View Full Version : C-130 Prop Failure
lomapaseo
5th Apr 2002, 00:18
Need photos of last weeks UAE-AF C130 Prop failure that went completly through the aircraft. Will be used in teaching mishap investigation class.
I've got em. Where can I e-mail them to?
Chris Kebab
6th Apr 2002, 18:00
Are these on the WWW - sounds rather interesting.
Did it cut neatly down that big red line so thoughtfully painted on the inside of the fuselage?
Chris - Yup -virtually a direct hit on the line - but you should see the hole in the other side of the fuselage!!! Got an e-mail and I'll send them to you.
Ali Barber
9th Apr 2002, 04:22
I'd be interested in seeing the pics as well. We haven't heard anything about the incident here. Any chance you could E-mail me a copy of the pics to the address in my profile? Thanks.
Ali - check for an e-mail
Ali Barber
9th Apr 2002, 08:04
Scran,
Been checking but nothing has arrived yet. Can you try again please?
Thanks
Ali/Top Bunk Tester/WhichWay/Capt Gadget:
Should be on the way (or there).
Cheers
Ali Barber
10th Apr 2002, 07:59
Scran,
Many thanks for the pics, received them this morning. Are there any details on what happened? It looks like a ground incident because I would have expected more tearing of the skin if it had been airborne. The background doesn't look particularly "UAE", did it happen elsewhere?
WhichWay?
10th Apr 2002, 18:02
Check out the link at http://www.littleblueplanet.co.uk/uaeherc.htm for pictures. I am sure that this happened about 2-3 years ago and was caused by the crew trying to fly for a decouple but it didn't...the prop exited stage left through the fuselage.
Any more details and I will post them on the webpage.
WhichWay
scran
10th Apr 2002, 23:24
Will e-mail my original source to see if i can get any more info. If I do, will pass it to WhichWay for his site.
Seak1ng
11th Apr 2002, 21:33
Ooooh! That could have been quite dangerous! Propellers are very bad!
On similar subject... Apparently C130J propeller blades are being scrapped quicker than the AA retention paperwork! Anyone got any details on why this is? (The blades not the retention stuff!)
robspottydog
11th Apr 2002, 23:16
Easy answer seak1ng
Carbon fibre + abrasive desert sand = knackered props
:rolleyes:
MightyGem
12th Apr 2002, 21:51
What's a decouple, guys?
:confused:
Fox3snapshot
24th Jan 2005, 18:57
The pix can now be found here:
Herc Prop Separation (http://www.starshipmodeler.com/tech/wxref.htm)
:bored:
They are about half way down the page.
lineslime
24th Jan 2005, 19:25
I always wanted to know what the inside of the RGB looked like.
Still it'll do a trip.:E
Solid Rust Twotter
24th Jan 2005, 20:42
MG
Decouple is the separation of the drive shaft between the power section and the propellor gearbox. Usually as a result of excessive negative torque and usually at a joint installed for the purpose.
Skylark4
24th Jan 2005, 22:16
I always assumed that that big, oblong metal plate which looked like it had been added later, was to prevent prop blades or anything else from entering the cargo/pax bay. If it was, it didn't work.
Mike W
lineslime
24th Jan 2005, 22:31
S4
I think you may find that was added to prevent slightly less spinny, heavy metalic objets like ice from causing too much damage to the skin.
Synthetic
24th Jan 2005, 22:40
Anyone know what the aircraft was doing when the prop failed? I would expect a detached prop blade to fly outwards from the shaft (due to the centrifugal force) and forwards (due to the thrust). This one appears to have hit the fus behind the red line suggesting negative thrust when it failed. :confused:
Compass Call
27th Jan 2005, 20:09
My desert snout tells me that the prop low oil light came on and the crew ignored it. The gearbox seized and the prop shed a blade through the fuselage prior to departing the aircraft.
Just goes to show, don't ignore warning lights - they are put there for a very good reason. :ok:
CC
propulike
27th Jan 2005, 22:57
CC,
I think your mate is incorrect. IIRC the prop can run out of oil totally, with the only knock on effect being that pitch control is lost. The gearbox uses a different oil system. It's been a few years now though so I may be wrong!
Compass Call
28th Jan 2005, 17:26
propulike
I agree. Although I haven't worked on the C-130, in the distant past I did a famil course on it and I am now thinking that the prop had a separate oil system and that the engine/gearbox shared an oil system. Perhaps somebody more knowledgable can shed light on this.
I will have to take my desert snout to task over this this bit of duff gen he has fed me!
CC
Captain Gadget
28th Jan 2005, 19:45
When I was a baby Herc co-pilot, I was taught that a prop low oil light was no big deal.
As several before me have said, the Herc prop has a self-contained oil system. If the oil pisses out for some reason, the prop will 'pitch lock'. That is, the oil pressure that is holding the castellations on the hub apart from those on the base of the blade will be lost; the two will come together; and - after a certain amount of graunching (occasioned by the fact that the CofG of the balde wants it constantly to fine off) your happy crew (!) will end up with a fixed-pitch prop.
Depending on the TAS at which the failure occurs, a really daft captain can get his co-pilot to mess about with the throttle in order to keep the engine running within a sustainable RPM range (96%-98% comes to mind) for as long as possible.
But: