My IVPT (prop jet) Engine Failure on Takeoff Finally Discussed
Posted: Sat Apr 27, 2024 2:51 pm
I have been reluctant to discuss any details of my engine failure at 500’ during takeoff on Xmas Day, 2021, until the NTSB had concluded their investigation (and it was a painful subject to review). The investigation was concluded in August of 2023, nearly two years later. I actually wasn’t aware the investigation was closed until January of this year. This Lancair Live will be the only place with this level of detail on that fateful day.
I bought my Lancair kit in 1998, attended the two week Fast Build Program at the Lancair Factory in February of 1999, and received my kit the summer of 1999. I spent 17 years and 10,000 (no, that’s not a typo) hours building the plane, competing my first flight on November 14, 2016. I took 14 hours of training from the guru of Lancair Turboprops, John Cook and my first solo in the plane (at -25 F) was on my 61st birthday, December 18th.
I flew the plane for 5 years, 600 hours and half those flights were donated medical transportation flights. My last completed flight was two weeks before Xmas, 2021, for a 6 year old boy in medical care at Michigan’s U of M hospital. His flights of normally 2 hours or longer were nearly cut in half with my 300 knot/345 MPH Lancair. Sadly he passed in July of 2022.
We were heading to our Florida home on Spruce Creek Airport on Xmas Day. The last several years when we headed down a day or two after Xmas we were seeing ground holds of 1 1/2 to 4 hours due to the incredible exodus of northerners to Florida right after Xmas. I received no such delay on Xmas day, the very reason we planned it that way.
Everything was normal on the beautiful sunny winter morning in Iron Mountain, with moderate temps in the 20’s. The preflight was normal as well as initial takeoff northbound on Runway 01. I was using a “reduced power” takeoff engine setting, based on my annual yearly training with LOBO (Lancair Owners & Builders Organization) so after retracting the landing gear and wing flaps, I was starting to add in power and adjust the engine RPM to climb settings……….but something was not right? I wasn’t getting the “pull” from the 724 HP Propjet engine I was accustomed to. And the engine didn’t sound as loud.
I looked at my panel and had a warning light, GCU FAIL. I knew the Generator Control Unit had failed but that wouldn’t have given me the current problem. I looked down at my engine monitor and saw all parameters dropping, fast ………. I had an engine failure. I looked at my altimeter and I was at 500’, I needed 800’ to make a 180 turn back, based on my regular training events. My options were out the front window. The Menominee River was below me, with fresh ice and unknown thickness. I didn’t want to land safely and then drown in a river. To the right was inhospitable terrain and lots of homes on the river. I looked northwest and it looked like our best option.
I checked a minimum of emergency items, briefly considered a re-light, but knew the process would take longer than I had before hitting trees, and I would likely stall the plane during the distraction so I picked what looked like a small opening in the woods. Beth asked “are we going in?”, I didn’t answer …… I was too focused and busy trying accomplish a landing we might survive. I found the urge to pull the stick back INCREDIBLY HARD TO RESIST as the wings started slapping the tree tops! Had I, we would have stalled and died. I left the gear up, realizing the rough terrain would cause more harm than good. (That’s probably the ONE decision, at that point, that later made the possibility of rebuilding the plane an option ).
The landing was extremely rough, with 3’ moguls and pieces being ripped off the plane. We came to a stop turned 100 degrees to the right. The bottom of the plane was very smooth, it was like sliding on a sled in the snow. I looked at Beth and incredulously said “I can’t believe we’re alive !!”. She said “let’s get out of here before it starts on fire !!”. We walked from the plane, me with a small cut on my face and her with a sore back from the impact against her seat belt. The flight had lasted 52 seconds.
I had an airliner on approach when we departed so checked to see if I could transmit on my radio (I couldn’t, the entire engine had torn off and was resting with the prop pushing up against the firewall). I had cell coverage so called 911. They answered with “ This is 911 ….. what’s your emergency?” Sounding like she gets more BS calls than actual emergencies. When I told her what happened I think she sat up in her chair. Anyway, my first concern was to have them call Minneapolis Center and advise them we had an engine failure on takeoff, were sitting in the woods, and had no serious injuries.
The 911 operator wouldn’t let me terminate the call, and I had friends at the airport, that likely could have found us sooner, calling me. I kept telling them I could hear the sirens but they needed to go farther east and south. Finally after 80 minutes, I looked over and saw my Stratus still sitting on Velcro on my glare shield “blinking”, so I grabbed my iPad. It was still open to Foreflight, with my VFR Chart up, and my location was surging with a blue dot. I touched it and my long and lats displayed. I gave them to the 911 dispatcher and 15 minutes later a sheriffs deputy came tracking through the 12” of snow finding us.
Beth was sent to Wausau by helicopter, probably a result of the helicopter called during the initial 911 call and it was sitting at the hospital. She was complaining of back pain but by 5 PM she was discharged after X-rays and a MRI finding no “new” back injuries. A couple friends drove me over to be with her and took our car AND theirs so we had a vehicle to return home, either that day or the next (we came home that day).
