V1 cut in the Dash 8

Pilotforhire587

Pilotforhire587

Lycra Man
Had a V1 cut on the critical engine in the dash about 3 weeks ago. Had already been a very long day... and a very long trip at that. We were on our 3rd leg of 5 for the day, departing 4R in EWR and at about 90 knots got a #1 AC GEN caution. Captain said to continue so I did, about 15 knots later time to rotate. I started to pitch the nose up and it just didn't come of the ground like it usually did. I never heard a change in power or anything else out of the ordinary just felt weak. I looked down to check the torques and the #1 engine was down to about 30%. #2 was still at 95% where we set it. I looked further down to see if maybe the friction lock was loose and the power lever had fallen back... Nope right up there with number two... Damn, I think to myself this is for real... what an day... I look at the other #1 engine gauges and RPM is down too, look back at torque and it was on its way back to normal. Between the ground and 600 feet the engine surged between normal power and 30-40 percent torque three times. Finally around 600' it feathered. Engine was still running and the torque never dropped below the autofeather limit that we saw so we called it an unscheduled feather and continued... Ran the EP and the captain ran checklists for the next 20 minutes while I got vectors and flew back and forth on a down wind for the 4's.


Turns out after maint. had a chance to look at it, the #1 AC Gen had crapped the bed, seized and caused the drop in torque, then when the shear pin finally went the Gen pooped its guys into the prop reduction gearbox... All that metal continued to cause drag on it is probably what gave us the feather. The kicker is, we got back into EWR the next night for a 2 hour sit before heading out for our overnight and scheduling called wanting us to test fly it... AT NIGHT IN THE SAME AIRPLANE THAT FAILED THE DAY BEFORE!!! YEAH RIGHT...


It was great to see how your training kicks in like that and I am happy to say I have an interview story now. It was also good practice for reccurrent next month and great experience. I don't want to be morbid and say I am glad it happened to me but I kind of am. The Dash it much easier to fly on one engine than it is in the sim.
It was a great learning experience.
 
What percentage of gross were you at? Great story, nice to be flying something with enough guts that it makes it an easy, no sweat thing. Was this in a 400 or 200?
 
Pilotforhire587 said:
AT NIGHT IN THE SAME AIRPLANE THAT FAILED THE DAY BEFORE!!! YEAH RIGHT...
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Sounds like a good experience overall. Glad you guys made it out fine.

I know at 9L we have a policy of no flying after declaring an emergency. That didnt use to be the case though. I have heard stories of shutting down engines, and then scheduling having guys continue on with their schedule.
 
I just heard a story from a captain about an airplane that had a complete AHRS failure. They fixed the problem and wanted a crew to test fly it at night, in IMC. Ha.
 
v1valarob said:
Sounds like a good experience overall. Glad you guys made it out fine.

I know at 9L we have a policy of no flying after declaring an emergency. That didnt use to be the case though. I have heard stories of shutting down engines, and then scheduling having guys continue on with their schedule.
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It was in the 200. Max T/O is 36300 we were about 34000 at take off so by no means at max gross. We did have winds 310@15 gusting 25 though, yes for all you guys who's brains are hurting that was on the dead engine side.

The company asked how my captain how he felt, told them he would call them back on that and after a quick discussion we decided we were alright. I just needed a couple of hours. I don't think my captain would have been down for more than the one leg to BDL for the overnight that evening but I told them I was fine. Our dlight attendant bought us dinner for as she put it... "saving her life." After over an hour of talking to dispatch and MX we spent the next 4 hours of what would have been our turn and a sit doing paperwork...
 
Great job, man! Just goes to show, it's not just some maneuver you practice in the sim then brain dump when you hit the line.
 
Sounds like a job well done! I hear you on almost being glad it happened, it's a good feeling when training kicks in.
 
Pilotforhire587 said:
Thanks guys, and Dasleben, it was a good convidence builder going into reccurrent next month
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Has the airline had any other V1 cuts? As far as I know our airline has never had a true V1 cut on the Saab. I know we have had one engine fail at just above 500' AGL.
 
Good job and I love the irony of being glad you had an actual V1 cut to help you prepare for the recurrent next month.
 
v1valarob said:
Has the airline had any other V1 cuts? As far as I know our airline has never had a true V1 cut on the Saab. I know we have had one engine fail at just above 500' AGL.
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I know of 2 in air shut downs since we got the new aircraft. Both of those were oil cooler problems where the crew had to secure it in flight... Not actual failures
 
In a BE-1900. Power rolled back on the right engine right at 400 ft like we had shut the fuel off. But we only had 3 people on, and it was CAVU, so no big deal.

Turns out the shear key in the accessory case broke. No high pressure fuel pump = no fuel.

Since we were the only game in town, we had to take a van ride 240 miles to the next place that had air service so we could get going again. Van driver was about 108, and the ride was 100X scarier than the engine out.

Richman
 
Pilotforhire587 said:
So this whole thing has gotten me thinking.... Anyone else on here had a real life v1 cut or engine failure, what happened?
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Not yet...

But good question about how many real world engine failures at V1, or shortly after T/O each of our respective companies have had.

Thanks for sharing the experience.
 
surreal1221 said:
Not yet...

But good question about how many real world engine failures at V1, or shortly after T/O each of our respective companies have had.

Thanks for sharing the experience.
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Another interesting question--does your company train primarily a true V1 cut on the simulator, or do they vary it to include other early climb segments?

As far as low-altitude engine failures at my company, I haven't had one and don't have any first-hand knowledge of any. Previous company happened some on a large turboprop, but with the complexity of the props there was a lot more stuff that could go wrong.
 
See you next month for your recurrent man! Glad to know you followed your training and stayed cool!
 
OhioStatePilot said:
I think I remember this... on approach?
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No. Out of CHO, it was a CRW crew. One of the most senior guys in the company. His FO apparently did nothing, and he had to take controls. Air returned and it was no big deal.

Most saab drivers worry about those middle of the summer days, when you have a full boat, and can barely achieve 1000FPM with 2 engines.

Our company only simulates an engine failure on t/o, because it's all their required to do.
 
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