Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Rome, New York 13440
Thursday, December 3, 2009 7:47 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane was climbing through 7,500 feet when the pilot heard a grinding noise and saw that the gas generator speed indicator had dropped to zero. The engine then seized and the pilot declared an emergency. An air traffic controller provided vectors toward an airport; however, the airplane landed in a field about 3 miles short of the runway. Subsequent disassembly of the engine revealed compressor turbine blade fractures at varying heights above the platform and downstream damage to the power turbine blades. Further examination revealed that 13 blades were fractured at the platform, with 8 of those exhibiting fatigue fractures at the leading edge, and overload fractures toward the trailing edge. The remaining five blades exhibited ductile overload fractures over the entire fracture surface. A number of blades were also fixed to the disc, with the mating surfaces of both the blades and the disc exhibiting corrosion. Examination of blade serrations revealed an accumulation of orange dust, with black corrosion blisters observed at various locations. Dust analysis revealed sulphidation, with airborne salts likely reacting with the oxide layer on the blades to result in oxide layer decay. Subsequent to the incident, the operator increased engine water washes from once every 50 hours of engine operation to weekly, and incorporated borescope inspections into the engine maintenance program at every 100 hours of operation.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The operator's inadequate engine wash intervals, which resulted in compressor turbine blade sulphidation and subsequent turbine blade failure.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Incident |
| Event Date | 12/3/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 747 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Rome |
| Event State | NEW YORK |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 13440 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 431402N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0752425W |
| Event Location Airport | -- |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | -- |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 753 Eastern Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 150 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | RME |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 481 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 3 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 4000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 3300 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 8 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 11 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 10 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 220 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.25 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 1 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 28463 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Eastern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 24 2011 10:35AM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N701FX |
| NTSB Number | ERA10IA094 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | None |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | CESSNA |
| Aircraft Model | 208B |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 208B0420 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 8750 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 2 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | 0 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | -- |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | AAIP |
| Date of Last Inspection | Nov 13 2009 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 14 |
| Airframe Hours | 6606 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | FEDERAL EXPRESS CORPORATION |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | VP SUPPLEMENTAL AIR OPERATIONS |
| Aircraft Owner City | MEMPHIS |
| Aircraft Owner State | TN |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 38118-1547 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Wiggins Airways, Inc. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 1 Garside Way |
| Operator City | Manchester |
| Operator State | NH |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 03103 |
| Operator Code | AXSA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | Non-scheduled |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Domestic |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Cargo |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | -- |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | SYR |
| Departure City | Syracuse |
| Departure State | NY |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 730 |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | PBG |
| Destination City | Plattsburgh |
| Destination State | NY |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 24 2011 10:35AM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |