Super DC-3 (R4D) crash landing at Anchorage

[India Four Two]

The aircraft departed Anchorage International, had an engine failure and was returning, when something else happened that triggered a MAYDAY, followed by a wheels-up landing at Merrill Field.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFFVelcuTQI

Location of Merrill Field:

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1274/screen_shot_2021_12_08_at_9_56_30_pm_copy_d38b1cf21afd275344 63a1d38a1345b800368137.jpg

[Newforest2]

Sad, but repairable, guess the airport was closed for a little while.

[treadigraph]

Wow, that was a near thing - just scraped onto the airport! Lucky folk...

[DaveReidUK]

I guess there are many worse aircraft to do wheels-up landings in than a DC-3/C-47/R4D.

[sgs233a]

That does look close. Good job to the crew. Looks like RH side wasn't (able to be?) feathered.... which would explain the inability to maintain altitude and mayday.....

[EXDAC]

Looks like RH side wasn't (able to be?) feathered.... which would explain the inability to maintain altitude and mayday.....

Linked video at 1:27 shows aircraft back on gear and appears to show the right propeller feathered.

[India Four Two]

Wow, that was a near thing - just scraped onto the airport! Lucky folk...

The owner of the Super Cub (0:29) was lucky too! :eek:

I’ve just noticed damage on the right wing LE (1:29) so they must have hit something during the low approach.

[pax britanica]

Impressed at the R4D pilot on the radio who obviously aware of the proximity to other airports and thus low level aircraft finds the time not once to twice but declare their intentions so everyone knows what they are going to do. And it can't have been a nice view out in terms or will we wont we make it as they clip that snow bank just before landing

Salutary to reflect on what losing an engine meant back in piston prop days , and how tough the R4D is back on its wheels pretty soon afterwards (of course they do protrude below the wing when 'retracted' but none the less its impressive

And someone caught it all on video and they walked away !!.

[NutLoose]

The owner of the Super Cub (0:29) was lucky too! :eek:

I’ve just noticed damage on the right wing LE (1:29) so they must have hit something during the low approach.

I wonder if it was the trees as we got a shot of them just prior to the landing and they look awfully like being cropped off at the top

[Pilot DAR]

That was impressive airmanship! I opine that extra skill was demonstrated in that I suspect it became necessary to reduce power on the running engine to maintain control. The plane looked pretty heavy, and from my DC-3T training, I'm aware that too much power on one engine makes control at Vmca difficult, so you have to reduce power on the remaining engine. So a good choice to aim for the runway you can make under control, with some power. The prop damage shows the left engine was developing power while the right was not. Great flying!

[punkalouver]

Used to rent a 172 at Merrill. It is pretty close to the tall downtown buildings which would be on final for runway 7. It would be interesting to see his track over the ground and how high he got.

Losing an engine while heavy is bad news when departing east out of any of the three main Anchorage airports with that granite wall in clear view ahead.

[Jhieminga]

I guess there are many worse aircraft to do wheels-up landings in than a DC-3/C-47/R4D.
Very true. I'm surprised at how well the gear doors handled that touchdown. I would have expected more damage to the metalwork there.

[admikar]

Linked video at 1:27 shows aircraft back on gear and appears to show the right propeller feathered.
But it was turning when it overflew that SuperCub

[Jhieminga]

And it was turning when they touched down, see 0:49 in the video. Perhaps it was in the process of being feathered or it was very close to a feathered position but still turning at a slow rate. The left prop was under power when it hit the tarmac (tips bent forward) but the right prop shows a different type of damage.

[stevef]

I wonder if there was a feathering solenoid issue whereby the prop continually cycled between being feathered and unfeathered. If I remember correctly, the trick is to manually pull the button once the blades reach the feathered position. It's supposed to pop out by itself once oil pressure builds up in the feathering pump but the system's been known to fail.
It's been a long time since I worked on these aircraft so I could be wrong.

[Jhieminga]

The crash of the PH-DDA back in the 90s was due to a stuck valve in the feathering pump IIRC. This one at least got close to the feathered position.
edit: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19960925-0
paragraph 2.1.3 explains what happened there.

