Hi all, Alaska news. First off, and best news of all, flight crew scrambled out and walked away. Longtime Alaska icon and veteran C-46F N1822M has taken a hit. The Everts Air Fuel air tanker world is down one for awhile til we can get her home and peel back the bad stuff, get the myriad cables freed up and pulled back out of the way and the cockpit drilled off at the Station 128 production break and section on a replacement. Not exactly a quick afternoon repair. Plan is though, at least for now, she will live again.
Details in simplest form as necessary: Routine tanker duty day, 2000 gallon load of heating oil, headed to destination. #2 engine (R-2800) had been running smoothly up to that point, began coughing and banging, no amount of cockpit intervention was able to settle it down so it had to be shut down, feathered, and the ensuing adjustments accomplished for continued flight on one engine. Flight diverted to nearest airport PAML whereupon landing landed somewhat long and ran out of runway. Standing hard on the brakes wasn’t enough at that point plus expander tube brakes are prone to fade as they get hot. You have to know, by that time they were HOT. Slow motion at that point, rolled down the berm and dug into the soft boggy ground causing an abrupt halt, aircraft up on its nose, then went beyond that and balanced precariously on its nose almost going over but then pivoted slightly, settled back onto the main gear and the tail kept coming back down and just shattered the tail gear castings as they slammed into the gravel. Cockpit got real small but no injuries to either man. Both have returned to full active flight status.
22M is now out of the bog, moved to appropriate parking and has been dismantled down to the major subassemblies in preparation for its transport back to Fairbanks.
Before the clamor starts for in depth details flight ops wise etc just suffice it to say there’s plenty of conjecture to be had from any armchair pilots and better insightful info from plenty of veteran pilots in particular those that have flown a C-46 and some on here that have flown this one specifically. The investigation is finished or just about and the accident report as the Feds see it will be available when they get around to it which always seems to take awhile.
I’ll answer what questions I can as I have time; spending a lot of time in Manley of late.
Take care folks, though never good these things happen and we are all relieved when the only thing torn up is, in this case, sheetmetal.
Cheers! Oz
Details in simplest form as necessary: Routine tanker duty day, 2000 gallon load of heating oil, headed to destination. #2 engine (R-2800) had been running smoothly up to that point, began coughing and banging, no amount of cockpit intervention was able to settle it down so it had to be shut down, feathered, and the ensuing adjustments accomplished for continued flight on one engine. Flight diverted to nearest airport PAML whereupon landing landed somewhat long and ran out of runway. Standing hard on the brakes wasn’t enough at that point plus expander tube brakes are prone to fade as they get hot. You have to know, by that time they were HOT. Slow motion at that point, rolled down the berm and dug into the soft boggy ground causing an abrupt halt, aircraft up on its nose, then went beyond that and balanced precariously on its nose almost going over but then pivoted slightly, settled back onto the main gear and the tail kept coming back down and just shattered the tail gear castings as they slammed into the gravel. Cockpit got real small but no injuries to either man. Both have returned to full active flight status.
22M is now out of the bog, moved to appropriate parking and has been dismantled down to the major subassemblies in preparation for its transport back to Fairbanks.
Before the clamor starts for in depth details flight ops wise etc just suffice it to say there’s plenty of conjecture to be had from any armchair pilots and better insightful info from plenty of veteran pilots in particular those that have flown a C-46 and some on here that have flown this one specifically. The investigation is finished or just about and the accident report as the Feds see it will be available when they get around to it which always seems to take awhile.
I’ll answer what questions I can as I have time; spending a lot of time in Manley of late.
Take care folks, though never good these things happen and we are all relieved when the only thing torn up is, in this case, sheetmetal.
Cheers! Oz