P68 Double Engine Failure - NZ
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P68 Engine Failure - NZ
A P68 Partenavia made a successful forced landing this morning near the northern Hawkes Bay town of Wairoa.
No details of actual problem, but pilot PAN PAN'ed engine problems then upgraded to MAYDAY prior to completing succesful landing in paddock.
5 POB, all safe.
The P68 was IFR @ 5000'. Not being there in person, but looking outside the window, today @ 5000' is a very good chance of being IMC.
Congrates to G.O for legend outcome!!!
No details of actual problem, but pilot PAN PAN'ed engine problems then upgraded to MAYDAY prior to completing succesful landing in paddock.
5 POB, all safe.
The P68 was IFR @ 5000'. Not being there in person, but looking outside the window, today @ 5000' is a very good chance of being IMC.
Congrates to G.O for legend outcome!!!
Last edited by Sqwark2000; 15th May 2002 at 02:50.
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Good to hear that no one got hurt.
The question begs as to how both stopped? It's not the first time a P68B has done this in this country. (North Shore one last year)
If it turns out to be caused by intake icing? Then questions need to asked why guys & gals are flying non deiced a/c around in icing condx?
Hardly the status of legends. There have been a lot of people killed in this country from icing!
Anyway a pat on the back for the pilot keeping his/her head and getting down in one piece.
I hope it wasn't Sunairs P68B? Because it's done it before and they luckly got them going again. (NP-HN)
The question begs as to how both stopped? It's not the first time a P68B has done this in this country. (North Shore one last year)
If it turns out to be caused by intake icing? Then questions need to asked why guys & gals are flying non deiced a/c around in icing condx?
Hardly the status of legends. There have been a lot of people killed in this country from icing!
Anyway a pat on the back for the pilot keeping his/her head and getting down in one piece.
I hope it wasn't Sunairs P68B? Because it's done it before and they luckly got them going again. (NP-HN)
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Further Info
New information to hand is:
One engine failed, not two. Apparantly the operative engine was only the P68 infamous glide-extender in action.
She landed the a/c on a metal road as opposed to paddock. Local paper reports overshooting the Wairoa runway but not willing to believe that one yet.
Passengers picked up in another company P68. One pax not that keen to gt into the same type so roaded it home me thinks.
Barbers Pole - Yup, Sunair the operator
One engine failed, not two. Apparantly the operative engine was only the P68 infamous glide-extender in action.
She landed the a/c on a metal road as opposed to paddock. Local paper reports overshooting the Wairoa runway but not willing to believe that one yet.
Passengers picked up in another company P68. One pax not that keen to gt into the same type so roaded it home me thinks.
Barbers Pole - Yup, Sunair the operator
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good to hear there was no/minimal damage to persons or machinery.
surprised to hear that this has happened often , back in 90-91 I flew P68 NMK a fair bit and never had any probs in and around the winter temperatures of queenstown/franz /milford etc , only ever heard of a certain dave bowy (i think) doing a precautionary shutdown due oil Pressure.
surprised to hear that this has happened often , back in 90-91 I flew P68 NMK a fair bit and never had any probs in and around the winter temperatures of queenstown/franz /milford etc , only ever heard of a certain dave bowy (i think) doing a precautionary shutdown due oil Pressure.
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I was on the ground at Wairoa airport this morning when it all kicked off, I just got in there VFR a few minutes previous, in front of an approaching cell, the general base out to the south and east was quite high but overhead WO at the time was maybe 6 or 700 foot of pure blackness, with low bits of fracto and p!ssing rain all around the hills out to the west and north.
I can confirm there was no go round at the airfield, the machine never even made it that far. It's only a timed NDB approach up there (it would have been a circling approach around to the north in today's conditions as well) there's a lot of very nasty terrain all around that airfield and to be honest I wouldn't have wanted to touch it with a 40 foot pole if my aircraft wasn't maintaining height.
Where the machine ended up was on a dead flat, long, straight gravel road on a sort of permanent sand bar at the river mouth there, and probably by far the best place for a forced landing for miles round.
There are very very few options indeed around those hills when the engine quits, congrats to the pilot for putting it where you did, good call mate!
I can confirm there was no go round at the airfield, the machine never even made it that far. It's only a timed NDB approach up there (it would have been a circling approach around to the north in today's conditions as well) there's a lot of very nasty terrain all around that airfield and to be honest I wouldn't have wanted to touch it with a 40 foot pole if my aircraft wasn't maintaining height.
Where the machine ended up was on a dead flat, long, straight gravel road on a sort of permanent sand bar at the river mouth there, and probably by far the best place for a forced landing for miles round.
There are very very few options indeed around those hills when the engine quits, congrats to the pilot for putting it where you did, good call mate!
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Apparently she had to stop the engine because of it running rough or excessive fluctuations in one the engines.
As someone pointed out, SunAir has had this happen before in the same plane.
It seems to happen to SunAir's P68's every couple of years.
Time to stop cutting corners with the maintainence.
As someone pointed out, SunAir has had this happen before in the same plane.
It seems to happen to SunAir's P68's every couple of years.
Time to stop cutting corners with the maintainence.
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CAA, announce today they are to launch an investigation into the operations of Sunair.
The Tauranga base company is to be investigated for Pilot intimidation and Maintenance issues.
The Tauranga base company is to be investigated for Pilot intimidation and Maintenance issues.
