After the engine failure!
After an engine bearing failed and an autorotational landing, this is where we ended up...an empty field in Adams County some 60 nautical miles or so away from the trauma center in Denver where we were heading. The number two bearing in the engine disintegrated and caused the engine to seize with a loud bang and a flash of light that was very visible under night vision goggles! After completing the emergency shutdown and exiting the aircraft, I looked up at the aircraft to check for a fire, and while we weren't on fire, the exhaust stack for the engine was glowing red hot.
I took this shot about an hour or two later while I was waiting for our mechanics to arrive. The sheriff's department had sent a deputy out and the local volunteer fire department had dispatched a truck with two volunteers so that I would have someplace to stay warm as it was getting a bit chilly that night.
The image quality is not that great as I took this shot with my BlackBerry and the bird was illuminated by the headlights from the patrol car and the fire department's pickup.
I would like to pass along a special thanks to AirLife Denver (yes, the same one that is in the Duracell battery commercial) for coming to pick up our patient and getting him to the trauma center in Denver. And to their pilot that was kind enough to loan me his jacket. When we departed our based in Erie it was late afternoon and fairly pleasant outside and I left my jacket back at the base not planning on the engine failing that night and me spending six hours in a field.
As fate would have it, about one hundred yards away from where we landed stands a monument dedicated to the crew of a B-24 Liberator that crashed in that same field in 1942...all souls onboard the B-24 were lost.
And one special thank you to the medical crew that I had with me that day. They informed me of an unusual noise before I had any indication in the cockpit. This allowed me to have the aircraft (and me) in the best possible position when the engine failed. I credit their professionalism and quick thinking that day as being instrumental in the successful outcome that we had.
Legal disclaimer - Just so that there is no confusion, neither Bell Helicopters, North Colorado Medical Center, or Med-Trans Corp (my former employer and owner of the helicopter) in any way had a part in the failure of the engine bearing. The responsibility for the failure lies solely with Roll-Royce as the manufacturer of the engine. I have heard, but have not been able to confirm as of yet, that Rolls-Royce is redesigning the bearing that failed...which leads me to think that this was not the first to have problems. Or, there was simply a flaw created in that particular bearing in the manufacturing process. Either way, an engine with less than 800 hours of flight time on it should not be coming apart in flight!
Update April 16th, 2011: Just found out that earlier this week, Rolls Royce released a bulletin requiring the replacement of the bearing that failed on me that night. It covers six version of the RR 250 engine, including the C47B model in the Bell 407. Unfortunately, they are only requiring the bearing to be replaced when the engine is removed for other maintenance. IMHO, Rolls Royce should be requiring an immediate replacement of the bearings as a failure of one of them at the wrong time could lead to a fatal accident.
This image is © Douglas Bawden Photography, please do not use without prior permission.
Enjoy my photos and please feel free to comment. The only thing that I ask is no large, flashy graphics in the comments.
After the engine failure!
After an engine bearing failed and an autorotational landing, this is where we ended up...an empty field in Adams County some 60 nautical miles or so away from the trauma center in Denver where we were heading. The number two bearing in the engine disintegrated and caused the engine to seize with a loud bang and a flash of light that was very visible under night vision goggles! After completing the emergency shutdown and exiting the aircraft, I looked up at the aircraft to check for a fire, and while we weren't on fire, the exhaust stack for the engine was glowing red hot.
I took this shot about an hour or two later while I was waiting for our mechanics to arrive. The sheriff's department had sent a deputy out and the local volunteer fire department had dispatched a truck with two volunteers so that I would have someplace to stay warm as it was getting a bit chilly that night.
The image quality is not that great as I took this shot with my BlackBerry and the bird was illuminated by the headlights from the patrol car and the fire department's pickup.
I would like to pass along a special thanks to AirLife Denver (yes, the same one that is in the Duracell battery commercial) for coming to pick up our patient and getting him to the trauma center in Denver. And to their pilot that was kind enough to loan me his jacket. When we departed our based in Erie it was late afternoon and fairly pleasant outside and I left my jacket back at the base not planning on the engine failing that night and me spending six hours in a field.
As fate would have it, about one hundred yards away from where we landed stands a monument dedicated to the crew of a B-24 Liberator that crashed in that same field in 1942...all souls onboard the B-24 were lost.
And one special thank you to the medical crew that I had with me that day. They informed me of an unusual noise before I had any indication in the cockpit. This allowed me to have the aircraft (and me) in the best possible position when the engine failed. I credit their professionalism and quick thinking that day as being instrumental in the successful outcome that we had.
Legal disclaimer - Just so that there is no confusion, neither Bell Helicopters, North Colorado Medical Center, or Med-Trans Corp (my former employer and owner of the helicopter) in any way had a part in the failure of the engine bearing. The responsibility for the failure lies solely with Roll-Royce as the manufacturer of the engine. I have heard, but have not been able to confirm as of yet, that Rolls-Royce is redesigning the bearing that failed...which leads me to think that this was not the first to have problems. Or, there was simply a flaw created in that particular bearing in the manufacturing process. Either way, an engine with less than 800 hours of flight time on it should not be coming apart in flight!
Update April 16th, 2011: Just found out that earlier this week, Rolls Royce released a bulletin requiring the replacement of the bearing that failed on me that night. It covers six version of the RR 250 engine, including the C47B model in the Bell 407. Unfortunately, they are only requiring the bearing to be replaced when the engine is removed for other maintenance. IMHO, Rolls Royce should be requiring an immediate replacement of the bearings as a failure of one of them at the wrong time could lead to a fatal accident.
This image is © Douglas Bawden Photography, please do not use without prior permission.
Enjoy my photos and please feel free to comment. The only thing that I ask is no large, flashy graphics in the comments.