DC3 crash in Alaska, video in link

Aircraft Accident & Crash Investigation Topics
vanNostrum
Posts: 137
Joined: Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:08 am

Looks like the left engine was making a lot of power when the propeller hit the runway
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TundraTire
Posts: 73
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2020 3:47 am

I can't tell, does the right engine look like it successfully feathered?

Between that, their actual weight, and how much power the left engine was producing, not much else left to speculate on.
vanNostrum
Posts: 137
Joined: Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:08 am

There is a picture, I ll post if I find it, showing the airplane been lifted by a crane
with a clear view of the left engine propeller tips bent like a hockey stick
Right engine propeller doesn't look fully feather but hard to tell
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TundraTire
Posts: 73
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2020 3:47 am

If that's the case, that would be at least the 2nd one in recent memory. Buffalo had one in yzf that wouldn't feather, and they barely made it back it to the infield.

Maybe it's time to retire these old birds from commercial service?
vanNostrum
Posts: 137
Joined: Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:08 am

Maybe, but I hope they keep on flaying for at least until their centenary
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Chuck Ellsworth
Posts: 334
Joined: Thu Jan 23, 2020 4:25 pm

The DC3 was by far my favorite airplane and I was fortunate to have flown them for over five thousand hours and never put a scratch on one......and I had my share of engine shut downs.
vanNostrum
Posts: 137
Joined: Thu Jan 16, 2020 4:08 am

Audio of the incident
At 2 37 there is the picture that shows the damage to the left side propeller

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Colonel
Posts: 2456
Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2020 10:02 pm
Location: Over The Runway

Right engine looked feathered. Hear the pilot's voice up an octave as they
joined right base to 7 at Merrill. He was working hard. Lots of guys couldn't
do as well, I suspect.

Good hands and feet, good decision making, good situational awareness
to quickly switch airports because he couldn't make it back.

Look at the ADS-B altitude and airspeed. He didn't have the energy to lower
the gear. Hell, he didn't have time to change freq to Merrill Tower.

I suspect he was awfully heavy for the octane of the fuel in the tanks.
TundraTire
Posts: 73
Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2020 3:47 am

Definitely a good outcome for an aircraft that couldn't maintain flight on one engine.
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