Mechanical Failure Behind ($80 million dollar) Hawkeye Crash

[unhappycamper]

August 13, 2010
Virginian-Pilot

Mechanical failure, not pilot error, caused the crash of a Navy E-2C Hawkeye aircraft in the Arabian Sea in March that killed its pilot, a Navy investigation has found.

The pilot, Lt. Miroslav "Steve" Zilberman, shut down one of the twin-turboprop plane's engines after it lost oil pressure.

He then stayed at the controls, fighting to keep the plane airborne as the other three crew members bailed out.

Zilberman went down with the plane about five miles from its destination, the Norfolk-based aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower, on a return flight from a mission over Afghanistan.

Normally, a twin-turboprop is capable of flying with just one engine. In this case, according to the Navy's investigation, the pilot was unable to keep the plane aloft because of an unfeathered propeller.



unhappycamper comment: Wikipedia sez these bad boys cost $80 million dollars a pop -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-2C

[tinymontgomery]

1. What is an "unfeathered Properller"?

I was a black shoe, not brown so I don't know this term.

[unhappycamper]

2. When feathered, the props are moved to an almost vertical position

so the drag is reduced.




The prop on left is feathered.

[tinymontgomery]

3. Thanks

another great day of learning something new.

[Billy Burnett]

4. So it was two mechanical failures?

Loss of oil pressure.
Loss of prop feather control.

Is the feather control lost when oil pressure is lost?

Unlike GHW Bush, this brave pilot stayed at the controls to allow his fellow crew members to bail out. :patriot:

Terribly sad.