The commercial pilot of the single-engine turboprop airplane reported that he was preparing to release
skydivers when he noticed that the engine torque indication was in the red arc. Specifically, the gauge
was indicating a torque of 70 pounds per square inch (psi) when it should have been indicating about 25
psi; the maximum allowed torque indication was 64.5 psi. The skydivers jumped uneventfully. As the
pilot was returning to the airport, the torque gauge was indicating 80 psi while the engine was at idle. At
that time, the pilot decided to perform a precautionary engine shutdown and land with no engine power.
During the landing, the airplane was fast and touched down about halfway down the 3,402-ft-long
asphalt runway. The pilot applied heavy braking, but the airplane traveled about 1,000 ft beyond the
departure end of the runway before coming to rest upright in a field with a collapsed left main landing
gear.
Category: Raeford
According to the pilot, during the landing on a grassy area that was parallel to the paved
runway, the airplane touched down and impacted a ditch near an intersecting taxiway. The
airplane became airborne, touched down on the other side of the intersecting taxiway, bounced
again, and then landed hard on the nose gear, which resulted in substantial damage to the
fuselage and subsequent collapse of the nose landing gear. In a telephone interview, the pilot
stated that the ditch was about 200 feet from his initial touchdown point and that he regularly
lands on the grass, in the opposite direction, in order to minimize the wear on the main landing
gear tires. No preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures were noted with the airplane
that would have precluded normal operation.
AFTER FUELING THE AIRCRAFT, THE PILOT OBSERVED ‘A LOT’ OF WATER IN THE FUEL, WHEN CHECKING THE SUMPS. HE SHOOK THE WINGS, AND AGAIN OBSERVED WATER. HE ALLOWED THE AIRCRAFT TO SIT FOR ABOUT AN HOUR, THEN HE CHECKED THE SUMPS AGAIN. HE DRAINED WATER UNTIL NO MORE WATER WAS OBSERVED. AT ABOUT 200 FEET AGL, DURING THE INITIAL CLIMB, THE ENGINE QUIT.