aircraft forced landing-

[smiles 0]

After studying all weekend to prepare for a 3 hour exam Mon. morning, and leaving early to have time to study before exam….my vehicle decided to stop running in the middle of a very busy intersection………(fuel pump) zzzzzzzzzzzzz

I am not mechanically inclined (female) but now understand a bit about the fuel pump (and cost to repair.) Usually located inside or near the fuel tank, the fuel pump's job is twofold: To push fuel from the tank to the injectors, and to create sufficient pressure so the injectors will deliver the correct amount of fuel under all operating conditions. So- no big deal when driving a car……

Aircraft Forced Landing
There is considerable risk of injury and aircraft damage when a single-engine aircraft experiences engine power loss and the departure path is not clear of obstacles, which is often the case.

I was aware of a forced landing of aircraft at my dz years ago and all I understood was "mechanical fault." Never asked any questions to learn more but confirmed for me wearing a helmet & seat belt on take-off.

Abbotsford Para-Centre
Vancouver Canada
Pilatus Porter 2001

An engine run-up was carried out before take-off, which indicated normal engine performance. The take-off, was normal, with full engine power available. While the aircraft was climbing through approximately 900 feet above sea level (asl), engine power rolled back in five seconds to about 46 per cent Ng, the rotation speed of the engine gas generator section, which is less than flight idle power. The pilot applied full throttle but engine power did not increase, and he carried out a successful forced landing in a hay field about 1½ miles off the end of runway. In this occurrence there was an area available for a forced landing and the aircraft was landed without damage, and with no injuries to the five passengers on board. The field used for the forced landing was flat with unmown hay at a height of about one foot. After the landing, the engine continued to run at less than idle power, and the pilot shut it down. The aircraft was pushed to a location closer to an access road, and was repaired in the field where it came to rest.

The fuel control unit (FCU) was replaced and an engine test run was carried out successfully. The aircraft departed from the field two days after the occurrence.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) investigated this occurrence for the purpose of advancing transportation safety. It is not the function of the Board to assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability.
http://www.tsb.gc.ca/en/reports/air/2001/A01H0003/A01H0003.asp
(I copied info here from this site)

Prior to this occurrence, the engine underwent an inspection for a propellor strike and the engine was reinstalled. At the time, it was decided to replace the FCU, because the engine had been a bit sluggish and the calendar time since overhaul was nearing the recommended interval. A replacement FCU was obtained from International Governor Services Inc (IGS), an FAA-approved overhaul facility in Broomfield, Colorado, USA. After the engine was installed, some field adjustments were made because the engine was difficult to start. In consultation with IGS personnel, some FCU adjustments were then made, and the engine appeared to operate normally.

The reason for the engine power loss, or roll-back, was a loss of vacuum of the fuel control unit (FCU) acceleration bellows, which resulted in the FCU reducing fuel going to the engine to minimum flow. The FAA Airworthiness Approval Tag (FAA Form 8130-3), which accompanied the occurrence FCU when it went to the operator, did not indicate that the FCU had undergone less than a full overhaul.

It would appeared at that time there needed be some clear indication of the type of overhaul carried out so that those carrying out maintenance activities will be given the opportunity to better evaluate the serviceability of an FCU.

The occurrence aircraft was not equipped with an emergency fuel lever. This optional device is designed to bypass the action of the bellows assembly by mechanically moving FCU linkages, allowing fuel to flow to the engine. The emergency fuel lever is mandated for some single-engine transport operations, but not if it is operated under visual flight rules (VFR) during daylight.

Safety Concern--FCU Manual Override

Many single-engine aircraft are not equipped with an optional emergency fuel lever. This option would allow restoration of sufficient engine power to continue flight for instances where the FCU acceleration bellows is breached or other compressor discharge air problems occur. A manual override system for the fuel control unit (FCU), is an approved optional installation. A manual override system is required by regulation for single-engine turbine-powered aircraft in commercial operations when the aircraft is used to carry passengers at night, or during instrument flight rule operations.

It would appear that the risks of single-engine operations are less during visual flight rules because forced landing areas can be seen. However, take-off areas may have obstacles, which may not allow a successful forced landing. The Transportation Safety Board is concerned that commercial passengers may be subjected to higher than necessary risks when being carried on single-engine, turbine aircraft not equipped with a manual override system for the FCU. The Board will continue to monitor this safety issue.

