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mechanical resistance. The first officer commented,
“That’s what it was doing the other
day, too.”
The captain applied additional pressure to
the power lever and heard a pop as the lever
moved full forward, the NTSB report said. The
lever jammed in this position, causing engine
torque and temperature to exceed limits.
The pilots shut down the left engine, declared
an emergency and diverted the flight to
Bishop International Airport in Flint, Michigan.
“After the engine shutdown, both primary
flight displays went blank,” the report said.
“The captain reset the right generator, and the
flight displays regained power.” However, the
displayed heading information was erroneous
because the gyros had been reset. The report
said that the crew did not check the headings
against the magnetic compass.
VMC prevailed at the Flint airport, with
surface winds from 290 degrees at 18 kt. The
pilots were cleared by ATC to land on Runway
27 but became confused about their heading
and location while circling to land. The airport
traffic controller then cleared the crew to
land on any runway. The first officer replied,
“We’re taking this one here. We’re turning
base to final.”
The Avanti touched down long on Runway
18, which is 7,848 ft (2,392 m) long. “At the
point of touchdown, there was about 5,000 feet
[1,524 m] of runway remaining for the landing
roll,” the report said.
The captain applied reverse thrust from
the right engine, and the airplane began turning
right. He then reduced reverse thrust and
applied full left rudder and left brake, but the
airplane veered off the right side of the runway
and flipped inverted. The pilots and the two
passengers sustained minor injuries.
“Examination of the left engine revealed that
the Beta clevis pin was installed in reverse [during
maintenance], which caused an interference
with a fuel control unit interconnect rod,” the
report said. “Due to the interference, the power
lever control linkage was jammed in the fullforward
position.”
FLIGHTSAFETY.ORG | AEROSAFETYWORLD | MAY 2013
Control Lost During EMS Flight
Pilatus PC-12/45. Destroyed. Ten fatalities.
Two physicians and a nurse were aboard
the PC-12 when the flight crew landed
the emergency medical services aircraft in
Patna, India, the night of May 25, 2011. After
a critically ill patient and an attendant were
boarded, the aircraft departed from Patna for
the return trip to Delhi.
“Weather in Delhi started deteriorating as the
flight came close to Delhi,” said the report by the
Committee of Inquiry formed by the Indian Directorate
General of Civil Aviation. “Widespread
thunderstorm activity was seen north-northeast
of the Delhi airport [and] moving south.”
The PC-12 was nearing the airport and
descending through 12,500 ft when ATC radar
showed abrupt and rapid altitude changes to
14,100 ft, 13,100 ft and 14,600 ft before groundspeed
decreased substantially; the aircraft then
entered a steep right turn and descended at rates
nearing 11,600 fpm. During this time, ATC
received two weak radio transmissions from the
crew, both indicating that the aircraft was “into bad
weather.” Radar contact was lost at 1,600 ft, and attempts
to hail the crew by radio were unsuccessful.
The aircraft had struck a house in a residential
area of Faridabad, about 15 nm (28 km) from
the airport. All seven people aboard the aircraft
were killed, as were three people in the house.
The PC-12 was destroyed by the impact and
a subsequent fire. Examination of the wreckage
revealed that the aircraft was intact before
it struck the house, and there was no sign of
mechanical failure.
“It is probable that a series of up- and downdrafts,
turbulence (moderate to heavy) and the
dark night conditions [had] caused the crew to
become disoriented,” the report said. “The subsequent
mishandling of [flight] controls caused
the aircraft to [stall and] enter a spin.”
Gear Lubrication Neglected
Beech 99. Substantial damage. No injuries.
After dropping parachutists near Cedartown,
Georgia, U.S., the morning of April
10, 2011, the pilot turned back toward the
ONRECORD
The pilots … became
confused about their
heading and location
while circling to land.
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