Just a note to commend the other contributors to this thread. So far, no classic attacks or defensive counter-assaults seem to have been made on anyone; mighty tame for Pprune. Maybe this is premature.
Just a question about the various PT-6 engines' autofeather operation. I flew some (Emb-110) 'Bandits' and Shorts 330/360s, all of which had a very reliable PT-6 autofeather system, and we certainly don't know if there was an engine problem onboard the plane in this recent tragedy.
Someone told me several years ago that a Caravan in Alaska suffered an engine failure and the prop did NOT autofeather-the pilot supposedly had to push the nose almost straight down to keep the plane above minimum airspeed, due to the prop's huge drag. The guy was said to have ditched and survived. Is this story true? If so, what a superb recovery and ditching with little warning! Were mistakes made during maintenance on the propellor up in Alaska?
Were I to fly a turboprop again one day, it would be my wish to fly a DeHavilland with PT-6 engines.
Last edited by Ignition Override; 21st Jan 2004 at 12:18.