Page 20 - April 2016

PT ush&HoldTwin Proficiency:by Thomas P. Turnerhe U.S. National Transportation Safety Board forward for takeoff, the pilot and three others affected (NTSB) recently released its final Probable Cause by his actions had only two minutes to live.report on the crash of a Beechcraft King Air B200 that occurred at Wichita, Kansas, October 30, 2014. A solo pilot, delivering the airplane to a refurbishment shop after it had just been sold, reported the loss of the big turboprop’s left engine immediately after takeoff. The airplane turned left, toward the dead engine, through about 120° of heading change, before impacting in a fiery crash into a simulator training facility. The pilot, and three persons training in a simulator, died in the intense fireball caught on security cameras. Two additional people in the simulator bay suffered extensive burns; four others in the facility endured less-serious injuries.The NTSB report states the King Air never got higher than 120 feet before descending, nearly wings level but in enough of a slip it was noticed by witnesses on the ground. The gear remained extended throughout the brief flight. Extensive fire damage prevented investigators from determining whether the propeller was feathered, or if the autofeather and rudder boost systems were turned on at the time of the crash. The NTSB’s final determination of the cause of the crash is:The pilot’s failure to maintain lateral control of the airplane after a reduction in left engine power and his application of inappropriate rudder input. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s failure to follow the emergency procedures for an engine failure during takeoff. Also contributing to the accident was the left engine power reduction for reasons that could not be determined because a post-accident examination did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation and thermal damage precluded a complete examination.I was shocked with the horror of this thought: When he began his takeoff roll, as he moved the thrust leversPUSH and HOLDHow could this be possible in a twin-engine turboprop? Because, however unlikely, it still is possible. Your required actions are pretty well-defined, and actually quite limited, when an engine quits immediately after takeoff. The good news is, that means you have only a few things to train for–you don’t have to make it up as you go. If you’re prepared, there is no immediate decision to make at the moment the failure occurs. Respond with the correct procedure; your time to make decisions comes (shortly) later.If an engine fails just after takeoff you have only two things to do immediately:PUSH FORWARD on the controls to maintain the proper, controllable airspeed; andHOLD HEADING with rudder and wings level.You PUSH FORWARD to attain the proper attitude for VYSE (“blue line”) speed with a windmilling propeller. In all the piston twins I’ve flown, this is very slightly above level flight...three degrees nose-up in a Beech Baron, for example. Ask your type-specific instructor for the windmilling-propeller pitch attitude for the airplane you fly. The proper attitude assures sufficient airspeed over the control surfaces to prevent a VMC roll and loss of control while approximating blue line speed. This gives you time to choose whether to pull both throttles and land or to maintain this attitude for aircraft control as you perform the memory steps of the Engine Failure in Flight checklist.I emphasize the PUSH in PUSH FORWARD. Strict aerodynamicists say that if the airplane is properly trimmed when an engine quits it will tend to nose down18 • TWIN & TURBINEAPRIL 2016