7th of April 2016, Wrong Engine, Blog # 698
- V2Aviation
- Apr 7
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 8
With a crew of three, a Douglas DC-3C (Year of manufacture 1945) was climbing out of Puerto Gaitán with Villavicencio (both in Colombia) as its destination. Shortly after lift-off from Runway 4 at Puerto Gaitan, the left-hand engine exploded, subsequently catching fire.
The commander, as the pilot flying, called for the engine shutdown checklist. However, the crew could not maintain height and the crew decided to perform an emergency landing in an open field with landing gear and flaps retracted. The DC-3 crashlanded 2,6 km southwest of the airport, bursting into flames. On touchdown, both propellers were ripped off the aircraft, as well as some other parts. The aircraft continued on its belly for approximately 100 meters before coming to a stop. All three crew members sustained minor injuries (with some sources claiming only two of the three crews were injured, and others claiming there were no injuries). Firefighters arrived at the crash site 45 minutes later, but it was far too late, the aircraft was consumed by fire.
An investigation was launched by the GRIAA (Grupo de Investigación de Accidents) part of the Columbian Civil Aviation Administration. It was discovered by the GRIAA that the accident was by a simple chain of events;
During rotation from runway 04, the crew heard an explosion and felt vibrations from the left engine.
The captain reported the engine cowling detached and hit the propeller.
After the crew had performed the checklist for shutting the #1 engine down, they noticed they could no longer maintain height and the speed was decreasing.
An emergency landing was made resulting in a fire which consumed the aircraft
During the wreckage examination, it was found that the left-hand RPM lever was in the full forward position, and the right-hand RPM lever was in the aft position. It is quite possible that the crew inadvertently closed the RPM lever for engine #2 instead of the RPM lever for engine #1. It was also found that a cylinder head had detached from the left-hand engine.
The probable cause was determined to be;
Failure of the left engine following the detachment of the head of a cylinder shortly after takeoff. Deficiencies in maintenance processes contributed to this situation. The crew failed to follow the emergency procedures when the left engine caught fire and exploded, reducing the power on the right engine. In such conditions, the aircraft was unable to maintain a safe altitude and the crew was forced to attempt an emergency landing.
The accident investigation report as published by the GRIAA can be accessed by clicking on the .pdf file below. Please note the report is in Spanish.
Editorial note
V2 Aviation - Training & Maintenance has not been able to obtain an investigation report in English on this accident. This blog is therefore based on several internet sources and a translation of the original accident report as published by the OFINVAA. Should there be inconsistencies 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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