Partenavias are bloody good on one donk, or you wouldn't be reading this. I had an engine failure in one years ago in the far north. 35 degree day fully loaded and 80 miles out to sea. It was incredibly easy to fly on one engine. The only reason one would have to force land in a Partenavia would be a few hundred pounds of ice, inflight fire, or severe fuel embarrassment. At the end of the day, the equipment is only as good as the man in the left seat, and how he uses it. One look at a Part's wing would tell you they are not really a "flight in forecast icing" conditions aeroplane.
The Baron
"Partenavia's are bloody good on one engine"
Howdy, not sure what type of Partenavia it was(Turbine Powered perhaps?), but the ones I've flown in 35+ temperatures in Australia struggle to maintain height on 2 engines fully loaded, let alone on 1 engine with the possibility of ice.
Congratulations go to pilot for a job well.
Cheers
Howdy, not sure what type of Partenavia it was(Turbine Powered perhaps?), but the ones I've flown in 35+ temperatures in Australia struggle to maintain height on 2 engines fully loaded, let alone on 1 engine with the possibility of ice.
Congratulations go to pilot for a job well.
Cheers
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Glad to hear that CAA are going to give Sunair a good going over but it's funny how they only get stuck into less than reputable operators After an incident/accident.
The lack of training/Supervision of the pilots needs a good look at as well. I remember a couple of years ago one of there new pilots being so inexperinced that they got LOST IFR on a scheduled flight going GIS-NR and one of the other company pilots had to go up the tower and talk them into the hold & approach.
Single pilot IFR is great flying but someone has to teach you the ropes at the start & keep an eye on you until you get a bit of experience.
There's an old saying "can't afford safety, see how much an accident costs you."
The lack of training/Supervision of the pilots needs a good look at as well. I remember a couple of years ago one of there new pilots being so inexperinced that they got LOST IFR on a scheduled flight going GIS-NR and one of the other company pilots had to go up the tower and talk them into the hold & approach.
Single pilot IFR is great flying but someone has to teach you the ropes at the start & keep an eye on you until you get a bit of experience.
There's an old saying "can't afford safety, see how much an accident costs you."
Taggert.
I wasn't talking about training simulations or zero thrust.
It was for "keeps" and the little bird did a good job on 1 200hp donk. Try that in a Seneca 1 or some of the other lighties and you are history.
I wasn't talking about training simulations or zero thrust.
It was for "keeps" and the little bird did a good job on 1 200hp donk. Try that in a Seneca 1 or some of the other lighties and you are history.
Partenavia fuel cocks seem to have a habit of jamming completely unless they are regularly exercised (rather like same problem with the on/off fuel cock on the C150/152).
One 68 came into our maintenance hangar recently and the engineers were staggered to find out that the fuel cocks on both engines were immovable. Pilots had happily been flying this particular aircraft under this condition with no hope of cross-feed capability or being able to turn the fuel cock off in event of fire.
It had apparently passed all its 100 hourly inspections because no one had snagged the aircraft in its maintenance release and the mechanics had never got around to testing fuel cock operation during inspections. Apparently very common defect in this type.
One 68 came into our maintenance hangar recently and the engineers were staggered to find out that the fuel cocks on both engines were immovable. Pilots had happily been flying this particular aircraft under this condition with no hope of cross-feed capability or being able to turn the fuel cock off in event of fire.
It had apparently passed all its 100 hourly inspections because no one had snagged the aircraft in its maintenance release and the mechanics had never got around to testing fuel cock operation during inspections. Apparently very common defect in this type.
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Another time .. one had a double engine failure at night...pilot did a good job of getting them going again...climbing back above lsalt.
P68 used to be renown for blocked injectors... which it seamed, after getting water into the tanks, little rubber bits appeared and then blocked the injectors
P68 used to be renown for blocked injectors... which it seamed, after getting water into the tanks, little rubber bits appeared and then blocked the injectors
Somewhere in a quaint little Tuscan village lives a frail old man. He is enjoying retirement after a long a satisfying career as an aeronautical engineer. His wife is loving and caring and a wonderful cook - her home made spaghetti is divine. Every time the little old man sits down to dinner to savour the flavours of traditional northern Italian cooking and beautiful wines, he is blissfully unaware that he is the only man ever to have lived who understands the intricacies of the Partneavia's fuel selection system, which were inspired by a vision he had as he enjoyed a particularly flavoursome spaghetti bolognese many decades previously.
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Hehe by the sounds of that it sounds like bit of a nightmare, having never flown a partbanana myself could someone expalin simply - if thats possible 
how it works
Cheers
how it worksCheers
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Did my initial twin on the Partial Aviator; didn't have any issues with the fuel system, ON-OFF-CROSSFEED; pretty simple compared with say a C310R with AUX & Nacelle tanks, or a PA31 with nacelle tanks, or a twin catastrophe with tips & auxes etc.
The partbanana also climbed quite well on one fan with the other feathered, at 150lb below MTOW and 35 C OAT.
Each to their own, and good on the driver in this incident for saving the pax - regardless of cause.
Regards
The partbanana also climbed quite well on one fan with the other feathered, at 150lb below MTOW and 35 C OAT.
Each to their own, and good on the driver in this incident for saving the pax - regardless of cause.
Regards
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From a pilots perspective I thought that the p68's fuel system was quite logical, however I hear its a different story from the engineers....
Heard from one of the engineers that just started work on a P68 that used to be serviced by a bush mec...pilots had complained of stiff fuel selectors, and upon inspection found them lockwired into one position....
I loved the P68...mazing what it can do.....
Heard from one of the engineers that just started work on a P68 that used to be serviced by a bush mec...pilots had complained of stiff fuel selectors, and upon inspection found them lockwired into one position....
I loved the P68...mazing what it can do.....
