A, 1944 built. Curtiss-Wright C46A-45CU, powered by two Pratt &Whitney R2800-51M3 engines, was operating a cargo flight between Yellowknife Airport and Norman Wells Airport (both in the province of Northern Territories, Canada). On board a crew of four.
The aircraft in its final position (source; www.pprune.org © Unknown)
While in cruise at 6.500 feet above sea level (ASL)., ~140 miles southeast of Norman Wells while performing their scans the crew observed the oil quantity indicator for the right engine dropping while the propellor started to Overspeed. The propellor pitch was adjusted to control the Overspeed of the propellor. The oil quantity continued to drop rapidly and a glance at the right engine nacelle confirmed they were losing oil via the engine breather at a very high rate. When the propellor speed became uncontrollable, the crew performed the "PROP OVERSPEED DRILL". Initially, the propellor would not feather when selected, but after several attempts the propellor eventually feathered. The right engine shutdown checklist was subsequently completed.
The aircraft in its final position (source; http://i.cbc.ca/ © Unknown)
The crew decided to divert to Tulita but quickly changed their plans as the decent rate was higher than what was required to reach Tulita. This made them decide to divert to Deline Airport, which had weather with 1/2 mile visibility and a cloud base of 300 feet. An emergency was declared with Deline Radio, followed by the required position reports while the aircraft approached Runway 08 at Deline. The crew opted for a gear-up landing, to keep the drag as low as possible during the approach. the aircraft touched down on its belly approximately halfway down the 3933 feet gravel runway. The aircraft slid on its belly past the end of the runway, coming to stop approximately 700 feet past the end of the runway. The crewmembers evacuated the aircraft without injuries, the aircraft didn't come off that good. it was damaged so badly that it was written off. An initial investigation by the operator revealed that the scavenge pump in the engine oil system had failed, causing a loss of engine oil.
The aircraft in its final position (source; http://i.cbc.ca/ © Unknown)
** Editorial note **
V2 Aviation - Training & Maintenance based this blog on a CADORS (Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System - Canada) report. These reports contain preliminary, unconfirmed data which can be subject to change. Should there be an inconsistency in the blog don't hesitate to get in touch with us. There are two possibilities to do that, via the comments function at the bottom of this page or via the contact page of the website.
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