[H Peacock]

Arguably PH-DDA crashed because it was mishandled; the aircraft was flown too slowly and once below Vmca control was lost. The failure of the No 1 engine to remain feathered caused significant drag which in turn the crew were unable to reduce. Easier in an armchair, but far more survivable to ‘arrive’ in a semi-controlled fashion with the wings level than to lose control and stall/spin.

The cycling of the feathering system is well documented for the DC3; press the Feathering button, watch the prop feather, pull the button out if you see the prop start to unfeather! The consequences of not feathering the prop in a twin are enormous.

[rnzoli]

Impressed at the R4D pilot on the radio who obviously aware of the proximity to other airports and thus low level aircraft finds the time not once to twice but declare their intentions so everyone knows what they are going to do..
Yes, me too! I think they "found" the time for this because they didn't let the unexpected events rapidly escalate out of their control, re-evaluated their options and revised their decisions in time, so they had the time - not much though - to try clearing the runway ahead of them with the radio warning. So I am even more impressed with their capability to stay ahead of the airplane, make a new plan, stick to that, communicate over the radio and execute it. It was an extremely close call.

[EXDAC]

So I am even more impressed with their capability to stay ahead of the airplane, make a new plan, stick to that, communicate over the radio and execute it. It was an extremely close call.

I think the NTSB report, if there is one, will be interesting. Given the earlier comments on known DC-3 feather issues and how to overcome them, did this crew give up an option to maintain altitude, or even climb, because they didn't know how to handle a prop that would not stay feathered?

[Easy Peasy]

I think the NTSB report, if there is one, will be interesting. Given the earlier comments on known DC-3 feather issues and how to overcome them, did this crew give up an option to maintain altitude, or even climb, because they didn't know how to handle a prop that would not stay feathered?

seriously? Arn’t you a ****? Instead of praising the crew for saving their lives and an airframe you decide they have done something wrong. Yea when the motor quit they ‘gave up an option.’ Perhaps they had their hands full with saving their lives.

[Duck Pilot]

Your only going one way if it doesn’t feather, and that’s down! Not many options if it all goes pear shaped with a prop that won’t feather and your low at any weight. Height and time to prepare are critical, looks like theses guys didn’t get much of it. Good outcome.

[Pilot DAR]

Your only going one way if it doesn’t feather, and that’s down!

Yes, both for lack of power to climb with the remaining power against an unfeathered prop, and the probable need to reduce power on the remaining engine to maintain straight flight. I opine that's what happened here, a skilled pilot, on top of his game, with a good second crew member, assessed well, and did only what was needed to get the plane safely back on a runway. They made excellent, non rushed, intelligible radio calls, and flew exactly where they needed to be. A better outcome would hardly have been possible!

[EXDAC]

seriously? Arn’t you a ****? Instead of praising the crew for saving their lives and an airframe you decide they have done something wrong. Yea when the motor quit they ‘gave up an option.’ Perhaps they had their hands full with saving their lives.

Why don't you comment on what I actually wrote. I didn't decide anything. I asked a question and, if prop feathering was an issue, that same question will be covered in any NTSB report.

[Rusty1]

To my mind this crew displayed equal or better flying skills than Capt Sullenberger & F/O Skyles,
If only it was not a small little cargo flight in Alaska!!!
Exceptional ability on so many levels…..
end of story 👍✈️

[N707ZS]

Been putting this off but, "why didn't they lower the undercarriage" ?

[SWBKCB]

Been putting this off but, "why didn't they lower the undercarriage" ?

Would have increased drag and shortened the distance they could fly on reduced power.

[Jhieminga]

I guess they (correctly) judged that they would be scraping over the obstacles at the start of the runway anyway, adding drag to that situation is not something I would recommend. Also, the DC-3 family is equipped to handle gear up touchdowns with a minimum of structural damage, so it is a relatively safe option to choose.

[N707ZS]

Thanks for the replies.

[sycamore]

This accident bears comparison with the B-17 where the crew put the gear down,and then failed to use the other cross runway.In this case with only one hydraulic pump,it would take longer for the gear to come down evenly and lock,leading to a possible collapse on landing,loss of control,etc,and the extra drag as well..Same with the flaps...If crashing is inevitable,fly it under control as long as you can,never give up...
Brilliant bit of airmanship by the crew.....!