Consequently, the Board authorized the release of this report on 06 February 2003, July 2001 was the date of the forced landing.


So, my question is:
how many jump from aircraft that has FCU manual override, and is this a safety concern?

SMiles

eustress. : a positive form of stress having a beneficial effect on health, motivation, performance, and emotional well-being.

[JumpShipGypsy 0]

All Cessna Caravans have an "emergency power lever". Ive never seen a Tw Otter with one and doubt that it could be retrofited. Its a good idea but will only fix one of an infinate number of things that could go wrong. It is far more likely that you will get bad fuel. Pilot training and planing is much more important.

If you are that worried about your safey while in the plane maybe you shouldnt be skydiving. I have far more experince as a jump pilot than as a jumper so my perspective is different. But, when im in the back on the ride to altitude i think about my gear and my jump plan. And how much fun im having!

Ben, The Gypsy

[Eule 0]

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I am not mechanically inclined (female)

Even though guys don't always think with their brains, I'm pretty sure
most of us don't store knowledge of mechanical devices in our testicles.
Similarly, I don't think ladies store a good fashion sense in their
breasts. All that stuff goes in the brain, so if it goes into one brain, it
can probably go into another brain just as easily. :)

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So- no big deal when driving a car……

...but you can't pull over and park on a cloud if the plane breaks.

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[Fuel control unit (FCU) failure on a Porter jump plane just
after take-off, which caused an emergency landing]

So, my question is: how many jump from aircraft that has FCU
manual override, and is this a safety concern?

As the report you quoted mentioned, an FCU override is most likely
optional for Canadian jump planes. I don't know what the situation is
in the US. My guess would be that if it's not required by law, most
jump planes would only have it if a previous owner of the plane had
installed it, and if it is relatively easy to maintain. (If it breaks and
it's not required, it's more likely to get removed than fixed.)

I don't know too much about turbine engines, but I also wonder if
the manual FCU override could also be a safety concern. In this case,
when the FCU failed, the engine returned to idle. It might be possible
for the mechanical override linkage to fail in such a way that the
engine would go to nearly full throttle, which might make it pretty
hard to fly the plane. It might even cause a failure due to excessive
rotational speed, like a fan blade coming loose. In other words, the
cure might be worse than the disease.

Eule

edited to fix a quoting problem

PLF does not stand for Please Land on Face.

[rat6666 3]

Eule - As I am not a fixed-wing pilot, I can only offer this as my basic understanding and assumption:

The emergency fuel lever does not affect engine power - it's just there to make sure fuel is able to be manually pumped to the injectors. All throttle functions are still controlled by the throttle lever.

Please correct me if I'm wrong... It's happened a couple times

[JumpShipGypsy 0]

First, a turbine engine does not have a throttle or a carburator or a throttle lever. It has a Fuel Control Unit and a Power Lever.

The Emergency Power Lever(EPL) (manual fuel control ) over rides the normal power lever and the Fuel Control Unit(FCU) on a turbine engine. The FCU is a rather complicted and sofisticaed piece of equipment. If one of the inernal saftey functions of the ECU fails it could cause a loss of power. Use of the EPL could retore power. However, because the EPL bypasses the safty functions of the FCU, it is extremly easy to toast the engine.

The FCU measures lots of engine paramaters, like engine RPM, fuel pressure, fuel temp, compressor air temp. compressor air pressure. The EPL jst throws more fuel into the combustion chamber.

[diverdriver 7]

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If you are that worried about your safey while in the plane maybe you shouldnt be skydiving. I have far more experince as a jump pilot than as a jumper so my perspective is different. But, when im in the back on the ride to altitude i think about my gear and my jump plan. And how much fun im having!

Ben, The Gypsy

Ben, something about the bold text rubs me wrong. I think every jumper should take a GREARTER interest in their jump planes. I have been posting on here and other places for years trying to educate jumpers about jump plane accidents. I don't think jumpers should just get in and not worry about it. I thought the original post was very well thought out before asking an intelligent question. That should not be rebuffed.



It's tough to think of everything that can go wrong in a plane (not just jump planes). You can't design out all negative attributes. Had the pilot not used and emergency override correctly he could have wasted time and lost control of the aircraft. Sounds like th pilot did exactly what they should have by landing in a field. He flew the plane in control all the way and everyone walked away.

