ATR climb perf after engine failure at take off
I had the interesting incident as the handling pilot to tackle a real engine failure on an older version ATR42 at MTOW and from a short field.I was eaxpecting the engine failure due to some technical anomalies and smoke from previous sector whose warnings my Cpt did not heed.Due to Take Off inhibit mode the Engine Failure Master warning didn't come on till 400 ft (as was the norm).Due to the fact I had practiced simulated eng failure training during base training with the same skipper a few weeks before and though I was flying with a TRE..I credit the skipper with the calm demeanour and confidence he inspired me in behaving like a model crew member rather than investigative/invigilating TRI/TRE and one of the gratest compliments he had paid me whilst sorting the Failure was how relaxed I was and that there was no need to rush anything.We were practically having a light hearted situation of it and the flight proceeded after securing the plane and completeing all the checklist to land beautifully just in time before the aerodrome closed. The climb performance wasn't out of the ordinary but it was not poor either.Important thing is we identified the proper engine and shut it down which automatically feathers the shut engine.Even with a full load of passengers and 4 crew (one cabin crew under taining) we walked away from it chin high.Could it have been a better managed flight? Sure...there was an International Airport within 20 minutes of engine failure and could have proceeded there for a better risk management and beter Emergency response..but because we had a smoke issue (Aircon)..it was decided to land ASAP. I had at the time skipped going for a sim refresh after years away from flying but the base training I had more than made up for not doing sim training.Stalls Engine failures Non standard landing config etc..we covered the lot.Whoever says the ATR is a sissy machine when it comes to climb performance after engine failure hasn't flown it.The dash 500 and 600 series are even more superior.This was simply a case of wrong engine identification and shtdown..even if it was a Q400 or a Saab 2000 he consequences would have been the same...forced landing!