds of thousands of collective flying hours amongst us all here. Just curious as to how many of you have suffered engine failures (not hiccups or roughness...actual failures) twins, singles whatever. What was the scenario and what was the outcome? I myself have never had one go in 3200 hours. There is a point to my question but will hold off for now.

Schlem · Post by **Schlem** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 1:07 am

No failures or shut downs in 4500 hours... *knock on wood!*

nightguy · Post by **nightguy** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 1:20 am

Never had a engine fail but have had other big problems. Once had to hand crank the gear down, anyone who has flown a 300 series cessna can tell you its not fun. Not that it would be much fun in any airplane. One un-lucky guy I flew with in flight school had a engine fail in a 150 and landed in a feild. Also i have seen a few engines fail on a DC3 but nothing the pilots could not handle.

Pajock · Post by **Pajock** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 2:33 am

Climbing through 4000', got a low oil pressure light on a Metro. Checked the gauge, oil pressure was barely in the green. Ran the checklist, decided to power back the engine and return to land at departure airport. Engine failed 400' short final. Made for a squirly landing.

scm · Post by **scm** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 4:06 am

on the first solo cross country i had an engine failure on the runway. advanced the throttle incredibly slowly so don't know why it happened.

nothing bad in the air...yet.

learcapt · Post by **learcapt** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 5:43 am

hey guys. 5000+ hrs first engine failure in a super DC3, second a shutdown in a cheyenne. hopefully thats it!!

jumperdumper · Post by **jumperdumper** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 7:24 am

5000 hours with 6 engines failures. 5 on the Super DC3 and 1 on the AT98. Actuall did a 3 engine ferry out of Bronson Creek with that 1. Many other urgent problems that did not result in an engine failure. Heater fire in Inuvik on the ground. Many broken throttle cables on the DC3, runaway prop, stuck elevator in a Navajo. These are just a few that come to mind. 1 of the 6 failures forced us to actually lighten the load over the Atlantic.

KAG · Post by **KAG** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 8:05 am

3900 hours, 3 enging failures in single pistons as a student -2 due to induction icing in PA28-140, 3rd the engine just came apart. 3 engine shutdowns in King Air due to false fire indications, and 1 partial engine failure due to hot section failing on climb out.

I've been kinda unlucky.

Cheers.

neechi · Post by **neechi** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 8:25 am

Engine failure @ 700 agl first week on the job with 235 hours. Engine made a hell of a noise, then I made a hell of a comment, then dead sticked on to a lake 150 degrees to my right. Will never forget that.

JigglyBus · Post by **JigglyBus** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 9:09 am

13 years, 6 engine failures. 3 in BN2's, 3 in AC500's.

3 of them I voluntarily shut down do to impending doom.

3 of them shutdown without any volunteering.

I'm sure everyone has a fish story, so I won't bore you, but lets just say I've had to buy new boxers at least once.

But I'm yet to put one in...... Knock Knock.

planett · Post by **planett** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 9:16 am

Precautionary shutdown, Metro, uneventful visual approach and landing.

CLguy · Post by **CLguy** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 10:19 am

Used to have a couple a week in a Beech 18 on Floats, but they were all self induced. Late nights, early mornings, heading north, both engines pulling from the nose tank. Sure wakes you up though!

Actually close to 8000 hours and never a failure! I always chuckled while flying the CL-215, when you would hear the comments, we need turbines because the radials are old and unreliable. I have been flying radials since 1979 and never had one let me down yet. Shut down a few as a precaution but that is it.

One of our check pilots, who has since retired told me that he had 3 engine failures in his career whch spanned over 35 years and they were all on turbines. So much for the unreliability of the piston engine myth!!!

xsbank · Post by **xsbank** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 10:34 am

9000 hrs, 3 radials: 1 seized, 1 came out through the cowl with a fire, one (only one there) limped home w/ plugged screen.

500 turbine failures; 5,000 jet failures in the sim!

1 elevator trim tab on a Beav - think its called a 'phugoid' - landed by the Lions Gate Bridge and taxiied a loooong way back.

Jammed controls on an AC6T on short final.