Machines fail and no matter how much we do to scrutinize things sometimes things break. Flying planes is all about risk management. You never fully get rid of risk but you can manage it to a widely accepted level. It was good they went back to determine that more information is probably better when dealing with overhauled parts.

I fly for an airline and I had a FCU "roll back" on a DO-328 turboprop. The P3 line became disconnected somehow. Fortunately the 328 is a twin engine plane so we kept on trucking and then brought the plane back around to land on the runway. So there's an advantage on some aircraft to having two engines over one.

Chris Schindler
www.diverdriver.com
ATP/D-19012
FB #4125

[smiles 0]

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Ben, something about the bold text rubs me wrong. I think every jumper should take a GREARTER interest in their jump planes. I have been posting on here and other places for years trying to educate jumpers about jump plane accidents. I don't think jumpers should just get in and not worry about it. I thought the original post was very well thought out before asking an intelligent question. That should not be rebuffed.

Nice attitude! thank you for your imput.


The message:

Quote

If you are that worried about your safey while in the plane maybe you shouldnt be skydiving.

Reminds me of the f**k head that sent a editorial into our local newspaper that defamed our d.z. operator for having "mechanical faults with aircraft" due to the forced landing. This person went on to educate all on the fact that he as a skydiver had made 900 jumps in aircraft around our country never experiencing any difficulty with take-offs, and added "our d.z. was not safe" into his report, as if it was impossible for aircraft to have "mechanical faults."

Regardless, made the 1st jump yesterday out of our pilatus (which just became super porter with A-34 installed by Mike Fritzgerald (F-GODZ) with 4 days turn around and him flying back to France today. Mike is one awesome dude, even signed my logbook including his decal for Icarius Aerotechnics.

I am speachless.....09 min. climb to 12,000...my guts were a tad queezy around 8,000 as so used to the A-20 taking atleast 25 min. to climb. Talk about something to celebrate!!


SMiles

eustress. : a positive form of stress having a beneficial effect on health, motivation, performance, and emotional well-being.

[phoenixlpr 0]

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So there's an advantage on some aircraft to having two engines over one.

I was told that after the first engine failed the other takes you to the crashsite of your choice.

[diverdriver 7]

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Quote

So there's an advantage on some aircraft to having two engines over one.

I was told that after the first engine failed the other takes you to the crashsite of your choice.

Not always. I've failed one in the Twin Otter and kept climbing out of 6,000 feet to 7,000 by the time I got back to the airport. That was with 19 jumpers. Not a full load but certainly not light. I've had a failure in a DC-3 also. Fortunately it was not on takeoff but it held its own.

The saying "the second engine gets you all the way to the scene of the accident" comes from light twins like Senecas, Aztecs, Barons, Crusaders, 310s, etc. The second engine did not have enough total power to keep the plane going up. However, as you get into larger twins and turbine twins you are more likely to have a chance to keep climbing a little at least on one engine.

Chris Schindler
www.diverdriver.com
ATP/D-19012
FB #4125

[JumpShipGypsy 0]

Quote

Quote

Ben, something about the bold text rubs me wrong. I think every jumper should take a GREARTER interest in their jump planes.

You are right. Jumpers should be aware of the condition of the plane they are in. And
they should be knowledgeable about aircraft operations and what to do in an emergency.
I’ve just had some bad experiences with skydives who are terrified of airplanes. There
are a few who I would never again let in a plane I was piloting. They know who they are.

In a aircraft emergency a jumpers job is to: Shut up. Wait for instructions from the pilot.
Get ready to jump or land with the plane.

Ben.

• Quote

[phoenixlpr 0]

Quote

The saying "the second engine gets you all the way to the scene of the accident" comes from light twins like Senecas, Aztecs, Barons, Crusaders, 310s, etc. The second engine did not have enough total power to keep the plane going up. However, as you get into larger twins and turbine twins you are more likely to have a chance to keep climbing a little at least on one engine.

So It seems with Twin Otter you don't have to stop the healthy engine on landing because of the asymmetric thrust. Lucky you!

[diverdriver 7]

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So It seems with Twin Otter you don't have to stop the healthy engine on landing because of the asymmetric thrust. Lucky you!

Not usually.

Chris Schindler
www.diverdriver.com
ATP/D-19012
FB #4125