ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 358749
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Saturday 1 July 1995 |
| Time: | 11:50 LT |
| Type: |  Rutan VariEze |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | C-GMEZ |
| MSN: | M001 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 740 hours |
| Engine model: | Subaru EA-81 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Malone, NY -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | (KMAL) |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
THE PILOT APPLIED POWER AT THE COMPLETION OF A LOW PASS OVER A RUNWAY AND NOTICED A VIBRATION 1 TO 2 SECONDS LATER. THIS WAS FOLLOWED BY A LOSS OF PROPELLER THRUST AND HIGH ENGINE RPM. THE PILOT SECURED THE ENGINE, AND DUE TO THE LOCATION OF PERSONNEL AND TREES, INITIATED A TURN BACK TO THE RUNWAY. AT THE COMPLETION OF THE TURN, HIS APPROACH TO THE RUNWAY WAS OBSTRUCTED BY ANOTHER AIRPLANE, AND THE PILOT LANDED IN A ROUGH FIELD ADJACENT TO THE RUNWAY. DURING THE LANDING ROLL, THE MAIN LANDING GEAR AND LEFT WING SEPARATED. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS EQUIPPED WITH A SUBARU ENGINE AND A ONE-OF-A-KIND, THREE-BEARING, PROPELLER SPEED REDUCTION UNIT (PSRU). THE THREE-BEARING PSRU HAD REPLACED A PRODUCTION TWO-BEARING PSRU, WHICH HAD ACCUMULATED 125 HOURS SUCCESSFULLY. EXAMINATION OF THE PSRU REVEALED THAT THE PROPELLER SHAFT FAILED NEAR THE CENTER BEARING. THIS WAS DUE TO THERMAL EXPANSION OF A MOUNTING PLATE, WHICH RESULTED IN A BENDING OF THE SHAFT AT THE CENTER BEARING.
Probable Cause: failure of the propeller speed reduction unit due to an inadequate design change by the manufacturer, which resulted in a complete loss of thrust. A factor was the rough terrain.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB NYC95LA137
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 14-Mar-2024 17:48 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation