TAIC report on P68 double engine failure in Hawkes Bay

[NDB Alpha]

I see the TAIC report has been published on the Wings Flight Training Part-Banana that had the fuel exhaustion double engine failure between Napier and Palmerston North.
Seems a good move that the "instructor" involved now flys a desk rather than an aircraft

Link to report

[slackie]

What does this knob do

Moral of the story: If it aint broke...don't f.ck with it

[Centaurus]

fuel exhaustion double engine failure between Napier and Palmerston North

My computer was not able to download the complete report - therefore I have no clues on its content. But as a matter of interest was there anything in the report mentioning the pilot had difficulty in the physical manipulation of the cockpit fuel selectors? The Partenavia fuel selectors are notoriously stiff to turn and there are documented cases where they can become irrevocably jammed or stuck between detents. Some years ago a pilot ditched in the English Channel when an engine failed. The pilot was unable to switch fuel tanks due to jammed fuel selectors and ran out of fuel. Two passengers drowned. In Australia CASA published an AD which directed pilots to report stiff fuel selectors as these would inevitably jam completely. There was anecdotal evidence pilots accepted jamming fuel selectors as normal and elected not to write up the defect. This remains a long standing design defect in the Partenavia.

[First_Principal]

No, seems like he just messed up - one tank completely empty & as a result of fiddling with the selectors he managed to introduce air into the fuel line from the other tank which had around 60l remaining. Slightly surprising as the pilot had > 10,000 hrs, albeit just 5 or 6 on this type.

It's not the first time something similar has happened with Partenavias in NZ, I seem to recall reading of a couple of instances where the fuel selectors were mis-handled which resulted in fuel being shut off completely. In the cases I can think of the fuel wasn't successfully returned and a forced landing resulted. None of these particular reports mentioned anything about stiff selectors but IIRC one did say something about the selector being slightly between detents which was an exacerbating, but not primary, factor in the resulting accident.

I've never flown one but it seems to me the fuel handling is something that should be underlined with these machines - whenever I read of a Partenavia issue it almost inevitably involves fuel issues in one form or another.

[NDB Alpha]

Extracted from the report Findings...

3.4 ZK-MYF departed Napier with insufficient fuel to complete the return flight with the requiredreserve, resulting in the left engine failing due to fuel starvation.
3.5 The instructor induced air to the right engine fuel system by incorrectly selecting the engine to the empty left tank, effectively causing a double engine failure.
3.6 Had the instructor promptly feathered the left propeller or restored power to the left engine by the correct positioning of the fuel selectors, he could have flown the aircraft to a suitable alternative aerodrome.
3.7 The instructor’s mindset of having sufficient fuel, his high workload and low experience on the aircraft contributed to his being unable to identify promptly the cause of the initial power loss, and rectify the problem.
3.8 The instructor was correctly qualified to conduct the flight, but his minimal experience on the aircraft type contributed to his mishandling of the emergency.
3.9 Instructor experience and competency requirements need to be set at a higher level to ensure training is to the highest standard possible.

How often are knee jurk reactions taken for the lowest common denominator...why raise the required standard of instructor experience and competency for one that obviously didn't meet current standards??

[To infinity & beyond]

Gear Up?

From the report:

ENGINE FAILURE IN CRUISE

CONTROL………… …………………YAW

AIRSPEED……………ABOVE BLUE LINE
POWER…………… RICH, PITCH, POWER
UNDERCARRIAGE… …………………..UP
FLAPS…………………………………….UP
IDENTIFY…..DEAD LEG – DEAD ENGINE
CONFIRM……..CLOSE DEAD THROTTLE

TRIM……………..RUDDER & ELEVATOR

He was obviously distracted trying to get the gear up?

[Voidhawk9]

" Seems a good move that the "instructor" involved now flys a desk rather than an aircraft"
I happen to know that's not entirely accurate. Also the new CFI is no longer there.