“New York Center New York Center Cessna 711USA calling
Mayday Mayday”. “Go ahead Cessna 711USA what is your
emergency”? “711USA is losing power and cannot make it to XYZ
airfield”. Cessna 711USA set transponder on 7700 and be advised we are alerting
rescue services in your area. Good luck, New York out”. Well anyway you get the
idea. Your engine isn’t working up to par and you’re going to crash land. If
you haven’t checked the FAA accident site lately, you have missed an awful lot
of reports of small airplanes crashing in the middle of nowhere. My question for you the pilot who crashed is
this: what could you have done to keep your engine running?
Before I get into some specifics, let me revisit an
experience I had with a rough running engine. We were flying the A-36 enroute
to Boston, just west of Harrisburgh, Pa. The engine wasn’t losing noticeable power,
but just not as smooth as it had been. Playing with the mixture, mags and RPM didn’t
definitely change anything. So, as we were just west of Carlisle, I decided to land there
and check with the FBO. As luck would have it, a mechanic was available. After
looking things over, we decided that it sounded like plugs. I decided to go
ahead and replace the spark plugs. After paying a hefty bill we left Carlisle
and proceeded east. That seemed to do the trick, as the engine ran smoothly
once again. It brought peace of mind, and just may have averted an off field
landing.
As I mentioned in the first paragraph, the number of these
crashes puzzled me. Since I postulate that many of these were due to engine
failures,(simply running out of fuel is not considered here), I decided to try
and look for some reasons that engines malfunction in flight. Now as I am not a
mechanic, I cannot discuss specifics but only look for generalities. Since the
major engine manufacturers are
Continental and Lycoming (Textron), I logged onto their websites. Very
interesting indeed. On the Lycoming site I found the: “Trouble Shooting Guide”
for reciprocating engines. This was under the heading: Support, which also
included : Publications, Training, Tips and Advice, Auth. Service Centers Etc.
Each of these sub-headings had interesting, important information for the
owner-operator of any type of reciprocating engine not just a Lycoming. For
example, under Trouble Shooting were discussions of causes for power loss: abnormal oil
pressures, unusual fuel flows, loss of
ability to climb etc. Maybe, if an interested pilot went to this web site and
read some of the info there, they might avoid an inflight engine failure from
happening. Remember the old military mantra: an ounce of prevention is worth a
pound of cure.
The other website I visited, Continental Motors, didn’t seem
to offer as much to the pilot, but did list mandatory service bulletins for the
various engine models. Some were crucial as they involved the magnetos and other
key parts or systems. Certainly it seems
worth reviewing on a regular basis for one’s particular engine type.
Before I sign off, I would like to pass on a tip offered on
the Lycoming site. They suggested keeping records of various engine parameters,
such as various temperatures, pressures etc. in a notebook. This should be done
on a regular basis and comparisons made each time. By doing this, you may be able to detect a
problem before it becomes a serious one. This was discussed under Tips and
Advice, worth reviewing.
So fellow pilots. It’s in your hands to keep up to date on
your airplane (not just the engine as discussed here). Airplanes are
complicated things, and deserve your utmost attention and respect, or
eventually you may not make it to your destination.
