Page 20 - Volume 14 Number 10

A 300 in Sad Shape
A customer and friend, an owner-pilot of a later model 300, was in the habit of asking me to help him perform the post-maintenance acceptance flight. I enjoy doing this and was happy to provide my assistance. First, I observed that the threshold and cabin door step lights were inoperative. The mechanic found a short in the wiring and had it fixed in a relatively short time. Doing the cockpit check I found that the Engine Anti-Ice switches were Off, although it is proper procedure in the 300 to have the ice vanes extended (Engine Anti-Ice On) for all ground operation. When questioned about that, the mechanic stated, “It is easier to reinstall the cowling with the vanes up.” That explains it, I thought. But it dawned on me later that either he never did a ground run-up after the cowls were reinstalled or else did it with the vanes up ... increasing the chance for FOD. Either is unacceptable. After we reached the run-up area and performed the complete procedure, we found that neither side’s propeller autofeather system was functioning correctly. That system is a required, no-go item in all 300s. The right-hand side had no autofeather action at all, whereas the left-hand side had everything happening at the higher torque value. (At 17% torque the opposite annunciator should extinguish and actual feathering should occur near 10%, but here it was all happening together at 17%, indicating a chance of feathering both propellers at the same time!)
Needless to say, the 300 was not picked up that day, but nearly a week later.
The E90 Flamer
This is a story that happened at the old United Beechcraft facility in Wichita. Once United Beech had a horrific accident due to a King Air’s engine being started while the airplane was on jacks in the hangar! The plane came off the jacks and ran into other airplanes. What a mess! In reaction to that incident, a shop procedure was implemented requiring the ignitor circuit breakers (CB) to be pulled whenever a King Air was in the hangar.
A two-pilot crew came to pick up their E90. After a quick look-over they hit the right Start and Ignition switch to prepare to taxi and depart. As the N1 stabilized, the condition lever was advanced from Cut-Off. Without the ignitors receiving power due to the tripped CB, no light off occurred. Hmmm. “Oh wait, I know!” says the left-seater. “They usually pull the Ignitor CBs here. Check down there on the end of the pedestal.” The co- pilot did as requested and pushed the CBs back in; the linemen tell of a flame that went nearly the full length of the airplane! That resulted in engine damage, burnt deice boot and scorched paint.
In my opinion, two mistakes were made. First, a more thorough cockpit check should have caught the tripped CBs before start. Second, the pilot was obviously not in the habit of verifying the ignition annunciator
18 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
illuminated while waiting for N1 to stabilize ... an important habit to form.
Loose FCU Connection in a 200
Many years ago, I was asked to be PIC on a 200 that had been modified by Commuter Air Technology (CAT) into a 13-seat “Catpass” commuter configuration. High density forward-facing seats, a cargo pod, panel- mounted avionics ... these were some of the changes made to convert this executive airplane into a commuter. The CAT marketing department wanted to take some photographs showing this airplane in its element – all seats filled and a professional crew up front. They even provided me with a four-stripe uniform and captain’s hat to wear! We taxied out at Scottsdale, Arizona, with the cameras running. Unbeknownst to me, the plane had not flown in some time while the modifications were being made. The preflight checks all proved to be OK so we were cleared for takeoff. Just as power was being set and we started to roll, the right engine spooled back to low idle. We idled to the next turnoff, told the tower we were aborting, and requested permission to return to the run-up pad. There, we could duplicate the problem. Power would come up fine for a bit, then abruptly go back to idle even though the power lever was still advanced. This had not happened during my earlier run-up. We taxied back to the CAT facility and aborted our photo shoot plans for that day. There, it was found that a safety wire had not been installed and this allowed the connection between the power lever and the Fuel Control Unit to slip, leading to the situation we experienced.
Could I have found this malfunction myself during the preflight? Sadly, I doubt it. Although I had opened the cowling doors to look for general condition, I don’t trust that my eyes would have found the missing safety wire. The takeaway here? Had I known before that this was the plane’s first flight after the mods, I should have refused to load it with passengers until after a crew-only test. Had the slippage not occurred until a short time later, it could have happened just at or after V1 ... never an experience wished for, but especially not with 13 passengers onboard!
Other Experiences
A common incident that happens on the first post- maintenance flight is to discover that the upper, forward cowling is not secure. As airspeed increases, the cowl will start to lift. On the walkaround, be sure not only to verify that the arrows on the latches point as they should but also take the palms of both hands and give that cowling piece a really sharp blow, trying to dislodge it upward. If it comes undone, it’s time for the mechanic to adjust the latches properly.
What if the upper forward cowling does begin to lift in flight? One, slow down; two, extend the ice vanes.
OCTOBER 2020