Skymaster Crash in Florida?

[scade]

http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/br...25X51835&key=1

[Skymaster337B]

Just read the preliminary report. There's a whole lot that doesn't make sense. I've investigated mishaps before, and I must say that this one seems too unique.

[hharney]

At 900 feet you don't really have a lot of time to be losing a little altitude. If the plane was fairly loaded, the rear engine didn't get feathered, as it was trying to be restarted rather than shut down. There was not much time or altitude to be able to attempt a restart. Maybe the front engine was not developing full power either but because of all the distractions with the rear engine and the front was still operating it was not noticeable. The choice to put it down was probably good while there was still control of some kind. The only hiccup might be that the gear was extended but on the other hand this may have been a blessing in disguise because now they are in a low wing the it may have floated a little longer. Hey, they all walked away. That's the most important part.

I say the report makes perfect sense. It may not be the best situation and decisions but the report makes sense.

[Ernie Martin]

I fly mostly over water and have lost 2 engines over water, one at about the same altitude, one at 2,000 feet. Sightseeing, at low altitude, with 4 people on board, it's easy to be nervous and try to start the rear engine. With the benefit of hindsight, it seems to me that if he had feathered the rear prop promptly he would have made it to one of the two nearby airports. In the map shown below I have put boxes around Key Biscayne (near where the rear engine failed), the ditching area, and the two airports.

Ernie

[Ernie Martin]

Horrible airplane accident in Ft. Lauderdale yesterday. Moments after take-off, a Twin Piper did a sudden uncontrolled roll and dove to the ground. Huge fire, three fatalities, all that's vivibly left of the airplane is a propeller. Early indications are that one of the engines failed. Be thankful that we fly Skymasters.

Ernie

[jchronic]

As one who lives in the low altitude/overwater world most of the time, good object lesson here to get feathered immediately and not screw around trying a restart - I'm satisfied that it's well established that a properly loaded airplane will fly just fine on one motor, especially at low altitude. The caveat is not to get in such a hurry that the wrong engine gets feathered. My procedures specify that both pilots will verify the correct engine with each other, or in a single pilot operation, touch the control and verbalize it before activating.

I'm dubious about having the gear down for a ditching for fear of a flipover, as in this case. During the couple of years we used a 336 for the marine surveys I worried about that the whole time. Would rather egress with the airplane upright and the fuselage awash than have four of us in heavy survival suits trying to extricate ourselves while hanging upside down.

But all-in-all, I'd say this guy did a pretty good job.

[Seagull Tango]

I recall a lesson I learned years ago about a high altitude engine out in a Skymaster, which was relayed by the late Carlos Tabernilla, a great 337 pilot. He lost an engine at higher altitude and, true to the book, pushed the mixtures, props and throttles all the way forward as the first step.... And the second engine immediately cut out, flooded from too rich mixture.

He got the engine restarted just fine, declared an emergency choose a nearby field and landed with the dead engine feathered. He told me that the sudden silence was a real shock, though as high as he was, he had something like 15 minutes to trouble shoot the problem and get the engine restarted, gliding down....