Originally Posted by
Blueocean505
It’s pretty rare two engines ‘fail’ on a twin engine aircraft. I can’t specifically speak for the BN2 Islanders, from my understanding they are equipped with Lycomings and pretty robust old machines!!!!!
It will be interesting to learn further of this incident.
Concur. Double engine failures for mechanical reasons are (almost) as rare as rocking horse ****. Which reduces the possibilities to the one common system: fuel -lack thereof or supply mismanagement.
The BN2 system at its most basic, could not be simpler: one tank, one engine. Job done. Just make sure there is enough for the job.
Correct, unless they’re gas turbines (Rolls/Allison’s) they’re Lycoming 540’s. 260hp carburetted O-540, 300hp injected IO-540.
And that’s where the subtleties come in… in the carburetted engine, unless there’s been a massive fuel leak, your fuel management is done (see above). The injected engine however, will pump around double the required fuel to the FCU, with the excess being
returned to the tank on the same side as the engine. In a x-feed situation (for whatever reason) transferring fuel to the tank
not in use. Very much a trap for young players, or drivers that just love fiddling.
Add to that the possibility of tip-tanks. They’re pretty basic too: their fuel simply pumps into the adjacent wing tank, which feeds the engines.
None of this is an analysis of the crash in question. Just some thoughts on what may or may not be a double engine failure.
Whatever the cause, a remarkable job done saving all lives on board, apparently without injury, despite destroying the airframe.