The sheriffs department and rescue workers gave up their Xmas morning saving us, for which we were extremely grateful. A post by them afterwards, trying to update the public what all the commotion was about, on their Facebook page, unfortunately noted the short road near the landing site. Friends later said that rural road had traffic like the U.S. Highway a few miles away. Many saw the tracks from the rescue crews in the snow, walked in and violated a FAA Secure accident scene. I had not closed the airplane door, so concerned for Beth, and found the next day someone stole my $1200 Bose headset. They obviously had no clue how it was plugged in (the Lemo plug model) so literally tore the end off to steal it. In retrospect, maybe a more vague location noted on Facebook would have kept the accident site from becoming a circus scene.
I heard from the NTSB within hours, the FAA FSDO Rep on Sunday, the 26th, and met the FSDO Rep on scene on Monday morning. The plane was released to me by 10 AM, and completely recovered to my hangar by 3 PM on Monday, the 27th.
I have the Garmin G3X so the NTSB downloaded the data cards 6 weeks later. The fuel flow was documented as reducing, 4 seconds after lift off, over 20+ seconds. I had fuel pressure until we touched the ground. The Fuel Control Unit (FCU) was removed and sent to my engine shop in Deland for inspection and ran on a stand. He found no issues with it, but the FCU is a very complex engine control with a lot of springs, diaphragms and seals in it. It bounced around the back of a UPS truck for nearly 2,000 miles before arriving in Deland FL. I suspect whatever item stuck or failed was rattled loose before it arrived.
The FCU was sent to Walter’s for tear down and inspection. Nothing was found by them either. I have a good friend that is an Executive Recruiter for the aviation field. He told me a few years before finishing the plane he had helped GE hire the executive that later ended up on the GE Acquisition of Walters. Knowing about my project he asked this Executive later what GE thought of the Walters engine when they purchased the company. The executive noted it was a great engine, they would continue manufacturing of it in the Czech Republic, but were concerned about the FCU. They intended to (and have since done it) redesign and upgrade the FCU.
The original Walters FCU is no longer available from Walters. Only the GE updated FCU can be purchased. Mine has recently been ordered for my new engine, going into my plane during my current ongoing rebuild.
Oh, on the NTSB Report, mostly accurate except for a couple key details, determined cause of engine failure UNDETERMINED. Pretty much what I expected. I’ve since been advised of several other Walters FCU failures, very similar to mine. I asked if Walters would use my “core” for my reconditioned FCU and they stated it will never be put on an airplane again, thus NO (I guess finding nothing wrong doesn’t make them comfortable they actually know what failed). In addition, my FSDO rep is going to conduct the Airworthiness inspection on another IVPT I am completing. SInce he was one of the individuals that alerted me to another similar Walters FCU failure, he was rather reluctant about certifying another IVPT with the old Walters FCU. To his relief, that one now has the new GE FCU on it as well.
Tom
I bought my Lancair kit in 1998, attended the two week Fast Build Program at the Lancair Factory in February of 1999, and received my kit the summer of 1999. I spent 17 years and 10,000 (no, that’s not a typo) hours building the plane, competing my first flight on November 14, 2016. I took 14 hours of training from the guru of Lancair Turboprops, John Cook and my first solo in the plane (at -25 F) was on my 61st birthday, December 18th.
I flew the plane for 5 years, 600 hours and half those flights were donated medical transportation flights. My last completed flight was two weeks before Xmas, 2021, for a 6 year old boy in medical care at Michigan’s U of M hospital. His flights of normally 2 hours or longer were nearly cut in half with my 300 knot/345 MPH Lancair. Sadly he passed in July of 2022.
We were heading to our Florida home on Spruce Creek Airport on Xmas Day. The last several years when we headed down a day or two after Xmas we were seeing ground holds of 1 1/2 to 4 hours due to the incredible exodus of northerners to Florida right after Xmas. I received no such delay on Xmas day, the very reason we planned it that way.
Everything was normal on the beautiful sunny winter morning in Iron Mountain, with moderate temps in the 20’s. The preflight was normal as well as initial takeoff northbound on Runway 01. I was using a “reduced power” takeoff engine setting, based on my annual yearly training with LOBO (Lancair Owners & Builders Organization) so after retracting the landing gear and wing flaps, I was starting to add in power and adjust the engine RPM to climb settings……….but something was not right? I wasn’t getting the “pull” from the 724 HP Propjet engine I was accustomed to. And the engine didn’t sound as loud.
I looked at my panel and had a warning light, GCU FAIL. I knew the Generator Control Unit had failed but that wouldn’t have given me the current problem. I looked down at my engine monitor and saw all parameters dropping, fast ………. I had an engine failure. I looked at my altimeter and I was at 500’, I needed 800’ to make a 180 turn back, based on my regular training events. My options were out the front window. The Menominee River was below me, with fresh ice and unknown thickness. I didn’t want to land safely and then drown in a river. To the right was inhospitable terrain and lots of homes on the river. I looked northwest and it looked like our best option.
