Turboprop prop/blade separation accidents

[RichPa]

I need some help, if you know any accidents involving transport turboprop regarding propeller (blade) separation or major propeller failure, please point them out to me, thanks guys.

The one I found is that involving the Brasilia Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Any others?

Thanks.

[dss3000]

Prop blade seperation

Hi

Yes we had a blade depart an AT-42 quite a few years back the airline was Inter-Canadien operating from Montreal. Here is the link to the TSB report


www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports.../a94q0037.pdf
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...j-5LR80UdbkJyA

[Tu.114]

Have You tried looking at ASN?
Lake Central CV580
Aeroflot AN24
Aeroflot/VVS AN22

And there are others.

[RichPa]

Thanks. Yeah, looked on ASN, actually found just old accidents like those one you posted. I'm more interested in recent accidents if there were any in the last 20 yrs.

[JammedStab]

Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I believe this one was due to the manufacturing process. The blades actually have a portion of their shank hollowed out on the PW 120. Improper peening of the interior and chlorine on the cork that is supposed to keep the moisture out seem to be factors according to distant memory. Accurate records enabled investigators to find the exact guy who made the errors.

If I remember correctly, the incident you refer to in the first post was not an actual propeller blade failure but an associated system resulting in flight reversal due to some worn splines of some sort of control system for blade angle.

[JammedStab]

http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR93-08.pdf

Here is another one. Killed a governor of a US state. And, the same thing had happened on an MU2 to a guy I knew several years earlier(mentioned in the report). But he was lucky enough to be able to limp into a nearby air forsce base(just barely). Prop malfunctions as seen in both these cases can lead to huge drag issues.

Frequently it will be accompanied by a decompression. However, if this happens and you suspect that there may be a large amount of drag associated with this malfunction, you might just want to say, screw the emergency descent, I am going to max power(if directional control allows) and limp in to whatever location I can find. An emergency descent can waste valuable, much needed altitude and then you discover that you can't make any airport. This is especially important over rough terrain.

Having flown the type, I have looked into the C-130 issues. There have been several hercs that have thrown propeller blades with the result of another engine(s) being damaged and the blade tearing right through the fuselage and out the other side. Hydraulic losses make things worse. Going from memory, try googling something a bout propellers and Alaska coast guard Herc and UAE herc northern New York(or Saranac Lake) or something similar and you may come up with some pics but I have never seen an official report on these incidents.

[RichPa]

Thanks so much. Actually, as I can see, there are, fortunately, very rare such occurences. Found the C-130 picture: http://1000aircraftphotos.com/Contri...isko/3482L.jpg

Just curious, does FAR require special inspections, non-destructive equipment and so, on part 25 props?

[sevenstrokeroll]

hi folks

I remember one ...I guess its about 1985, A Metroliner (2) operated by WingsWest airlines near Fresno, California.

Seems to me that moisture had gotten into a prop blade and corrosion/rust and the blade separated in flight. Tore the engine from its mount.

As it happened at cruise altitude and by a miracle the plane ended up on a heading straight into a very long runway at KFAT. Speed kept up by pilot to maintain directional control as the new VMCa was about 200 mph. Plane landed and used every bit of the 10,000' runway...everyone ok even though blade entered cabin and depressurized plane.

I don't have any link but that's the way i recall it. I flew for the airline for a couple of years...it wasn't me...but the pilot was what you want in a pilot...good and LUCKY.

I may be wrong on the year...maybe a couple ofyears earlier, but not later.

[DaveReidUK]

I guess its about 1985

Spot on - August 27, 1985.

LAX85FA373

[barit1]

Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I believe this one was due to the manufacturing process. The blades actually have a portion of their shank hollowed out on the PW 120. Improper peening of the interior and chlorine on the cork that is supposed to keep the moisture out seem to be factors according to distant memory. Accurate records enabled investigators to find the exact guy who made the errors.

Here are two that I studied during my Masters coursework:

Convair 580 and Embraer Brasilia

I think you are confusing the ASA529 with the Lake Central CV580. The Aeroproducts props on the CV580 (and some L-188s) has the hollow blade shank with helical splines and an actuating piston inside each shank. In that case, one piston was not nitrided per spec (actually one of a bad batch of ten), and became disengaged. The blades migrated rapidly to fine pitch (they ALWAYS do), oversped and came apart, and practically cut the fuselage in two.

ASA529 had the helical pitch actuation tube - axial within the prop shaft - wear out so the blades were free to migrate rapidly to fine pitch (they ALWAYS do), and although the aircraft was slow enough to prevent destructive overspeed, the drag was insurmountable and the aircraft uncontrollable. The curious fact in this case was that H-S claimed during prop certification that the blades should go to COARSE pitch upon failure - despite maybe 5 decades of experience to the contrary. Neither H-S nor the FAA personnel were astute enough to challenge this assertion!

BTW - The politician who died was Sen. John Tower of Texas. Also killed was an astronaut, Manley "Sonny" Carter.

Interesting speculation: IF the Brasilia failure had occurred at high IAS, the overspeed might have caused the prop blades to fail, but their lightweight composite design might have prevented them from penetrating the fuselage, which had occurred in the CV580 accident.

[43Inches]

There were two Brasilia accidents at ASA, ASA 2311 crashed (April 1991) on approach to land and is the situation you describe.

ASA 529 (August 1995) had a prop blade failure and the resulting vibration led to the prop assembly and gearbox partially detaching and causing damage to the wing. The aircraft was controllable however the drag presented was more than the remaining engine could overcome and the aircraft was forced to land off airport.

[barit1]

Thank you for the clarification. The ASA Brasilia accident I referred to was on approach to Brunswick, GA 4/1991. But I had the flight number wrong...