LAX05TA226

The airplane impacted uneven terrain, scrub brush, and cactus during a forced landing following a reported loss of engine power during cruise flight. The pilot reported that he was in cruise flight about 1,000 feet above the ground when the engine lost torque and the propeller began to auto-feather. The pilot made a mayday call and looked for a suitable place to land, but was unable to find anything. The airplane touched down in rough, uneven terrain. The airplane was loaded with 4 hours of fuel prior to the accident flight, which was about 1 hour 15 minutes in duration. The engine, engine accessories, and propeller were examined following the accident. No anomalies were noted with any of the components that would have resulted in the reported loss of engine power. There were many indications of power being developed at the time of impact, such as the separation of the propeller from the flange, the damage to the propeller blades, and the sheared torsion shaft; however, the amount of power being developed could not be quantified.

History of flight

On July 6, 2005, about 1900 mountain standard time, an Ayres Corporation S2R-G10 (Thrush) restricted category airplane, N440AT, lost engine power and made a forced landing near Wickenburg, Arizona. The airplane was being operated by the State of Arizona as a fire suppression tool to fight forest fires. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant, sustained minor injuries. The airplane was substantially damaged. The public-use flight was being conducted under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. A company flight plan was filed, and departed Mirana, Arizona, about 1 hour 15 minutes prior to the accident.

According to the pilot, he departed Mirana with a full load of fire retardant and about 4 hours of fuel on board. He dropped the fire retardant over the assigned area (Eagle Fire, south of Wickenburg) and was continuing to Wickenburg at 1,000 feet above ground level (agl), when the engine reportedly lost power. The pilot noticed the engine "lose torque" and "the propeller began to auto-feather." The airplane began to lose altitude immediately and so he made a mayday call. The pilot looked for a suitable landing site, but was unable to find anything level. The airplane touched down on rough and uneven terrain.

Personnel information

The commercial pilot had single engine land and instrument airplane ratings. According to the submitted Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, the pilot accumulated a total of 2,051 hours of flight time, of which 664 hours were accumulated in the same make and model of airplane. However, the pilot had 50 hours of flight time in the accident airplane/engine combination. The pilot received training from the operator regarding the Garrett TPE331 engines prior to flying the firefighting missions since the majority of his experience was obtained flying the Thrushes equipped with Pratt & Whitney PT-6 engines. Prior to the accident date, the pilot had not performed any flying firefighting missions.

Aircraft information

The accident airplane was equipped with a Garrett TPE331-10-511N engine (serial number P-36096C), which was rated at 900 horsepower at 1,591 rpm. It underwent its last annual inspection on October 1, 2004, at total time of 3,015.4 hours. The airplane accumulated 229.6 hours since the last annual inspection. At the time of the last annual inspection, the engine accumulated 8,951 hours since new and 1,325 hours since its last overhaul.

A maintenance entry dated October 9, 2003, indicated that the mechanic installed the engine on the accident airplane, and set the T2 bias adjustment one full turn counterclockwise to obtain full power. The engine total time during the adjustment was 8,593.9 hours.

Wreckage and impact information

The accident site was located at 33 degrees 54.09 minutes north latitude and 112 degrees 47.02 minutes west longitude. The airplane came to rest within scrub brush and cactus. Photographs taken of the accident site revealed the landing gear were collapsed aft under the airplane and the wings sustained substantial damage. The propeller was separated from its drive shaft, but the four propeller blades remained attached to the hub. The propeller blades sustained chordwise scratches and gouges. The wreckage was recovered to an aircraft salvage facility in Phoenix, Arizona, where the engine was removed and shipped to the manufacturer's facility for further examination.

Tests and research

On July 11, 2005, a preliminary examination of the wreckage was conducted at Air Transport, Phoenix, Arizona. A Federal Aviation Administrator (FAA) inspector and investigators from Honeywell, a party to the investigation, were present. According to those present for the initial examination, the starter/generator was separated from the gear case, but the input shaft was intact and remained with the starter/generator. All of the propeller studs were pulled out of the propeller mounting flange and remained on the engine propeller shaft. The oil bypass valve was in the retracted position. The oil scavenge pump fitting was removed and the first stage compressor impeller was rotated, which resulted in a corresponding rotation of the scavenge pump. Little or no oil was noted in the torque sensor line, both the "to" and "from" oil cooler lines, the oil line from the unfeather pump to the aft side of oil tank, and the oil line from the unfeather pump to the beta block.

The engine was prepared for shipment to Honeywell's facilities in Phoenix, by removing the tail pipe, nacelle wreckage, and aircraft engine mounts from the engines.

Engine Examination

On August 16 and 17, 2005, the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge (IIC), and investigators from Honeywell and the Department of Interior's Office of Aviation Safety (also a party to the investigation) examined the engine at the Honeywell examination facility.

The engine did not display any external catastrophic failures. The propeller separated from the propeller flange. The flange was bent aft on one end, but the propeller bolts remained intact. The fuel control unit (FCU) controls were attached. The reversing function operated when manually manipulated. The engine's internal components rotated freely when manually rotated through the exhaust via the turbine blades or through the inlet via the compressor impeller. The engine was placed on an engine mount. The reduction gearbox (RGB) chip detector was removed. Ferrous-type metal shavings were noted over the magnet. About 1.5 liters of oil were removed from the RGB and a sample was captured.

The nose cone was removed from the RGB. The nose cone remained intact and the propeller shaft was intact and in place; however, the propeller drive coupling was cracked in the same area as the propeller flange damage. The crack was irregular in shape and originated in the middle of a flat area between splines (not in a radius). It also displayed 45-degree shear lips in the fracture surface. The crack propagated through the majority of the coupling and the lip that remained intact was warped. The inside diameter spines were scraped and metal was shaved off of the splines. The propeller shaft displayed rotational scoring and gouging near the aft end of the shaft on its flats, and near its forward end on the fractured propeller drive coupling.

The planetary gears were removed from the ring gear. They were intact and did not display any gouging or galling, and their bearings were smooth. All bearings in the RGB were smooth and free to rotate. No discoloration, galling, or gouging was noted.

The engine/propeller installation was designed so that in the event of an engine failure, in which the propeller drives the power section, the engines NTS (negative torque sensing) system will modulate the propeller blades at a minimum drag condition. In order for the propeller to go into the feather position, the pilot must position the emergency cutoff handle from the normal position to the cutoff position (aft). Doing this will close the fuel shutoff valve and position the propeller feathering valve to the feathered position (dumping oil pressure to the propeller piston allowing the feather spring and counterweights to drive the propeller to the feathered position). The fuel cutoff switch was found in the open position and the feathering valve was not in the feathered position. The feathering valve operated when manually manipulated.

The torque sensor metering valve gear was suck in an aft position and could not be moved forward on its helical splines. According to Honeywell personnel, this is not an unusual finding during a disassembly following a propeller strike. During terrain impact the gear will sometimes be pushed aft past its helical spline limit and get hung up. Functional tests of the component in this condition would only provide a