Relay-Version: B 2.11 6/12/87; site scorn Path: uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!att!cbnewsi!schevon From: schevon@cbnewsi.att.com (Cathy Schevon) Newsgroups: rec.aviation Subject: Engine Failure in Disguise Summary: yet another inflight engine failure Message-ID: <1990Sep7.142132.8166@cbnewsi.att.com> Date: Fri, 07 Sep 90 07:21:32 PDT Distribution: usa Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories Lines: 41 Last night at a regular meeting of the Jersey Aero Club, I heard about what happened to our poor Piper Warrior, sitting in its tie-down spot with neither an engine or propellor to its name. The story of how that came to be: Two club members were practicing short-field & soft-field landings in it. They had just switched seats, run up the engine, and taken off. Everything was just fine until about 300 feet, when the engine got "a little rough." Then they noticed "a significant miss", but otherwise the engine was still putting out full power. They climbed nearly to pattern altitude, went around and landed, taxied in, and tied down. While they were taxiing, they took off their headsets and heard a "knocking" sound from the engine. Later that day the good folk from Monmouth Aircraft Services came over to start up the plane and taxi it to their hangar. They detected no problems during this process. When the mechanics opened up the engine, though, they found a BIG surprise! One cylinder had a broken exhaust valve, tappet, and piston, there were bits of metal floating around inside the engine, etc. - in short, the engine was toast. It was a Mattituck engine with a 2000-hour TBO (Time Before Overhaul) and 1600 hours of use. With all that damage, how was it that the engine was still generating full power?? The pilots and the mechanics all thought it was just a minor problem. I can easily imagine someone ignoring the symptoms, or worse yet, bringing the plane back and not reporting the problem right away. Would the next person to fly it have detected the trouble during run-up? At times like these I'm VERY glad I'm in a flying club and that I don't rent airplanes very often! The discussion in the clubhouse last night concluded with the moral: Every symptom, however minor, should be treated as a potential major problem. A rough engine isn't "just" a rough engine! Luckily everything turned out well, but several people admitted to being shaken up by the possibilities. -- ----------------------------------------------------------------- Cathy Schevon schevon@att.com #include ...!attmail!houxa!schevon Project: To join Flying Funeral Directors of America