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N4400K Accident Final Report Issued

I can only think of the line from a Sci FI movie called Galaxy Quest, “Never give up, never surrender”. Sounds like it was a running engine that would have made the airport, food for thought. Glad there were no injuries
 
olyolson said:
I can only think of the line from a Sci FI movie called Galaxy Quest, “Never give up, never surrender”. Sounds like it was a running engine that would have made the airport, food for thought. Glad there were no injuries
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Good quote to remember when in dire straits! Or as Bob Johnson of Montana's Johnson Flying Service: Fly the biggest piece back. (Also the name of a book about an amazing pilot.) His quote: "I've flown Travelairs for thousands of hours without using any parachutes. You can't use a parachute in them anyway because the cargo is loaded to the roof and you can't get out. But why get out? If you can't fly the biggest piece back, then ride it down. Fly what you have left to the ground and land the damn thing. Even in the trees, land it and walk away....."
 
Roadjunkie1 said:
Good quote to remember when in dire straits! Or as Bob Johnson of Montana's Johnson Flying Service: Fly the biggest piece back. (Also the name of a book about an amazing pilot.) His quote: "I've flown Travelairs for thousands of hours without using any parachutes. You can't use a parachute in them anyway because the cargo is loaded to the roof and you can't get out. But why get out? If you can't fly the biggest piece back, then ride it down. Fly what you have left to the ground and land the damn thing. Even in the trees, land it and walk away....."
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Funny thing, that just got me wondering if it would be possible for an airliner crew to bail out of the forward doors on a modern jet. Would you drop fast enough to avoid the wing? If not, could you jump up a bit to clear it, and still avoid the horizontal stab coming next? Wouldn't want to jump away from the fuselage too far or you'd find an engine... :p

The places a mind goes on a rainy sunday morning...
 
Snowflake said:
Funny thing, that just got me wondering if it would be possible for an airliner crew to bail out of the forward doors on a modern jet. Would you drop fast enough to avoid the wing? If not, could you jump up a bit to clear it, and still avoid the horizontal stab coming next? Wouldn't want to jump away from the fuselage too far or you'd find an engine... :p

This is an unauthorized maneuver without first polling, and winning with no ney's, the passengers.
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Snowflake said:
Funny thing, that just got me wondering if it would be possible for an airliner crew to bail out of the forward doors on a modern jet. Would you drop fast enough to avoid the wing? If not, could you jump up a bit to clear it, and still avoid the horizontal stab coming next? Wouldn't want to jump away from the fuselage too far or you'd find an engine... :p

The places a mind goes on a rainy sunday morning...
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Certifying some of the Citations, the test airframes could be fitted with an airstair door that was rigged to blow off and down to go under the wing.

The saying was that in the event that everybody needed to get out in a "real big hurry" the options were to jump down and hit the wing, jump out and hit the engine, or jump up and hit the cruciform tail :)
 
So smoke in the engine compartment resulted in smoke in the cockpit (per the report).
I have to wonder about how well the firewall was sealed.
 
I hate to come across as overly critical, but does anyone proofread these things before they are published?

"It possible that the spark plug wireboot was not secured during the last maintenance work performed."
 
Lionclaw said:
I hate to come across as overly critical, but does anyone proofread these things before they are published?

"It possible that the spark plug wireboot was not secured during the last maintenance work performed."
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Since I dont have a pmag or use auto plugs and wires I am not sure if they have a screw on wire like standard aircraft plugs use. The one plane I saw with pmags had standard auto plug boots that just clipped on the end of the plug. Is that how all of them are or do some screw on?
 
rockwoodrv9 said:
Since I dont have a pmag or use auto plugs and wires I am not sure if they have a screw on wire like standard aircraft plugs use. The one plane I saw with pmags had standard auto plug boots that just clipped on the end of the plug. Is that how all of them are or do some screw on?
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The auto plug wires I use, which are the same as those that came from emag, use a combination of friction on the "boot", and a positive displacement clip on the spark plug nipple to hold them on. I have heard of them popping off if not fully inserted on the spark plug. I have also heard of them coming off if the air is trapped in the boot and as the aircraft gains altitude the pressure differential is not equalized (somehow). I've never had this happen on mine, but I've only been to 14.5k. I can also say that when they are installed correctly, it's not easy to pull them off. I usually need help from a big screwdriver or one of my plastic levers. I'm even considering buying a specialized removal tool.

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Based on my experience, any spark plug boot that pops off was not fully installed.
 
rockwoodrv9 said:
Since I dont have a pmag or use auto plugs and wires I am not sure if they have a screw on wire like standard aircraft plugs use. The one plane I saw with pmags had standard auto plug boots that just clipped on the end of the plug. Is that how all of them are or do some screw on?
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I was really picking more at the superficial grammatical error (missing the word 'is' at the beginning of the sentence). This is after all, an official NTSB report? On a more substantive note, I have sometimes found it difficult to verify if the auto plug boot is fully installed, and will frequently re-attach multiple times until I get a solid click sound from the boot. I agree with Mickey on this one, once installed properly (and with wires properly secured) these shouldn't easily come off.
 
I was also waiting to hear what happened here as well. It’s a shame the report is relatively superficial.
It would seem likely that maintenance oversight was the proximate cause, but I too am interested in how the cabin filled with smoke so quickly from something that isn’t that big.
Non standard or heater system fault?firewall sealing?, overhead console through the naca vent aft? More questions than answers unfortunately.
 
Snowflake said:
Funny thing, that just got me wondering if it would be possible for an airliner crew to bail out of the forward doors on a modern jet. Would you drop fast enough to avoid the wing? If not, could you jump up a bit to clear it, and still avoid the horizontal stab coming next? Wouldn't want to jump away from the fuselage too far or you'd find an engine... :p

The places a mind goes on a rainy sunday morning...
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Fun fact: NASA has thought about this thoroughly for everyone’s favorite flying brick. The space shuttle actually had telescoping poles that extended out of the side hatch to guide crew when bailing out: https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/crew-escape-system-shuttle/nasm_A20120326000
 
Lionclaw said:
I was really picking more at the superficial grammatical error (missing the word 'is' at the beginning of the sentence). This is after all, an official NTSB report? On a more substantive note, I have sometimes found it difficult to verify if the auto plug boot is fully installed, and will frequently re-attach multiple times until I get a solid click sound from the boot. I agree with Mickey on this one, once installed properly (and with wires properly secured) these shouldn't easily come off.
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Andy, just an observation. (former teacher and CFI-I and ATP/ 50 year Wright Brother pin) Pilots, as a group have poor spelling/writing skills. Just working for the NTSB doesn't mean that there is a greater chance of a proofreader in the loop. I see this all the time in accident reports, classified ads, etc. etc. I am not being critical, just the facts....
I could tell in elementary school who was going to be a poor adult speller and struggle with grammar. I suspect the spelling bee winners went on to be hedge fund managers. smile
 
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