It's the night before Thanksgiving and I take a charter to Washington DC. The pilot is new to the company, but not new to flying or charters. He's from Alaska and has a great deal of experience flying in challenging weather. He's also flown many types of single and multi-engine airplanes and is a certified flight instructor, which makes we feel good. I have not met him before tonight, and since this was his first charter with our company, it was my job to show him the ropes.
We taxi the Cessna 310 to the runway and takeoff. Once landed at Lambert International, I show him where to go to pick up the part that we are to deliver to Washington DC. We load the plane and get on our way. The flight there was cold but uneventful. We talk, getting to know each other and our aviation backgrounds. After landing in DC, we go inside and wait to deliver the part. It's snowing and misting. We're hoping we can take off before the engines and airplane surfaces get too cold. After a longer wait that desired, we are able to hand off the part to the proper people. The pilot and I then go outside and preflight the plane. I grab some oil out of the wing locker and top off the engines. We're ready to go.
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| Ran into light icing (upper left), pictures from the FBO, then a map of where we had to divert and land due to complications with the airplane. |
We're flying along in the middle of the night, headed for home. The weather is less than ideal, but we're safe. As we move along, I'm hearing a strange sound. Something seems louder than normal. I don't mention anything because I don't see anything wrong. I figure my headset batteries were dying, leading to the loudness. Nope, they're fine. Eventually I look out the window and towards the back of the wing. I see the problem. The door of the wing locker that I took the oil out of was open. We're cruising along at 170kts and I'm worried that the door is going to break off. It appears that a towel is hanging out, keeping the door from closing. I notify the pilot immediately.
We tell ATC that we need to make a landing at the nearest airport. We're somewhere over West Virginia, it's pitch black outside, and there's mountains beneath us. ATC gives us clearance to land at KCKB (North Central West Virginia Airport). Upon landing, the pilot pulls off the runway but keeps the engines running. There's snow and ice on the ground, and it's lightly snowing. I hop out of the plane while still on the taxiway (with permission from ATC), and hurry to move the towels out of the way so that I can secure the door. Alright, we're all set.
We take off and get back to altitude. Twenty minutes later, one of the engines start surging uncontrollably. The plane starts swinging side to side. The engine sounds like it's going to full speed then quickly decelerating, and repeating. We turn off auto pilot and scramble to figure out what's wrong. The engine sounds as if it's on the verge of completely failing and the pilot is fighting the controls to keep the plane straight and level. I check every last instrument and nothing is reading wrong; all gauges are reading in the green arc. We check the fuel; it's ok too. What is wrong??? We decide that it's absolutely necessary to make a precautionary landing. We notify ATC of our partial engine failure. The controller asks the pilot if he wants to declare an emergency. I look at him, and he looks at me. "Yes I do," he responds. It's still night time, and we're still over the mountains. A million thoughts are running through my head... This is this pilot's first charter with us, he doesn't have too much experience with this particular airplane, I hardly know him, it's Thanksgiving, and we're in the middle of now Ohio with a failing engine.
The engine continues to surge while ATC directs us to the nearest airport (KPKB - Mid Ohio Valley Airport). I'm so nervous that I'm trembling. The pilot does a great job keeping the plane as controlled as possible. As we get closer to the airport, he tells me to expect emergency personnel waiting for us. This only makes me more nervous, but I'm glad he mentioned it. We turn on to final approach for landing and I can see the firetrucks and ambulance on the field with their lights flashing. I can't believe this is happening!
We sigh with relief as we safely land the plane and follow the emergency vehicles to the nearest building. We turn the engines off and get out. The emergency personnel greet us immediately and make sure that we're ok. We're worked up, but ok. They ask what is wrong with the plane, but unfortunately we haven't even figured that out yet. The weather is still cold and nasty, so we go inside the small FBO. The pilot calls the manager, while I call another pilot who has many hours with this plane. After the pilot hangs up with the manager, he calls the maintenance director to start problem solving. The pilot that I'm on the phone with gives me some tests to try on the plane to see if it'll help identify the problem. I hang up and call my husband; he needs to know what's going on.
After my pilot and I receive plenty of tests to run on the plane, we go back outside and begin troubleshooting. A quick walk-around the plane reveals nothing, so we climb inside. The pilot turns on the master switch to check for things that don't require the engines running. Nothing appears wrong. We turn on the engines and run a series of tests. Again, nothing. We can't even replicate the surging. Completely baffled, we go back into the building and call the mechanic. While they're on the phone, I'm anxiously trying to figure out how we're going to get home. Do we wait for someone to fly out here and pick us up? Is someone going to drive across multiple states to get us? Should the pilot and I try to fly? They hang up and the pilot and I talk. We agree to take a test flight, staying in the traffic pattern at the airport where we're never too far from a runway.
The plane starts up like normal and we takeoff. He flies it while I check every last instrument, listen for weird sounds, and watch for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing. We bring the engines up to regular cruise to see if it'll start surging again. Nothing. We come in for a landing and pull back the power to see if that'll trigger anything. Nope. The plane refuses to do anything wrong. We land and go back inside. After a good discussion, we decide we are going to attempt to fly back home. Our plan is to follow a route where there's an airport every 10-20 miles. I'm certainly nervous about this option, but I'd like to be home for Thanksgiving without inconveniencing anyone to come get us. Since the plane was behaving normally with all the tests, and we'll have airports near us at all times while flying, we go for it.
Shortly after takeoff, we turn on the alternate air. It was a suggestion from the other pilot I had been on the phone with. By turning on the alternate air, it draws warm air from the engine and sends it to the back where the oil is. This warms the oil to keep it from congealing. Since it was so cold outside, we agreed this was a good plan. We hadn't thought of it when the engine had been surging. Our flight home was smooth and uneventful. We landed back home safe and sound. I have developed so much respect for my pilot tonight. He handled the situation like a true professional. I would be honored to fly with him again.
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I inquired with the mechanics a week later to see what the problem was, and they too couldn't find anything. That lead us to believe that there may have been some ice in the engines, or the oil congealed. Both of which can be remedied by turning on the alternate air.
I drive home and find my husband waiting by the door. He was ready to drive to get me in the middle of the night if needed. I give him a big hug, then head off to bed. Several hours later I wake up and enjoy Thanksgiving with the family. It was a day I was definitely thankful for.
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