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Presentation
A Method of Identification of a Failed Engine in Twin-Engine Turboprop Aircraft: A Survey
National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)
  • Andrey Babin, Piedmont Airlines, Inc.
  • Andrew R. Dattel, Ph.D., Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Presenter Email
andrey.k.babin@gmail.com
Location
Jim W. Henderson Administration & Welcome Center (Bldg. #602)
Start Date
8-15-2018 8:00 AM
End Date
8-15-2018 9:30 AM
Submission Type
Presentation
Other Topic Area
Aviation Safety
Keywords
  • turboprop,
  • twin-engine,
  • aircraft,
  • engine failure,
  • identify-verify-feather,
  • engine feathering
Abstract

Previous research identified that wrong identification of a failed engine during a flight is not an uncommon event in an aircraft cockpit. A number of fatal accidents in the past, including the recent TransAsia Flight 235 accident, resulted from failed engine mis-identification. Most accidents of this type happened on takeoff when pilot workload was at its highest level. A short survey was created and distributed among airline pilots who operate twin-engine turboprop aircraft to gather their opinions regarding the issue. Forty-nine pilots responded to the survey. The average flight experience was more than 6,000 flight hours and almost nine years. Approximately 19 percent of respondents had to utilize the engine-out procedure in their experience. The majority of respondents felt comfortable with the current method of identification of a failed engine. Twenty-nine percent of respondents to the survey agreed with the statement that there could be a better method of identification of a failed engine. Thirty-four percent of respondents who provided suggestions for improvement of a current method recommended adding a visual indicator of some kind. The results of the survey provide greater insight into the problem of wrong identification of a failed engine in twin-engine propeller aircraft.

Presenter Biography

Andrey Babin is a recent Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University alumnus (Daytona Beach campus) of the Master of Science in Aeronautics program with Aviation Safety Management Systems and Aviation Operations specializations. During his time at ERAU, Andrey participated in various research activities as a graduate assistant for the Cognitive Engineering Research in Transportation Systems (CERTS) lab. Andrey holds a Bachelor's degree in Aviation Maintenance and previously worked as an aircraft mechanic. Currently, Andrey works as a Safety Auditor for Piedmont Airlines.

View Andrey Babin’s Bio Page

Citation Information
Andrey Babin and Andrew R. Dattel. "A Method of Identification of a Failed Engine in Twin-Engine Turboprop Aircraft: A Survey" (2018)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/andy-dattel/40/