Western Trek 2017

The crash will be discussed in five parts. The first is the occurrence of the failure that necessitated the emergency landing, the second is the sequence of events and thought processes that happened from there to the point of impact, the third is the results of the impact and the fourth covers hindsight and what might have happened if I I had behaved flawlessly (that was the toughest to write) , and the fifth has musings and a revelation that came out of the accident.

This is Part 1.

This was to be a trip from Armstrong Airport (CYYW) to Red Lake Airport (CYRL) with an estimated airtime of one hour 55 minutes.

Recall I had a propeller vibration issue theorized to be from the development of irregularities in the paint along the leading edge of the prop blades. The only tools and supplies locally available to smooth the blade profile were 400 grit sandpaper, rags and Varsol from the local store, Scotchbrite, water, gasoline and a sanding pad from Art, the local who happened to become my chauffeur and local knowledge source. Acetone or any other strong solvent was not available. Neither Varsol or gasoline had any effect on the paint.

Very careful wet sanding with first the sandpaper and then the Scotchbrite worked surprisingly well. I 'finished' my handiwork with some spray wax I carry when I travel.

Flight test results were good. When I landed it was already 12:40. After adding another 20 L of mogas donated by Art, what a nice guy, I was finally able to start my flying day... what was left of it.

But not yet. To get at the spray wax I had to unload most of the baggage compartment. By the time it was all repacked it was 1:15. I was itchng to go.

But not yet. I was hot, hungry, thirsty and antsy. Part of me realized that I needed to calm down and take a break. So I drank some water, ate some figs, added nitrogen to the local soil. I rested a few minutes before departing around 1:35 pm in a more relaxed state. A calm initial state helps in understanding and responding to unusual conditions. Yup, I know what I am like when tired, not good at making decisions. I am glad I took the break.

I hoped the lack of vibration could be maintained, at least til my next destination. As the trip progressed, the vibration level felt was noted. It seemed normal and stable so I felt more relaxed as the destination approached. Height above ground was 4500 ASL, 3400 AGL by my GPS enabled device. I performed regular observations of the terrain for landing suitability... no change for awhile, treed with small diameter tees, narrow logging roads, lakes.

While about 10 minutes from the airport, I radioed position and intent to the airport radio operator. I noted wind conditions and the active runway was 26.

When returning my eyes to the front after a side scan I noticed the propeller was stopped vertically in a feathered position. I did not notice the absence of sound until a few seconds later.

I was puzzled by the lack of fuel engine effects and that the propeller was feathered. The right tank was in use. Fuel level is measured directly by a sight tube in each wing. Fuel valves are near each fuel gauge. I immediately turned the fuel valve on for the left tank noting it showed approximately 15 L remaining. Shifted to right side to turn its valve off then noted it also had about 15 L of full so turned the valve back on.

Although part of me was aware that you should not start an engine with feathered prop, I pressed starter button anyway. No blade movement.

I reflexively reached for the feathering pitch control and started to move it by beginning to pull. Then I noticed it was already in the normal, not feathered, position and pushed it back. I don't recall feeling any resistance to moving the control either way but might not have been in a frame of mind to notice.

To myself, “I can't fix this.”Read more