Propeller Blade NTSB Safety Recommendation - Aviation Accident Attorneys

NTSB Maintenance Accident Report – Propeller Blades

January 12, 2002, a Hamilton Sundstrand 568E propeller blade separated adjacent to the propeller hub on the right engine of an Anions de Transport Regional airplane. Shortly after takeoff, the pilots felt high vibrations in the airplane as the right engine’s low oil pressure warning light illuminated. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the fuel lever jammed when the pilots tried to slow down the engine and they had to emergency land, leaving minor damage to the airplane.

Require Hamilton Sundstrand to perform additional analytical examinations and testing, including removal of the compression wrap so that the tulip can be fully examined, of a sample of high service-time 568F propeller blades with serial numbers 1,699 or greater to determine if rust and corrosion pitting are occurring in the fillet radius, and, on the basis of the results of those examinations, require additional inspections, modifications, or repairs as appropriate.

For all Hamilton Sundstrand 568F propeller blades with serial numbers 1 through 1,698:

(1) Require the immediate inspection and repair (including removal of the compression wrap and any existing corrosion, a nondestructive inspection for cracks, shot peening of the radius, and installation of an appropriate corrosion protection system) of all blades that have been in service more than 6 years or 11,700 hours; (2) Immediately determine a conservative threshold for the inspection and repair of the remaining blades that is appropriately less than 6 years or 11,700 hours in service, taking into account the uncertainties in the failure mechanism (including the initiation and growth rate for the pitting and fatigue cracking); (3) Require the immediate inspection and repair of those propeller blades that have already reached or exceeded the threshold determined as a result of (2), above; and (4) For those propeller blades that are not immediately inspected and repaired in accordance with (1) and (3), above, require that they be inspected and repaired as soon as possible, but no later than the threshold determined as a result of (2), above. (Urgent)

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Aviation Facts

Approximately 80 percent of all plane crashes occur shortly before or after takeoff or landing due to human error or mechanical failures.
According to aviation accident data representing 1,104 accidents spanning from 1960 through 2015, the number one cause of aviation accidents is pilot error, which results in 58 percent of accidents. Mechanical failure: 17 percent. Undetermined causes: 10%.
In 2005, there were a total of 1,764 aviation accidents in the United States that resulted in 600 fatalities. Low-level maneuvering of an aircraft was the leading cause of fatal aviation accidents from 1998 to 2004.
In 2004, more than 70 percent of all plane crashes that ended in serious injury or fatality occurred during a personal flight. General aviation accidents occur more frequently than airline or business aviation accidents.
The most recent statistics on midair collisions has shown a steady decline. In 2004, there were 10 midair accidents resulting in 10 fatalities compared to 11 collisions in 2003 with 23 deaths.