I checked a minimum of emergency items, briefly considered a re-light, but knew the process would take longer than I had before hitting trees, and I would likely stall the plane during the distraction so I picked what looked like a small opening in the woods. Beth asked “are we going in?”, I didn’t answer …… I was too focused and busy trying accomplish a landing we might survive. I found the urge to pull the stick back INCREDIBLY HARD TO RESIST as the wings started slapping the tree tops! Had I, we would have stalled and died. I left the gear up, realizing the rough terrain would cause more harm than good. (That’s probably the ONE decision, at that point, that later made the possibility of rebuilding the plane an option ).
The landing was extremely rough, with 3’ moguls and pieces being ripped off the plane. We came to a stop turned 100 degrees to the right. The bottom of the plane was very smooth, it was like sliding on a sled in the snow. I looked at Beth and incredulously said “I can’t believe we’re alive !!”. She said “let’s get out of here before it starts on fire !!”. We walked from the plane, me with a small cut on my face and her with a sore back from the impact against her seat belt. The flight had lasted 52 seconds.
I had an airliner on approach when we departed so checked to see if I could transmit on my radio (I couldn’t, the entire engine had torn off and was resting with the prop pushing up against the firewall). I had cell coverage so called 911. They answered with “ This is 911 ….. what’s your emergency?” Sounding like she gets more BS calls than actual emergencies. When I told her what happened I think she sat up in her chair. Anyway, my first concern was to have them call Minneapolis Center and advise them we had an engine failure on takeoff, were sitting in the woods, and had no serious injuries.
The 911 operator wouldn’t let me terminate the call, and I had friends at the airport, that likely could have found us sooner, calling me. I kept telling them I could hear the sirens but they needed to go farther east and south. Finally after 80 minutes, I looked over and saw my Stratus still sitting on Velcro on my glare shield “blinking”, so I grabbed my iPad. It was still open to Foreflight, with my VFR Chart up, and my location was surging with a blue dot. I touched it and my long and lats displayed. I gave them to the 911 dispatcher and 15 minutes later a sheriffs deputy came tracking through the 12” of snow finding us.
Beth was sent to Wausau by helicopter, probably a result of the helicopter called during the initial 911 call and it was sitting at the hospital. She was complaining of back pain but by 5 PM she was discharged after X-rays and a MRI finding no “new” back injuries. A couple friends drove me over to be with her and took our car AND theirs so we had a vehicle to return home, either that day or the next (we came home that day).
The sheriffs department and rescue workers gave up their Xmas morning saving us, for which we were extremely grateful. A post by them afterwards, trying to update the public what all the commotion was about, on their Facebook page, unfortunately noted the short road near the landing site. Friends later said that rural road had traffic like the U.S. Highway a few miles away. Many saw the tracks from the rescue crews in the snow, walked in and violated a FAA Secure accident scene. I had not closed the airplane door, so concerned for Beth, and found the next day someone stole my $1200 Bose headset. They obviously had no clue how it was plugged in (the Lemo plug model) so literally tore the end off to steal it. In retrospect, maybe a more vague location noted on Facebook would have kept the accident site from becoming a circus scene.
I heard from the NTSB within hours, the FAA FSDO Rep on Sunday, the 26th, and met the FSDO Rep on scene on Monday morning. The plane was released to me by 10 AM, and completely recovered to my hangar by 3 PM on Monday, the 27th.
I have the Garmin G3X so the NTSB downloaded the data cards 6 weeks later. The fuel flow was documented as reducing, 4 seconds after lift off, over 20+ seconds. I had fuel pressure until we touched the ground. The Fuel Control Unit (FCU) was removed and sent to my engine shop in Deland for inspection and ran on a stand. He found no issues with it, but the FCU is a very complex engine control with a lot of springs, diaphragms and seals in it. It bounced around the back of a UPS truck for nearly 2,000 miles before arriving in Deland FL. I suspect whatever item stuck or failed was rattled loose before it arrived.
The FCU was sent to Walter’s for tear down and inspection. Nothing was found by them either. I have a good friend that is an Executive Recruiter for the aviation field. He told me a few years before finishing the plane he had helped GE hire the executive that later ended up on the GE Acquisition of Walters. Knowing about my project he asked this Executive later what GE thought of the Walters engine when they purchased the company. The executive noted it was a great engine, they would continue manufacturing of it in the Czech Republic, but were concerned about the FCU. They intended to (and have since done it) redesign and upgrade the FCU.
The original Walters FCU is no longer available from Walters. Only the GE updated FCU can be purchased. Mine has recently been ordered for my new engine, going into my plane during my current ongoing rebuild.
Oh, on the NTSB Report, mostly accurate except for a couple key details, determined cause of engine failure UNDETERMINED. Pretty much what I expected. I’ve since been advised of several other Walters FCU failures, very similar to mine. I asked if Walters would use my “core” for my reconditioned FCU and they stated it will never be put on an airplane again, thus NO (I guess finding nothing wrong doesn’t make them comfortable they actually know what failed). In addition, my FSDO rep is going to conduct the Airworthiness inspection on another IVPT I am completing. SInce he was one of the individuals that alerted me to another similar Walters FCU failure, he was rather reluctant about certifying another IVPT with the old Walters FCU. To his relief, that one now has the new GE FCU on it as well.
Tom