Airtids · Post by **Airtids** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 1:26 pm

3800 hours, four piston shutdowns, one complete failure.
Multiple electrical problems (including complete failure just after punching in IMC on climb-out

), and had a gear handle snap off in my hand while doing a manual extension (cause the front engine had already been shut down!!).

co-joe · Post by **co-joe** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 3:21 pm

One sort of self induced. Landed in Spokane to clear customs and get fuel, noticed an oil leak, got distracted, cleaned the oil, added more, somewhere in there told fueller "full". Didn't realise fuelled had never fuelled a twin cessna. Blew a tank at FL 180 in cruise, realised aux's didn't get fuelled. Holy cow, that gave the arteries a good cleaning! Still had gas to reach Chico Cali., so no big deal, but sure could have been worse if I missed and had to go to alternate.

Much more careful now...

ninjacrumb · Post by **ninjacrumb** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 4:13 pm

Lets take it up a notch. Anyone had an engine failure while in drag? We're looking at you Doc.

Boeing Driver · Post by **Boeing Driver** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 6:41 pm

4500 hours. 5 engine failures. 2 self induced in a navajo (both engines at the same time), blew out both the outboard tanks at the same time. That made my heart stop. Another was a catastrophic failure in a navajo. Again another in the navajo (blew the oil filter seal). And one on a King Air, lost the high pressure fuel pump. This all happened in my first 2500 hours.

Cheers!

DA900 · Post by **DA900** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 6:45 pm

Boeing have you considered buying lottery tickets

Cat Driver · Post by **Cat Driver** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 8:01 pm

Well one night in Inuvik I was really drunk and humping a local beauty when I fell asleep and sort of crashed, at least I did not finish the journey...

does that count?

cloudrunner · Post by **cloudrunner** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 8:25 pm

Cat Driver wrote:Well one night in Inuvik I was really drunk and humping a local beauty when I fell asleep and sort of crashed, at least I did not finish the journey...

does that count?

Technically speaking Cat, that is a "dead stick" landing so...yes, I believe it counts.

TG · Post by TG » Wed Mar 02, 2005 8:42 pm

ahhh then you have the no blow(ing cylinder)job so now, I'm not sure cat

I once met a very nice guy in his late 60's/early 70's who was driving cab between LG2 and the airport. May be some of you did as well.
He told us that he lost his medical after having flying DC-3, DC-4, DC-6, constellation, canso, CL-215...
The 15 minutes ride with him to get to the airport was pretty nice and full of cute anecdotes. He ended up his speach giving us our luggages and saying something like this with a little smile:

"You know, I flew 14000hrs in all sort of radials engines, never add an accident, an incident, even a single engine failure.....I which you the same"

I took his which and so far, so good

His speach looked pretty accurate and modeste at the same time. He was only answering our questions. I would never think he collected differents stories told by pilots he brings at the airport, to make them his own.

split s · Post by **split s** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 9:11 pm

This is the type of thread I like to see on this site(good clean and interesting)! 2500 hrs and nothing to report for failures here.

Siddley Hawker · Post by **Siddley Hawker** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 9:12 pm

Well in 35 years and 20,000 hrs, one self induced on the Beaver- burning off the rear tank. One DC-3 and one Canso for real, and two on the F-27, one cracked oil cooler and one false fire warning.

Cat Driver · Post by **Cat Driver** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 9:35 pm

Siddley.... any dead stick landings?

Spaceship 2 · Post by **Spaceship 2** » Wed Mar 02, 2005 10:48 pm

2600 hours. 2400 in PT6 turbines
2 precautionary shutdowns...
1. in a twin otter due to low oil pressure ( VMC non-event )
2. reversed command of the power lever in a BE20. It was WACKED, pull the lever back and tourque, ITT, and Ng go up. We figured we'd never be able to shed enough airspeed to land and stay on the ground so we shut it down. Unfortunatly after the uneventfull landing we were well below Vmcg and got stuck on the runway after a couple humerous 360's and we realized we aren't going anywhere...to this day I am always suspicious when anyone claims they can taxi a BE20 single engine!!!!
Turned out to be this cheesey plastic cover (secured by a single wingnut) that covers the wires coming outta the generator. The cover had fallen and wedged itself between the linkages to the FCU, prop gov. and whatever else is running lengthwise along the PT6. The engineer that was flown down to rescue/repair us said he had never seen anything like it before.
It was a one minute fix! The kind that makes you wish you had popped the cowling the next day in the light and had a more detailed look around. No shit we were stunned. He pops the cowling, looks, scowls, removes plastic cover, closes cowling.....ok fire it up and try it out. Yup good to go.